So in April/May I blogged a few posts about my “Quest for Simplicity” and on being able to “Breathe”, which included writing a “Family Vision Statement” and getting to the place where I felt like “we were ready to move“. I shared some of the “Things I had noticed” in deep cleaning/organizing my house and I shared a few tips if “You wanted to organize your house“ 

I also organized my basement and we also cleaned up our back yard of toys we never use. 

You may wondering, “How’s it going?”

Well, after investing countless hours and days into organizing my home I am pleased to announce that we’ve maintained this more simplistic lifestyle. 

The key for me has been my check-list:

The list is hung in my plate cabinet, so I see it often. Having this list has been beyond helpful in maintaining. As you see I’ve not done everything, each month, but I found not everything needed to happen once a month.

How about you? Have any of you tackled any organization projects lately?

Does it ever amaze you how you respond to your children?

You think, “Before becoming a mom I was so patient, understanding, calm…but after kids I yell more than I thought and come unglued at play-doh mess all over the kitchen floor!”

A few months ago I was talking to a gal who is pregnant with her first. I said that being a mom will bring out all the “junk” in you. The junk is there already, but being a mom will bring it to light.

Oh yes, having kids sanctifies you…if you let it!

Your lack of patients, your yelling, your selfishness, your “junk” is all there before kids, kids just have a way of bringing it all to the surface. They bring it out. 

But it’s not the kids, it’s just God using your kids to cause your “sin” to shine like the bright noonday sun! 

It’s not fun, it’s ugly, it’s painful….but the sandpaper on your rough areas causes us to become more like Christ.

You know the story about the clear water, then a clean stick stirs it up and the water becomes dirty. The water yells at the stick, “Hey look how dirty you made me!” The stick replies, “The dirt was there all along, it had just settled to the bottom and I just stirred it up!”

When you embrace the “stirring” and see your selfishness as sin, you begin to let the joys of motherhood take root and cause you to bloom even greater for our Lord! Today let motherhood sanctify you!

Last fall when all my friends were posting “first day of school” pictures on facebook I felt like this great divide happened. It wasn’t intentional, it wasn’t to leave me out, it wasn’t their choice, it wasn’t even anything that has changed our friendship at all…it was just we came to that fork in the road and “I took the path less traveled by”.

This year, I guess I feel more comfortable in my skin, I am more confident as a homeschool mom, and I am more confident in our decision to home educate the boys. This past year I taught my son to read. I’ve watched them discover life, God, faith, feelings along with numbers, some abstract concepts, and social skills. 

Each year I have 1200 hours with my boys that I wouldn’t have if they went to school. For this I am so grateful for the time spent around the kitchen table doing school. The days in the backyard discovering new things (today we caught a butterfly). Or even the rainy days we spend on the couch reading. 

Life as a homeschool mom isn’t easy, but totally worth it! 

I read this article from a homeschool mom and I thought it was great: Being a Homeschool Mom Means My Life is Not My Own.

I don’t remember requesting the book: The Emotionally Healthy Church, from the library, but I must have. My husband came home with it the other night and I tore through almost the entire book in just one day.

We are all at different levels of emotional maturity and what this book says is, “You can’t grow spiritually without growing emotionally.” 

I couldn’t agree more! 

The older I get, and hopefully more mature, I see that this is not a widely discussed topic. But I think that growing emotionally is so key. 

Check out this quiz to see how emotionally mature you are: Emotionally Mature Quiz

I am a recovering lazy-oholic.

This confession may come as a shock to some of you. But it’s true!

I think I started noticing my lazy tendencies the first year or so we homeschooled the boys. I just didn’t want to be tied to a schedule or routine. I wanted to sit around, play on the computer, or basically do nothing. Actually pretty much it was selfish and self-centeredness that was at the core of my laziness. I got upset if my “down time” was interpreted by a needy child. Most nights I left many chores undone. 

I used the excuse of “motherhood”, lack of sleep, little boys, or whatever to avoid doing basic household chores. 

But over the course of time God started impressing on my heart, the core of laziness was selfishness. A wanting my own way and not wanting to serve. 

As a wife, as a mom, as a homemaker there’s no room for laziness. 

Where will my boys learn to be hard workers? From me, mostly. They will see my example and follow. If I allow laziness to be apart of my every day life, that’s what they’ll see as normal. I want my sons to be hard workers, who know and understand life is full of work. Work was created before the fall, so work is part of God’s plan for us. 

Now, I do have down time, rest, and relaxation, but the heart attitude is different. God also made rest as part of His plan for us! God has shown me that He gives me the grace and energy to accomplish the tasks I need to get done or what He has called me to do. 

Also, I want to say that if you are in a SUPER BUSY mom season (i.e. little newborn baby and aren’t sleeping at all) this post is not directed at you. When you’re in that newborn stage everything is out the window. (I just don’t want anyone to take this post wrong.) 

My laziness came when the boys were older, established in a routine, when I was sleeping…it was just a wrong heart motive!

Feels good to be a recovering lazy-oholic! Praise God for His gentle hand of correction just when I needed it!

Today we started school! We go 6 weeks on, 2 off, nearly all year round. This summer we took like 8 weeks off and really have had fun! We’ll keep having fun, but start the routine of school each morning. 

Miles is in 1st grade and we are doing My Father’s World with him! The thing I am most excited about the biblical worldview and teaching him an overview of the bible! (I know someday I’ll think he looks so young in this picture, but he’s so grown up to me!)

With Miles I did more of a formal kindergarten with him, but found “Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” was the best thing for him. Also, a supplement workbook. We’re keeping it simple with Luke! Of course he’ll be around for all the bible lessons with Miles!

Our school room! 

Amazing we’re on year three!

First day of school 2009

First day of school 2010

A blizzard:

A mircoburst (This awesome video was taken at the lake: Microburst):

A derancho (sorry didn’t get any pictures of this, but it left almost a million people without power in the Chicagoland area. Many were without power for 4 to 5 days. It took down so many trees!)

A lighting bolt hitting a tree about 30 feet from their bedroom that is associated with the most rain fall in one day in Chicago HISTORY:

Summer time, fun time, play time, and free time. Lazy days, no schedule, summer camp, sleeping in, catching lighting bugs, watching storms roll in, beach, water, swimming, the smell of sun block, driving with the windows down, family vacations, picnics, and trips to Six Flags. 

How do you describe summer?

This summer I’ve been aware of one thing: our guards is down. 

We so easily flip into “play mode” and satan sees the breach in our wall and takes advantage.

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Have you found you slip in your daily quiet time?

Is it easier to skip church in the summer?

Do you find that your normal routine is so off, that making time for God is not a priority?

With your kids around do you struggle for some quality prayer time?

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God has impressed on my heart the need to raise the battle cry, to be more alert this summer, and be on guard. He’s called me to do some random things… too weird to even post here (you’d really think I’ve fallen off my rocker). But I’ve obeyed what He has asked me to do. I am praying that we are keeping our walls strong and not allowing a breach in any wall of protection.  

I’ve been praying like I have never before. I have this image of “storming the gates of heaven” for the Bride of Christ. That God’s people will be aware of this “let down of our guard” and be even more keep of the battle we’re in!

We had another big storm blow through last Monday morning. It knocked out power to 800,000 people in the great wider Chicago area. 

My mom was out of power for 5 days! It was a far wider spread storm than the one we had 10 days earlier. 

Yesterday at church a guy was sharing that a couple months back he had two friends who were about ready to lose their auto body shop because of the slow business. 

Then the storms hit.

Trees fell on cars. Cars, that now need repair!

He said his friends business is overflowing.

You may be praying for God to change something, to help you in some area in your life that feels is overcome with a drought. You may be looking for change.

You’re looking for peaceful change, maybe you should be looking for a storm!

God may use something to break us completely down before He builds us back up. He may bring a huge “storm” in our life…instead of complaining, watch how God will use it to prune you, grow you, and change you!

Listened to an awesome sermon today: The Prayer that Changes Everything

Last night we had a tornado (according to one report, others are saying a mirco-burst) come through our community.

It came from no where.

We had no warning.

We’re all safe!

The weather pattern is west to east, right?!

Well, there were these awful storms over the lake (which we live about 1/2 mile from) and I thought, they’ll blow east.

Around 8:15 or 8:30 I was holding Clark, who had a hard time falling asleep last night, and we were watching Andy Griffith. 

I noticed the wind picking up, so set him down and started closing windows. Within a few seconds I realized this was not a small wind storm. I starting hearing branches cracking all around me. John handed me Clark, told me to get to the basement, and he went up to get the big boys.

After about 20 minutes in the basement, John checked the internet and all was clear for us to come up. 

We were shocked to see what happened in those few minutes! Our entire road was blocked, trees down everywhere! It was crazy! The neighbors say they saw a funnel cloud go down the street just 1/2 a block from us. The weather reported 94 MPH winds (F-1 is 71 MPH….Joplin got 190 MPH, just to have perspective).

When John got to work today he told me to drive around and take pictures.

Trees just picked up and laid on their sides by this massive wind!

My mom reminded me that the wind that blew through last night was a mere breath out of the nostril of God. Yes, He is so powerful and we, who can’t even knock over a small tree, have the audacity to balk God’s authority in our life.

His Spirit can move that powerfully, that unexpectedly, that quickly, to prune us! 

We noticed that some of these trees looked “healthy” on the outside (green leaves), yet their insides were rotted out. Again, just makes me think of our spiritual lives. We may look good: going to church, tithing, doing “church-y” things…but our insides are rotted out.

When the storms of life blow, and they will, will our roots and insides be strong enough to handle the wind? Praying that God prunes any dead branches or fixes any hollowed out insides in my life! 

MORE PICTURES: HERE