Today we began our fifth year of homeschooling, even though we are calling it "school lite" for a couple of weeks. We have had a busy and difficult summer with our pcs to Pensacola from our beloved home state of Texas. I think we are all missing our friends and family a little bit. I had been in prayer about our "theme" for this year, (you know I've just done VBS too many times not to have a theme to get excited about) and God showed me the frogs.
One of my fondest memories of our time in Pensacola was our nightly frog count. Each night Noah and I would go out to our front porch and count the little tree frogs on our overhang, devouring the mosquitos. We loved those little guys. Our highest count ever was 19, can you imagine? It was a whole family! We loved that time together so much, counting those frogs, me and my one child, little three-year-old, Noah. I also thought about another special time with frogs, last year during VBS. We were doing a camping type theme and we were raising money for a charity with our offerings. The best part of the week, though, is that we set a goal for the week, and if we met that goal, we were going to make the chaplain kiss a frog. It was awesome, the kids really got into it. We decided that our unofficial theme for the week was that we were learning to Fully Rely On God, or FROG! Cute, huh?
I think that God was bringing these sweet memories to me to highlight the fact that our little class really does have some work in the "relying on Him" department. With our transition and our changes, we really do have to rely on Him, because we have nothing else...We've been stripped of our security blankets (family and friends). I find that a time such as this is the perfect time to return to the security of His arms and know that not matter what the problem is...we can RELY on HIM!!!!
Night before last I happened upon a package of letters that Chris had saved. You know how it is when you move, there's just no telling what the packers could have unearthed in the depths of your junk. Well, this night I found letters. I had written them to Chris at a VERY difficult time in our lives, just after we lost our sweet Emily. Chris was away at OIS and Noah and I were at home dealing as best as we could. The part of the letter that I thought was most interesting was my sentiment that I wanted to love Noah intentionally each day. I didn't want a day to go by without him feeling my love. After you suffer a loss, you are often left the with the acute awareness of the fragility of life. Within that awareness you have the desparate need to live life to the fullest. Part of that fullness is making sure that my family know where I stand with them. I want to make sure that each of my children feel the fullness of my love. I find it so ironic that I should find such a letter the day after I create a sobbing mess of a ten year old over his messy room. Now, before you go down the, "loving means discipline" road, I know that I must instill certain values in my children. I know it is important to create order and cleanliness. I just should have gone about it in a different way. I should have been more loving.
So glad that we all have already learned so much, and it is only Monday...
One of my fondest memories of our time in Pensacola was our nightly frog count. Each night Noah and I would go out to our front porch and count the little tree frogs on our overhang, devouring the mosquitos. We loved those little guys. Our highest count ever was 19, can you imagine? It was a whole family! We loved that time together so much, counting those frogs, me and my one child, little three-year-old, Noah. I also thought about another special time with frogs, last year during VBS. We were doing a camping type theme and we were raising money for a charity with our offerings. The best part of the week, though, is that we set a goal for the week, and if we met that goal, we were going to make the chaplain kiss a frog. It was awesome, the kids really got into it. We decided that our unofficial theme for the week was that we were learning to Fully Rely On God, or FROG! Cute, huh?
I think that God was bringing these sweet memories to me to highlight the fact that our little class really does have some work in the "relying on Him" department. With our transition and our changes, we really do have to rely on Him, because we have nothing else...We've been stripped of our security blankets (family and friends). I find that a time such as this is the perfect time to return to the security of His arms and know that not matter what the problem is...we can RELY on HIM!!!!
Night before last I happened upon a package of letters that Chris had saved. You know how it is when you move, there's just no telling what the packers could have unearthed in the depths of your junk. Well, this night I found letters. I had written them to Chris at a VERY difficult time in our lives, just after we lost our sweet Emily. Chris was away at OIS and Noah and I were at home dealing as best as we could. The part of the letter that I thought was most interesting was my sentiment that I wanted to love Noah intentionally each day. I didn't want a day to go by without him feeling my love. After you suffer a loss, you are often left the with the acute awareness of the fragility of life. Within that awareness you have the desparate need to live life to the fullest. Part of that fullness is making sure that my family know where I stand with them. I want to make sure that each of my children feel the fullness of my love. I find it so ironic that I should find such a letter the day after I create a sobbing mess of a ten year old over his messy room. Now, before you go down the, "loving means discipline" road, I know that I must instill certain values in my children. I know it is important to create order and cleanliness. I just should have gone about it in a different way. I should have been more loving.
So glad that we all have already learned so much, and it is only Monday...
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