Pondering Thoughts on This Sun-Less Sunday

Sound of rain, cozy under blanket, books to read or movies to watch. Sunday at her finest.  Laundry to fold, dinner to prepare, menu planning to ease us back into the week. . .Looking forward to the last week of volleyball; basketball we have said good-bye to and transitional kinder is winding down.  We are reading and writing and this week we will finish up Chinese New Year and getting ready to celebrate Dr, Seuss Day. There is so much we can do, yet so much not necessary or it will drive me out of my mind.  Calm and consistency has been key to our learning this year.  And I have enjoyed every single moment.  I find it has challenged me, grown me, and inspired me in ways I didn't know existed.  Together we have created this year of memories that are irreplaceable.

My view on education continues to shift, and the emphasis we place on academics and extracurricular activities decreases.  We are preparing them for great futures, but are we preparing them for heaven?  Do we spend the same kind of energy studying the bible as we do for exams? Do we use lessons to teach good character and virtues at every chance we get or do we get tired and tell them no simply because we said so? Life keeps unfolding and presenting us with the good and the bad, the expected and the unexpected, and I'm just trying to be still and KNOW he is God.

We have decisions to make and I'm trying not to stress. I'm just leaving them in God's hands and saying, Here you go.  Show me what you can do with this.  And actually, I'm pretty okay with that process.  I'm surrounded by women God is placing in my life for such a time as this:  My Mom Heart group, my book club, my bible study group, my homeschooling mom friends, my other mom friends. . .He has me covered and I know it so I just keep keeping on.  What a difference a year makes!

If I have learned anything in this season of mothering, it is that the privilege has been all mine.  I have learned to turn the other cheek when it comes to differing opinion. I have learned not to get caught up in the comparison trap among friends.  I have learned that the state's expectations do not necessarily match up with mine.  I have learned that sometimes it's a little lonely to be different but completely necessary if it means guarding my kids' minds and hearts.  On this sun-less Sunday, I'm surprisingly content, unrushed and restful. I'm feeling recharged and restored  as we enter into a new week.

My Best Yes Left me With a Peace I've Never Known Before

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.--John 14;27

For some reason these words seem to follow me around all day and night, sneaking into my thoughts when I least expect them, so I thought it might be worth spending some time thinking about why. I don't feel like I'm at a point in life where fear lives, nor is my heart troubled by decision making or anything happening on the home front. . .however, this peace that I have about being home in this season is nothing short of amazing.  And maybe that's why God keeps whispering this verse over and over to me. It was only in surrendering to Him that I have come to know peace like this.  It's the kind that covers me softly day in and day out.  It might not be in the shape of a bigger house, or more money in the bank but it is the kind that matters most nonetheless. It was finding my best yes. 

It's the kind I notice both physically and mentally.  I am more relaxed and embracing the chaos of having four children underfoot. This mama work matters despite naysayers and all these well intentioned, opinionated people who say this or that flippantly.  And what in the world can I find to DO all day long? Plenty.  The thing is, I don't even have to justify it with an answer because this is the journey E and I are on. This works for us. . .for now.  End of story. And I am savoring the journey.  I am excited for the tasks I have my fingers in: character education at the kid's school, interview panel for their new assistant principal, writing class with my fourth grade girls, homeschooling my Nessa Bessa, taking hot lunch to my fourth grader. . .ALL these things are my best yes for now. And they are enough.