Doing the Next Thing

"Real trust yields utterly to the one trusted. All desire is turned over to that one, believing his ability to manage, control, and finally accomplish what is best. When we pray, we should beware lest we line ourselves up with the mockers of Jesus -- "If You do such and such, then I will trust You!" We need to learn rather to let God rescue us in His own way. Lord, teach me this trust." -- Elisabeth Elliot, The Music of His Promises, p. 9 I see this trust in the heart of my own little girl (whose middle name is Elisabeth, after my hero in the faith.) Though she will have chronic medical issues her whole life, she knows that God is good no matter what He does. May we all have faith like a child!

Bing Crosby had it right! Honestly, I love a little chill in the air this time of year. And what better way to take the chill off than a steaming bowl of hearty soup? This particular recipe is a family favorite and one that I often take to new mommies. (In fact, it will be on its way to one in a couple of days! Guess that's why it's on my mind today.) Get your spoons ready for a yummy soup to warm you inside and out! **Note: this soup is especially delicious when you add the secret ingredient... good fellowship! Corn and Sausage Chowder 1 pkg. smoked sausage, sliced 1 large onion, chopped 3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 tsp. salt, or to taste 1/2 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. dried basil 2 cups water 1 17oz can cream style corn 1 16 oz can whole kernel corn, drained 1 12 oz can evap. milk Saute onion and sausage just until onions are clear. Into a large pot, put the sausage, onions, potatoes, spices, and water. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 15 min. Stir in corn ...

Thanksgiving For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends. -Ralph Waldo Emerson In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. -I Thessalonians 5:18 I'm a little late with a "Thanksgiving" post, but I wanted to pause before Advent begins and reflect on the Lord's bountiful goodness to us. The poem above sums it up - we had each of those things in abundance: days the Lord made for us to enjoy and glorify Him; shelter in the form of my Mom's house in Tennessee; good health and good food (yum!); the love of over 20 family members gathered into one big noisy, joyful bunch - "blessings all mine with ten thousand beside. Great is Thy Faithfulness!"

Here are some quotes flying around here these days: "I gotta get me some of the se !" 13yo S, discovering Dad's cool sunglasses on the drive to Target yesterday. Where did my baby boy go? M (8yo) recently had dental work done. Now the family game is "play dentist." M.(in the role of receptionist) says, "Who is next to see the dentist?" A (3) replies, wearing plastic Halloween teeth, " Me... I have purple teeth!" yep - that can be a problem. (Before A. turned the corner on potty training ) After nap one day, Mom asks, " A, do you have poopie in your pants?" A replies, " Yes, but I rolled over so it wouldn't get smooshed!" Gee...thanks? A. is also working on a new memory verse, Genesis 1:1. " In the beginning God created Genesis One" Well, yes, I guess He did! ;) Sweet little KL (18months) recently discovered her sister's dress-up beads. They're her favorite new toy, bringing on a new word: "it...

Perhaps it's my own fault...a self-fulfilling prophecy. I knew before I ever became a mother that I would hate potty training! Somehow I managed to survive the first three. It wasn't easy and they each had their own particular issues - but I survived. I thought I might despair while training #4, but recently - magically - we achieved success. Now we face a new challenge - paper control! Let's just say he's not worried about saving trees. Episode #1 of The Paper Chase: Wipes. I noticed A. was in the bathroom - "Don't flush until Mommy comes to help you," I said as I went to deal with another issue. I returned and peeked in on him a couple of minutes later. He was standing by the potty, with his hand on the "flusher." I looked in the bowl and to my horror saw two huge stacks of flushable wipes - basically the whole box - floating around! "Don't flush yet!!" I yelled as I ran for a pair of rubber gloves and a plastic bag. I rounded th...

Our church had the privilege last night of hosting Matthew Smith in concert. Matthew is part of a community of musicians in Nashville, TN called "Indelible Grace." They take the lyrics to old, solid hymns and put them to new music. I have all four of their CDs and love them! This song is one of Matthew's originals, on his solo album. Good stuff. One of the reasons I love homeschooling is that we can follow rabbit trails and depart from our curriculum for a spell to study something that interests us. At the moment, that is sailing! No, we didn't just purchase a new boat (not much water left to sail on here in Georgia!) We're reading Swallows and Amazons for our read-aloud right now. It has nothing to do with our cur current history or science topics, but that's ok. The story has a lot of sailing jargon we didn't know, so we spent Friday defining sailing terms and sketching diagrams of catboats. Here are the results:(the pics are kind of washed out - click ...

I made a personal "rule" several years ago to stay home on Mondays. It simply gets our week off on the right foot if we can regroup after the weekend and be busy at home. This Monday we had the added issue of sick little ones to nurse. While I comforted them and tried to get some housework accomplished, the "Big 3" did their morning chores and some independent schoolwork. By the time the little ones went down for their naps, I was exhausted. When we finally got our late lunch cleaned up, I decided to spend some time chilling out and reading Leepike Ridge to the kids. We started the book weeks ago, but had only read a few chapters. We kept putting it aside to read our science or history books. We picked it back up over the weekend and were quickly hooked. On Monday, we ended up reading together the entire nap time and finished the book! We just couldn't stop until we found out how it ended. I was originally inspired to buy the book after reading what Laurie Det...

Inspired by Janice's comment yesterday, I decided to also commemorate All Saints Day, when we remember those believers who have entered their Heavenly Rest - especially those who died for their faith. So we praise Jesus for His faithfulness to them, and look forward to the time when our Pilgrim Days are finished and we, too cross over Jordan into our Rest. For All the Saints For all the saints, who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia, Alleluia! Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might; thou Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight; thou in the darkness drear, their one true light. Alleluia, Alleluia! O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, and win with them the victor's crown of gold. Alleluia, Alleluia! O blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. Allelui...