Doing the Next Thing

Never be within doors when you can rightly be without -- Charlotte Mason

"New" bike found after weeks of praying and searching thrift stores: $15.15 6yo boy learning to wait for God's perfect timing and provision: Priceless His joy & gratitude were genuine and overflowing.

"The question here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it is how you are representing it. Have you given your life to your children resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like a loan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gave it to us—freely?" "Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine." -- Rachel Jankovic Read more in this article at Desiring God.

We haven't had as many of these sweet days at home as I had hoped for. But when they come, they are very welcome! Nothing says "fun breakfast snack" like Easy Cheese on Triscuits. Yep, breakfast. That's her pj shirt there. Only in summertime. There are special rules for summertime. M (12) spent some time sketching. And because she takes after her mama, the little shutterbug had to document her efforts on film. A quick jaunt to Goodwill produced some white treasures. I'm working on a project, and have been collecting pretty white things. More on that in a future post... What A's (6) room looked like after room time. I wondered what all those crashing sounds were. The other half of the room. Needless to say, the young man had some regret when he spent much of the afternoon putting that mess back in order! Out of the blue, M said, "Mom, can I make a pillow?" I saw this as an opportunity to 'say yes' and put aside my afternoon plans for s...

"A man of understanding remains silent." -- Proverbs 11:12 b I've been thinking about journaling lately. Mainly because I've recently read an article by Nancy Wilson on the subject, and also heard her mention it in a workshop she gave at the ACCS Conference on "Raising a Writer." Nancy admonished us to "not write anything down that we wouldn't want everyone to read." That's a tall order! A challenge to be careful what we put in emails or on the web ... you never know when you might hit the wrong button (or how someone else may share or forward your words); and to be careful about what/how you journal. I'll link Nancy's original article below. But first, I wanted to highlight her daughter Rebekah's post on the topic. Rebekah mentions the pitfall of using a journal as a form of venting. She writes (emphasis mine): The thing is, writing it down is NOT the same thing as confessing it. But it can give a sort of counterfeit f...

We traveled up to see my family for the holiday weekend. Though I've made a couple of trips up there with the kids, this was the first time in at least 18 months that all seven of us went as a family. We had a glorious time! When it's just me and a couple kids, and my husband stays here at home, I get homesick for my Georgia nest and love to flutter back to it. This time was different. Maybe because my husband was with me and I wasn't missing him. Maybe because we had the chance to do some classic Franklin/Nashville things. Maybe it was the precious time with family. Maybe it was the unforgettable experience of seeing U2 together. Maybe it was the gorgeous weather, highlighting the beauty of the land around the West Harpeth River. Whatever the cause, we suddenly became a little homesick for Tennessee. As Psalm 16 (my favorite Psalm) says, the lines have fallen in pleasant places for us here in Georgia. We are very attached to the covenant community we've fou...