Like any mom, whether you have four kids or one, the daily grind can get overwhelming and discouraging. Nothing is ever enough, and basically, cleaning the house is like eating an Oreo cookie while brushing your teeth...it's never really gonna get clean! Kids are whining, the phone is ringing, emails are piling up, and it's 11 A.M. and you haven't even brushed your teeth (oh, let's get honest, there's days if I don't have to go out that my teeth don't get brushed or a shower doesn't happen 'til after lunch!). But, even in the midst of all of this chaos, I've realized that deep down it IS well with my soul. If all of it was gone, I would be incomplete. So much joy comes from being a mom and a wife, and a friend, and a leader, and a neighbor, and a sister and daughter, and a woman. All of these roles, although pulling from many directions at times, is such an honor. It is such a privilege from God that He has given me an opportunity to live out these roles so that I might know this joy and feel complete and know that He has given all of these people and this beautiful life because He loves me. Quite honestly, it's overwhelmingly humbling.
Life has a way of getting in the way of knowing God. Sometimes it's hard to know that God has all things designed to give our lives hope and a future, and to make good things even in the midst of our struggles. It's hard to see that it is well with our soul all of the time because we find ourselves so wrapped up in whether it is well with our bank account, our kids' behavior, our marriage, our career/household, etc...that we equate that to whether it can be well with our soul....but really, they don't have anything to do with each other. Trust me, there's a lot of things I don't have together, and many flaws that hide even deep in the pit of my gut, but it is well with my soul because I know it is Him alone who gives me life and joy and covers me with His love. It is more than I could ever ask for. Therefore, on days when things don't seem to be going my way, worshiping Him is one thing that brings me back to Him and know that He is in control; and as long as I'm good with Him, everything else will fall into place (eventually!). Who doesn't love getting out of the house and driving ALONE (ok, well, that is a praise by itself) and just turning up a Chris Tomlin worship song and belting it out in the car? C'mon, I know I'm not the only one!
Ok, enough from my insighful soapbox. Some of you have asked how homeschooling has been going. Here's an update: Fortunately, Brooklyn is a very eager and quick learner. She looks forward to most of her schoolwork and we tend to work pretty quickly. It definitely gives us some structure to our day. She has learned about seven cursive letters so far and is even starting to string some of the letters together to form words. We've been reading a lot! Nothing too "academic". We love reading Junie B. Jones...she is a funny gal and Brooklyn loves to listen to the stories, and I love to read them! She's like a Ramona little girl and she's in Kindergarten, which makes it very easy to relate to a lot of her dilemmas:) Brookyn's reading and writing a lot on her own too...I'm amazed at everything she picks up and is trying on her own. She's making great strides in her math work too. I'm slowly coming a long with a curriculum I'm trying with Camden and Savannah. They enjoy learning too and some things we all do together, but they've got their own thing too....it's all been fun.
MOPS has been going well this year. I'm so amazed at all of the amazing leadership I work with in MOPS. Seriously, each of these women bring so much to the table....whether it's their love for people, prayer, the Word, mentoring, etc...these ladies ROCK! I am sooooo thankful simply to know each of them, and even more blessed to work with them in ministry.
Finally, Cade and I took our 10 yr. anniversary trip to Washington D.C. We took Ellie with us, so it wasn't necessarily a break...and we walked hours each day, so it wasn't necessarily restful...but hey, we were away! It wasn't a destination I'd choose again for a re-energizing getaway, but under the circumstances of having a baby, it worked for us and we did have a great time. It was a wonderful time to reconnect, laugh aloud at each other's jokes (and we laugh a lot...even when we're only funny to each other!), and create special memories. I am grateful to know that it doesn't take too much for me to realize what a great man I have married. Although I'd never pass up a good "woo", the little things Cade does for me, mean so much. He still opens doors (and the cardoor) for me first, he does the dishes without me asking, he makes our bed in the morning, he plays with the kids, changes diapers, and so much more...I even got flowers just the other day for no reason at all! Each morning I roll out of bed, even if, as we call it in our house, I'm "grumpy pants", he still finds ways to love me and serve me....I don't always deserve it.
This week, Aaron (our pastor) has challenged us to serve one another. If it is well with my soul, and the circumstances I have written about above have been any indication as to how God is blessing my life, I will surely be finding ways to humble myself and serve my family, friends, my church, and the people I come in contact with this week. I challenge you do to the same. God bless and take care!
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