God’s Gift

December 10, 2019 ~ rosesatdawn ~ 12 Comments

It’s the time of year when we are more aware of God’s gifts to us. I’m working on being more conscious of them year round, but this is definitely the time of year a lot of people take a minute and reflect. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the end of the year, it is a time to look back at everything that has happened and think and dream about what lies ahead.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I think part of the reason I’m more aware this year is several of our long-time prayers have been being answered lately. They weren’t necessarily answered in the way we wanted or expected, but God is definitely moving in big ways in our lives lately. I also have experienced some personal growth (I hope!) and am working hard to translate that growth and learning into my everyday life and interactions. Only my family could answer whether or not I have succeeded, but I remain hopeful. If I don’t get it right away, with time and through God’s help, I will eventually get there. I will become more like the person God created me to be. I will be more like the person He intended before sin entered this world. I pray I always am working to become her.

1 John 1:9

⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I love the Christmas season. It is my absolute favorite time of year. While I enjoy all parts of the year for different reasons, there is just something about Christmas that warms my soul. The smells. The wonder. The snow. The anticipation. The birth of Jesus. My continued realization of what He actually did for me all contribute to make this a very special time of year.

John 3:16-17

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

I know this can be a very busy time of year for a lot of people. We are taking a large chunk of this month off from school. Well, not totally. Just a lighter schedule. It helps me out because our kids always want to make presents for each other and this will give me the dedicated time to help focus on helping them without feeling like we have to also get x, y, and z done! Anytime we can have less stress is a good idea in my book. Less stress means more time to focus on what is really important. After all, that was the whole point of this post. Let’s remember to focus on what’s really important this season.

Isaiah 9:6

⁶For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

May you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Summer Learning

July 30, 2019 ~ rosesatdawn ~ 23 Comments

I always have grand plans. Plans of how our homeschool year will run. Plans of how our days will go. Unfortunately for me, many of these plans don’t work out. I’m always left feeling like we aren’t doing enough because we don’t do everything on my “list”. Well, the truth of the matter is this is a lie. A big, fat lie. Our kids are learning. They are progressing. They are processing everything and making connections. As parents, we worry about our kids. We want them to do well. We want them to be happy and to “succeed”. Success looks different to everyone. For some people, success may include college. For others, it’s trade school. For some, it’s becoming an author or a CEO. The point is, success depends on what is valued. For us, we want our kids to be independent. We want them to find some happiness in life. We want them to love God and follow His prompting towards whatever life He has set for them.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God has the big picture in mind. He knows where we are headed and how we can help others learn about Him. He has only our good in mind. Guess what? I can’t see the big picture. I don’t know where we are headed in life. I know our end goal, but the twists and turns in our life ahead are unknown to me. After all, I am not God. I am simply an imperfect human being doing her best to follow God’s will for my life. So I, naturally, focus on what I can control. I focus on what I do know. And I make lists. I make plans. I like to cross off items as I finish them. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It makes me feel like I am moving forward. And while there is nothing wrong with this, it is not the be-all and end-all. Our journey towards God and living with Him forever in the afterlife are the end goal.

1 Timothy 2:3-4

This is good, and pleases God our Savior,

who wants all people to be saved and

to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Sometimes in the midst of planning and dealing with everyday life, I lose sight of this fact. I lose sight of the end goal. I forget that just because we didn’t continue doing our science curriculum during the summer doesn’t mean that we aren’t moving towards our end goal. Just because we haven’t done a foreign language lesson every day, or even every week, doesn’t mean we aren’t learning. Just because our days don’t look like what I want them to, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t making progress. Our children are outside playing in the dirt. They are climbing, running, and jumping. They are moving their bodies. They are looking at the sky and taking in the songs of birds. They are examining plants and worms. They are cooking and baking and inventing new recipe ideas. They are sitting down and doing nothing. They are learning. They are loving, squabbling, and praying before every meal. They are loving on their three-month-old brother. They are helping with the chores and gathering wood for the winter. They are watching the seeds they planted in the garden grow.

Sure, I can’t document everything they are doing right now and consider it “school work” to prove that we are actually teaching our children. I can’t quantify it and put it all down on a worksheet or have them write an essay on their days. I mean, I could, but really, what would that be teaching them? That all life is supposed to be considered work? How about rest? After all, even God rested after He created the world. And if He considered it important, then I should as well. They are learning. They are probably learning more about what they are going to need to succeed during our time off than during the school year. Yes, I just said that. And it may just be a reflection of what we value in life, but we don’t care if our kids go on to college. We don’t care if they “just” want to stay home and be a housewife, or run a small farm, or write novels all day, even be an artist. We care about them following God’s calling in life. And right now, their calling is to take in the glory of God’s creation. It’s to go out, have some fun, do a little work, and rest. Now if I can only remember to do the same, then we might just be on the right track.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

How is your summer going?

Another Chapter

July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 ~ rosesatdawn ~ 15 Comments

Well, here we are again. Another homeschool year has been successfully wrapped up. My papers have all been filed and approved by the state (thank you, Lord!). We are all set for the next year. Sometimes I really wish we lived in a state that was not as restrictive in their homeschooling laws. It’s pretty ridiculous considering that we are choosing to homeschool our children and WANT them to have a great education. Are there some people out there who would slack in educating their kids? I’m sure there are. However, I also believe that the vast majority of parents who homeschool are doing so to give their kids a better education than is available at public school. Yes, we homeschool because we value what they learn. Yes, we are trying, to a certain extent, to shelter them from the world until they are old enough to discern for themselves. Yes, we do want them to learn certain things that the world doesn’t value. But ultimately, we also want them to know how to read, how to write legibly, and how to use math in real-world situations. I have, in our “official” seven years of homeschooling, switched curriculum THREE times. I am, so far, happy with what we are primarily using now, but I also wouldn’t mind trying out a couple more. (Cue our oldest begging me not to switch it up on her…AGAIN) The point is, as homeschooling parents, we are constantly trying to find the “best” curriculum for our children. We WANT them to learn. We even, dare I say, want them to LOVE to learn. We want learning to be fun and engaging. We want our kids to finish up the year saying, hey, remember when we learned about x, or y, or z? So all I’m trying to say is, can we make it a little easier on parents at the end of the year? Can we maybe not make homeschooling such a process? Well, since we have our own theories on why “they” might not want that to be the case, I won’t ask that question with any sincerity.

Ultimately, it is what it is and we will keep plugging along. I will keep doing our end of the year assessments, we will keep getting each child “evaluated”, and we will keep teaching our children values, morals, and truth. I will keep stressing about whether we are doing enough, whether there is a better curriculum we could be using, and whether or not our children actually understand that we are, ultimately, doing this for their own good! God Bless!

Proverbs 22:6

6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

A Baby is Born

April 25, 2019 ~ rosesatdawn ~ 21 Comments

I started a blog post for Easter Sunday on Thursday. I figured I would finish it up on Good Friday.

I also decided to clean out the fridge on Friday.

And I needed to write out a grocery list for Saturday. So I decided to do it Friday.

Long story short, I didn’t do any of those things on Friday. Instead, we had a baby. Baby D made his entrance into this world in two hours flat. Our midwife didn’t make it in time for the birth. Our eldest daughter (A) caught him as he came out. She did a wonderful job and is now considering becoming a midwife. As she says, “I didn’t realize catching the baby was so important!” We are feeling so blessed right now. He is healthy and alert and so interested in the world around him. His siblings are in love with him and want to be near him all the time. My husband and I are still catching our breaths and trying to function on limited sleep. This newborn stage is so precious and so fleeting at the same time. I have grown to appreciate this stage more and more every time we go through it. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Psalm 139:13-14

¹³For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Maybe I will have my Easter Sunday post finished in time for next year!

God Is In Control

March 22, 2019 ~ rosesatdawn ~ 13 Comments

“But I’m ready. I really am. Mentally, physically, I’m ready.”