WHATCHA DOIN' NOW THAT SCHOOL'S OUT?

My kids and I had a great last day. If the public school kids have a party then, heck, we're having a party. We did things like a standing broad jump, a bike obstacle course and dodgeball. I asked them questions during a kind of Homeschool Jeopardy and we ate lots of candy. Later we all went to the local YMCA and swam in the pool.

So what am I doing with myself? I don't know yet. I have a lot of ideas swirling around in my brain but haven't put them on paper yet. A lot of the ideas have to do with organizing, cleaning and planning. I don't know if I'm up to that yet. I think I need to give myself a little break. One of the major things coming up is helping my in-laws move in to their new apartment. They will be moving from Indiana to suburban Atlanta next month and we're really excited. Other than that, we don't have any major plans.

One thing I know I'll be doing is running. In fact, tomorrow I'll be running a race called the Celebrate America 5K/10K. I'll be doing the 5K. I haven't ruled out a 10K in the future. I have a friend who got into the Peachtree Road Race (famous Atlanta race on July 4th which accomodates over 50,000 runners), but she told me the other day that she might not run it. She said she'd give me her number if that happened. My running partner is running the Peachtree and so maybe I'll get a chance too. I'll keep you posted.

WHAT MY SCHOOL ROOM/ DINING ROOM LOOKS LIKE AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!!

Here are real photos of what homeschooling can do to your house! I don't even think I can call this a dining room anymore. It has a table and chairs but little else to make you think that fine dining occurs here. Oh well. You may remember a post from the beginning of the year where I showed you pictures of this room all nice and tidy and organized. Well, 180 school days later and this is what you get. There's a dead rose in a vase and papers strewn over the shelves. In one corner is all the art stuff from my daughter. Then there's the basket on the top shelf of the bookcase containing papers from the last two months of school that will not fit into my binder of accumulated schoolwork for the year. It may not be Better Homes and Gardens, but I guess we were busy!

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox." Proverbs 14:4

THE JOY OF HOMESCHOOLING

These pictures were taken spontaneously one day. We were not "having school". My son loves Where's Waldo and can be caught at any time of day just studying those pictures. My daughter loves to draw and color. We checked out a book called Drawing Faces by Ed Emberley from our local library. She has gotten really good at learning how to draw from these books. In this picture she is drawing in her Hello Kitty notepad. My father-in-law will recognize the Amelia Bedelia book. He had some great laughs reading this book to my daughter a couple months ago. Remember that Dad?

One of the wonderful things my kids have learned from homeschooling is how much fun it is to learn! They have become curious, self-motivated learners and it has been such a blessing watching them grow this year.

AROMA

For some reason, I've been tuning in more to the smells around me. That may sound bizarre, but hear me out. When was the last time you cut open an orange, put it in your face and just inhaled the aroma? Go do it right now. It is amazing! And what about outside smells? Since I've started running outside I've been noticing all the different smells, even the not so great ones. Honeysuckle is everywhere right now and just going outside and taking a big whiff is so invigorating. Even the horse farm I ran past this morning smelled great. Am I weird? I don't know and I don't really care. Maybe I've just been taking my senses for granted.

Last week I went to our end of the year homeschool group meeting. One of our speakers owns a tea business. She brought along several wonderful teas for us to enjoy and taught us a thing or two about how to make them. I've enjoyed tea before, but when I had these teas, it was like I had never tasted tea before. You didn't just drink them; first you had to smell them. Green tea with almond smelled so yummy and tasted even better.

I think our senses overlap sometimes. In Psalms, David writes, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Tasting can be a way of seeing. I think our sense of smell can work in the same way. So take the time to inhale everything out there. And thank the God who gives us all these things to enjoy!

THE REASON I RUN

You may remember a post about Haagen Dazs Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream. Well, I think Haagen Dazs is getting a run for its money now. The next time I go into the store for a treat I will have to flip a coin between my old favorite and this new one. You know, they're so different I may just buy both next time! On Mother's Day I gave into temptation and bought this for myself. I can't believe it's made it through two sittings. In college I once ate a whole pint of Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream in one sitting. I'm afraid to do that now for many reasons, some of which I won't mention. Anyway, the irresistible thing about Dove ice cream is what you find when you first pry the lid off - a layer of Dove chocolate ganache on top. Wow! That's almost as good as the ice cream, but not quite.

Ok, enough drooling. After talking with a friend of mine who's very knowledgable about sports injuries, physical therapy, etc. I figured out what was causing my foot/ankle pain. It's been a week now and no pain. Yeah! I was getting a little depressed every time I would drive past someone running down the road. I really, truly missed it.

BEING LIKEMINDED

The blogosphere has an amazing way of bringing people together who have all the same interests and knitting together a little cyber-community. When I first started blogging about four years ago I was thrilled to find other women who homeschooled, were Calvinistic in their theology and thought God should be in charge of their family planning. I think I'm probably the only one of that category in my church. It was nice to "be around" others who shared the same convictions. I put those words in quotes because I really wasn't participating in a real-life, flesh and blood community. It was fun though and I spent many hours reading blogs and visiting websites of others who shared the same convictions and concerns. Lately, however, I've been thinking about the dangers of seeking this type of community. It's very tempting to want to import this sense of cyber-community to your own real life community. And when you realize there aren't many around you with the same convictions it's tempting to get discouraged and resentful and maybe even think of leaving where you are to go find these people.

But what does the Bible say about community and how we are to live with one another?


There has always been disagreement in the body of Christ about nonessential issues. How are we to handle this? Do we seek to create our own little cliques? It does get kind of ridiculous when you start to describe yourself this way - I'm a Reformed, credo-Baptist, quiverful homeschooler who bakes her own bread, makes her own clothes and doesn't own a TV. (By the way, not all of that applies to me.) What does this do? In my own experience, the more I've sought for this elusive likemindedness the more I've been tempted to pride and arrogance. I've also unintentionally alienated the majority of my brothers and sisters in Christ.


The Bible says this ~

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:1-6


"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." Romans 15:1-2, 5-7



"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14



I could go on but I hope you get the picture. The Bible calls us to unity in the essentials, but always liberty and charity in the non-essentials. Let me share a long overdue story about how I let my quest for likemindedness lead me into pride, arrogance and the almost alienation of another believer.

Several years ago I was bothered by the fact that a couple mothers in my church were going back to work after having babies. I wrote a blog post about it and someone I didn't know commented on my harsh tone. I was a little taken back but tried to take her constructive criticism and examine how I'd said things. Her comment was more important to me when I found out that she attended my church and had felt a little alienated by those in a particular class who stayed at home and homeschooled their children. She happened to be a mother of a (then) baby boy who worked outside the home. I really took her words to heart and started evaluating my attitudes and my quest for this elusive thing called likemindedness. Over the past several years God has taught me a lot about this. The major thing I've learned is that I was holding up a certain standard for myself that had become an idol. I thought that this standard was the only one that equated to godliness. I wasn't satisfied with trying to live up to this standard myself - I began placing it upon other people as well. But am I responsible for another mother's or another family's decisions? No. Is it right for me to sit in judgment of another person because they have made different choices about these non-essential issues? No. I am not supposed to be keeping score of other people's sanctification. Now, I know there is a fine line here. We are called to exhort and warn other brothers and sisters in Christ if they are in serious sin or falling away from the faith. But we are not called to judge our fellow believers in the non-essential issues. Read Romans 14 for more on that.

Before I start writing a book, let me finish the story about the woman who commented on that blog post. She had started a blog and I read it occasionally and she continued to check in on mine. I thought she and her family had left our church after what she told me about her experience. I was wrong. One day about a year ago I got an email from her and she said that she saw me in Sunday School!! To make a long story short, we ended up meeting in person the next week I think and after talking we found out we lived only a few short miles away from each other. How amazing is that!? I am so glad I met Jill and I still love to read her blog. I am so thankful for what God taught me through that one comment.

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE...

The is one of a number of books I picked up at a used curriculum sale several weeks ago. I've been wanting this book for a long time and just finished it the other day. If you're a mother and doubting the importance of all you do, please read this book. There are many fascinating little facts in this book, but the most important theme is the powerful influence parents can have on the formation of a child's character and personality, especially a mother. Sarah Edwards had eleven children. Many of these children inherited a combination of their parents' strong personality traits and amazing intelligence. These children needed strong direction and training to stay on the right path. Sarah poured herself into her calling and her influence was seen not only in her children but in generations to come (scroll down to the last paragraph in this link). This book will encourage you if you're a mom and will fascinate you if you're a history buff, like me.