Truth for my Child

Our first official week of the 2016/17 school year is almost complete.
This week we gently eased back into school mode.
 I held a loose idea of what our days would look like, and we certainly had struggles,
but the Father planned for something lovely.

Earlier this week, I lay tossing and turning, not over curriculum, but with a strong stirring upon my heart.

 A stirring of what truly matters most in our day to day.

 
My heart begin to well up with the enormity of the daily opportunity I've been given as a mom
to speak life over my children. To declare the truth to them.

Truth that they might often not believe. 

Truth that they the world has lied to them about.

Truth of who they are; not based on actions, but a child their Father has redeemed them as.

I awoke the next morning, penning words from the Father;

You are righteous, not b/c of actions, but simply b/c you believe.

You are my child; my son, my daughter.

You are royalty and have the complete inheritance as my child.

You can never disinherit all that I've given you. You are not in lack.

I have provided and will continually, abundantly provide more than you can imagine!

You are unconditionally loved, no matter what you do, or how much you mess up.

You are NOT a disappointment.

My arms are continually open toward you.

When you feel distance, turn around, you'll see Me. I am never far from you.

I will never leave, never turn aside.

I am always perusing you, always longing for you. 

I am your Shepherd.

When you fall, when you're wounded and cannot walk,

I will carry you close to my heart, so you hear my heartbeat toward you.

Your falling does not anger me; You are pleasing! 

Not b/c of how you act, how you look, or what you say.

You are mine and I delight in you!

When I look at you, I see a clean and spotless child b/c of the priceless blood which paid for your righteousness.

I love you when you are unlovable. 

I am your Father, standing with open arms, welcoming you my child.

I've prepared a wondrous feast, I've put the finest clothes on your back.

All of my kingdom is yours, simply b/c you.are.mine." 

Morning Time {Bringing Beauty to your Day}

This year has been trans-formative for our family. 

In January I stumbled across the concept of "Morning Time" and it's truly hands down, the best part of our day!
 The idea of Morning Time is quite simple;

  

"It's simply gathering together to cover subjects, as a family, that we can do together which encourage truth, goodness and beauty into our day".

 Honestly, establishing the habit of Morning Time did take some preparation

 mentally, physically and financially.

Mentally. I had to retrain myself that this simplistic, lovely time spent with my children was in fact deeply beneficial to their education. I subconsciously equated a rigorous education with a quality education. However, through our personal experience, I discovered that this meaningful time not only fulfills a quality, thorough education but is life building, relationally, which to me is invaluable!!

Physically. I had to prepare by spending some time alone, which isn't easy with a large family.

Late nights after the kids were in bed, or evenings when Ben was away, I sat down pen in hand, and quietly pondered what subjects I wanted to incorporate into our Morning Time. I took this time to thoughtfully consider which subjects to focus on, then determined to gather the materials.

Many of our materials I already owned; these lovely, lovely books were just being overlooked!

Lastly, I purchased the remaining items I didn't already have.

Morning Time, Circle Time, or as it's known in our home, Living Room Time can be beautifully tailored to fit your individualistic interests. Ours include Ritual, Reading and Recitation.

Morning Time does not eliminate Math, Language Arts, History or Science, though you certainly could thoroughly cover these areas if you're family chooses, especially if you educate Charlotte Mason style.

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Our Morning Time included these resources shown above include:

Literature || all seven Narnia books including the Veritas Press comprehension guide

Music || Mozart and Bach including the music CD's by Zeezok Press

Art History || Degas, Monet, and Renoir | Looking at Picutres | Picture Study Portfolio

Science || Outdoor Secrets, Trees Leaves and Bark, and Nature study

Greek || English from the Roots Up

Once all my materials were gathered, I decided how to "loop" the days to cover each subject:

{Mon thru Thurs}Literature and Greek

 {Mon and Wed}Music and History

 {Tues and Thurs}Art History and Science

  

On nice days we usually head outdoors and add in a bit of Nature journaling as well.

If while reading this, you feel your heart strings tug at the idea of implementing this beautiful, transformative routine to your day, my single piece of advice is

"start small and give yourself tons of grace while you get settled into this new routine"

In my next post, I'll talk about planning Morning Time and our daily rhythm

 Lastly, if your final days of summer find you cleaning out closets or organizing school rooms, and you'd like to learn more about Morning Time, I encourage you to head over to Pam Barnhill and listen to her podcast or if you'd rather cozy up with a good book, you can find that over at Your Morning Basket.

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|| Mama, there is absolutely not a single ounce of condemnation for those not doing Morning Time!  
I firmly believe life is found in many, many ways! 
I'm in no way preaching a method, I'm just sharing how the Father is unloading life to us in this way. 
Next year could look completely different. We simply are walking where He leads
That's where life is found!!

the Gift of Children

I am absolutely, abundantly in love with this lovely little family of mine!
Having a large family is truly a fulfillment of one of my heart's desires, one that I didn't even realize I had until I was blessed with this priceless gift.

This past week, our oldest two boys were away at youth camp.
 This is the second time they've been away in two months, and boy, I've missed them more than imaginable!

Yes, my home was still full of laughter and noise; yes I still have four other children keeping me busy...

But when the house gets quiet, and I walk by their bedroom door each night,
I don't hear their loud music, their voices, their laughter over teenage antics.

While my boys have been away, I find myself reflecting on the fullness, the completeness each child brings;
The children who make our house a home.

  Daily, I'm amazed at the individuality of each child and how one can be so entirely different than their siblings within the same family.
One is quiet and contemplative, serious and task oriented;
One is constantly talking, sharing what's on his mind;
One is silly, trying to make everyone laugh.

Within a family you're accepted regardless of the personality differences you share.

The passions you have, the irritations.

We daily get to live the lovely and the hard, messy frustrations together, confident that love covers it all.

Getting to live this life with each of them, each of their personality types, each of their strengths,
each of their hindrances, is truly a gift! An indescribable gift.

I treasure each and every single day I wake to live this life with my family.

Barefoot Republic

Summertime is just around the corner but in our little home, my oldest boys are already having a blast at the highly anticipated Barefoot Camp! Four years ago, a dear friend of mine introduced our family to Barefoot Republic praising the wonderful experience her children have there. While technically it is a summer camp, the heart of Barefoot is what drew me to them:

"To facilitate Christ-centered relationships between individuals from diverse racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds through an equally diverse platform of artistic, athletic and team-building programs."

You can read more about Barefoot's mission here, and enjoy some photo's of my older two boys during their weeks at Barefoot Republic.

 

"Barefoot exists to reflect God’s pursuit of His children through interests and passions, interpersonal relationships, and equipping students with tools for exploring and discovering God’s presence in their lives."  

  

One of the things my boys especially love about Barefoot Republic is their "group specialties".

These are areas that your child chooses to explore or further their interest, such as making of the band, Stomp {photo's shown above}, photography, videography, water sports, horse back riding, extreme sports, etc..

My boys enjoy this time so much and honestly, I've seen tremendous growth and renewed commitment in these areas of their life after returning home. 

Barefoot Republic began as one man's vision, to illuminate the Father's deep love for His children.

Honestly, I can personally say, that is exactly the experience my children have there!

We love Barefoot!

celebrating

                                                This week we celebrated this awesome guy!
                       Technically he isn't our "middle child", since we have six, but he is the middle boy.
                           He is fiery and strong, quiet yet deep, task oriented and an avid reader.
                              He's extremely ticklish, with a beautiful face full of adorable freckles!!

Happy Birthday Aidan! You've been the easiest transition of our growing family. 

You're my best friend and I'm excited to see the plans the Father has for you.

one, two, three JUMP

 

Every one of our kids love the trampoline!

      It doesn't matter if it's raining outside, "can i go jump on the trampoline" is currently heard daily.
     While I love that my kiddos enjoy the opportunity to drain a bit of that boundless energy, honestly
    I've heard enough broken bone stories, that occasionally, the trampoline freaks me out,  just a bit!

While my personal fears haven't kept me from letting them have their fun, it has revolutionized the posture of my heart; making my requests known to Him.

  My eyes have been opened to the truth; the Father wants me to pour out my heart to Him all the time!

Communing with Him at all times. All day, everyday, about every little thing on my heart.

   Not just the times when I need the Father's wisdom on how to handle life's situations, or even protection for my child on the trampoline; He cares about every detail of every day.

                                                                                                      

{ "Do not be anxious for anything, but let your requests be continually be made known to the Lord." ~ Phillipians 4:6}

                                        

celebrating

               every 4th of July our family celebrates our nation's freedom and this guys birthday.

      Happy Happy Birthday to our free spirited, independent, car loving, lego movie making, silly son!

       You truly have opened my mothering heart to embrace the creativity and uniqueness around me.

I'm so very blessed to call you son! I'm honored to watch you grow into the young man God created you to be!

"how do you do it all?!" part 2 {truth}

                                         "Truly my soul finds rest in God alone." ~ Psalm 62:1       
                       "You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." ~ John 8:32  

Knowing the truth, {{truly knowing the truth...in my heart AND mind}} about how the Father sees me

 has been the single factor in my, as well as my husband's, lifestyle of rest and completeness.

You may wonder, "How does understanding the Father's love have anything to do with parenting?"

                                             It has absolutely everything. to. do. with. it!!

                                     

Knowing who I am and how He sees me, affects how I walk, how I talk, how I act. 

Every action comes from the well spring of truth within my heart!  

Either I live out my days based on the enemy's lie or the Father's truth.

Walking in truth brings freedom, and freedom spills over into my entire life, including parenting.

                                           

                             
                                              So how do I know the truth? Simply by listening!
            I listen to His voice of Truth, His Spirit which bears witness to the Truth... the Truth that
                                 "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus." ~ 2 Cor. 5:21
                                                  

"I am qualified. worthy. righteous. whole. complete. lacking nothing. full of love and patience. gentle. beautiful. encouraging. creative...etc...Because of what Jesus did"  

 Not an ounce of my self...but completely because of His complete, finished work;

When I begin to doubt, or fear creeps in; when I begin to look to my self or my efforts,

His voice of truth reminds me,

 "It's all because of Jesus.  He has made me the beautiful, beautiful righteousness!"

                                           

As I sit and listen to Him tell me who I am, my soul is full of life. abundant, overflowing life!

                                         {{ right believing = produces right living.}}

"how do you do it all?" part 1 {abide}

A while back, a sweet friend who just had her second son, asked me the question, "how do you do it all?!
I feel like there's not enough of me to give to both of my children; how do you do it with six?"

Looking back on the thirteen years of parenting that I've had, a lot has been a huge learning experience! I certainly didn't feel the least bit qualified to give her an ounce of parenting advice. My reply was simply,

                                                            "only with Him."  

                 "I simply cannot do it on my own. I am nothing. I am totally dependent on Him to do it"

                             "I wasn't enough for one child; I'm not enough for six. but Him!"

         "He is faithful. He's given me these children and with Him, through Him I am able.

                            on my own, in my own strength, I fall. I fail miserably. daily."

          

There are days that I fall short connecting on a deep level with my kids. There are days that I'm impatient. There are days that I'm self focused and not a loving friend to my husband. There are days that I'm sidetracked by things of this world, that shouldn't come before my family.

My hearts desire is to soak in each and every moment. to love abundantly. to love purposefully. 
                                     but nothing in my own strength can make that happen!!

While that may sound a bit depressing, knowing {deep}in my hearts core that the Father is the only One who can and will accomplish all my hearts desire is completely and overwhelmingly liberating!!

{not only will He accomplish my hearts desire; He has plans {{abundantly}} more than I even desire!}

                           To think that I can "do it" {whatever it is} is a complete lie!!
          sure i can certainly try on my own strength, and even produce limited, momentary results
                                                                        OR
              I can {let Him} work. He, who has the ability to change hearts and give true change.    
                             

continually, moment by moment, day in and day out listening to Him, resting in His love and goodness
                                              "is the only way I can do it".
 

treasuring the days

all the boys are involved this week at VBS, meaning Sweet Pea and i are spending time just the two of us.

she holds my hand and we stroll along, i look at her and truly can not believe how fast time has passed.

                      i'm continually thankful the Father blessed my life with a daughter.

                                                              my life has forever changed.
               

                           

                                                     

 

she is gentle and fierce. sensitive and silly.

when i lay beside her at night, after many books have been read...she snuggles close and whispers

                                                         "your my best friend. "

                       my heart soars.   we share a special bond, unique to the two of us.


              i've changed so much through the years, but nothing like the past three years.

my relationship with Father has grown as i'm catching glimpses of His completely overwhelming favor.

                 my mothering heart has softened more than i thought imaginable.  i'm treasuring the days.