A Lesson Via Stray Cats

A little over a year ago, we noticed a black and white cat lurking about our property. We are unable to have an indoor cat because the girls have guinea pigs (it's never a good thing for one pet to eat another), but after seeing the cat for a number of days, we decided that we should feed it.

At first, we put the bowl of cat food at the edge of the yard, very near the soy bean field where the cat hid, but whenever a human would come to deliver the food, the cat ran for cover. It would eventually creep up to eat our offerings, but only long after said human(s) would return to the house (and peer out of a window). Gradually, we moved the bowl closer and closer until we placed it on the step to the back deck. Still, Puss would sneak up to eat, but the mere turning of a door handle would send it running to some hidden place. This went on for months.

At some point, a solid black cat began appearing at Puss's food bowl, also partaking of the nightly kitty repast. This cat was dubbed Pinky because she was wearing a faded pink collar. (I will digress here to tell you that I later discovered that the faded pink collar was in reality a flea collar. In my defense, I only saw her at night and through a window...and it really did look pink!) Pinky, too, was frightened of us, and so now we were feeding two cats that we couldn't even get near, let alone touch.

One evening, as I was on the riding lawn mower (good place to think), I was considering how sad it was that these kitties did not know that we had everything that they needed. We had food and water, places for shelter, and all the affection a kitty could want. Yet they ran from us, did not trust us, were even afraid of us. And all the while we just wanted to love them.

As I pondered these thoughts, my heart was stirred. Ah, doesn't our Heavenly Father long to be all that we'll ever need? And yet we sometimes run from Him, we refuse to trust Him. And all the while He wants to lavish His love on us. I thought of those poignant words of Jesus, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!"

Lord, help me to run to You, to trust You, to hide under Your wings.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust. (Psalm 91:4a)

A Lesson in Abundance

This morning, I read the account in the book of Mark where Jesus fed the multitude with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. After everyone was fed there were seven baskets full of leftovers! What abundance!

As I pondered, my mind went to our homeschool adventure. I began homeschooling my older children with a lot of apprehension about whether I was equipped for the task of educating them. The reason we decided to homeschool was strictly for spiritual protection for them…and we obeyed God because we knew that He was calling us to do that. I could not have possibly known the abundant blessings that would be ours in this way of life! God not only fed my children “lunch” (that spiritual undergirding that we so desired), but also put into our “basket of leftovers” such things as:

• a much richer academic environment than they had had before
• a deep and abiding sibling relationship
• strong friendships with other homeschooling families
• opportunities to learn “outside” of the educational box
• new siblings :-)
• a contented mom
• a first-hand view of many answered prayers

We may have thought that we were sacrificing many things in order to obey the call to homeschool. But God, in His abundance, has given us blessing upon blessing!

Productivity

In and out of our home last week...

Kati took a photography class and oodles of pictures.

Bekah discovered this kit and made oodles of cards and envelopes.

I stitched together oodles of quilt squares.

And Ron celebrated oodles of years...three times!

at home

at Kristin's

with his parents

Oodles of blessings!

You might be a grandfather if...

...it is your idea to get into the cardboard box with your grandchildren and your youngest daughter...

...to play POP, Goes the Weasel!

Go, Papa! :-)

A Short Visit

I am grateful for the time we had. Fifteen hours together. We packed in everything we could.

We hugged.
We talked (a lot!).
We celebrated a few birthdays.
We laughed.
We talked some more and laughed some more.
We learned about the new park where Ryan will be working soon.
We slept (a little!).
We had breakfast together.
We bid good-bye...again, as he left with a dear friend to travel to the wedding of another dear friend.
And then it was time for the tears.
And for Ron and I to travel back over the years to the time and place when Ryan was a little blonde-haired boy who loved teddy bears and dug foxholes and hid his broccoli and was a daily part of our world.

Does it ever get easier? To say good-bye to your "baby" as he makes his way halfway across the country where his home is now, knowing that in a few weeks he and Sarah and the little girls will be moving even further away?

Well, today is a new day, and I will choose to take comfort in the fact that "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." I truly would not want Ryan and "his girls" to be anywhere that is not in the hollow of His hand.

"His mercies are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness. "

Nobler and Higher

I am a lover of hymns...the deep, rich words, the stirring melodies move my heart. Lately a phrase from an old hymn keeps singing in my thoughts,

"Things that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my sight."

Oh, that I may live on that higher, nobler plane. I'm afraid that, too often, I am taken with the temporal, the immediate, the here and now. Of course, living in this world requires attention to the mundane, but I don't want to live there.

I believe that it is possible to take the mundane and offer it to Him as a higher and nobler thing. The preparation of a meal, the reading of a story, the stacks of clean laundry, the offer of a listening ear, even grocery shopping (eek!)...I think that these things, when offered from a servant's heart, when presented as unto the Lord, are high and noble.

Today, Lord, help me to focus on the Heavenly, though I may dwell among the earthly.

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3

EXTREME Thrifting

You kind of have to know my Bekah to understand the idea of extreme thrifting. This is the child who NEVER (I did say NEVER) wants to throw anything away or use something up. This is the child who once kept a beautiful lollipop for months...because if you eat it, it's gone. This is also the child kept the chocolate bunny from her spring basket for an entire year, only eating it (with tears) because she was not going to get one in this year's basket if she still had the old one. Bekah wants to keep sewing scraps, outgrown clothing, every worthless little toy that has come in a fast food kids' meal...and the list goes on. (In hindsight, our first "heads up" was probably the day that we threw away an old mop head, and one-year-old Bekah cried upon seeing it dropped into the trash can. Yes.)

I have been saving some of Bekah's old clothes to use in quilting. I knew that, once she could get past the idea of them being cut, that she would enjoy the idea of seeing her much-loved dresses reworked into a keepsake quilt. Inspired by Anna's scrap quilts , I broke the news to Bekah that I was cutting up her old clothing, and began cutting squares. (She took it fairly well.)



But that's not "extreme" thrifting. I'm getting to that.

As we started choosing our fabrics, Bekah discovered an old dress that had not yet been touched by the scissors.

Bekah: This looks like it could be a shirt.

Me: Yes, it does, Bekah. But it would never fit you. After all it is a size 2T! (Bekah wears a size 10 now.)

Bekah: I'm going to try it on.

Me: Well you can, but it's not going to fit.

Guess who was wrong.


So now Bekah has a new shirt in her wardrobe. I guess we really didn't need hot pink gingham in the quilt anyway. :-)

Blueberry (sometimes) Crisp

This is one of my "go to" dessert recipes. I love it because it is somewhat nutritious, quite versatile, comes via two dear friends*...and also tastes good!

This version is the one I make most often in the summer:

In a greased 2-quart casserole dish, stir together

• 5 cups blueberries


• 1 cup sugar


• generous shake or two of cinnamon


• not as generous shake of nutmeg

On top, sprinkle a mixture of

• 1 and 1/2 cups of oats


• 1/2 cup brown sugar


• 1/3 cup flour


• 1 stick butter

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

There you have it. All you need to do is top it off with a scoop of Breyers® vanilla ice cream and pour yourself a cup of coffee.

You can make this into an autumn spectacular by using 2 cups of cranberries and 3 cups of unpeeled apples (love that "unpeeled" part!) instead of the blueberries, eliminating the nutmeg, and maybe adding some pecans or walnuts in the topping.

It becomes a Valentine treat if you substitute cherries for the blueberries...or take a real shortcut and put the topping over a couple of cans of prepared cherry pie filling. (Leave out spices this time.)

I've also made it with peaches. You basically can't go wrong.

And did I mention that you can eat this for breakfast? (Just omit the ice cream.) Don't give me that look! It has fruit and oats, doesn't it? Doesn't that qualify as breakfast? I think so. :-)

*Thanks, Tamara and Jill!

My Philosophy of Education

My primary goal in educating my children is to obey the mandate in God’s Word to diligently teach our children His Words. (“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” Deuteronomy 6:6-8)

• I want to teach my children the ways of God, and disciple them, and train them to serve Him.
• I want them to learn to treat others with love, starting with the people in their own family.
• I want my children to know what they believe and why they believe it. I want them to be “Bereans.”
• I want my children to love learning...and to continue to love learning long after “formal” education has ceased.
• I want them to have a rich environment. I want them to enjoy great literature, beautiful music, meaningful conversations, to appreciate art.
• I want them to learn whatever information and skills are necessary for them to fulfill the purpose that God has for their lives.
• I want to instill within them that God does indeed have a purpose and a calling for them.
  

You know you're a homeschooler when...

...it is a Happy Day when the mail lady delivers a box of new school books and you all gather around and oooh and aaah over newfound treasures.

Papa-and-Gran Days

Summer is a good time to have a Special Day when you (just you—no brothers or sisters) are invited to Papa and Gran’s house to do something that you love.

Maybe you love corn-on-the-cob and Papa says you can come and eat as much as you want...

...and swim in the kiddie pool...

...and relax in the hammock with Bekah.

Or maybe you want to do a project with Papa in his shop...

...and swing in the hammock with Bekah (no relaxing this time around!)...

...and shoot your rubber band gun (at a tree).

Or maybe you like to play games and you bring some of your own favorites and play some of Gran’s too...

...for hours...

...and then dine at the “Deery Queen.”

And then Papa and Gran can take you home so you can tell your family all about it.

Summer Pleasures

I must say that summer is not my favorite season for two very simple reasons: heat and humidity. I really don’t. like. to. be. hot. At all. And hot and sticky is worse.

Even so, there are things that I love about summer. Here are some (in random order):

1. Iced coffee


2. The rotation of blooming things...day lilies, yarrow, 4 o'clocks


3. Respite from the school schedule


4. Planning for the next school year...I love to plan!


5. Berries...strawberries, blueberries, raspberries...pies, muffins, cobbler...


6. Organizing...closets, drawers, cabinets, even the laundry room


7. The beach...I am awed by the ocean; it speaks of the Creator.


8. Slow, quiet mornings


9. Fresh vegetables...especially in this dish


10. Lots of daylight hours


11. Buying bargain school supplies in July


12. A 1000-piece puzzle on the dining room table


13. Reading Little Women with the girls


14. Birthdays


15. Birthdays
    

What are your summer pleasures?

P.S. The fact that #14 and #15 both say birthdays is not a typo. There are LOTS of summer birthdays in our family...my husband, one daughter, my son, two granddaughters, one grandson, my mother, my father-in-law, my niece, me...not to mention numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends...and three anniversaries!

Thoughts I'm Pondering Today...

"If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."David Livingstone, 1813-1873, Scottish explorer and missionary

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."
Matthew 19:29

The Thrill of the Harvest

I have never had a green thumb—not leafy green or grass green or even the palest shade of celadon. I am the "kiss of death" to houseplants. I forget to water the geraniums in my window boxes. And gardening? Well, let's just say I'm a s-l-o-w learner...it took me about thirty years of homemaking to become interested in vegetable gardening.

(As an aside...my father has a very green thumb. For years when I was growing up, he had a wonderfully diverse arrangement of plants in front of our dining room window—everything from several varieties of cacti to a miniature orange tree! And our yard...well, let's just say that it was one of the beautiful spots in our neighborhood.)

I am delighted that eight-year-old Bekah is interested in growing things. For the past couple of years, she has had her own container garden on the deck planted with cherry tomatoes. And earlier this spring, she asked her dad if she could plant carrots in one of the raised beds.

Here are a couple of pictures of Bekah with this year's firstfruits. What you can't see in the pictures is her sharp intake of breath when she discovered that several of her tomatoes had turned a very lovely shade of red.

One of My Favorites

One of my favorites. I say that tongue-in-cheek, because my list of favorites changes and grows almost constantly.
That said, this poem by Amy Carmichael is a current favorite. Read it slowly and savor these thoughts. Let them challenge you as they do me.

FLAME OF GOD
by Amy Carmichael

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.