New blogs have been posted at:

Teaching What is Good.  Come follow me there.

Once again, I'm behind this week.  Well, that is the purpose for GROWING in organization...that I get behind and see how far I need to grow.  Another opportunity!!

Here we go:

Monday

B - cereal
L - pb&j sandwiches, chips
S - shepherd's pie

Tuesday

B - waffles
L - cornbread & rice, veggies
S - quiche (ham & broccoli)

Wednesday

B - muffins
L - fish sticks, french fries, carrot sticks
S - pasta w/marinara sauce

Thursday

B - pancakes
L - calzones
S - grilled chicken, baked potatoes, green beans

Friday

B - omlettes (ham & cheese)
L - muffins & rice, veggies
S - taco soup, corn muffins

Saturday

B - cream of wheat
L - grilled cheese (& ham), chips, veggie tray
S - hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, veggies

Sunday

B - cinnamon rolls
L - mac & cheese
S - leftovers, cereal

Have you ever noticed how those things often go together?  I think so much of it has to do with the way God teaches us and strengthens us in our love for Him.

Last week, as we were preparing to decorate our Christmas tree, we pulled up our box of ornaments from the basement only to find them all ruined by mold. Some of the ornaments just disintegrated! I am not a sentimental person, nor am I a crier, but all of our ornaments were either gifts from loved ones or  handmade by the children and I - some even by students from when I taught school more than 30 years ago.  And I sobbed!  My heart was broken over the loss, yet I was feeling foolish about crying over "things", things that would not last into eternity, things insignificant in the light of major trials others were going through.  But, my heart was heavy nonetheless.

I just needed to cry out to others who would understand so I posted to my dear sweet sisters on CHFWeb and their love and compassion quickly helped to ease my heart.  I spent time with the Lord in prayer and read some scriptures and went (by God's design, not mine) to John 11 - the story of Lazarus dying and Jesus raising him from the dead.

Now, I realize that the loss of ornaments is NOTHING compared to the loss of a beloved brother, but the Lord pointed out that Jesus wept with Mary and Martha over their brother's death.  God spoke to me that the things that are precious to us, those who love and trust Him, are not insignificant to Him. He wept with Mary and Martha and his spirit was deeply troubled. He knew full well that His plan was to raise Lazarus from the dead, but these sisters - who were so very dear to Him - were grieving, and He shared that grief with them.  And Jesus wept.

He reminded me that the preciousness of my ornaments (or anything of this temporal life that we lose) is not about their material worth. It is about what they represented to me in relation to those I love(d).   It was a sweet word He spoke to my heart and was a great encouragement to me.

But, leave it to His wonderful and abundant grace and love...He didn't stop there.  My "special ladies" (as my son calls them) at CHFWeb pulled together and decided to send me special ornaments FROM THEIR OWN TREES to replace the ones we lost!  I have had almost 60 women wanting to send ornaments to us!  We have received some every day this week with beautiful letters of love and sweet stories of these ornaments. Some are new but with ideas special to the sender, some are old with memories of their own. Some are from the children of my "special ladies" who wanted to share with my children.  All of them have blessed every one of us, have sent me to tears (usually where I cannot even read the cards) and have brought NEW memories and stories to our family tradition.

This Christmas season didn't quite turn out like I planned -- but it ended up being much MORE than I could ever hope or think.  I am so humbled and awestruck by the love of these precious sisters in Christ and their generosity to me.  I love that none of them said, "You spiritual dweeb! These are only THINGS!"  No sir - they exemplified Jesus to me - they wept with me and then, their love and giving spirits gave new life and vigor to my hurting heart.   

I am a woman blessed. 

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays. The month building up has been opportunities for our family to focus on giving thanks.  Now, granted, when we have some children who are hormonal messes, it can sometimes be a challenge to be thankful on a continual basis, but for the most part we have been able to really think about the things that are blessings to our lives.

My sweet sister-in-law shared a wonderful suggestion as a guest poster on Blissfully Domestic that has been a fun activity we've done as well.  It's just such a great time of year to think about the blessings we have and to think about others.

Unfortunately, we seldom get to have others over.  We live very far from family and only rarely have had family visit us (with 10 of us, it is not always so easy for us to travel, so we don't go anywhere) and almost everyone from our church has family nearby or they travel to family. But on the rare times when we've been able to have company, it is such a joy for us all!

This year our church has decided to open an opportunity to the community as we serve dinner on Thanksgiving Day.  As of today, there were 200 people signed up for it and many people from our church ministering in one capacity or another.  I had the joy of helping with the set up (it's called the decorating, although what I did was lugging and placing things, GRATEFUL that there was a gal who knew what she was doing as far as the decorating goes and I was happy to follow her directions) today and hearing stories of the abundant work of our God in supplying all the needs and working out details behind the scenes.  I never cease to marvel at God and His care for even the most minute details of our lives.

For our own celebrations, I don't sweat about the details.  We serve the foods that are most fun for us - pasta being the first course and 4 kinds of pies pulling up the rear with meats and homemade rolls and gravy highlighting the middle.  Getting most of the work done the day before (in a slow and leisurely way) leaves Thursday low key and fun. The children jump in and help when I need it and just hang out with me as I work.  We eat whenever I think I'll be done, sometimes early, sometimes late.  If the turkey is cooking slowly we'll push things back, if it's done early, we'll have an earlier repast.  We are a very flexible and laid back kind of family and that adds to our joy.

I'm so thankful for having all my children home with me and for the enjoyment we have with one another.  I'm thankful they all love the Lord and that they love having deep theological discussions with us (and as anyone who knows Kevin or me - especially Kevin -  can tell you, this happens a lot) and discussing all topics of the day in light of the Word of God.  I love that my children have fun and quirky senses of humor and I'm thankful that they can take a joke, make a joke and enjoy a joke.  I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who is very sensitive to my needs and who challenges me to think about God in ways that burst open the boxes I've put Him in.

In short, Thanksgiving is such a time of blessing for me.  I wish you joy and blessings this Thanksgiving season. 

Well, it is Thanksgiving week and that means Hannah comes home from college on Wednesday.  We are looking forward to it and looking to make some of her favorite meals during her short time home. But still hoping to keep expenses low so we can have some treats for the holiday.  I might be able to keep the entire week menu under $75 - including what I need for Thanksgiving dinner.

 Monday:

B - homemade waffles
L -  popcorn, fruit, string cheese
S - pasta w/white or marinara sauce (need 1 box pasta)

Tuesday:

B - chocolate chip scones
L - grilled cheese & ham, chips (need 3 loaves of bread)
S - taco soup, corn muffins

Wednesday:

B - breakfast burritos 
L - pigs in a blanket, french fries (need 1 pkg hot dogs & 2 pkg crescent rolls)
S - baked fish, rice, veggies

Thursday:

B - various muffins
L - Thanksgiving meal (need turkey, ravioli, chocolate pudding mix)
S - leftovers

Friday:

B - omlettes & toast 
L - sandwiches (from leftovers), chips (need 3 bags chips)
S - pasta carbonara (need 2 boxes angel hair pasta, whipping cream, bacon, parmesan cheese)

Saturday:

B - oatmeal
L - scalloped potatoes & ham (need potatoes)
S - homemade pizza (requested from Hannah) (need mozzarella cheese) 

Sunday:

B - pancakes
L -  mac & cheese (need 3 boxes)
S -  leftovers/cereal

I REALLY wish I were an organized person.  You have no idea how dearly I wish it!  For 7 years I lived with my best friend (Dianne), a very organized gal and I did learn some things - but not nearly enough.  For another year I lived with Olga Organized (otherwise known as Beverly) who would put Martha Stewart to shame!  And again, I learned things from her - but merely enough to realize how terribly challenged I was in this area!

Then I got married and had children and TRULY found out how despicable I was in the area of organization.  People assume (I have NO idea why) that because I have  8 children that I must be organized to "get it all done".  Of course they begin with the FALSE assumption that I DO get it all done.  I don't even THINK about it all, let alone get it done! But this really is a area I want to grow in and master.  I will never be like Beverly or even Dianne, but I CAN be better than Kate at this point in my life.  And I have gotten better over the years - but with 10 of us home much of the time, better seldom fits the need.

I have spent the last year perusing  organization or decluttering or thrifty decorating blogs and websites. Sometimes they encourage, sometimes they discourage me.  I see how others get things in order and I realize that I need to set goals according to who I am and according to who our family is.  I can't expect Better Homes and Gardens but neither do I have to settle for Demolition Derby - I think there has to be a happy in-between that will work for me and my household without getting my focus out of whack.

For me, my focus is a BIG aspect of all of this.  God has given me a ministry in my home: to my husband and my children but also to other women.  I have spent many years stressing over what I do wrong (and the list is long enough for ANYONE to stress over), where I fail and fall short but I've come to find that this is a tool the enemy wants to use to keep my focus in the wrong place. And I do NOT mean it is wrong to focus on being more organized...particularly since I think part of our being created in the image of God is carrying out the order that He brought from the formless world at its creation. BUT I also know that I must put people above things.  

I am not generally an obsesser but for one reason or another my lack in this area can become an obsession for me. But I need to learn the balance that keeping up with the laundry IS part of God's plan and order while not forgetting to make that time I need to listen to my children who need to talk or to be hugged (and surprisingly enough, I DO have a few of these). That working on organization doesn't have to mean I ignore my children and our precious times of fellowship and laughter and talking.  That my working on my own skills in this area is part of my ministry in training my children, not taking away from them but adding to them.  Of course obsession, however, is NOT from the Lord as it takes my heart, mind and spirit off of Him and His plans and goals for me and puts it all on me and on a task.

So, the goal is growth with balance and wisdom and a heart always truly centered on God.  If I ever get this down, I'll let you know how I did it!  Don't expect a post any time soon, I'm afraid.  But at least I think my mind is focused in the right direction.  Now, on to some read-aloud time with the young ones.