On the Run

There has been a lot going on around here lately--that's my excuse for getting behind in blogging yet again.  I have several posts started which I will try to finish up one of these days, but for now, I'll give you a quick peek into our life the last couple weeks or so.

• We got to help my brother and his family move into their new-to-them house.  It is just an adorable house for them and Marcy has (as usual) fixed it up to be a cozy and lovely home.  We couldn't be happier for them or prouder of them for managing their God-given resources wisely and being able to purchase a house.
• Tyrell turned three!!  I can't believe how fast time is going--he is simply not a baby anymore!  He chose to wear his jammies all day on his birthday and picked sausage, eggs, and coffeecake for lunch, and country fried steak for supper.  We got him a cowboy hat and holsters with two pistols for his birthday because he likes a Tom and Jerry scene where Tom "shoots two guns at the same time, pyou, pyou."  He talks a mile a minute, responds to every comment with "why?", and doesn't walk anywhere--he just runs.  He is such a joy and blessing!

 

• We were blessed to attend eight days of a two-week conference-style Bible study and stay with some special friends in Kansas City.  Two of my favorite lessons included one about raising teenagers and another overviewing the book of Ecclesiastes.  The latter study inspired me to dig into this book with my teenagers this Fall and we are really looking forward to it.  Our time with our friends was also quite uplifting as we not only have fun together, but we also enjoy meaningful conversation into the night (between Alan's yawns).  Tyrell has even been asking if we can go back to their house the last couple days!
• We have also been scrambling to update our home study (paperwork, paperwork, paperwork!) after receiving a second email searching for a family for two young boys.  After much prayer and deliberation, we decided to take the steps the government deems necessary in order to again open our home and hearts to children who need a family.  We don't know that we will get our home study updated before a home is found for these particular boys, but we will just see.  That's how our adoption journeys tend to start--the Lord opens our hearts, we step out in faith and obedience, and then we watch to see what He does.
• Briana and Destry also flew to Florida, all by themselves, for a TeenPact alumni event.  They were met at the airport by some friends we met at church while in Florida to adopt Tyrell three years ago and were able to spend the night with them and attend church services before our friends drove them to the camp.  This experience, as usual, brought my big kids home more independent, more thoughtful, and more committed to serving the Lord in whatever arenas their life takes them.  This season of giving my children wings is a time of growth for them and mama both.

• In the midst of all this, we have been meeting weekly with six other couples to discuss our reading of Equipped to Love written by Norm Wakefield.  This has been a wonderful time as we each are evaluating ourselves, learning to love more like God loves, and especially opening our hearts to one another and building relationships.  We will probably be meeting three more weeks before we finish up.
• We also got to meet up with Easton's birthmother last week.  It's always so nice to get to spend some time with our children's families of origin as it's an opportunity to learn more about our child, to identify genetic characteristics he shares with those who share his blood.  I think his first mom also enjoyed seeing how much he has grown, how much we love him, and how happy he is.  They had a nice time visiting, playing games and enjoying pizza together.

That pretty well catches up the last couple weeks.  In the next week I anticipate lots of gardening and canning of fruits and vegetables, as well as planning for school.  Then too, the big kids will perform a skit at the Iowa State Fair, we are hosting an ice cream social and planning meeting for our homeschool group Monday night, and hosting a teen Bible study Saturday night.

Where did I ever get the idea that summertime is a time of rest and recharging?  :)

Iron Sharpening Iron Weekend

You know those friends who encourage you and at the same time point you to a higher standard?  I don't have enough of that kind of friend, but we were blessed to spend the weekend with some family friends this summer.

 I am thankful for friends who encourage when needed, who listen when needed, who challenge when needed.

 Ready, set, go!

 I can get lazy at times, in particular, in training my younger children.  I sometimes get tired and complacent and forget the standard is God's (and not just that my child not pitch a fit like that kid at the grocery store.  Just keepin' it real here.  But to quote Dave Ramsey "That's not good enough!").

I'm thankful we have friends who are younger, who are just a few fresh steps on this parenting adventure, who have lots of zeal for the Lord.

And who have lots of energy for making memories!

The Great Divorce

I don't think I ever would have picked this book up, just because of the title (ugh, who here hates divorce?  waving hands wildly), but a friend in my local book discussion group chose it for July book.

I'm sure glad she did.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is not about divorce as you might first think of it at all.  Rather, it is about what separates Heaven and Hell. 

Rather like in his Screwtape Letters, Lewis uses an imaginary situation, a dream or a vision, if you will in this book, to illustrate his message.  This time he's showing our tendency as humans to choose something that we hold onto at the cost of heaven.

"The choice of every lost soul can be expressed in the words 'Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.' There is always something they insist on keeping even at the price of misery. There is always something they prefer to joy--that is, to reality" (71).

To quote a friend of mine, "Lewis makes the case, and I think it is valid, that those who are not heirs of the kingdom would find no joy in heaven, in the reality of God's glory, in the substance of eternal goodness. That for those who are condemned, heaven would be hellish to experience."

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened" (75). 

And what, you may ask, do some of these poor souls choose over heaven?  One chooses pride, another intellectualism, another cynicism, another self-pity, another a critical spirit. . . and the list goes on.

Perhaps most disturbing and obvious of all was the mother who chose her son.  She called it her love for her son, but truly she didn't even know the meaning of love and instead idolized and possessed him.  Upon her arrival, she cared not in the least to meet the Lord but wanted only to be with her son.  Yet without loving Him, we have no capacity to love anyone for in the end this type of love "demands to have him down with her in Hell.  That kind is sometimes perfectly ready to plunge the soul they say they love in endless misery if only they can still in some fashion possess it" (115).

I highly recommend this book if you want to be challenged.  It's relatively short, but Lewis has once again packed the pages full.  I'll need to read this again, I'm certain.  But for now, I'm left examining myself.  What am I choosing to hold onto rather than allowing the Lord to sanctify me?  What cheap, worthless imitation of His true goodness is filling the place of the immeasurable gifts He wants to give me?

Glimpses of Grace

One of the fun things about getting the occasional book to review is receiving a gem that you are pretty sure you *needed* to read.  Receiving Glimpses of Grace:  Treasuring the Gospel in Your Home by Gloria Furman from Crossway was one of those moments.
 

The truth is, I've been in a bit of a spiritual funk lately.  Without going into a lot of detail, I've been blaming it on circumstances (mostly out of my control) and even on other people.  I have taken the focus off Jesus and instead focused on discouragement, frustration, and weariness.  I have even focused on myself and what can I *do* to "fix it".

Then along came this book about treasuring the gospel "in the mundane."  How does the gospel affect my daily life, she challenges us.  In the midst of keeping up with housework, feeding our families, training our children, teaching our children, practicing hospitality, dealing with pain. . .whatever makes up our day-to-day life, how does the gospel affect it minute by minute?

I don't love everything about this book, but there are enough points that I truly *needed* to get that I am very thankful to have read it.  Here are some of the key lessons the Lord is teaching me.

• It's not about your circumstances

"Our faith and hope are in God (I Peter 1:21), not in our ever-changing circumstances or in the comforts of our homes and meticulously planned routines" (21).

"If God doesn't rule your mundane, then he doesn't rule you.  Because that's where you live" (27).

"We have opportunities every day to delight in God. . .But every day we ignore the instruments that God would use in our lives to make us holy" (72).

"I resolved to organize my circumstances better to alleviate some of the pressure.  Get the kids on a better nap schedule, sort out a cleaning routine, and get my spiritual disciplines in order.  Maybe then I would feel closer to God again, when my house is in better order.  But something inside of me said that controlling my circumstances wouldn't fill the void in my soul.  You can't organize your way into communion with God" (78).

"We say 'God is good,' when our children are obedient, we don't feel any pain, the house is in order, and we spent two cheerful hours doing homemade crafts together without any whining. . .But God is good for deeper reasons than our experience of temporary relief in fluctuating earthly circumstances" (129).

• It's all about the grace of God.  There is simply no room for "I" in that equation

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:7-8).  At no point can we say 'I did it!  It was hard work, but I tried my best and I did it.'"  (20).

(When I'm trying harder in my own power rather than treasuring  the gospel) "At the end of the day I'm steeped in self-righteousness--basking in pride or wallowing in guilt that I could have done a better job" (31).

Justifying yourself through good works and being declared righteous because of Christ's good works are in no way similar (44).

• I need the gospel.  I need God.  Period.

"Are you among those who say 'I have heard (the gospel) all before; why must I hear it again?'  If so, your heart has become dull, satiated, and shameless, and this food does not taste good to you.  This is the same thing that happened to the Jews in the wilderness when they grew tired of eating manna.  But if you are a Christian, you will never grow weary, but will long to hear this message often and to speak about it forever" (48, quoted from Martin Luther).

Everything is vanity when you're wallowing in boredom. . .your soul is so tired of running a spiritual rat race that nothing brings you joy anymore (64).

"Martin Luther said 'Although it hurts us when he takes his own from us, his good will should be a greater comfort to us than all his gifts, for God is immeasurably better than all his gifts" (131).

"When God mercifully strips us of our idols, he has in mind to give us something better instead--himself. . .We need faith to trust that God doesn't merely 'know what's best for us,' but that he is what's best for us no matter what our circumstances are" (136).

On My Nightstand--July

Sometimes I get to reading so many books I have a hard time keeping track of them all, so I like to join in on the nightstand meme just to have a list in one place.

1. Equipped to Love by Norm Wakefield is about learning to love with God's love instead of our selfish love.  Alan and I read this about five or six years ago with some friends and we are again reading and discussing it with six other couples over the next several weeks.  It's very convicting.
2. Glimpses of Grace:  Treasuring the Gospel in Your Home by Gloria Furmanis is a book I received for review.  I've just read the introduction and first chapter so far and I think it's going to be very good for me to read at this point in my life.
3. Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick.  I think this might go along nicely with Norm Wakefield's book.
4. Raising Children to Adore God by Kavanaugh looked like it might have some good points in it.
5. Unless by Carol Shield is a fiction book I picked up at a thrift store.  I have no idea if it will be good or not, but thought I might try it some lazy afternoon.
6. The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance by Heidi St. John.  I read this one already, but am reading it again (slowly) with my husband.
7. Sparkly Green Earrings by Melanie Shankle is one mom's reflections on motherhood.  I'm about 30% of the way through it.
8. Seven Men Who Rule the World From the Grave by David Breese is the selection for my local book discussion group and I am really looking forward to reading and discussing this one.

I don't know that I'll get through all of these this month (and I'll  likely sneak something else in!) but at least now I have a reference point.

Reviews of A Few Recent Fiction Novels

I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne for my local book discussion group.  It is not one I would have picked up on my own, nor would I likely have persevered through it were it not for the fact others were reading it and expecting me to finish it as well.  I already shared that I got bogged down in both his descriptions of the plants and animals in the ocean as well as the sometimes technical descriptions of the submarine, but that was mostly in the first half of the book.

It did get more interesting as the story continued and I enjoyed adventures like fighting sharks and octopi and escaping the iceberg.  I tend to prefer fiction stories with strong characterization, however, which is not Jules Verne's forte.  I never got to know the Captain (or understand his motivations) or his involuntary guests, so I just never managed to care too much about what made them tick or what was going to happen to them.  I'm glad I read it, it was interesting, but I can't see myself ever reading it again, nor can I recommend it as an enjoyable read.

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 In the middle of reading the above, I just needed an easy break, so I pulled a Lynn Austin book off my shelf of thriftstore finds.  Wings of Refuge told the story of a woman who had recently discovered her husband's affair and both her children were independent and in college.  She leaves these life-changing experiences to participate in an archeological dig in Israel. 

 As she is examining herself and her faith, she gets caught up in international intrigue, learns the tough stories of some of her fellow archeologists, and discovers fragments from the life of a woman who lived in the first century.  Lynn Austin manages to tell the stories of three different people from three different time periods around the common themes of Christ's love, forgiveness, and perseverance.  I always know I can count on Lynn Austin for an easy yet meaningful story.

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I picked up Nightmare Academy by Frank Peretti for a quarter at a thrift store and zipped through it one afternoon while my little ones were napping.  If you've never read a Peretti book. . .well, that man can write a story and it will be guaranteed to make you think!  They are a little bit strange--but interesting.

This particular book was especially intriguing as it addressed the idea of absolute truth.  Is there such a thing?  Wouldn't we all get along better if we just stopped believing in such a thing and thus stopped disagreeing?

Imagine government-funded research to "explore new techniques in education from a global perspective" culminating in the recruitment of runaways living on the streets to participate in an experiment to eradicate belief in absolute truth.  Throw in a little Lord of the Flies flavoring, some dystopian undercurrents, and two christian teen investigators with some worldview grounding and you've got Nightmare Academy.  It was thought-provoking, if a little scary. 

Homeschool Conference Junkie

"My name is Shonya and I am addicted to homeschool conferences."

I just thought I would get that out of the way.  I love to go to conferences each year, and some years I even get to attend more than one--this was one of those years.  (insert happy face)

I first went to the NICHE (Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators) conference with my family.  I was disappointed that Gregg Harris was ill and unable to fulfill his speaking engagement as I have such respect for him.  He is one of the veteran homeschoolers and has fruit to show, which pretty much describes the type of person I like to go to for advice and wisdom.  But we still had a really great weekend and we were very encouraged. 

My favorite nuggets of wisdom came from Diana Waring (whose history recordings I have enjoyed with my big kids for several years and you may remember this book review):

My job description (I just loved this!):
"I am the administrator/instructor of an exclusive, multi-level academy, designed for the express purpose of fostering genius in a select group of creative individuals."
Children's Needs for Learning:
She had many great tips here, but my favorite was their need to have a safe place to learn.  One aspect of a safe place is someone to walk along with them, to enjoy them and enjoy learning with them.  Proverbs 16:21reminds us that "sweetness of the lips increases learning".
I Wish I'd Known:
As I referenced in my review of Through Gates of Splendor, Waring is the one who said "I wish I'd known the characteristics that drove me crazy were the seeds of who they would become."  Think about that one for a minute!

After the conference, we went to watch the Iowa Cubs play ball.  It was a perfect night for it!

The next conference turned into a Moms' getaway.  Did we ever have a good time!!  I am really blessed with friendships here and was so touched that some new friends invited me to go to the conference with them.  Mindy, Wendy, Sarah, Dian (not pictured) and I rode to Omaha for the Teach Them Diligently conference amidst much talking and giggling.  Yes, we had lots of silliness and fun, but we also had some meaningful conversations about everything from parenting to church struggles to adoption ethics to homeschooling to individual walks with the Lord and more.

Three other friends also rode to Omaha with their husbands for the conference.  Below are Alana, Sarah, me, and Wendy in the back with Amy and Shari in the front.  This conference was as much about building relationships for me as it was about gaining knowledge and encouragement for homeschooling.  This is a great group of ladies, although I am quite sad that Wendy will soon be moving to Oklahoma.  :(

This was also an incredible conference.  I kept hearing the same message over and over and over again.

Homeschooling is about discipleship.  Homeschooling is about relationships.  Point your children to the Lord.  Rely on the Lord to carry you through.  Show your children that your faith is in HIS immutable character.  

Heidi St. John was both enjoyable to hear and had some great points.  The one that pierced my thick skull was:

God will finish the work He has begun in our children--it's not up to me.  I just need to lay my life down in service to Him.  He will do the work.

Debra Bell was also there.  (Yippee!  I just think she's the greatest--I might even want to be her when I grow up!)  She shared tons of wisdom, both practical and philosophical.

• Write down your priorities and values.  Don't let the enemy distract you with academics, etc.
• You won't have this time (referencing the teen years specifically) again--recognize how critical this time is.
• Bring the eyes of faith to the journey.  Trust God.  Pray for needs and trust Him to provide and/or open doors.

I always come home from the conferences with fresh ideas and renewed vision.  I'm not sure why most conferences coincide with the END of a school year in May and June.  Does anyone know of a conference in August to get me pumped for the school year?  I would go to another one!  :)