Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

To All My Blog Readers

~ Merry Christmas & Happy New Year ~

May the Lord

Bless & Keep

You in His Loving Care

Gingerbread Goodies

A Twist On the Gingerbread House

According to Plan - Hupomone

In my efforts to continue the According to Plan series documenting our house construction, I wanted to ensure that I provide an update before Christmas. Our intentions, and plans were to see the construction come to a close in time for Christmas. Folks have been cheering us on to be able to have our first night in the house before the clock strikes midnight in 2014, and break bread finally at our own dinner table, and be able deck our own halls this Christmas.

While this was in our plans and in the hopes of many others, it wasn't exactly God's plan. At least not this Christmas.

This Christmas, the Lord wants us to Hupomone.
Hupomone is Greek for,

To be Patient.

To Wait.

To Endure.

While the inclement weather delayed varying aspects of construction, God has not been delayed. The title of this series has been "According to Plan" - God's Plan that is. Though we're not seeing the final culmination of our home in 2014, God is asking us to not swerve in our faith, knowing that all things work together for our good.

Ok, so no Christmas in the house this year. So, what now? What can we do while we wait?

Hupomone,
Remain steadfast in prayer,

&

 offer up Praise for what HAS been done. 

I praise the Lord that the drywall, and all the interior painting has been completed. All the external siding has been completed. The location for the septic system has been cleared away and made ready for its installation. We have electricity and can now walk through the house in the evenings and at night without running into walls. Fans and lighting have been installed. The well was successfully dug and the water that they reached over 600 feet in the ground was plentiful.

Several years ago, if I was told that I'd be where I am today, out of our first home, homeschooling, and nearing the closure on a second home, I'd gasped and stare at you in shock.
I praise the Lord that everything that has happened has been His will for us, as He's training me up in patience and dependence on Him. He's granting us a second chance as a family to walk in the financial freedom from being bound to a home in the past that required a dual income home. He has blessed me to walk in the freedom of serving my children at home and through this second chance I'm experiencing joy, peace, and the Lord's Grace.

But as for me, I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

Psalm 71:14

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon Entrance

We had our first field trip of the school year this week with a trip to Mount Vernon. The girls have been studying the life of our first President, George Washington, in all his varying roles as a Surveyor, a Commander in the Army, and a politician.

 

Swearing in of President George Washington

Lea being "Sworn In" as President

 

Trey listening to Washington's Farm Animals

Its hard not to admire a man that willingly took on the role as the first President of the U.S. In a time when Americans of that day knew only what it meant to be ruled by England, it had to take a hefty measure of both courage and imagination to embark on a journey towards independence.

 

George Washington's Home at Mount Vernon

 
The location of the home is in a beautiful spot, nestled right on the Potomac River. We walked the grounds of Washington's Estate with the highlight of the trip being the tour of his home. Whenever I tour the home of a notable person I always find myself imagining what it would've been like to have experienced a day in the life in the home I'm touring. I imagined George and Martha entertaining guests in their fancy dining room, servants running to and fro to wait and serve, and Martha at the President's bedside when he took his last breaths as he passed away after suffering from quinsy (an inflammation of the throat).

What a day in time it must have been in the 17th century. What was it like to establish a new and fresh government? It could not have been easy and I can believe that George had a many sleepless night pondering over in his thoughts what he needed to do to establish America. No one has all the answers to why the events of history happened the way they did. While in the establishment of the U.S. Government there are many injustices that have been experienced since the breaking away from England, what has remained constant from one generational group of leadership to the next is God's sovereignty over it all.  We may not have the answers, but God does.
 

A New Hobby Patch

I have added a new patch to my Hobby Vest. Up until about a year ago my only patch was the Book Reading patch for my love of reading. When people would ask me, "What do you like to do in your spare time?". Well, the only hobby I could think of was reading. Maybe that's because until leaving the career world behind, there wasn't much time for me to discover any other hobbies. I'm happy to share that I've gained a new patch that I'm going to sew next to my Book Reading and Kniting patch... Wreath Making!

It's sort of strange to think that I arranged a wreath because I'm not the crafty type with my hands. Most crafters that I know are very meticulous and careful as they paint, create, and arrange crafty things into wonderful masterpieces. I'm more of the just-quickly-put-it-together-and-be-done-with-it sort of crafter. I did do my research for this wreath. I perused the pinterest boards and found several wreaths that I liked and then sketched a design that I liked. I'm delving into the burlap wreaths as well and will post them as the inspiration comes!

If you're interested in putting together your own twig wreath, the materials that I used consisted of:

- a twig wreath (you can find at your local craft store)
- a hot glue gun
- light-weight floral wire
- artificial flowers specific to the color scheme you choose
- brown burlap ribbon
- monogramed letter 'J' came from the Michael's craft store
- acrylic paint in the color you choose to paint the monogramed letter

The Joys of Sticking it Out

It's that time of year for Christmas plays and recitals. After months and weeks of practice the girls braved the stage for a Christmas play which they both performed in and Love debuted a new piece that she's been working on with the violin.

What I love most about seeing the girls up on the stage is reflecting back on how they've perservered. Perseverance is a character quality that is challenging to teach. The girls can read the definition of the word, they can read stories of characters that have remained committed to complete a difficult task, and I can lecture them with great compassion on what it means to perservere when the going gets tough. I can even share personal stories of how I have tried and failed at times to persevere as a child and as a adult. While all these methods may get the point across to a certain degree, there's a chance that their understanding on what it takes to perservere may end up just being head knowledge.

Perseverance is one of those character traits you just have to live and then learn.

When the excitement of performing Christmas songs wore off a few months ago and by the time Love had struggled through her violin piece for what seemed like the 53rd time and she was at the point where she would've rather get a root canal than pull out her violin to practice, the meaning of what it meant to persevere became real to them. They began to learn what it means to persist, to press on, and go the extra mile even though their fleshed yearned to do something else rather than practice. When you're working towards a goal, quitting can be a little tempting.

You know the feeling that you get when you're committed to exercising and you find the courage to climb on the treading mill and as you're walking or running hard your flesh screams out to you, "stop now, your flesh hurts, please stop now!". You know that exercise is good for you, but there's a part of you that always gets in the way of going the extra mile. It's hard to teach a young mind that in the face of adversity and difficulties, perseverance brings us to a place of rich blessings. As a parent we may want to rescue our kids when they're frustrated and take away their discomforts, but there is fruit even for a child to gain as they struggle a little and in the end see the blessings that come when they persevere.

Thankfulness.

I have so much to be thankful for and not just because the Thanksgiving holiday has just passed us by. It has seemed to pass by so quickly that this blog entry, which I started typing in November, has sat in my DRAFT box until December. Oh well. Better late than ever. It's my heart's desire to maintain a spirit of gratefulness and thankfulness everyday. Not just in the month of November. In the midst of "living", it can be challenging to sustain an upbeat spirit of thankfulness, but with God its possible.

I'm thankful for the gift of salvation, for my family, and the Lord's daily provision. I turned 35 just a few days before Thanksgiving. One of the enjoyments of being born around the Thanksgiving holiday is having the reminder to be thankful as I grow older.

I'm also thankful to report that progress continues to be made on our home. The second floor is shaping up as all the rooms have been framed up and the builder prepares to hang drywall. We've been having a lot of "quality family time" together in Lowe's and Home Depot as we've picked out appliances, fans, paint colors, etc. As this year draws to a close it is bittersweet to think back to my first blog entry back in November 2012 when I rambled about the thoughts and feelings stirring within. I knew then that God was driving me towards a change, but I didn't know how to get to the place where He was leading. In hindsight, I didn't need to know the details. He promises in His Word that what He begins in us, He will complete. As He works within us, changing us from one degree of grace to another, He desires that we surrender life to Him. To simply trust Him, no matter what life circumstances we find ourselves in.

 

~ One day at time, with thankful hearts, a submissive spirit, and praise always on our lips ~

 

Image Source

 

I've Got A New She-ro

Has there ever been someone who's life captures your heart in such a special way that its like your heart has been ensnared in a trap, but you're so captivated that you don't want to be let go? It may be words that a person may say, the way in which they live their life, or acts of faith so endearing that you're moved to action yourself.

A sweet Mommy friend and I were talking in the nursery at Church one Sunday to pass the time about what we've been reading. She shared with me a book that that she reads every Thanksgiving to ponder over God's grace and mercy during this time of the year.  I became a little inquisitive about one of the authors in this book, wondering what was it about this author that made her want to read her writing during the season of Thanksgiving. What was so special about this author's life that beckoned her heart to be more thankful?

Joni Eareckson Tada was the author that she spoke of and as she described this woman's life, her struggles, trials, and journey with Christ, my heart stirred to know more about her story. In the few weeks that followed, Joni was on my mind and I didn't know much about her. I just knew that I wanted to know more about her Christian walk. As I came to learn about Joni, I was captivated, enthralled really at how God has worked in Joni's life through trials and suffering.

Instead of trying to give my own synopsis of Joni's life, my hope is that this meager rambling of mine about my new she-ro will move you to dig into Joni's world a little. I promise you that one peak in and you'll never be the same. As I read Joni's book, "The Glorious Intruder", and her biography, "Joni: An Unforgettable Story", my heart broke to read of her suffering, yet I was awed by the Lord's orchestration of what she went through to draw her to Himself and to make Himself known not just to Joni, but to one person after another. After closing the pages of her biography and disposing of my tissues that I went through from reading it, I was... speechless for just a bit. As I let the words from both books soak in for a minute, the words came to my heart and mind.

What an awe-inspiring, amazing, & awesome God we serve