A Photographic Journal: Day 1

It's been years since I've opened this account.  YEARS!  This time I'm blogging to keep a journal of what is happening in my life photographically.  I have wanted a fancy camera for years and the day finally arrived yesterday.  Pete bought me my dream camera and then to top it off he took me to one of my favorite parks to hike and try out the camera.  I am one blessed woman.

This is my favorite photo for the day.  Everywhere I looked there was fresh new growth on the forest floor, on the stone cliffs and the decaying trees.  The soft curves of this mushroom are almost luxurious in form and these fluted lips capture my fancy.  Will I ever cease to be enamored by God's voracious design?

Life has grown, abundantly but in directions I could not have prepared myself to take.  These silent years have been a mix of maturing and humbling.  A time of seeking my Lord and His will aside from human voice.  I've had a growing, gnawing desire to express.  I pray this is the outlet the present time needs. At the least I look forward to looking over not just words, but pictures of these fleeting days.

Pinterest Recipe Review

I have a love hate relationship with Pinterest.  I love to find new recipes to try, but when they don't work out I find myself irritated and frustrated that my creation doesn't taste or look like the gorgeous pictures represented.  This week I have tried several new healthy recipes.  They have been a hit!  The week prior we were on vacation and I tried lemon muddy buddies that was a terrible soggy flop.  Here are the healthy hits.  As a bonus they are all dairy, gluten and refined-sugar free!

Black Bean Hummus
http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2013/06/black-bean-hummas-recipe/
We made this for lunch today and my children asked if we could have it again tomorrow.  Three out of the four loved it and it's super good for them.  That makes me happy.  We spread the hummus on Food Should Taste Good Brown Rice crackers and topped them with avocado and tomato.  On the side there were cut up vegetables that tasted equally as good in the hummus. 

Quinoa and Kale Winter Salad
http://www.cookinginredsocks.com/2012/12/03/quinoa-and-kale-winter-salad/
This was what we ate for lunch this week-end.  I didn't have cranberries so we just used raisins and I did not use orange oil in the dressing.  The kids didn't like this as well, but my husband and I liked it.

Chocolate Banana Breakfast Quinoa
http://greatist.com/health/recipe-chocolate-banana-breakfast-quinoa
Again 3 of the 4 children loved this recipe.  I can't help but wonder if they have a conspiracy against me to never all like the same thing?

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

This morning has not turned out to be what I envisioned.  Instead of a beautiful summer day spent playing outside and laughing it is 10:15 and we are still working on getting chores done!  We started 3 hours ago!  Inevitably every time we sway from our structured school routine we run into this issue.  Everyone including mom quickly slips into vacation mode and forgets how to be disciplined and get the work done.  My children forget how to do their chores with diligence and start doing everything half-way.  I start to nag, yell and fuss instead of discipline.  This is not how I want to spend these precious few days of summer!
So to the word I go seeking encouragement and a little kick in my pants.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." 

 Proverbs 22:6

This verse escapes me when I most need it.  Somehow I fall into the habit of thinking that if I teach the children once they'll know what they are taught and practice it well.  This is folly on my part.  Clearly Proverbs 22:6 is telling me that I do the training now and the pay off isn't all at once, but rather progressive through their lives.  If this is the case I need to adjust my expectations as a parent and make sure to repeat, repeat, repeat until they are trained so that they can be blessed by their training not just for the moment but for life.

The other half of the folly I face is the lack of discipline.  Words do not equal the rod.  

"When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent."  Proverbs 10:19

When I preach to the children and go on and on about how to do this job and what was wrong it never has the desired result.  I am reminded that:

"Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but whoever loves him is diligent to discipline him." 

Proverbs 13:24

 Ahhh....I am starting to feel a little better about our lack of diligence situation.  I have been lacking in a couple of key areas: discipline and encouragement.  All the children have been hearing is mom yammer on with complaint and accusation of jobs not well done.  My children need a consistent training, which involves the rod and much praise and encouragement.    

As families we rely on each other and need one another to each pull his own load.  Those who don't work don't eat, meaning it shouldn't just be daddy working everyday and mommy keeping the home while the children play and are run from one entertainment to another.  It means we are training up our young ones to be diligent men and women someday.  Who know how to keep a home and how to work hard.

The work of training is much harder than just doing the jobs myself.  It takes so much more to teach someone how to do something than to just do it for them, but even more work is requiring the same standard day after day.  That is where we prove our mettle.  When we discipline for the 20th time over the same offense or where we train that job one more time because they still haven't mastered the details.  I haven't gotten to the place yet where we are seeing consistent fruit, but I have seen glimmers of it in the past.  That is motivates me to get back on course, well that and the promise that God gives of having children who will not stray from their training!

Summer Menu Ideas

With each season our menu changes.  My goal remains the same through the seasons, provide the most nutrient dense food for what our budges allows that tastes great and can be made while managing a large family.  Here are the items on our menu this week and the recipe for the delicious kabobs we had for dinner today.

Breakfast-Smoothies, eggs and toast, pancakes, cereal, oatmeal, granola, french toast

Lunch-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, tuna salad, hot dogs, garlic pasta, chicken and salad, paninis

Dinner-Fajitas, thai noodles, kabobs, chinese burritos, fish, sausage grill packs and grilled chicken thighs

Beef Kabobs

1.5-2 lbs Top Sirloin, cut in cubes

1/4c teriyaki sauce

1/4c soy sauce

1/4c honey

3/4 olive oil

2T lemon juice

2T sherry (I use red wine)

1.5 tsp. grated ginger root (I use powdered ginger)

bamboo skewers

assorted grilling vegetables (mushrooms, par-boiled red potatoes, onions, peppers, zucchini, yellow summer squash etc.)

olive oil

salt & pepper

Place cubed beef in gallon size bag.  Mix remaining ingredients up to the skewers and pour over meat.  Marinate over night.  Soak bamboo skewers for several hours before you are ready to assemble the kabobs.  Wash and cut up vegetables, toss with oil and seasonings.  Assemble kabobs.  Cook on grill approx. 5 min per side.  These are great served with rice in place of potatoes and fresh melon.

Chore Cards

One part of my goal every summer break is to get our chores ordered for the year.  I teach the children their new chores and then help to implement a new schedule while we have a break from school.  Every year I try something a little different one year it was a chore chart they could  mark on.  Another it was a door hanger they could use for reference.  This year I created a card system.  This is my favorite one yet.  It has a detailed description of each chore, is reinforced for much use, and pretty!

The first step I took was to write down and establish what chores I wanted done on a daily and weekly basis and at each meal.  Then I typed a detailed description of each chore.  In an effort to make these strong, cute and interchangeable I glued the description to two sided thick paper and covered them with packing tape.  I really wanted to run out to the office store and laminate them, but remembered we still have an excess of packing tape and used that instead.  I punched holes in the corners and made name tags to go with each stack of chores.  My handy husband had several different clips to keep them together.  Now I just need some hooks for them and we are set.
I know my day and home run much better with order.  My hope and expectation is that these will help us to stay on track and running smoothly.  When our home is in order I find our family is more prepared for spur of the moment company and there is a sense of peace and order.  The work of training and maintaining chores is worth the effort!

Getting to Know God's Character

I've started a new focus on reading through the Bible with the purpose of slowing down to meditate on the details.  I have been astounded by how the Lord has opened my eyes to new revelations of who he is.  As I read through Ephesians chapter 5 this morning the descriptive words jumped out at me.  As I listed them in my journal I was tempted to view them as a list of words I need to apply and grow in.  But, then I was overcome with a thought that was so superior to self-improvement, the idea that these are words that describe God's character first.  As I marveled at how God is perfectly worthy, humble, gentle, patient, righteous, tender-hearted and forgiving my focus changed.  I don't want to improve I want to be renewed!  If I change my gaze from the improvement of self to looking at the greatness of my Lord and his character will there be room for self-improvement?
I grieve for the lost time I've spent trying to change what the Lord created, trying to conform to a standard that was not His.  How often I have exchanged the freedom of my God and King that was bought for me with the blood of Jesus for rules, self-improvement, earthly standards.  I pray that no longer would this pharisee like bond hold me.  It is true just as cynicism is easier than hope, rules are easier to follow than to search and seek truth in all it's tremendous greatness.  At some point my mind became dull to the hunt for truth's treasure and wanted to settle for a to do list.
If my gaze is to change I am certain all the details of servant-hood will fall into place.  I won't need to fret about each rule being followed.  They will work themselves out when the focus is on the right prize.  I can be certain that this is the uncomfortable walk, that the boundaries are outside of my comfort zone and the truth and beauty are stretching and overwhelming.  Yet what excitement and joy lie in the challenge of seeing my God in increasing wonder and awe. 

Thoughts on Sobriety

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;  4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the work of God be not blasphemed.

Several years ago I read a book by Debi Pearl, Created to be His Helpmeet.  I had been praying for almost a year that God would show me clearly what he desired in a christian marriage and specifically how a christian wife should obey Him and act towards her husband.  God was so good to answer that prayer in the form of a wonderful women in my life that was a beautiful example of what a christian wife and mother look like.  He also put this book in my hands.  As I read through it my eyes were opened to just how important it was for me to obey this verse from Titus.

As I studied and meditated on this verse I was really provoked by the word sober.  I had a very worldly view of the word sober, applying it mostly to the idea of not drinking alcohol or being under the influence of alcohol.  As I looked at the definition of the word and though more on it I felt challenged to apply more of this trait in my life.

Sobermindedness:  Calmness; freedom from inordinate passions; habitual sobriety

Sobriety:  Seriousness; gravity without sadness or melancholy

Webster 1828  Dictionary

Once I had a clear idea of what sobriety was, I started asking God to give me a sober heart, especially in parenting.  It quickly became evident to me that there is a severe lack of sobriety in our culture today, specifically in marriage and parenting.  It didn't take me long to make the commitment to the Lord and myself that I would parent with a sober mind.  It is so easy to parent out of reaction and feeling, not considering seriously all situations.  After watching others blunder their way through parenting without much regard for sobriety I saw that I would need to work hard and focus to do things differently.  At the time I thought it would be a habit change that would become customary to me.  Now I realize that it is a challenge that I will have to continue to purpose.  Without a will and desire to consider this it becomes too easy to be swayed by a have it all, forget the consequences attitude in our culture.

One of the first sober-minded decisions the Lord lead me to make was that I would take care of my children and be their main influence.  One way I have chosen to accomplish this is that I do most everything I can with my children in tow.  If I cannot do my errands or appointments with the children I wait until after Pete is available to care for them.  We have babysitters on occasion and much help from our parents, but I try not to rely on the care of others if at all possible.  God has called me to be the caretaker of my children and I take this command seriously.  As nice as it is to get a break or have some "me time" I realize that if it means I am unloading my responsibility onto someone else their is a much bigger problem.  For me it means I have not managed my house to the extent that it is a place of peace and rest for not just my husband and children but for me as well.  There are seasons where there is less of this, still I must create the peace by managing my home and family well.

Another area that I continually find myself challenged to remain sober in is entertainment and language choices.  The darn that comes out of jr's mouth today becomes the damn it out of their mouth later.  I do not allow my children to speak slang or swearing even if it is what our culture would view as innocent.  What goes in the ears generally comes out the mouth so just this language decision has narrowed our entertainment options.  We do not want to emulate the slick tongued, provocotive adolescents in pop culture so we usually skip watching them and listening to them.  Amazingly this has been one of the easier decisions to enforce.  There are so many great options in books, movies and music that aren't vulgar that we find we have plenty to keep us entertained.  The harder part is to encourage the children to not let their ears embrace what the world says when we are in it.

One last area that I will share with you about sobriety is the stance on the time our children spend away from home.  God has been very good to give us the confidence to make decisions about sleep-overs, camps and time with other adults for our children.  We very rarely entrust these precious, innocent little ones to other people's care simply because we want to take seriously the threats that are in this fallen and unfortunetely wicked world.   I went to numerous camps and sleep-overs as a child and I turned out ok, however that will never be a good enough reason for us to jeapordize our children's safety.   We do not lightly take these sorts of events into consideration.  There have been a few sleep-overs the girls have done, but rarely.  No one has gone to overnight camp as of yet.  Each time one of these events comes up we pray and really seek God's wisdom in sending our children out of our care and into someone elses.  It doesn't matter how many other families choose to send their kids, what matters is that we know that we are doing the right thing before the Lord.  

Our children are only children for a short while.  If we are not careful with the time we have with them we could really make the rest of their life difficult.  I am at times tempted to quiet being the strict mom.  Once in a while I feel like I am over protective, but I am not sure when I address these concerns from a sober view that these thoughts are anything other that the world's influence.