My Father's Daughter

The new year is here. Almost a month into 2013, just about 1/12 of the way through, and really, I haven't begun. I feel like each week I set out to make a fresh start and each week I fall flat. On my face. A mess. So many good intentions poorly executed. Then there were sick kids, a sick mama, sleep deprivation, a mysterious set of hives driving a 7 year old crazy; and maybe the most challenging- still working on sorting out how to all be home together. The time seems to be slipping by and the enemy will use any and all things to keep us from God's best for us. I need a plan. After prayer, prodding and a little arm twisting, I'm recommitting, reorganizing, and reconnecting to the vision and goals I have for my life, for the lives of those young souls I teach and raise. In the midst of gearing up to start again (again) I read this post . I read and I find it hard to believe that I'm looking at exactly what I need. {photo and manifesto credit: Ann Voskamp } Thi...

Five Minute Friday (on a Saturday). Where a whole crowd writes for five minutes for just the fun of it. It's community. It's writing. It makes me smile. Stop on over and join in. Again... GO How can I be here again? In this place of frustration with my self, frustration with my circumstance. How can this be my reality again? The failing and the falling and the never seeming to get it right. Again. I have good intentions and lofty expectations and again they fall flat. I suppose Paul felt the same when he wrote this all too familiar dance: "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing " .     {Romans 7:19}                    Again, I do not do the good I want. Why is it so hard? How can I wake up thinking that this day will be different but I fall back into all my old patterns?  I will choose the better way. To choose good...

So this might just be revolutionary . Fix your marriage by not focusing on the problems. Work on building up new strengths. Work on building up your spouse. Work on making your marriage stronger than it is. And then something amazing happens: lots of those problems you thought would never get worked out disappear. Don't focus on working out who did what and said what when, who's hurting whom and who has the biggest load to bear. Because when you're dividing up and pointing fingers, it only tears down a marriage. Work on building new strength and new value. Smile more. Seriously, just smile. Just smiling more can improve your marriage. Really. Even if you don't feel like smiling. Smiling elevates mood and they are contagious. It's the opposite of what most marriage counselors will do. Most go back and dig up the past. Old wounds surface and it all feels too hard. But there's another way.  I can't believe I haven't really thought of this bef...

A friend ask me to make this list months ago. I was disappointed when I sat down to write it that there weren't more to add. I'd love to hear your ideas. Leave them in them comments. I can be called strict when it comes to what movies and books I allow my kids to be exposed to. I truly believe that media can shape a world view so I try to be as selective as possible with what I allow to shape my kids. While I can, I want to protect the them from agendas and just nonsense that can be so common in today's entertainment and books aimed at children. The list is geared towards boys 10 and under because that's who live in my home. But most of these, I'm sure, girls will enjoy just as much. To make my highly recommend list the movie has to have a positive portrayal of adults and children, no (or almost no) questionable or obnoxious language, and an overall positive theme. I also have a list of movies I find ok or even good but they may have a small amount of question...

So its been a while. I haven't taken time to write. December seems like it was such a blur. It was a very stressful month for me {Ok so yes, more than slightly}. But good....I think. Those who know me know that when I read about something I tend to...um... really read about it.When I teach my kids I try to read everything I can about the subject. My sons like to ask good { hard ?} questions and being their mom and teacher makes me want to have as good a handle on tough topics as I can. Sometimes "every thing I can read" is more than other times (depends on my time and interest and necessity). I've never actually known just how much I love to learn until I started homeschooling my kids.  In December that subject was Rome in the 4th century and Constantine and the beginnings of the Christian "church" that we know today. Well, I became a little frustrated with what I was learning. I won't make this a history lesson but I learned that many { all ?} ...