Finding JOY in the Morning

On Saturday I read a blog post by Tracy on Christian Women Online, words that really grabbed my attention.  The title alone was God’s first nudge on my heart  . . . this is something He wanted me to read:

In Spite of, In the Middle of, Even If…. Joy

Joy . . .it can be hard to find at times.  This is one reason my blog was named "Finding Joy in the Morning".  I’ve had to work at finding joy many times.  Yet, I should know, it IS there . . if I’d take it to heart.  Tracy, who wrote this post, centered her post on a quote from Kaye Warren (Pastor Rick Warren’s wife- author of "The Purpose Driven Life"):

"Joy is the unshakeable assurance that God is in control of all the details in my life. The quiet confidence that ultimately everything will be alright; and the determined purpose to praise God in all things."

Tracy reveals how these words have been real in her life:

Sometimes it’s "in spite of" our circumstances- God calls us to praise Him, IN every situation, not necessarily FOR every situation. Sometimes I just praise that He is with me, in my circumstance, even when I don’t "feel it".

Sometimes, we find joy "in the middle of" our circumstances, a miracle- large or small, or a tender kindness extended to us when we need it most. Maybe even a tiny beauty of God’s creation noticed where we could have overlooked it. "In the Middle" we can find joy.

Then, there is the "Even if" kind of joy. For me- "Even if" joy is a bit tougher to come-by. One of my deepest experiences with the "Even if" kind of joy, was when we were delightedly surprised by our pregnancy with our youngest . . .I found joy and praise in releasing our plans and hopes for our little one- to God- and accepting His plan…. "Even if". In our case- even if our little one had Down’s. Sometimes we felt psycho, dragging our way through books on Down’s Syndrome even though we didn’t know if that was what we were facing. Sometimes reading the more typical "new parents" books. We swung back and forth, from fear to excitement . Yet- the fulcrum point of our swing, was always a deep trust in God, "even if".

Our story had a happy ending- our Noah was fine. But the JOY comes from knowing that , regardless of the outcome of his birth, or even in facing his potential loss, we would have found joy. In trusting God. Sorrow, grief, pain? Yes, to those as well. But also- like Kay Warren and so many others- we would have found joy, in our God, "Even If".

It is a blessing for me to see how God uses people, in their sharing, to bring the encouragement that is needed in HIS right timing.  He knows when we will listen (or read).  Tracy gleaned the quote from another blogger, Cathy who shared on her blog, Midlife Ministries, after hearing Kaye Warren speak.  Please read Cathy’s full post, but her ending, quotes from Kaye spoke to me, and tomorrow, I will share a little more personally on this.

. . . Warren encourages people to find “the bless in the mess” as a means of finding joy in life. “Life is like the railroad tracks. Joy and sorrow run parallel to each other. I used to think life was like the waves and so I would be up one day, down the next. However, in your life there are things that you can be both happy and sad about. The trick is in knowing that both come at the same time.   

. . . “Even in the early struggles of my marriage there is a blessing. Nowadays when I counsel couples in crisis, there is not a problem I have heard that I cannot empathize with. Rick and I have built a strong marriage but out of the 31 years we’ve been together not all of them were great and so I am able to tell couples, don’t leave, you can survive this.” Warren stresses that even in the most heart-rending mess, there WILL always be a blessing. “Find joy in spite of… in the middle of…even if… always remember that joy is the settled assurance that comes from knowing that God is in charge of my life.”

BOOK REVIEW: Trial by Ordeal

Are you looking for a good legal thriller by a Christian author so you should not have to be as leary of what the content would be?  If so, this is a good, "can’t- put-down-until-you-finish" book. 

The author, Craig Parshall, is a highly successful lawyer from the Washington D.C. area, who specializes in civil liberty and constitutional rights cases.  He is considered a man with conservative values in mainstream and Christian media.  Knowing this, I dived into this book, and read it in a few days, reading late into the evenings.

The story is of a normal, everyday young college professor, who decides to invest in some real-estate.  In trying to make a quick buck, he finds himself in quite a web.  The story quickly intensifies as this real estate investment begins to unravel its involvement with the Mafia and high powered attorneys,  leading to losing his job, attacks on himself, becoming penniless, and through this being introduced to God.  There is also a sweet love story that evolves.

Having been a legal secretary in my younger days, I enjoyed reading this, and found much of it to be realistic (though the attorneys I worked for never were involved with the Mafia!!).  It is not filled with too much legal jargon so that it is easy to understand and keep flipping those pages!  The outrageous fees that are charged and dealing with a variety of attorneys were quite true. The author has a way of captivating his readers greatly. 

I give this book five stars.   

Trial by Ordeal, was published by Harvest House Publishers.  This book review is in participation with Active Christian Media.

SATURDAY SCAVENGER HUNT: Pets

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Photo Theme: Pets/Animals
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With having three dogs, a cat, chickens (and in the past goats, sheep and additional dogs and cats), I could have once again put up LOTS of pictures.  But, I decided to use the one I found first, and here it is.  This is our chocolate lab that will let the kids do anything to.  Our little one shown here has even fallen asleep on her, and the dog does not even move.  She’s been a wonderful part of the family.

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If you have participated in the Saturday Scavenger Hunt,
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Next week’s theme:  Money 

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A Few of My Favorite Things

In reading Blogging Chicks new theme for the next carnival, to name our favorite things (books, movies, actors, babies, children, husbands  (?? I just have one favorite!!  LOL!!), cars, vacation spots, seasons, etc.) a song came in my mind from one of my favorite movies, The Sound of Music, called, These are a Few of My Favorite Things.  I looked up the song, and have my own version!  The words might not flow as well as when Maria sang it, but you might get the idea! 

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Powder on baby and warm cuddly snuggles
Raggedy blankies and warm sudsy bubbles
Homemade cards and my new wedding ring
These are a few of my favorite things

Fresh crimson roses and warm baked bread
Giggles and scrapbooks and children’s prayers said
Angel food cake with ice cream in the evenings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in matching dresses and tight braided hair
Boys in dark jeans and clean cotton sportswear
Pink apple blossoms with returning spring starlings
These are a few of my favorite things

When prayers are whispered
When the praise begins
When I’m feeling blue
I simply remember my favorite things
And God’s goodness is renewed

   
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Favorite Things Carnival!

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks Summer Theme Posted

Be sure to check out the Carnival of the Blogging Chicks SUMMER THEME!  There are close to 30 links of those who have contributed to their ideas, memories and vacations, all relating to summer.

THURSDAY’S CHILD: Why I Homeschool

Occasionally on Thursday’s Child, I will share moms’ stories of why they homeschool. This seasoned mom of homeschooling, Amy, has been homeschooling for over 12 years (does not have a blog), but shared her story with me:

W

ell, I guess my interest in homeschooling actually started when I was in school. I don’t think it really existed when I was in elementary, but I knew I didn’t like school. I was very shy, and because I was smarter than most of the kids in my class, I was made fun of…a lot.

In middle school, it was really bad, because in the 6th grade, I was taken out of my honors English class, and attended the senior English class at the high school next door. I didn’t fit in anywhere. By the time I was in high school, I was totally bored, and the school didn’t know what to do anymore, so I began schooling myself. I would find books like Ivanhoe, and the Red Gauntlet and other classical literature that wasn’t pushed in school. Honestly, I went down every shelf in the library and read probably every single book there….

My son was born premature and with a lot of health problems. Because he was behind from birth, I began working with him. The doctors told me he would be retarded and live with me for the rest of his life. That scared me…mainly because I had only contact with one person my whole life who had Down’s Syndrome and she scared me. I was horrified that my son might be like her….I was intent that he would learn, while disappointed that he wasn’t "smart" like myself, my sisters and mother (I hope this doesn’t sound too bad, but we all have extremely high IQs, and I have only ever been around high achievers, it was difficult to have to decide how to handle someone different).

Well, my son started kindergarten, and he didn’t even know his ABC’s, I was estactic that he was potty trained, and could dress himself. Right away he was put into speech therapy and labeled ADHD. He took Ritalin for a couple of years, but he really isn’t ADHD, he is definitely learning disabled. Both sides of his brain do not "talk" to each other, so he has motor skill problems, and is mildly autistic. He needed special help, but we live in a rural area, and the district kept passing him, and wouldn’t take me seriously. I pulled him out of school for the 2nd-4th grades, to teach him to read. I was determined that he would read, because I knew he would need this skill more than any other. I was scared that if something happened to me someone would take advantage of him.

Well, fast forward to today…he is 17 and in public school in the 11th grade. I have him in public school to receive his diploma, because he wouldn’t be able to pass a GED test. I still school him at home, because the school doesn’t have any real expectations for him. When they tested him this year they were shocked at how much progress he had made from his freshmen year. This was the first year he passed the state standardized test. It is a release test designed for Special Education, but he passed by 4 points, and won’t have take it again, and will be able to graduate next year. Praise God! He now reads on about a 9th grade reading level, which I am happy about, he does math on a 5th grade level, and we mainly concentrate on Consumer Math now, life skills he will need as an adult, budgeting, balancing a check book, paying bills, and living on a certain amount of money each week.

While I homeschool primarily because I don’t like the public school system, I do homeschool for religious reasons also. I believe that God allowed me to find out about homeschooling, and has given me the opportunity to be debt free and to survive on one income. This allows me to homeschool my 2 youngest children. My two girls are 9 and 3. My 9 year old is gifted, and tests two grades above in math, reading and science. She really hates reading, but excels when pushed. I find I have a hard time challenging her enough, because she gets really bored. She has started cooking without my help, reading recipes and putting stuff together. She can drive, but that’s not unusual for her age, and living in the country, just freaks me out. 

She’s kind of 9 going on 40….My three year old is just a regular old girl. Thank God. I need some stability and normalcy, well, now that I think about it the youngest is kind of a daredevil. Not academically inclined, but likes to jump off bookshelves, stairs, cars, not normal, but scary. I have hooks on all the doors to keep her in the house, but she gets the broom to push the latch up.

Well, that’s my story…. 

Thank you Amy, for sharing your story.  This is also my contribution for the Carnival of Homeschooling.

WRITING WEDENSDAY CONTEST WINNERS

L

ast Wednesday ended the final contest for the "I Am From" poem.  I only had two entries this time . . . I guess kids just did not want to have to do schoolwork during the summer, huh?  Several moms wrote to me that they are going to have their kids do this poem in the fall, and if your child is one of them, be sure to send me a link, and I will feature some more of these writings again.

For now, the two entries were two totally different ones.  One is from Kate’s 13 year old son, Jonathon, who shares in his poem the pain of death of his dad.  He shares so profoundly of what he has gone through, wondering where God has been, and the lack of people there for him.  He shares as someone who has gone through this as an adult, for a child should not have to go through this, and he ends his poem:

"I am from good and bad, love and despair, anger and understanding – I am a child of God and a child of fate. I am still just a child."

Please read Jonathan’s full poem, and leave him a poem of encouragement.  I hope that he will find God has not forsaken Him, and that God can be the Father to the fatherless, if he allows.  Thank you Jonathan for sharing your heart and story.  My heart goes out to you and your mom.

The other entry was similar, but written by a bereaved mama, in memory of her little baby girl, Rebecca, "forever 8 months old".  Lorri is a military mom of four children.  She wrote the poem from the baby’s viewpoint.  It’s precious.  Here is an excerpt from her poem:

I am from Mama’s half finished scrapbooks, portraits on the wall, digital pictures saved on disc and a drawer full of photo envelopes.

I am from hearts weeping through the night but finding joy in the morning.

I am from Love.

Be sure to also visit Lori’s blog, The Mac and Cheese Chronicles, and leave her an encouraging note.

These two poems reveal in two families that heaven must be a little sweeter.  Now, how could I choose one of these over the other?  I can’t.  You both wrote such personal, heart-touching poems.  I will be sending a bracelet to each of you . . .and Jonathan, you can have a ClubMom bottle too along with a bracelet you might want made for your mom.  Thank you Jonathan and Lorri.

In Other Words: A Few Beautiful Shells

  This Week’s Quote:      

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few."

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~

Why did Anne Morrow Lindbergh write such a picturesque thought in these 25 words?  Who were the shells in her life?  Was this verse said in joy or sorrow?

Anne was the wife of the famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, the mother of six children, an author of eleven published books, flew over 40,000 miles with her husband as a co-pilot and was the first licensed woman glider pilot.  It does not appear she lived a life without tears. She endured the kidnapping and murder of her firstborn son, Charles Lindbergh III, a toddler under two years of age and the knowledge that her husband took an additional wife and fathered children in Germany.

What did Anne appreciate as the few, beautiful shells in her life?  Did she learn that an abundance of fame and wealth was not as precious as quiet time on the beach with the simpleness of finding God’s perfect creation in just shells?  Did this fame bring many people into her life calling themselves her friend, and yet she found that a few close friends were truly the beautiful friendships?  Were one of the few beautiful shells of her life, learning to appreciate life, no matter how brief and being thankful for the beauitiful brief moments, even with the tears? 

Another one of Anne’s quoted words is, "I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God."  I am not sure if she found a personal relationship with Jesus that would end her searching.  Was she aware that if God knew the number of sand granules, He also knew of all the shells on the earth and that God considered her a rare a beautiful shell and would have died for her had she been the only person He had created? 

What are the few beautiful shells of your life?

This writing is in participation with Christian Women On-Line and the weekly In Other Words . . . ."  Click the graphic to read other women’s interpretations of this quote.

Teaching Spanish – Free Online Courses?

B

elow is a question I received from a homeschool mom. She is interested in finding a resource for teaching Spanish but is unable to purchase a curriculum.  In looking through a book I just got from our library, Homeschool Your Child For Free by Laura Maery Gold and Joan M. Zielinski, I was able to find this resource on the internet called, Learn Spanish:  A Free Online Grammar Tutorial.    I was not able to look through the website thoroughly, but it does seem to have a lot of information for teaching, along with a Pronunciation Tutorial, a daily word, grammar, verb drills and much, much more.

Here is the e-mail from the homeschool mom.  If you have any further information that can help her, please leave a comment.

I have wanted to find connections with experienced homeschoolers to ask questions. I am working on a fairly tight budget, and I am not interested in purchasing curriculum sets; however, my oldest son is, I believe, ready to begin studying foreign language. We recently moved to El Paso, TX wherein the population is more than 80% Latino; predominately Spanish-speaking or bilingual. I speak some Spanish, but don’t know what tools I should purchase to aid my son. He is 6, but reading at a second grade level. Anything great you’ve come across? Thanks for any tips! God Bless!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: ACTION

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Photo Theme: Action
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When I saw last week what today’s theme was, I had no idea what I’d do.  It helped to have this thought in my mind, and now I have too many ideas for pictures!  The kids went to Day Camp this week, and there was an airplane that flew over, dropping candy to the kids . . . and a roll of toilet paper!

At camp they learned how to juggle scarves!

Today’s action was this little kid jeep we picked up at Good Will for $30

and the kids had a blast around the yard!

And, the cat had some action too . . . she brought us a mouse.

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If you have participated in the Saturday Scavenger Hunt,
be sure to leave a note below!

Next week’s theme:  Pets/Animals 

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