Cloudy Monday

Good afternoon - no Bible in 90 Days update today except to say I am on track.

Week is not off to a great start. I fell and very badly bruised my knee cap. It is the first time I have hurt myself where the pain was so bad I thought I would be sick. I am praising God that it did not break and think it has a lot to do with the fact that He prompted my husband to very specifically pray for my safety as I work around the house each day when we were praying last night!

So I am off to get settled with a book and an ice pack.

Praying

There was a time my husband and I both maintained fairly extensive commitments outside our home. We both served in ministry as volunteers, in addition to serving in our church. This was before we had children, of course, and our work was either together, or it was at the same time (we both served Monday nights) so that we had plenty of time together.

Things are different now. God has made it clear to us that my main ministry is in our home and will be for years to come. Not only am I good with that, I am thrilled.

No longer am I out teaching others' children the Bible, I am home teaching mine. Just for one example!

In this season of life I cannot do a lot to directly influence outside my home, but I can do some.

My ministry outside our home is simple now. I share bread I have made. We share a meal either by inviting people to our home or taking a meal (we will have the same one that night), and by praying.

In the course of even the busiest day I can find time to pray while I am doing dishes, flipping laundry, cleaning, or drifting off to sleep.

I may not be able to do a lot, but I relish what I can do, and do it wholeheartedly.

Attitude Adjustment

I am working VERY hard on an attitude adjustment.

People keep telling me that you just don't need air conditioning in the area we live in.

And they are SERIOUS!

Exhibit A - it was 87 F today.

We have had a few very hot days where it just does not cool down at night, but each week there are a few days where it is just REALLY uncomfortable in our house between about 4 and the sun going down.

And being hot makes us all grumpy.

Plus if the girls get too hot they actually do get sick.

But we have no air conditioning because people do not think it is necessary up here.

Honestly.

Not kidding.

I am working hard on trying to adjust my attitude.

Honestly.

No, I am not kidding.

I keep reminding myself that God has called people to a lot harder things that living one summer without air conditioning. All you have to do for perspective is consider the missionaries your church supports and you will see what I mean.

And it helps my perspective.

But we are still getting AC next year when we buy our own house!

A Time to Celebrate

The last 2 years have been interesting, brutal, and probably the most spiritually significant of my life so far. The health issues of the girls have had us all over the map, and the fact that they are so healthy now is nothing short of miraculous.

On Sunday we got a chance to celebrate with our new church family at one of the summer evening picnics. And it was wonderful!

The children played and had a great time. It was fun to see how many friends Miss Pear has!

We all sat around and ate our suppers.

Then we were called up to share our story of the past 2 years. My husband did a wonderful job of opening our time by making it clear this is all about what God has done and sharing the timeline of all the goings on, and then I shared the big lessons we had learned through this, and got to really say how wonderful God is!

Our pastor then led us in singing Praise to the Lord and prayer. While we were praying a present for the girls appeared, and they were thrilled to find it was the doll house they had loved so much. It was a very special, very meaningful, very appreciated gift.

We then shared cake, ice cream, blueberries, cookies and whatever other yumminess was put out and visited some more.

It was a very special evening, and even now I get a bit teary thinking about it.

It was wonderful to have a chance to stop the fast pace of life and thank God for His love, mercy, and blessings in our lives.

Bible in 90 Days Day 29/Week 5 Check in

It has been an interesting week since last Monday. Our oldest daughter at age 5 had skating lessons Monday night (her little sister alternately cheered, laughed with delight and tried to join her), a cardiologist appointment on Wednesday, and our whole family had a Classical Conversations homeschooling co-op meeting Friday morning where our oldest would be in class one morning a week learning in the classical method while our youngest and I sit at the back and learn too.

That kept us busy. But I did keep up with my reading.

I am writing this Sunday afternoon, and this evening at our Church picnic we will be sharing how God cared for our family these past 2 years, especially the health of our girls. As I have thought about that I have been overwhelmed by God love, care, healing and provision. We felt compelled at the end to take a time to stop and say thank you, and when we mentioned this in casual passing it morphed into sharing our story at one of the summer picnics.

When I read the Bible in 90 days starting in January I read because I was overwhelmed, and I found great comfort.

This time through I am reading because I did finish last time, but not in 90 days, and I felt compelled to try again. This time as I read I am finding great perspective on the past 2 years and great joy.

So while I do fall behind a chapter or 2 here or there, I always do manage to catch up the next day, and I am finding it be a source of great delight and encouragement.

For more information on reading the Bible in 90 Days check here, and to see how others are doing check here....

Miss Pear at the Cardiologist

Yesterday was the 6 month check up after surgery for Miss Pear, at a new hospital with a new cardiologist. We love the cardiologist and the hospital.

The appointment itself went well, somethings were upsetting to Miss Pear, and somethings were fascinating.

As for the results, the are conflicting.

The aortic valve itself, to make a long and complicated story short is functioning normally, which is a miracle! Normal was never a word used to describe the best case scenario of how her valve could function. That is a miracle. There are no other words for it.

The disappointing news is that there is a narrowing before her valve again. That could be a number of things from nothing to the membrane growing back. That is last one is deeply frustrating and concerning because there really is, right now, only one way to deal with a membrane in the heart, and that is to remove it.

So on one hand we feel like shouting praises from the roof tops, and on the other hand we feel like throwing a temper tantrum that would put a 2 year old to shame.

So what do we do. It is too early to know anything about the narrowing. We will go back in 6 months and pray that things are clearer.

In the mean time we will pray, trust God, and live each day.

Bible in 90 Days Day 22/Week 4 Check in

My reading is going along nicely. I did fall behind a bit last week with having friends over on Thursday for supper, with it being my birthday on Friday and taking a tour of the farm that does our CSA box on Saturday, but I am ALMOST caught up. (As in just a chapter or 2 behind).

What I have been seeing most this past week is the contrast between obedience and disobedience.

Going back a bit I was struck by how Pharoh was willing to be obedient until there was relief, and then his heart was hardened. The call to me was to be obedient in the every day, especially in times of relief.

But this week I was struck by Moses disobedience, which was kind of shocking as I always think of him being this glowing example. Yet his wife had to circumcise their sons when he neglected to do it, and then Joshua had to circumcise the Israelites before they could enter the promised land. Moses had to flee Egypt when he struck and egyptian and killed him, and he was forbidden from entering the promised land because he struck the rock to get water when that was clearly not what Jesus said.

I was again struck by Caleb's obedience, which was certainly not easy, but yet he persisted and became the proud owner of Hebron, a city that has been and continues to be very significant.

Now I am in 1 Samuel, and reading about Samuel, Saul, Jonathan and David, and again the contrast between obedience and disobedience is so clear and stark. Even though this is my 9 or 10th time reading the Bible cover to cover, which does not count all the sporadic, random, curious reading I did on my own, or structured reading I did as part of my seminary studies or Bible studies, the Bible always is new and fresh. If it is not to you, please ask God to teach you, to show you new things, to make His Word new and fresh for you!

Mostly though, I am reading a long and enjoying time in God's Word with Him. It is a joy.

What is God teaching you this week?

Happy Birthday!

Okay, so it is my birthday, and maybe yours today. But instead of the usual woo hoo I am a year older, I wanted to stop and tell you the three big lessons I have learned from God this past year in the hopes that it might encourage you.

1. God loves our children.
In the midst of all the girls health stuff this past year and three quarters I have learned that I will only ever have the tiniest glimpse of how much God loves our children. It is incredible.

2. God provides.
No matter how the numbers look from a logical earthly perspective, no matter how impossible situations seem, God provides. You may have to look back after the fact to see it, but He provides.

3. God is still in the miracle business.
Sometimes we throw this word around casually, and sometimes we discount what we see. But I want to tell you that God is sovereign, He is the Almighty, the God Most High, and He is still in the miracle business.

What are the big lessons that God is teaching you?

when it is quiet here....

...you can be assured it is quiet no where else in my life!

We are trying to finish off our school year for the end of this month (we took 2 months off with the move, not to mention all the medical things) and with our whopping school schedule of 30-45 minutes a day during the week we should be perfectly on track...in fact we will finish hand writing this week and math next week.

My inbox for my personal email is 2 screens long....yes, I have filed what I can, but seriously it is insane!

Miss Pear has her cardiology appointment next Wednesday afternoon, this is the 6 month surgical follow up.

We are going out to the farm where our CSA box comes from on Saturday morning for a tour...I am unreasonably excited.

I am doing the Bible in 90 days, and I love it, it is great, but it is at least an hour of reading a day for me. A small, small, tiny gift to my Lord, and in return He blesses me tremendously during this time.

We are thinking of a way to thank God for His care and provision the last 2 years. Not only were little girls healed, but bills were always paid on time, we always had food on our table, and even though sacrifices were definitely made, we never did without what we really needed when by earthy means that should have been the case. Some days it felt like the widow with the jar of oil that never let out...but in my case my shampoo seemed to last forever and my freezer and pantry seemed endless.

My freezer and pantry are a mess and need order restored, and probably labels made.

We are working on getting ready to start our next school year the first week of August to make sure we can take time off when we move next spring into a house of our own.

I feel the need to spend more time in prayer along with the Word. It is like there is something I am supposed to be getting and it is just beyond my reach.

So if things are a little quiet here, know that all is well, but my Lord and my family will always be my top priority, as much as I enjoy my time here with you.

Bible in 90 Days Day 15/ Week 3 Check-in

It is Monday - check in day - and I have a confession to make....

...this is not hard!

A friend of mine is impressed that I am doing this. I laughed and said it was not a sacrifice or because I am super-spiritual, it is because when I read the Bible in this volume I just do so much better in all areas of life.

And it is true.

Already I am finding that reading each day is automatic. We are at a point where the best time for me to read is in the evening, and once the girls are in bed I automatically reach for my Bible.

As I read I find myself being encouraged, strengthened and gaining perspective.

Such a blessing!

If you are curious about reading the Bible in 90 days or how the others are doing, check over at Amy's.

How is your Bible reading going? Even if you are not reading a long in the 90 Days I would love to hear and know where you are reading.

How often do you read your Bible? Do you follow a plan or just wing it?

House of Prayer

Last night our family had a very special gathering. After supper we gathered at our front door to begin praying through our house. I don't often hear of other families doing this so I thought I would share what we do, and why we do it.

Let's start with why we pray through our house. I confess we have not done this on as regular a basis as we would like, but it is something we like to do. We want our home to be the Lord's home, filled with His presence, and His to use as He sees fit. We want our guests to be loved, nurtured and blessed by visiting our home. We truly want our home to be a sanctuary for our family. And honestly, once we have done it we just feel better in our home.

Now for some of the practicalities. After struggling to find a time to do this without people under 4 feet tall helping, and failing, we just decided to do it with them. While Baby gets a little distracted and more or less follows us around playing and dancing as she goes, Miss Pear joins us, exuberantly, asking to be the first one to pray in each area of our home, and I'm pretty sure that her prayers are a delight to God and probably have Him laughing out loud!

It is common to use oil to anoint door frames etc as they go along, but as we rent our home we decided to skip this step. To answer the inevitable question I always had about oil and until I finally got it, the oil itself is not powerful, any oil will do, even the cheapest of cooking oils, it is the act and intent that are important.

Some people begin outside and walk their property line as well, but with little helpers we just started inside our front door.

There is no wrong way to do this, except maybe to never do it, but it does help if you have a methodical plan to go through the house and an idea of what you are going to pray for in each room. Our practice is to scatter thanksgiving and praise in as we go along. Also, this does not take us a long time, 3 people prayed a relatively short prayer in each room and we moved on.

While this is not a thorough guide, and will certainly not work for all families, here is a rough idea of how I remember us praying, and odds are this is not how we will exactly pray the next time. I will put MP to mark the ways I remember Miss Pear praying because I was having a hard time keeping a straight face! In each room just focus on praying for what happens there and for it all to be pleasing to God and under His guidance.

Front door / entry way
That our home would be filled with God's presence, that it would be His home to use as He sees fit, and that all who enter here would be blessed and cared for. That all who enter would know that He lives here with us, He is not just an occasional guest.

Living Room
We prayed for fellowship, for growing in the Word.

Dining Room (Schooling Space)
MP - for fun stuff to do in school, and yummy meals
We prayed for our school time, that the girls would grow in their knowledge and love of God, for the guests who would join us at this table for meals, for God to bring those He wants around our table, for out family meals to be a blessing and time of close fellowship and sharing, that we would be encouraged as a family.

Kitchen
MP - Help mommy make yummy meals and desserts
We did pray for help in making nutritious and delicious meals, for provision, and for spiritual food as well.

Family Room
MP - fun toys to play with
We prayed for our time as a family as this is the room we most often end up in, for our family relationships to be loving and close, for help in caring for each other.

Laundry room - MP insisted - God to help mommy clean our clothes and make them smell good.

Stairs - safety

Office
We prayed for the managing of our household and finances, for the planning of school time, for the correspondence that goes out via various media, and for Bible study as this is where all our books are!

Guestroom/Sewing room
For the guests that God brings to be blessed, nurtured and loved in our home, and for creativity and time to sew.

Our Bedroom
We prayed for our marriage, for good sleep (often difficult for me), for our unity as a family.
This is also where we have family worship, we all pile onto our bed, so we prayed for that too.

Baby's Room
Her continued health and healing, her hip dysplasia check up in November, her spiritual growth and relationship with God.

Miss Pear's Room
Her continued health and healing, her cardiology appt in 2 weeks, her spiritual growth and relationship with God, and the girls' relationship as sisters.

Between the 2 rooms we also prayed for the girls to be good listeners and for God to help them behave (Miss Pear's request).

Now we did skip the hallways, bathrooms, closets, garage and would have skipped the laundry room had Miss Pear not insisted. Also, we almost skipped the stairs, but at the last minute we stopped and prayed for safety as the girls have had a number of near misses.

Do you pray through your house? What do you pray for?

CSA Box #4 Update

Loose plans for the yummy box are always a good idea because last minute things can be substituted. Instead of roma tomatoes I got tomatoes, and instead of arugala we got BABY BOK CHOY! I tell you, that is a substitute I would have made myself if I knew it was available.

I am stoked.

And I think I am going to make this delicious and simple recipe....

By the way, any greens you don't know what to do with that are spinach consistency or thicker? Oil in pan, heat, add garlic, cook briefly but do not let it brown, add greens, toss, add water or stock steam as long as is needed. Season and serve. This will always serve you well. For escarole add some chili flakes, for bok choy add some sesame oil....even just a little salt and pepper will do.

That is the best tip I have learned about greens so far in the box.

And once again I oohed and aahed over our box. Checked it was all there. And put it away.

No pictures were taken.

Just as well or you would have seen the drool marks.

We have a couple special plans with the contents other than just eat, so I will keep you posted...

Stocking Up Motivation and Goals

Some of the best advice I ever received for being a good home manager was to run my home like a business, but with a lot more love! After being raised in the business world in my family's business, attending business school, and working in the world of supply chain management for 5 years I find this advice very practical! I take the tools I used in supply purchasing and planning and apply them to my home management practices!

Two weeks ago I shared pictures of my disorganized and partially stocked pantry. That was so we could move onto what comes after the shopping strategy because after all, you need a place to put stuff!

I confessed I had to change my shopping strategies as we moved and was trying to balance saving money and meeting my family needs as best I could, and I also talked about getting stocked up again, or at least working towards that. But a key part of stocking up for me is knowing why I am doing it. Yes, there is the argument that it is just common sense, but I like to plan stuff out, so I decided I need more detain than that to plan.

All companies have stocking goals and they usually start with conflicting goals like low inventory and never miss a customer shipment. Fortunately my goals and reasons are not conflicting...except that pesky stay in budget one!

So here are my reasons for wanting a well stocked pantry, freezer, and even fridge.

1. I would like to be only buying food items on sale - therefore I would like to have enough on hand to make it to the next sale. In a perfect world every item I buy at the grocery store was on sale and had a coupon.
   
2. It is important to me to be somewhat prepared for life's little emergencies - someone gets sick, life gets crazy, there is an unexpected expense. I would like to have food on hand to make meals to get through these crunches. Not to say there would not be an emergency trip for milk, but running in for milk is one thing, running in with a huge list is another. (Although buying milk at Costco definitely leaves us wiggle room here too).
   
3. We would like to be able to say yes when the call comes out for snacks for Sunday morning or someone needs a meal. I can do that better if I have what I need on hand!
4. We want to do a better job of hospitality, and it is much easier for us to offer the invitation or say yes when there is not a special trip to the store required.
5. We get snow and ice storms here - plan ahead so we are not one of those families in the grocery store frantically stocking up before the storm hits!
6. Be able to put off going to the store because we have more important things to do. There are some weeks I just don't want to go to the store. Sometimes we have lots planned, and sometimes I am just needing a break or the sales are lackluster and just do not warrant a trip.
7. We have one car, and I love that! But it does make errand running require some creativity sometimes!
8. Okay, here is the truth I have been hinting at. I just don't like grocery shopping. Going once a week is really my limit. I do like Costco, but the grocery store? Not so much. Having a healthy pantry definitely makes this dislike easier to manage!

Okay, I confessed my foibles and goals, how about you? What makes you want to stock your fridge, freezer and pantry?


Next week more concrete plans to make these goals happen and these motivations work.


Series:
Part 1: New Shopping Strategy
Part 2: New Shopping Strategy Part 2

Catching Up

We are having 2 cool days here yesterday and today - at least until supper time it looks like, so I have been catching up!

Yesterday I made 4 batches of beans on the pressure cooker and froze them in 2 cup portions, baked 3 banana blueberry loaves, made a special supper plus dessert for my husband's birthday, did all the laundry, cleaned the house, and cleaned the kitchen numerous times. I started teaching Miss Pear to peal carrots using the lay the carrot on the counter and carefully slide the peeler method and use the can opener with help - mostly in self defense and she keeps asking for more jobs to do. It was worth it though, she was so proud to tell Daddy what parts of supper she helped with. We also took Miss Pear to her first ever skating lesson - she had a great time!

Today I cooked 12 lbs of chicken that was on sale for $0.99, so once it is cool I have to chop it up for the freezer, plus I made up a double batch of cookies, freezing some dough and baking others. (Once the dough is frozen I will move it to food saver bags). And cleaned the kitchen. Miss Pear's new job today was putting the cooled cookies in the cookie jar. We also have to go to Costco tonight. But at least I feel a little bit more on track for any heat that may come.

I keep telling myself that God asking us to live without air conditioning for a couple months this summer is not a huge sacrifice compared to what He has called others to, and that I need to work on my attitude. So I decided to just plan for it as best I can, filling the freezer on cool days, and know that we will be eating a lot of pasta salad and sandwiches on those hot days. It is a bit tricky because the girls have become sick in the heat before, so we do try to be careful, and we do have to be mindful of our plans, but we are doing our best, and trusting God.

What have you been up to these past 2 days to start the week?

And if you can think of any more kitchen jobs for Miss Pear, please share!

Bible in 90 Days: Day 8/Week 2 Check In

It has been one of those weeks where the divine is clear - many obstacles were thrown in my path and yet I don't feel beaten down, frustrated or overwhelmed, and I am on track in my reading. I am not fully done today's reading, but will finish it once the girls are in bed.

It has been a big day, my husband's birthday, and our 5 year old's very first skating lesson.

I learned something very important about reading the Bible while watching her skate.

She fell a fair bit, as was expected, she has lived all but these past couple months in Southern California, she has never seen ice outside of the freezer or a drink. But each time she fell, she got up, dusted herself off, and often waved to us. But she got up and she tried again! How often do we fall of schedule and fail to do what she did, get up and try again?

It was hard work for her, the girl who can figure out most things easily. But she did not give up. get frustrated or cry. Her smile was only ever erased by a look of determination and of concentration. Bible reading is not always easy, and this plan is ambitious, but doable! Hang in there, try hard!

When she went slowly she did better and fell less. When we try to cram in our study and race through it we are often left wondering what we read and rather than being efficient it is more like wasted time. Go slow, do a good job.

And lastly, she is learning to fight falling, not just to let herself go. We need to do the same thing, fight falling off our schedule and keep on going.

And she is eagerly looking forward to her next lesson. Are you eagerly looking forward to your next time with God? I am learning to follow my daughter's example.

That said, my reading time has been rich, and the Lord has been teaching me much, mostly that He is faithful, always.