I had to share a journal entry I found yesterday. I read it to the kids and they died laughing! It is dated August 12th, 2002. We lived in Iowa at the time.
I sat on the bed and pulled Nathan to me and said, “now – kiss me soundly!” He proceeded to kiss me, making as much noise as he could. I said, “that wasn’t quite right, let’s try again.” To which he replied, “that was as much sound as I could muster!” We both dissolved at the hilarity of our “romantic” life. It was good to be married.
I had an epiphany recently. As we were sitting together on Sunday night, with our new church small group. We shared a meal together. We praised the Lord in song. We partook of the Word, and of the Lord’s supper. But mostly, at least for me, it was about being together, in the Body of Christ. Lingering in His presence, as we sought the fellowship of the beloved.
As I came reluctantly away from the meeting, a scripture whispered in my ear. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is…” (Hebrews 10:25a). I found myself wondering if this is what the Lord was referring to. This time of fellowship in a smaller, more intimate group, perhaps? As opposed to the modern church service? It is easy in many churches to slip in and out again without truly connecting with the Body of Christ. Surely this kind of disjointed “body” cannot function correctly. His blood must flow freely through His body and each member be cleansed continually by the flow. His muscles must be used in a coordinated fashion in order for Him to be effectively ministering to the world around Him. His members must be near Him to become like Him, for surely we become like those we are with, as “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3:18).
I think many Christians fall into the trap of believing that drawing near to the Lord is experienced alone. And certainly it is that, when we are communing with Him in our prayer closet, and seeking his guidance throughout the day. But it is so much more! We are exhorted to continue meeting together, to encourage one another, to confess our sins one to another, to a unity of the faith, to pray for one another, to sharpen one another, to love one another and serve one another. All of us together, striving toward the same goal. To be more like Jesus, from glory… to glory!
And what about being with others who may not have it all “together”? I remember thinking on multiple occasions that I really wanted to spend some one-on-one time with a Godly family. A family who had gotten some things that I was struggling with. But whenever I encountered such a family, I was always paralyzed by fear. Fear that they wouldn’t want to be with my family because we were certainly not “together” in so many ways.
And then I went through my “together” stage. When I thought things were going pretty well. The kids were pretty well behaved and, well, maybe we should just hang around others who were “good” also. After all, we wouldn’t want any negative influence to rub off on us. Perhaps you hear the sarcasm in my voice.
Being with Jesus means being with people. Especially people who don’t have it all “together”. And when you are seeking after the heart of Jesus, pressing in to be near to him, that means you are, like Him, surrounded often by people (self included) who miss the mark. It’s not about us. It’s about Him.
I am certain that I would not be experiencing this had we not been searching for a new church. A wise preacher once said “go where people are getting saved”. Well, our fourth church out, we came to an out-of-the-way, hard-to-find church to see John Clayton, who happened to be speaking at this church. We had just finished a 17-week series called “Does God Exist” by John Clayton in our home school, and we found a card on the bulletin board at Panera which advertised the very same series. We went out of curiosity, to see what kind of church would promote his teaching, which is not mainstream in regard to science and Christianity. It turned out that John Clayton himself was there and we met him in person! It was very exciting. We decided to visit the church also, hear the preaching and I went to the ladies Bible study. Everything lined up, and we have never been to a more “alive” church. There are tons of young people serving God, several ministries to disadvantaged families and people really want to know each other and hang out and fellowship. It is very precious to be a part of.
So, anyway, I am now eagerly pressing in to the Body of Christ. I am hungry for fellowship and looking forward to each occasion where I can be with these people. I feel like a huge missing element in my life has been filled in, and it is glorious! Thank You Lord!
“I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath – these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely – these are my native air.”
“A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.” But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; we are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.” -Dr. E. Stanley Jones
I vividly remember an encounter I had as a young woman in the Lord. An older woman in our church was giving me a piece of wisdom that I did not appreciate. It had something to do with the security of the believer, or lack thereof. I remember not the exact words which were given. But I do remember one thing.
The dissonance. I had received certain truths into my spirit which had been the cause for much rejoicing, and I was very protective of that world. It surrounded me. The contradictory dissonance rang in my ears in such a way that I was afraid to let it continue.
After all, if I let my worldview shatter, then I would be vulnerable. I would have to work hard to rebuild my understanding. Seeking out the truth can be time-consuming, and I believe many, myself included at the time, are far too lazy to be such a seeker.
Seeking the truth diligently is rather akin to being in a perpetual construction zone. It can be messy. And overwhelming at times. Chances are that as soon as one area is finished, another one will be crumbling and require attention. Yet continued diligence in this area will yield a world view which is strong and likely to crumble much less completely and much less frequently. The key is: let it crumble!
I believe in the world of Christendom it is very easy for people to ride upon another’s understanding. And to blindly follow another’s world view without having tested it themselves. This is why it is very difficult in some churches to ask questions. After all, who are we to question what Bible scholars and great pastors have “figured out” before us? Certainly we must respect our teachers and learn from those around us. But I have heard it said that any pastor worth his salt will be rejoicing when questions abound about the Word of God. I agree! And we plan to find such a pastor, as we are currently seeking a new place of worship, closer to home.
But truth seeking is not limited to the Bible; though to the yielded Christian that may be the only important thing. God gave us a brain and put us in a rational world; a world that makes sense. We can use our minds to understand that world. I believe we have a responsibility to peel back the layer of deception which is often found in mainstream media, and to be a seeker of the truth in all areas of life; to disallow the worldview of ease in our lives. We can do this in many different ways. The internet provides a way to look at history as it is happening, instead of waiting for the polished (often inaccurate) version to show up in a textbook. There are some very reliable news sources today. Just by having a mindset which questions instead of accepts, we can filter through a myriad of errors.
One of my favorite Christmas specials is Mister Bean’s Christmas. In this hilariously funny episode, Mr. Bean goes shopping for some Christmas ornaments and he chooses two shiny balls. He decides to test them by bouncing them upon the hard cement floor. The first one shatters. He is undeterred, and throws down the second one, which amazingly bounces right back up. He smiles, satisfied that he has chosen the best decoration, and moves on (note that he broke it, but he did not buy it 
).
I like his courage. He is not afraid to test something beautiful and fragile, though it may break, and in the end he has a durable, beautiful ornament that he can be proud of.
In my mind that willingness to forge ahead and find the truth, whatever the cost, is a true mark of maturity. For the last few years or so I have listened eagerly when others expound about the truths they hold dear, and I am thankful that I have learned to tune out dissonance (usually 
), as I examine my particular view of the world for flaws. My world view has changed, as a result, and I believe this is a very good thing.
These thoughts are the result of watching a passionate truth-seeker in action. I have grown to admire and emulate my husband’s journey to find a truly consistent world view.
Note to husband: Nathan – you inspire me! I think you have the most consistent world view of anyone I know, and I love you for your love of the truth. I thank my God for you always…
My heart was stolen by Mr. Self-Help. He was strong, and it seemed he could fix anything. Surely, my heart reasoned, this was the One for me. And my heart loved him, for a time. We read lots of books together. And he seemed to have all of the answers. That is, until my heart realized that he was just a box of bandaids, and he burned up in the fire. When the smoke had cleared away, I stood at the edge, overlooking the glory beyond, out of my reach. Then my heart cried for him, shook off the crusty bandaids, and moved on.
When Mr. Self-Denial showed up on my doorstep, I was intrigued. He was wiry and he moved slowly, but he seemed to have a lot of wisdom. I followed him, for a time. My heart thought, surely this is the path. If I give up food and pleasure, it will strengthen this heart of mine and I will see glory. Surely. But my heart could not do it, for it was surrounded by a weak and fleshly body. One day Mr. Self-Denial left me in the dust. When it had cleared away, I once again stood at the edge, overlooking the glory beyond, out of my reach. I didn’t even cry for him.
I just stumbled over Mr. Penitent. He was kneeling in the tall grass and he looked up, startled as I fell over him. He had the saddest eyes; he seemed to be perpetually on the verge of tears. I liked that – a guy who could cry. I fell hard for him. We were together for ages it seemed. And he saw everything. My heart was an open book. Together, we poured it all out, but it seemed I would never be like him, and eventually I tired of those eyes. I realized that my heart would never be penitent enough. I would never be good enough for him, and when he saw that I despised him, he left me. I was so relieved, that I cried.
But I was still left with a wounded heart, surrounded by a weak and fleshly body. And I wandered, seeking a path to the glory which landed on my face but refused to permeate my heart.
At first I almost missed the knock, it was so soft. And the voice of Glory. Hope flooded my heart, and I threw open the door excitedly. He stood there with his arms wide open, pulsing with passion and life and love emanating from the source. I couldn’t look upon Him, for the guilt which flooded my soul took the starch from my legs and I crumbled to the floor, sobbing. Slowly, I rose to look at Him again. He wanted me, I could tell. It was entirely unfathomable. How could this be? There was nothing that I could offer him; nothing that I could take to Him. How could I put my weak body in contact with His glory? It couldn’t happen. I just couldn’t see how it could happen! My heart throbbed for him, but my body trembled in weakness and fear. I turned away. When I looked up, He was gone.
I sat there in my house for days, feeling that nothing would ever be the same. Had I blown it? Because of my pride? But Lord, no good thing dwelleth in me… Woe is me! I am a woman of unclean lips! I am a woman with weak flesh….
Yet my heart desires You above all.
I made up my mind that if He returned, I would not draw back. And my heart mounted the wings of an eagle, waiting tirelessly for His presence.
This time His knock was unmistakable. It seemed that I had the ears to hear its sweet reverberations. I flew to the door and flung it wide open. Panting still with amazement, I beheld His Glory for only a moment before being enveloped in an embrace of perfection. His Perfect Body covered my weak body, and I melted into His death. I could sense my own death, and there was no longer any barrier. The blood of Christ flowed through my heart, cleansing and renewing. I knew that my weak and sinful flesh was disappearing in the waves of His white robe. I knew that His blood beat in my new heart. I knew that the dividing wall of hostility was …… gone.
O Glory! Glory.
“21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;…” Col. 1:21-23a
“6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. 4:6
Our daily rations are simple fare. We are always making changes, but many of our tastes remain constant, so we have created a menu which allows for flexibility. For instance, on Wednesday night we have Mexican food, so instead of getting bored with just tacos eaten a little too frequently, we sometimes have taco soup, burritos or just chips and cheese. But it’s always on Wednesday. My favorite thing in the world to have is tacos, because I feel so healthy when I eat a taco salad with fresh guacamole, black beans (sometimes with rice), onions, cheese and fresh salsa (at least, this week we have fresh ). Mmmmmm. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
Here is our current menu:
Mondays
Breakfast: Porridge – this is usually a mix of oats & 7-grain rolled oats mixed with grass-fed butter (if we are so fortunate to have this rarity) and real maple syrup. I will sometimes remember to grind up the golden flax in my freezer to sprinkle on top, but the kids don’t like the flavor as much when I do – and Banana Kefir Smoothie. Today we shared a grapefruit, complements of Becky. Everybody loved it except the baby.
Lunch: This varies on a day-to-day basis. We will sometimes have peanut butter & honey sandwiches, with a carrot or an apple on the side. Sometimes if our bread is all gone we will have chips and cheese or crackers and cheese with a little fruit, nuts, seeds or veggies. And sometimes we scrounge for whatever leftovers we can find in the fridge .
Supper: Pasta! My girls love to eat pasta, and I am so thankful that hubby likes it too. I am especially thankful that he still likes it when we don’t have time to cook meatballs. Sometimes we have something else Italian, such as lasagna, but mostly we just have spaghetti.
Tuesdays
Breakfast: Toast and eggs is typical. Sometimes a little later, for we often end up making bread on Tuesday mornings. If you check out the link on my sidebar, you’ll see how we have made bread in the past. However, recently I have started using a new bread recipe which is soooo delicious that I hope to share it with you soon. We drizzle raw honey on the bread fresh from the oven and then smear butter over the top to make a divinely delicious breakfast (just as good as doughnuts!).
Lunch: With the bready breakfast, we will often just have fruits and veggies or maybe a little cheese & crackers for lunch.
Supper: Salad is supposed to be our Tuesday supper. If we happen to have lettuce on hand. If we don’t, we just have baked potatoes (presently from our garden ). Right now I have a fall garden of spinach, lettuce and radishes, so if the deer don’t find our greens first, I hope to have some delicious Tuesday salads soon. When we have company over the weekend, we often will feed them wild salmon (Nathan cooks it perfectly on the grill) with pesto (made from crispy pine nuts from Nourishing Traditions & my basil plant on the veranda). Anyway, when there is some leftover Salmon, it makes a to-die-for salad when combined with cherry tomatoes & honey-mustard dressing! We had this recently with some surprize cherry tomatoes from the neighbors, and believe me, it was a Tuesday to remember!
Wednesday
Breakfast: Nathan leads the men’s Bible study at Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel or some such place for breakfast, so to compensate for us “poor” homebodies, I make pancakes. Well, Rebekah and I do. She is on the schedule for meal helping on Wednesday mornings. They are always different, for I am in search of the perfect pancake. But they usually contain freshly ground Prairie Gold wheat with about a quarter buckwheat (my friend Becky swears that buckwheat has almost completely healed her spider veins), some buttermilk powder & occasionally a little leftover kefir or some ground flax. We use whatever oil is the most plentiful – sometimes coconut oil, sometimes butter, sometimes a little olive oil mixed in. We serve them with butter and real maple syrup.
Lunch: If we are out, sometimes it is a McDonald’s hamburger (I know, I have to close my eyes and not think about it). Occasionally I will pack a lunch and we will eat by a pond in town and feed the ducks. A snack of whatever is handy is what we eat if we are at home on Wednesdays, but this is rare because we usually run out to get goat’s milk and run to the library.
Supper: Mexican night. Mmm mmm. Everybody’s favorite. Sometimes we will have Walmart’s beef & bean burritos (no hydrogenated oils). This kids love ‘em. Sometimes we will have tacos with all the fixin’s (black beans, guacamole, onions, tomatoes….etc). And sometimes in the winter I make taco soup. Either way, it’s good.
Thursday
Breakfast: I hope to soon perfect my granola and have this every Thursday for breakfast, but presently we have either oatmeal, or kefir smoothies with apples & peanut butter.
Lunch: Flexible, as usual. Dried fruit, cheese, carrots & sometimes our special crunchy/salty grain mixture. We soak grain berries (wheat, spelt, buckwheat), sunflower seeds and whatever nut is handy in saltwater for several hours, then dry it out in the oven on the lowest setting overnight. It really satisfies salty cravings.
Supper: Chicken in the crockpot is our preferred Thursday dinner. We buy chickens from a local family, so that we can be sure to avoid hormones and antibiotics. They are amazingly delicious with just a little onion, carrot, potato & lots of salt and pepper. The meat just falls right off the bone after simmering on low in the crock pot all day, and we serve this simple dish over rice. The baby loves it . Sometimes we have garden baked potatoes (if it’s 4:30 and the forgotten chicken lies frozen in the freezer). They are really much moister than what you get from the store.
Friday
Breakfast: Eggs and toast. We buy eggs from various nearby chicken-raisers. I will often send Nathan off to work with a raw egg-banana-goat’s milk-kefir smoothie. He is going out with the guys presently, so I’m off the hook for his lunch right now.
Lunch: The baby toddles over to the pantry and fishes some apple chips out of the bin at the bottom. When I step on chewed apple chips or see a trail of them, I know it is time to get out the leftovers . Sometimes I’ll send them outside to swing on the homemade firewood swings in the backyard with apples while I make phone calls or take care of business.
Supper: Generally it’s either hotdogs or hamburgers. Last Friday we had a special taco night with company and watched Lord of the Rings. Occasionally we have make-your-own-pizza night. Usually on Fridays we will make some cookies also.
Saturday
Breakfast: French toast is one of our favorite Saturday breakfasts. Deborah is pretty good at making it now. Recently, since the purchase of some Prairie Gold all-natural white flour we have been making some to-die-for! biscuits with coconut oil. We purchase nitrate-free bacon and enjoy biscuits and bacon-grease gravy. Then we sit around for awhile and think of all the things we could do if we had eaten a lighter breakfast .
Lunch: No thanks, that’s all for me, I’m full [unmentionable noise]! If you’re not, then you may get a handful of raisins or a carrot (or something).
Supper: Stir fry. Or Salmon. Or leftover Friday night fare. We are having stir fry this Saturday and continuing the watching of the Lord of the Rings with friends.
Sunday
Breakfast: Some cheesy scrambled eggs, cooked light and fluffy, complements of Daddy Tippy. This is traditional. However, when we are running late, leftovers or bags of dried fruit, cheese and crackers is not out of the ordinary. We have a family van .
Lunch: Out to eat about every other Sunday. O’Charleys has 2 kids meals free with the purchase of one adult meal, so the kids eat free. It’s hard to pass this up on Sunday. I have it as a personal goal to begin making the big Sunday meals and have people over on Sundays, but right now because we drive 30 minutes to church on Sunday, it is easier this way.
Supper: Chips and cheese. Daddy is gracious to usually take care of this so that I can work on homeschooling preparations.
One of the best things about having a menu is that the kids get into the habit of doing certain things every week. For instance, my second daughter always washes the potatoes and wraps them in foil on Tuesday nights. And my oldest daughter is nearly ready to be responsible for breadmaking on her own. I would be remiss if I did not also mention that my son David learned to make guacamole this last week, and he is now frying and scrambling eggs on Tuesdays (which means mom has less scrambling to do, if you know what I mean ). And cooking is home economics, which is definitely school time (as oppposed to cleaning). I think Mrs. Pearl had it correct when she had her kids doing all of the interesting things while she took care of the cleanup . Who says work has to be boring?
I found this analogy from the Borg Blog to be extremely humorous, yet an accurate reflection of history and present positions:
How Recent and Would-Be American Presidents Would Deal With A Hornet’s Nest
Jimmy Carter – Pretend it’s not there, and run like hell if they sting. Ronald Reagan – Work to undermine the foundation of the evil nest, support the efforts of good bees, and swat the hell out of the hornets if they do attack. George H.W. Bush – Swat the hell out of the hornets when they cross into another’s yard, and then contain them. Poke at them from time to time for good measure. Bill Clinton – Find a small hornet nest that doesn’t threaten us and try to build a bird’s nest in its place. Take away their aspirin but not their leader if they do attack. George W. Bush – Compromise pursuit of attacking hornet and stick hand into a different hornet nest, and then insert another. Ask for more hands to stick in nest when it grows bigger. Rudy Giuliani/John McCain – “We need ten more hands now! Four for the one we are already in and two each for the other three nests that are looking at us funny.” Hillary Clinton/Mitt Romney – “What will play best with my base now?” When all else fails, give free aspirin to all hornets everywhere. Ron Paul – Calmly pull hand out of hornet nest and keep it out. Cease aiding and abetting potential hornets. Encourage hornets to become constructive honey bees by eliminating restrictions on trade relations. If hornets still attack – and only if they attack – swat the hell out of them.
It is such a refreshingly logical position. As opposed to the tripe we hear from many politicians in regard to foreign policy. I see it in a rather golden light. If we treat others how we would like to be treated, they are more likely to treat us right, or at least leave us alone. Simple, right? Safety is more likely in the absence of aggression.
Yet we seem to be paranoid. I liken it to this situation – my own little analogy from my own little world .
Johnny lives down the street. Johnny is mean. Some people who remind me of him hurt me. I’m scared. So I’m going to go and take care of him right away. I’ve staked out a tent in his yard. As soon as he looks like he’s doing something suspicious, I’ll sling a rock at him. Some other friends have joined me. So far we’ve wounded him thrice and broken several windows in his house. Naturally he and his family are rather upset, and fighting back. Some more friends are trying to teach them how to change their ways, so they’ll be nice. They also want to fix the windows and help Johnny’s parents to raise better children who get along. Johnny and his family want us to leave, but we feel like we have to stay until they have better relationships, and things are all fixed up. Lots of other people want us to leave too. They say that we are violating his rights. I guess I thought only nice people had rights…
Surely the situation is more complicated, you say. And my analogy is not perfect. But our problem is that we are crowding out the simple truth by our “complications”. We ourselves have no “right” to invade another country which has not attacked us (Iraq is not responsible for 911), just because they “might”. Indeed, if we take away their reasons for doing so (our presence), we are more likely to live at peace with the Middle East and the world.
We certainly have more of a chance if we elect Ron Paul. And I haven’t even scratched the surface of the reasons why.
I’m really glad Candy suggested this, because it is soooo good for me to look at how we have been spending our days, and it is certainly time to take stock and make sure we are redeeming our time.
We change our schedule a few times a year, but this is what it looks like presently. At least, when things fall flawlessly into place, which is rare . Keep in mind, it is currently a flex-schedule, which seems to fit our family well.
My daughter Deb (7) and son David (9) get up at 6:30 (Deb – always; David – sometimes). Deborah is faithful to get dressed to the shoes, brush her hair, and do her math & writing. David usually takes a shower and works on Scratch, which is an open-source (that means free!) programming language for kids which David is completely in love with. And his Daddy has given him the directive to practice in the morning when his mind is fresh – I love it that he wants to please his daddy so much!
Usually the baby wakes up at 6-ish and I nurse him back to sleep before stumbling back to bed for another hour or so of sleep (Nathan and I still lack the discipline to go to bed early ). I am roused to begin the day by one of two scenarios: either Nate gets up to shower and I have pity on his poor hungry soul, arising to fix coffee and a to-go breakfast of raw-egg/vanilla/banana/kefir dream smoothie or crackers, cheese & banana OR Joshua bounds into the bedroom, announcing enthusiastically “I’m hungry Mommy!”
On Wednesdays Daddy leads the early morning men’s Bible study at Bob Evans and I just see a wisp of steam and hear the faint sound of the garage door. On other days, I kiss Daddy out the door with his breakfast & coffee, then have a half hour or so to quickly shower, make the bed & tidy my area before tending to my enthusiastically hungry 4-year-old. Who, by the way, is always right there with me cooking oatmeal and serving it up. Generally if anyone is still abed at this point I rouse them, and they dress & report to the island for re-fueling. Meanwhile, Deborah dives into Mavis Beacon to get her typing done, and perhaps finishes her piano practice. David will often get his typing & piano done before breakfast also.
At breakfast, we are currently trying to re-establish our breakfast scripture reading/memorizing habits. They fell by the wayside somehow during the busy summer months 
. The kids right now are learning Proverbs 27:17 & James 4:17. After breakfast I allow the three youngest (baby Jonathan, Joshua & Rebekah) to help me clean up the kitchen lickety split while Deborah cleans the bathrooms (sinks, toilets, sweeping) & David vacuums the living room, hall & bedrooms. Sometimes the process is more lickety split, sometimes less, usually depending on the amount of enthusiasm & encouragement (or lack thereof) coming from yours truly. Last week I allowed the older kids to do their cleaning chores as part of their to-do list on the white board. However, I think it works out better when we set the timer and just get our work done together, so we will go back to doing it right after breakfast.
After clean-up, Deborah does a little school time with the baby while I take Joshua (4) and Rebekah (5) under my wing to read, narrate & do flashcards (this doesn’t always happen but I’m determined to make it stick). Then they can all play outside for a half-hour or so while I do any needed administrative work (phone calls, bill-paying…etc). The children are good about pushing Jonathan on the swing and helping him go down the slide. As I can see them right out the window, I will let him be with them for a short while before putting him in the playpen near me.
After playtime, we all come in for reading time. I am currently reading Nathanial Bowditch as our read-aloud. We are reading through a poetry book. We are reading through some assigned old & new testament passages. All of this is assigned from the Sonlight Curriculum which I borrowed from my dear friend Jenny in Kentucky. The littler ones will often play quietly with Legos or Tinker Toys while I am reading. This way they get the benefit of hearing the stories, but they don’t feel like it is a completely boring time. If we have time before lunch I will also go through Language Lessons with David & Deborah, from Susan Wise-Bauer’s Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind. I absolutely love doing the language lessons with the kids! I think they like memorizing the engaging poems & learning chants, but the copy work and dictation exercises are a little tedious for them sometimes. Rebekah is going to find it so easy to do them when we start because I think she has already memorized half of the poems!
Lunch time is usually pretty concise. A little fruit & cheese, or a peanut butter sandwich. Some raw goat’s milk if there is any left. I will usually do a really fast 5-minute cleanup and let the older children keep working on their lists, then occupy the smaller ones with a game or let them play outside some more. Around 1:00 pm I will put the littlest one in bed for a nap. He will usually sleep until 4:30 – 5:00 pm.
David & Deborah, as I mentioned, have their to-do list posted on the fridge white board currently. They know to check things off as they accomplish them. Currently their list looks something like this: math, writing, reading, language, typing, piano, chores, room, laundry, baby-time. David has read alone time and read-aloud time. Deborah has read alone time, read-aloud time, read to Joshua time and a reading lesson with me. They know that in the afternoon they will be free to play, program or watch Cyberchase & Fetch if they have their whole list checked off.
At 2:00 pm we gather in the living room for quiet reading time. Sometimes I’ll do read aloud at this time if we missed it for some reason earlier; or catch up with our scripture reading; or rarely sit down and read my own book (I’m currently reading through the Uncle Eric Series). If Joshua is really tired, he will sometimes fall asleep on the couch. The others just read. David is reading through the readers from Sonlight. They are a bit easy for him so he flies through them. I used to read them aloud so everyone could hear, but it put too much responsibility on me, so I put them in a stack for him to read through in order. David and Deborah will usually narrate from the scripture reading, but this is a weak point with me; I sometimes forget to have them narrate, though I usually ask questions. I know that narration is such an important skill and I always try to make it happen regularly, but we aren’t there yet.
If the kids have done well, they are allowed to watch a show in the afternoon at 3:30. This is usually my time to either catch-up on my email, work on a project, take a cat-nap or blog. And I touch base with Nathan at this point in order to make supper plans. At 4:30 we start supper. The children all have a night to help. Lately I have been swallowing my desire for easy clean-up and letting them make more messy things like biscuits and cookies. They have so much fun! I intend to loosen up even more; especially when our wheat arrives, which incidentally, did not show up last Friday because they had trouble locating a driver and it never left the warehouse! But I have a clean garage .
We eat when Daddy comes home, or without him if he has meetings at work or church. David & Deborah are responsible for cleaning up dinner; though usually I will put away the food and wash the big pans. David is my wiper/sweeper extraordinairre. Deborah will clear and wash the dishes, or unload and load the dishwasher (if it’s working). They are sometimes motivated with outside play, sometimes with dessert . Tonight was an exception; Daddy forgot to have them do cleanup (I was taking an important call) and so here I sit with a messy kitchen behind me . Anyway, it will get done .
The evenings are often spent outside to enjoy the cool shade which happens in our front yard just before sunset. Nathan and I will sometimes sit in the rockers on the front porch and watch them swing, slide or ride bikes up and down the gravel road in front of our house (it connects only to the neighbor’s house, so there is not much traffic). Lately Joshua will push Jonathan in the little red car up and down our front walk.
Before bed we do different things, depending on the night. On Monday Daddy reads to the children from the Uncle Eric Series. On Tuesday night we watch Nova Science Now. On Wednesday night we go to piano lessons (usually earlier on). On Thursday night we have presentations. On Friday night we watch movies or play games. On Sunday night we watch an excellent video series entitles “Does God Exist” by John Clayton. It is a 17-part series (about 8 hours total), in which he clearly shows that there is no conflict between science and Christianity. He also shares his quite extraordinary testimony and some dynamic sermonettes which are wonderfully insightful. We watched the last one yesterday. I can’t wait to start it again, but we’ll probably wait a year or so.
Bedtime means a story (if we are there early enough), a prayer, a hug. Teeth brushed (and sometimes flossed), a time of mild-roudiness while the kids sometimes horse around a bit, children sneaking out for “one more drink” – they hug each other and say goodnight; the baby talks for awhile. Then blessed quietness.
Nate and I usually hang out in his office for awhile, and unwind (sometimes with ice cream ). We will sometimes watch the latest on Ron Paul & the elections. We will often watch a documentary – currently we are on part 3 of “The Power of Nightmares” which is a history of how Neoconservatism and Islamic Fundamentalism came about in the 1940′s & 50′s. It is fascinating stuff! Speaking of which – I’m late! I’d better get down there .
Grandpa Tippy (Nathan’s father) passed away 3 years ago, of cancer. Grandma (Nathan’s mother) took care of him in their home in Washington state until he died. Then she took care of lots of other old people; many of them until they died. We finally persuaded her to move here about a year after Frank died. She lived with us for a few months before she was drawn down to S. Illinois to take care of Great-Grandpa Tippy, her father-in-law. Do I need to mention that my mother-in-law loves old people?
In the meantime, an old friend of the family, Dale from Michigan, was drawn to Grandma. He came to S. Illinois and helped Grandma remodel Grandpa Tippy’s house so that she could take better care of him. He helped Grandma often. Over the next year or so, Grandma and Dale (we call him Grandpa Dale) fell in love and decided to get married.
The date was set for July 7th – at our house! Dale’s family was coming, and we were building up to it for the prior two weeks; getting all our duckies in a row, so to speak. We clipped the hedges and cleaned the house; including all of the carpets and some of the furniture. Grandma and Dale were going to “officially” tie the knot on their way up from S. Illinois to our house in Missouri, and then have a ceremony at our house with just close family, with Nathan presiding.
Well, with a week to spare, Grandma & Dale called the whole thing off. However, I guess the eye-catching title of this post is not entirely accurate. It implies that it never WILL happen. And I believe it’s been rescheduled for Christmas-time.
We were not at all upset that we had worked hard to get things in order. I am always very thankful that we have some “event” to get ready for, because that means that most of the things that need doing will get done – no slouching! We had friends over for the 4th of July, passed out lots of Ron Paul DVD’s at fireworks, and had a relaxing weekend. I don’t have to start thinking about the wedding (that happened) until after Thanksgiving .
During the last month, I have often longed to be blogging. Subjects have flitted in and out of my consciousness as I have transitioned between the worlds of homeschooling, campaigning for Ron Paul, beginning a new wheat business. Titles such as “Children Slide Down Stairs on Winter Sled”, “Hermit Crab Nearly Dies in a Loose Shell”, “Mother Succeeds in Creating 5 Ron Paul Revolution Signs w/5 Little Ones in Tow (with their help of course )”, “The Wedding that didn’t Happen”, “The Bleeding Economy”, “The Lawn that didn’t get Mowed – and Why” and “The Paradigm Shift that Rocked My World”. These are just some of the things that come to mind, and they are not in the right order.
Hmmmm. Which one shall I write about? I’ll start with the first one right now, just so that I can get going on my list.
I am currently cleaning out the garage, because any day now the Wheat Montana truck is going to arrive carrying 5,000 pounds of wheat and the garage is truly a pit. So today I carried coolers, carseats, boxes, furniture & sleds up to the loft above the garage to make some room to sweep up all of the trash which has somehow remained in the garage for the last month or so. Well, actually I stacked these things in the hallway just inside the garage which leads to the stairs which lead above the garage.
And little 4-year-old Joshua discovered, you guessed it, the cool winter sled! Not the big clunky one, mind you, but the smooth one with handles designed to move with your body. He climbed to the top of the stairs and I had to investigate when I heard him having way too much fun. Now, my kids normally slide down the stairs in their footed pajamas, and they are so fast! But the sled, well, it was PHENOMENALLY FAST! Like, GET-OUT-OF-THE-WAY IF-YOU-DON’T-WANT-TO-GET-HURT fast. So I let them slide downstairs on the sled while I fixed lunch. And no one was hurt. And I have a new activity I can pull out of my hat to occupy my little ones, which, by the way, is my weak area. Planning and occupying.
So, what should I write about next time? If anyone still reads my blog, let me know what you want me to write about. Right now I have to take my fifteen minute break while the kids watch Fetch. It’s educational .
