Us!

Things to be thankful for...

Experiencing Ottawa

Being together

Having fun

Enjoying the site

Finding a restaurant that serves pasta and pizza quickly and actually pretty good!

Comfy hotel

Cold pool (kids don't care)

Kate's Carnival for Cancer (celebration of our friends daughter's fight and win with cancer!)

Watching our boys sumo wrestle

Sara and Samantha eating cotton candy

Crying with my hubby and dealing with emotions from the trip

Loving road trips!!!

Walking this life together

Walking together...

I was reminded tonight at Grace Fellowship (our church) by our pastor that the most important work is under this roof tonight. He was referring to our children. We are to demonstrate Christ to them and lead them to the cross daily. It stopped me in my tracks and again reminded me of what I am doing daily here at home. Educating our children at home is more than reading and math, science and history. Although all of that is important and is getting done, developing their character, sibling relationships, and leading them to Jesus Christ is the most important reason. It brings me back to Deut 6 that speaks about diligently teaching about God to our children when we rise, walk along the way etc. I have a unique opportunity to do that everyday. I resist it some days and think that maybe school would be better and then God somehow draws me back to my children gently and speaks through someone or a verse. That happened tonight and I am so thankful for our pastors and elders at Grace. They love us, pray for us and lead us. We are greatly blessed.

The next pic is another of our trip to Ottawa

Go to Dunc's blog for details, I can't do it justice. He does!! www.isaiah432.wordpress.com I also have a link on the side bar.

 

We stood in front of the parliament buildings in awe of the majestic beauty of our great country. We were both quite moved and shaken by the war plane museum trip just before that (yes even Sara walked with us and was a trooper) I look at this picture and am so thankful for our family. God has given us such a unique bunch!! They all need love, hugs, laughter and road trips!!!! We love taking trips, yes tiring, but I just love exploring life with the kids. Adventure has to go hand in hand with me and therefore it goes with the kids. They are already asking about our next one. We look at one another and say when we recover and catch up on sleep!!

I now go to sleep with the words I heard tonight, they are our most important people to evangelize, our children.

A new day, a short list!!

We began our fifth year of homeschooling this week and I have been wondering what word (s) to use to sum it up. Not an easy task because there are so many aspects that I just love and then there are the road blocks I have to learn to laugh at that are tricky! Here is my short list:

Crisp new books
Working pencils, markers, fresh pencil crayons
Readers yet to be read
A new routine in the same old way?!!
Recess, again but this time with a plan off length!!!! (not just summer recess all day long!)
An older toddler, now a preschooler (although I have to say I will miss the days of play dough and the simplicity of cut, colour and paste!) I love her enthusiasm for school and how much she loves to work so hard in her adorable books
A more confident young man entering grade six
A more diligent worker in grade four
A more decidedly focused very hard worker in grade two
A preschooler full of zeal
New snack ideas
Quick lunches
coffee made by the boys for me (well they are almost into routine for it, they know what to do!!)
New coffee mug bought by me for me as my back to school teacher gift! I know sounds funny, but it made everyone laugh today and that has been one of my prayers lately - to laugh more and keep smiling.
A new school room - what a blessed gift. The kids are pumped and so am I. We started moving in tonight and I already sorted two boxes!!!
A husband that works so hard and loves us so much!
Starting the day with God's word in our journals and the routine of character building that seems to be flowing well
A sweet second born that surprised us all by making our beds and making the rooms look amazing! He organized stuffed animals in a way I never would have - adorable

okay that is a good start! I did this to count my blessings because there are moments when I just can't.

Thank you Lord for what you are doing in our home.

Pondering Knight

He is my pondering knight

He searches the waters

He seeks divine grace

Finding answers only Christ can give

This journey is his

To explore and conquer

He is never alone

My pondering knight

My son, I love you

Dying to Self, again...

http://www.gfct.com/ this is the link to our church. Today was one of the most amazing sermons we have listened to. Perhaps I did not want to hear all the words because they cause that sting of change that we all avoid so quickly in life. Truly, unless we die to our own desires and whatever is holding us in a stagnant state, has to die so that life can come forth. We studied a passage in the book of John where Christ speaks of the grain of wheat that falls and must die to produce fruit.

This took me back to times in my life when I had to let something go so that Christ would be glorified and his will be done. I think of private christian school for home educating, I think of church moves and letting go of ladies ministry and possible friendships, I think of our move years ago from BC to Ontario and has scary that looked and wonder how my parents were able to let go of a thriving church, community and friends all because God called them to. I think of moving from one house to another....there are many things I have had to let go and because of that God has been glorified, lives changed and the gospel message revealed. I may not have chosen these changes in my life, but I did choose to follow Christ. He (Christ) never promised a comfortable easy going life. Actually, quite the opposite. As I watch in amazement at choices both of my sisters have made over the past year I stand in awe at the trust they have in the Lord's never failing grace and love. They both have blogs (ourjourneytoethiopiathebalmers.blogspot.com and the maretzki family - both links on my home page). I continue to thank God for the inspiration and encouragement that they are to me. It walks me through those times when I just don't feel like dying to myself and my needs AGAIN! A daily journey.

John 12:23 "Truly, truly I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

More today

Could it be that I am called to be more than I am today? This thought continues to circulate through my mind. Can I be more tomorrow? Will I be more like Christ? Staying where I am troubles me and drives me to change, daily. Then I slip into the same routine, rut or whatever it is, and think I am the same. Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. My responsibility is to change, to be more of what Christ has called me to be. As a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, a daughter and neighbour. To me there are days that concepts is overwhelming, but then I look at my children that I challenge every day through scripture, to walk in the word and draw close to Christ, pray and meditate on his words. I challenge them to change and sometimes forget about just how much change needs to occur in me! I am called to teach, nurture and raise these children to know the Lord. I am called to be more than I am today and thankfully I have a gracious and loving heavenly father that encourages and waits patiently as I seek to make those changes in my life. Hard to do, but I am challenged and must proceed!!

This one of the reasons why I do what I do!

Isaiah 45:8

a beautiful verse that we all wrote out in our journals outside the other morning.

on our way

Okay today marks the first entry since June and the dry spell is over. I sense the words gushing out of me!!

 Our journey has been one of hills and valleys, triumphs and failures. Since the first moment we viewed our new home I knew we had started something. Well, let's call it passing through the waters! Our family theme verse comes from Isaiah, (when you pass through the waters I will be with you) . Moving is wonderfully stressful and proves exciting. Just when you think you have moved it all, or when you have found all the quirks of the new home, suddenly it is there. You become acutely aware of moving pains again.

We have learned even more about one another through this time. Each one of us being created very uniquely reacts differently indeed. We have become acquainted with a trait called patience. I thought we knew relatively well and turns out we needed to be reintroduced and quickly. Talk about extra grace, heaping spoonfuls of love and loaded with patience. We have had to dig deep to find time with God as a family and on our own. Our routine has been challenged and so has our time alone to truly hear what God is saying.
I just read my friends blog about listening to God. Am I listening? I fear I have not heard all I needed to hear and am anxiously sitting now when I take the moment to recapture my lost moments. What perfect timing to read that I am not alone, we all struggle with truly listening and hearing and therefore doing.

Read, pray and serve. These three words are key to me right now in so many ways because when I do sit down to read the bible, pray on what I have read and used my journal, instead of it collecting unwanted dust, I therefore am prepared to serve with a heart more like Christ. I am committing to a readiness to pray, read and serve in ways I have never done before. I don't know what it looks like, but that is a conviction I am prepared to act on.

I just read Bryn's blog about the stark contrast where he and he family now reside (Bahamas) and how you can be walking among the poorest of the poor and turn a corner and brush shoulders with the exact opposite all within such a close proximity!  He eloquently reminds us that we all need Christ no matter what our lifestyle may be. We are all sinners and in need of a Saviour. We all need to hear the message of the gospel. We have hope, we need to tell others of this gift of salvation. So, I am prompted even more to live for Christ and serve where and when He calls me.

Right now I look around at our four children (almost five - halfway there!! Hard to believe) and know that this is my first place of ministry, the home. My husband and children. As I am called I desire to be involved in ways outside of our home that only God can lead me to. Some of our most wonderful family moments happen when we are serving and going beyond our home. That is what I want my children to learn. We need to be out there for Christ. He empowers us through the Holy Spirit in ways that are beyond our comprehension. I pray that God will give me all I need to be Christ to my children so they in turn will be Christ to someone else. Could be a sibling or someone on Young St, The Compass in Port Credit or a teen mom in need. I want them acutely aware of needs around them so they are quick to act. I can only pray this will happen in their lives. So, ultimately they will see it in us (parents) first and who we surround ourselves with.    It all comes back to the title, on our way and the three words that are so impressed on my heart: Read, Pray, Serve. We are on our way in a direction I trust is God's plan. I look to the future days with a more ready heart than I have in months.

Glad to be back in the blog world!!