Why it’s truly a Black Friday and where we find Light.
I find it deeply ironic that it happens on the day after the American Thanksgiving. Yes, on the day after a nation sits around the table of thanks – that table cloth is quickly yanked from under the piled plates. And the race begins to buy, buy, buy. People pour into stores snatching up the latest gizmos, gadgets, toys, clothes, stuff. Because don’t we all need just a little more stuff? It’s one of the biggest ‘shopping’ days of the year as retailers compete for the first real burst of Christmas shopping insanity. And it’s insane alright. The scenes look like a bunch of crazed, starving animals attacking their prey.…
Whispers from our first Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
If you aren’t familiar with the Feast of Tabernacles, can I whisper a suggestion to consider reading my last post, written as we prepared to celebrate? I stall miserably in taking down our Sukkah. I watched through the back window as my husband disassembled the last of our beautiful ‘tabernacle’ this evening. The back deck is eerily solemn and empty now without the curtains and lights and flowers and banners and all the beauty we created for our celebration of The Feast of Tabernacles. So many memories were made in that tent out the sliding door. But by day 9 our pumpkin lanterns were sagging and the table…
There is no such thing a ‘just a mom’, the lies we believe, and The Mission of Motherhood.
Being a Mom isn’t easy. Being a Mom is hard some days. Being a Mom when my three children were all babies was nearly impossible. Being a Mom is also the best, most wonderful blessing that has ever happened to me. For nine years now, I’ve been walking this crazy journey of ‘Motherhood’. Doesn’t the word ‘Motherhood’ make it sound all noble and old-fashioned? And maybe to many people the idea of ‘Motherhood’ is old fashioned, ancient even. My life was dramatically altered when, in just over three years, I had three children. I realized quickly that babies required not just a bit of me but every last ounce of…
When We’re Paralyzed and in Need
We all sit around our small living room, coffee and tea in hands. Bibles are open and scattered over laps and tables, and spread wide over children’s tiny knees. We’re open to Mark 2. We’re reading through the gospel of Mark with our home church and sharing together this journey of discipleship. The atmosphere is cozy as we snuggle knee to knee in a circle of old chairs and the crazy flowered couch. We read from God’s Word: “A few days later, when Jesus came back to Capernaum, the news spread that He was home. Many people gathered together so that there was no room in the house, not even…
Unplugging, time, and who is my Master?
After six months unplugged… here we go… It’s 8:36 am on a cool August morning and the kids are making a fleet of paper airplanes to ambush Daddy. I glance out the back window – a small row of golden sunflowers sways in the breeze and the quiet cluck-cluck of five hens warms my heart right up. The leaves are already falling, we’re picking tomoatoes, and the pumpkins swell. I’m reminded to smile, to breathe, to give thanks. I jot the gifts down in my journal, usually open somewhere in the kitchen. I’m reminded of the truth that has shaped the past several months, if not years, of my life. Time is…
Nurturing a Child’s Soul…
In his book Heartfelt Discipline, Clay Clarkson speaks about the importance of cultivating the soil of our child’s heart. He refers to the parable of the sower and the seed and compares it to how we, as parents prepare our children to live for God. “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no…
Power and Light.
The Hot Cross Buns were half-way cooked when the power kicked off two days ago. The past hours have been a crazy mess of ice, wind, storms, falling trees, and no electricity for 30 hours or so. Yes, we’re smack in the middle of the ice storm that hit all across the states and eastern Canada. The ice was built up so thick on tree limbs they bent and snapped under the pressure. In our old neighborhood branches smashed through homes, cars, and knocked down more hydro wires than we can count. We pile into Grandma’s for Sunday dinner, and we heat casserole dishes on the Bar-B-Q and talk about the damage and God’s…
Rhythms of Grace
The first ‘big storm’ of the season hit today. We were up and out of the house at 7:30am, braving the gusts, snow drifts, and winding roads. Hey, this is Canada after all – what’s a snow storm without breakfast at Tim Horton’s? My husband and I sip hot coffee and the kids munch muffins while the farmers next to us talk weather and harvests and how much snow we’re ‘gonnah git’. I smile and try to inhale long and deep. I can feel the tension rising in my neck as the snow falls around us. Winter. I love Christmas but I really don’t love Winter. Or snow. Or the cold. Or…
Hope, Peace and The Prince.
It has been one of those days. The kids bicker about toys, who is in who’s room, who isn’t in who’s room, who is eating the first bite first, who is eating the last bite last, who has which markers, and WHO, for goodness sake, is wearing out the black? The littlest boy breaks down at least seven times over a Playmobil Knight he thinks he can buy today. Not because anyone promised him he could, but because he’s saving up. He already has $2 – from the next time Mama offers to buy him a treat. At that coming time, he’ll refuse and save the money instead, thus, he’s already ahead. …
Reading through Matthew in December
I’m really excited to introduce a series for December. Through the team at The Homeschool Village, we were encouraged to share a Christmas reading activity or book study. I felt led to really focus on scripture in the month leading up to Christmas. This December, our family will be reading through the book of Matthew. We are doing this with a 5, 6, and 8 year old (for age interest sake!). I have broken down the book into easy to read sections for every day in December. If you haven’t read the bible before or don’t own a bible, I pray you can get one in your hands. Many churches will give…
