It rattles my brain to realize that we are closing out 2017 and welcoming in 2018. Honestly I believe 2017 has been the fastest whirlwind of a year that I can remember!!! It has been a year of so much adventure and dreams fulfilled and yet it
was very intense with one activity following another.
Highlights for me
would be the publication of my book “Legacy Reflections of a Homeschooled,
Homeschooling Mama” and the purchase of our home in Ohio. Our family also enjoyed several great
conferences this year including a marriage get-away conference last
February.
Realizing how fast
the last year flew by I am thinking about the verse that says, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12 The days, weeks, and months are flying by at lightning
speed, and I want to be purposeful about how I use my time and redeem the
moments to invest into the hearts and lives of my family.
Looking into 2018
there are several things that are important to me. Of course there are many more than I could
list here, but here are some things on my heart at this point. Personally I want to have deeper communion
and surrender to my Lord and surrender to His continuing sanctification process
in my life. I look at the legacy of
ladies like Elisabeth Elliot and realize that she spent a lifetime getting to
the point that she was at as an older, godly Titus 2 lady. So many have been blessed by her talks and
writings as a result of her making daily choices to surrender her life to the Lord and cooperating with His sanctification process in her life. Older women of the faith don’t suddenly “arrive” wise at an older age. They grow into those
special ladies over a lifetime of surrender, obedience and trusting in the Lord
to guide them. I want to grow older
gracefully and to become wiser in the process.
On the family level
I desire to continue on with vision in raising our children according to
Deuteronomy 6:7 as we “Sit in our house, and when we walk by the way, and when we lie down, and when we rise up." I have noticed that vision was sometimes easier to come by when I was a
younger Mama. It seems I could get abundant inspiration, in the early years of mothering, by reading a good mommy blog or a new book, etc. At this juncture in
mothering, however, I have to pray for vision and faith to keep pressing onward. There are many reasons for that. One is that I have seen spiritual devastation
in so many Christian families and it can cause paralyzing fear. I have to fight for faith and perseverance
trusting in the Lord and not in myself.
Also, I am older with more aches and pains and just plain tired a lot of
the time. Additionally I am now raising children in many different seasons with different needs and it is a juggling act to be sure. Also, at this point in life I
have seen significant challenges to some of my ideals and dreams and realize just how
much I am not in control of our family or my world. It is truly a walk of faith!!! What I am trying to express is that I see a
lot of Mamas in my stage of the journey growing very weary, and I feel that same
tendency myself. I remember that
Scripture says, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in the due season we will reap, if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9 In the coming year I
very much want to continue on in home discipleship, walk in faith, and resist
the tendency to lose vision or burn out.
I know that I must remain closely connected to the Vine (John 15) and
regularly pray for vision and faith.
On a ministry level
I am praying that the Lord will continue to use my book “Legacy Reflections of a
Homeschooled, Homeschooling Mama” in the coming year. When we published the book most of the
homeschool conferences/conventions were over for the year. I am excited to be able to take it to some
venues this spring and am looking forward to talking with busy Mamas and seeking
to encourage them to press forward in being intentional in home discipleship with
their children. I am also getting ready
to, Lord willing, put out some podcasts
for Mamas seeking to encourage them through some of the things the Lord has
taught me through the years. Stay tuned
for more about the Legacy Homeschool Reflections Podcast!
On a home business level I look forward to continuing to work here and there to grow my Lilla Rose hair accessories business. This priority is very low on the list, but I do love and believe in the functionality of these beautiful accessories and enjoy helping other ladies discover something beautiful, functional and durable for their hair. The Lord has allowed me to meet some new friends through some of my festival booths and to minister to some hurting people as well. While Lilla Rose is way down on the priority list, it is something I do enjoy to the extent that I can do it in balance with more important priorities. Wow, it seems like balance is the key to so many areas of life!!! I keep praying for the Lord’s wisdom in prioritizing the many different responsibilities in my life.
Then there is Ohio!!! I haven't mentioned OHIO yet!!! Oh, I am missing that special home away from home already, and it has not even been a month since I was there!!! The Lord provided us with a one hundred and twenty year old home there last summer, and we are renting it to others when we are not there. It has been fun to read our guest book and to see how people are enjoying the house for many different purposes. We had a large family rent it for vacation, a ladies' church group for a weekend away, a family for Thanksgiving, and this past weekend a family for a place for out of town family to stay due to a funeral. The house has already been a blessing to many groups for different events. Since I cannot be there all the time it is a joy to see that others are making memories and being ministered to there in our home. HOWEVER, I cannot wait to go back! This year I will cherish whatever time the Lord allows me to be there enjoying what I call my doll house and spending time with friends there. The Lord has already given us quite a few people who are becoming very special to us. I told Matt last night that I am really missing it there; I'm not quite sure when we will go back but I am looking forward to it! We are seeking to be purposeful with the house there leaving Christian literature and seeking to make it a place to minister to those who visit our home. When we are there we also want to bless those we are building relationships with.
Well, I cannot live in a dreamworld (Ohio) all the time, so as for goals for the farm in Texas I want to continue learning more recipes in my Instant Pot! :) I am so excited over my six quart and eight quart pots and am really getting serious about learning to cook in these gadgets more and more.
These pots make life easier for me, and I have pretty much traded out crock pot cooking (which I used to love) for the Instant Pot which does both slow cooking and pressure cooking. I also desire to get my house better organized this year, but I realize that my expectations have to be reasonable considering that nine people are here around the clock and so much life happens within these walls. Now is not the time for me to have a Pinterest perfect home. I do want order and functionality and am working on that, but this certainly is not the season for me to obtain a perfect house. It just is not possible with the ages of my children and the number of people constantly here. I am trying to learn the balance of accepting what I cannot change and yet improving where I can. This too is an area of sanctification for me to accept my season and do the best I can during this busy time with so many people under one roof. I do believe that I will be revamping chore schedules soon and hopefully teaching some of my middle aged children to take on more responsibility. After all, many hands make light work. ;)
As I look to 2018 I remember that Jesus said, "Without me you can do nothing." - John 15:5 I want to commit all I do to my faithful Lord and allow Him to use me to accomplish His good plans for me and for our family this year. What are you looking forward to in 2018? Let's ask the Lord to give us His fresh vision for our families in the year to come.
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