Doing the Next Thing

I've been here before. I'm sure that as long as I'm on this side of Glory, I'll be here again. Burnout. Frustration. Overwhelmed. But "a bruised reed He will not break." The Lord has given me counsel through His word, through re-reading a good book , through a convicting blog post , and through good, godly friends. (you know who you are! thanks!) The truth of the matter is this: I've got toddlers to teens; high school to preschool - with everything in between. Faithfully mothering young children is a full-time job. Faithfully mentoring teens as they become young adults is a full-time job. Homeschooling is a full-time job. I think somehow I assumed that since I'd been at this for 15 years that I was somehow coming to the easy part. You know, the part where I get to workout whenever I want, attend book clubs, shop in the middle of the day, and get lunch with friends. And oh, yes -- blog and read others' blogs! Not that I can never do those things. Bu

I am using Jo hn Piper's fantastic book A Godward Life as a devotional with my older children. The portion we read today was very fitting for our family as we adjust to the stress of a new school schedule, but I suspect we all can identify in one way or another, so I share the first part here. (Meditation on Matthew 6:34 "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Piper says: Part of saving faith is the assurance that you will have faith tomorrow. Trusting Christ today includes trusting him to give you tomorrow's trust when tomorrow comes. Often we feel today like our reservoir of strength is not going to last for another day. The fact is, it won't. Today's resources are for today, and part of those resources is the confidence that new resources will be given tomorrow. A Godward Life, (Multnomah Books, 1997) p.25

Today is my "easy" homeschool day. The Big Boys go to Veritas, and I will start attending a ladies' Bible study at church in a couple of weeks. So I've not scheduled Tuesdays as a big workday for M (10) and A (5). Today I decided I would try to get in some kind of run on a local Greenway after dropping S (14) and C (12) off at school. Operative phrase being " some kind." Here's how it goes: Drive around aimlessly for 20 min, unable to find Greenway until helpful bro-in-law gives directions to a park with easy access. Ok. Now, get out the clunky, old Gra*co single stroller for K (3), as well as scooter & helmet for A. Think to self: "why do I not own a jogging stroller?" Decide that training for a half-marathon requires some actual time running, and this is the best I'm gonna get today. Load K in the stroller and set off. (M leaves her scooter in the car, saying she'd rather run like me. I'm concerned about this, but I'm als