Our Shelter in a Time of Storm

 In chapter twelve of my book Legacy Reflections of a Homeschooled, Homeschooling Mama I tell the story of how God delivered our family from the valley of the shadow of death with the birth of our seventh baby.  I came close to death's door, but the Lord delivered us from a very intense trial.  Three years later we still marvel at His faithfulness and give Him all the glory.  On today's podcast my husband, Matt, joins me to talk about how Christ was our shelter in a time of storm.  I pray this story encourages your heart.  http://legacyhomeschoolreflections.blogspot.com/2018/09/legacy-homeschool-reflections-podcast_24.html

 

Don't Expect What You Won't Inspect

Our family homeschools year around, but sometimes I feel the need to have a tune up in our daily school and chore routines.  In recent days I really felt the need to put some focused attention on our chores in particular.  I wish that house and farm chores were something that we could figure out, get on top of, and have the matter resolved once and for all but that is not how it works.  Life circumstances, family dynamics, the ages of the children, trips out of town, health issues, and much more play into what chores systems are working at any given time.  I have learned that our housework routines are something that are always evolving and changing and something that I have to continue to revisit from time to time.  

  Partially due to the fact that we have been in and out of town a lot, I have recently been feeling like I needed to see some improvement in our current chore system.  I just felt that certain jobs were not being done to my satisfaction and many things have fallen through the cracks.
  Last Sunday night I took some colored markers to our large dry erase board and sketched out a schedule that we have been following this past week.  It has been a tremendous help just to remind my children of what I expect from each of them.  I have been pleased to see them checking the board, and I have seen some encouraging steps in the right direction this past week.  

  I do think it is important for us to teach our children to be diligent in working.  Here are a couple of verses in Scripture that remind us that work is the will of God for us:

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." - Colossians 3:23

"For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." - II Thessalonians 3:10 

"And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you." - I Thessalonians 4:11 

  What I have discovered to be true with my children is that they have to be trained to work.  Children are not usually born with the character quality of diligence.  They also do not naturally know how to do a job correctly.  If we want our children to work, we need to teach them how to do a job and then hold them accountable.  

  I do not feel that I am naturally a great organizer and overseer of our household routines, but with time I am learning some things.  One issue for me is that I was one of only two children, and so large family dynamics have been a new thing for me.  It has been challenging to try to learn how to stay on top of all the laundry and housework and keep chore routines up and running.  I have so much to learn still, but here are a few things I am seeing more clearly: 

I have to communicate clearly what I expect of my children:

  If I just hope that the chores will get done, they may or may not; this is not an effective way of overseeing my household.  It works better for me if I have things written out so that the children and I can all SEE what the plan is.  With seven children I cannot keep things straight in my head as to who I have told to do what.  There are different ways of creating charts; Pinterest is full of ideas for displaying chore lists.  This past week I didn't have much time for creativity and just wrote everything out on a big white board that hangs in our kitchen table area.  One advantage to the white board approach is that you can erase and change things quickly.  I have also used a spreadsheet format in the past.  Whatever way you choose to display chore responsibilities it needs to be visible and easily accessible to all family members.  

I have to take the time to show my children HOW to do their chores properly:

  As I write this I know this to be true in my head, but honestly I am not good at this step.  It takes time to go and TRAIN a child in how to do a chore the right way.  I am working on this because I see how many times I have failed by not taking this important step with my children.  If I just tell them to go clean the bathroom without showing them what I mean by clean the bathroom then I cannot expect them to do it like I want it done.  

  When we look at how our children learn other skills it takes this important step of showing them and practicing with them.  When we teach them to tie their shoes we show them step by step how to do it, and then we practice with them.  When we teach them to read we sit and show them step by step how to sound out the letters and we practice with them.  It is no different in this area of chores.  If we want them to learn to clean properly we need to show them how and do it alongside of them until they get it.  

  Just yesterday I was dealing with a child who had a chore and was not being thorough in it.  I found myself calling her back several times over and telling her she missed this or that.  Then I realized it might be really helpful if the next time she does that chore I do it alongside of her.  She needs to be trained on how to do it correctly.  

I have to inspect what I expect:

  Again I have been so horrible at this step.  I have heard this many times through the years, but I have not been good at it.  Perhaps it is because I have often had babies in my arms and been so busy with caring for little people and minor emergencies that I just hoped the children would do a good job on their chores.  Well, this last week I did something that made all the difference in our home routines.  I actually SCHEDULED a time for myself  to go in and do room inspections each morning.  To my surprise this has not been as big of a deal as I always thought it would be.  I just run through the bedrooms, make sure things are up off the floors, beds are made, and dressers and bookcases look decently tidy.  I also run through the bathroom and make sure dirty clothes are off the floor, toothbrushes are in the drawer, laundry has been taken to the laundry room, etc.  When I go through those rooms I encourage the children in what they have done and how nice their rooms look, and I also point out if they missed anything.  One day I might point out that a cup of water was left out that should go to the kitchen, and another day I might point something out like a clothes hanger that needs to go to the laundry room.  It is a way I can keep them accountable and also help them improve their skills by showing them things they are not seeing.  This simple thing has made a HUGE difference in our house this past week.  We have not arrived by any means but progress is encouraging! 

Choose age appropriate responsibilities for each child:

  It is important to get our little people on board the cleaning crew as soon as they are able.  I think that when they are young there is an excitement about helping out that often wanes as they grow older.  This is a prime time to show them that we are made for work and work is a blessing.  It is a joy to be part of the family team and contribute for the good of the whole family.  It makes littles ones feel loved and needed when they feel they are contributing to their family.  This past week my husband decided to bring our five year old son on board in a new way.  He decided he would train our little guy to gather the chicken eggs.  In order for him to gather the eggs my husband had to rig up a new handle system, on the door of the chicken pen, that was low enough for him to reach it.  After adjusting the handle my husband showed our little man how to do the job.  The next step was to let him do the job with an older sibling accompanying him.  This way the older sibling could give him guidance and talk through the task with him.  So far he is doing an amazing job, and the next step is for him to go alone while an older sibling watches from afar.  Pretty soon I believe he will be doing this job on his own, and I believe he will gain confidence and a sense of joy in knowing our family is counting on him to bring in the eggs.  I think so often our society fails to teach little people that they are needed and they can do more than people typically expect of them.  I am excited about my little man doing this job, because I think it is going to grow maturity in him.  This is big and important in his little mind, and I believe we will see good fruit from him rising up to this task.  

  We are far from mastering all of this in our own family, but these are some things I am learning through much trial and error.  These lessons have come from much failure in this area, but I am thankful that the Lord gently leads and guides us and continues to teach us in areas where we feel weak and overwhelmed.  Last week was encouraging to me to see improvements around our home, and even my husband saw the difference.  This encourages me to jump into next week and continue this process of learning the Lord has our family on.  What chores systems are you using?  What has worked for your family?  Do you have any great ways of displaying chores for multiple children?  I would love to hear your ideas!

Register for a 2019 Teach Them Diligently Event for only $39! Today Only!

Friends, I just want to quickly share with you that TODAY ONLY you can register for a 2019 Teach Them Diligently Convention for only $39 using the code 19FLASHSALE.  Lord willing, I will be at the Waco TX and Nashville, Tennessee events, and I am really looking forward to it!  This special deal ends today, so I encourage you to link over and get signed up at this tremendous price!

https://teachthemdiligently.net/iaffiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=473
(referral)

Blessings to you; I hope you have a beautiful weekend!

Our Summer in Review

Hello Friends!
  I hope your Monday morning is off to a good start.  I am posting the latest episode of the Legacy Homeschool Reflections Podcast where I talk about everything from homeschool conferences to canning to what the Lord is currently teaching me.  I hope you enjoy hearing about our busy summer. I would love to hear what you did this summer in the comments!  Blessings!

http://legacyhomeschoolreflections.blogspot.com/2018/09/legacy-homeschool-reflections-podcast_17.html

Peaches, Read-Alouds, and Resting in the Faithfulness of God

Happy Saturday Friends!
  Today's post is going to be kind of a weekend wrap-up style post.  I am just going to share with you some of what we have been up to this second week of being back in Texas.  After being gone for about a month, it is definitely taking us time to settle back in and resume our normal routine.
  After being in Ohio, where everyone was preparing for fall, I really wanted to come back to the farm and pull out our fall decorations.  It is NOT AT ALL cool here, but we can pretend by pulling out the fall things anyway.  :)

A Fallish Lunch

  

  On Thursday I made peach muffins, sliced peaches, and pumpkin apple cider for lunch.  It was a sort of fallish tea party.  My fifteen year old son laughs at me and says that fall just brings out the muffin making side of me; he has noticed that I tend to make muffins and certain foods in fall that I don't usually make year-around.  The apple cider was from Trader Joe's and was quite yummy.  

More Canning

  Last Sunday a friend at church told me that Sprouts had peaches on sale for 48 cents a pound!  Even though I had already been quite busy canning peaches, pears, and apples I could not resist purchasing more peaches at that price!  Yesterday I spent ALL DAY LONG in the kitchen and had various children come in and help me at different points throughout the day.  I was also able to listen to a few podcasts that encouraged my heart as I worked.  My husband was home, so he was a big help in working outdoors with some of the children.  We worked very hard, and at the end of the day we had made peach sauce (like applesauce), peach jam, peach slices, peach pie filling, and froze some peaches as well.  It was another very peachy day and I was glad for bedtime at the end of the day.  

What We Are Reading: 

  We did better at getting back to our morning circle time this week, and two of the books we are reading are Taking the Word for Jesus and Titus Comrade of the cross.  We are enjoying both of these.  https://www.masterbooks.com/taking-the-world-for-jesus https://store.generations.org/products/titus

                               

Notable Happenings:

  My baby turned three at the end of August, and so it was way past time to transition her out of her crib.  I went to IKEA and purchased a nifty little bed that can be a toddler sized bed or extend to a full length twin size.  For now we are using it as the toddler size.  It was hard for me to put the crib away knowing that she is our last baby. You can read about my near death experience after her birth in my book https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Reflections-Homeschooled-Homeschooling-Mama/dp/1973737825

  In the book I have a chapter titled Homeschooling When Life Gets Tough where I tell the story of the stormy seas we went through right after my baby girl was born and how my health crisis left us unable to have more children.  It has been a very hard thing, but God's grace is sufficient.  

  So anyway, my little three year old is now enjoying her new big girl bed from IKEA, and I am loving being able to lay down beside her and read stories to her at bedtime.  I was concerned about the transition and how it would go, but she has made the change without any problem at all.  She is loving her new bed! 

What I am Learning:

  There is a verse in Isaiah 30:15 that talks about gaining strength through quietness and trust.  Here lately the Lord has been speaking to me through that verse.  In this season of life there are many decisions to be made and many uncertainties right now.  I have children who are growing up and almost ready to be launched from our homeschool.  My oldest graduates next year, and the seasons of change are blowing quickly.  At the same time I am trying to cling to the last years with my little people while being a good mommy to all the children in-between.  It is a lot to process, keep up with, and see changing so quickly.  The Lord is reminding me that my strength is in Him and my heart needs to be in a posture of quietness and trust.  I hope that encourages you wherever you are today.  Whatever our season of life the Lord wants us to rest and trust in Him.  There is strength in that.  Thank you for stopping by the blog; have a blessed week! 

$2,000 Teach Them Diligently 2019 Giveaway!

Hi Friends, in years past I have been encouraged through attending some Teach Them Diligently conventions where I have been encouraged in my own homeschooling journey!  This past June I was honored and blessed to be able to speak at Teach Them Diligently in Ohio and, Lord willing, I will be at the Nashville, Tennessee and Waco, Texas events in 2019.  I wanted to share with you this huge give away that Teach Them Diligently is giving to launch the convention for 2019.  I encourage you to check it out!  I hope that your school year is off to a good start, and may the Lord strengthen your arms for this great ministry of home education!

The Ordinary Homeschool Dad Encourages Men to Love Their Wives

Apparently someone hijacked my microphone while I was in Ohio!  I hope you enjoy this special podcast where my husband shares on the topic of marriage.  What he shares comes from his book Ordinary Homeschool Dad.   Blessings to you all this Monday.  

http://legacyhomeschoolreflections.blogspot.com/2018/09/legacy-homeschool-reflections-podcast.html

Fall Canning

  In a recent post I shared how my middle three girls and I canned peaches with a friend in Ohio.  Well, now we are back in Texas and have been canning apples all week.  Towards the end of our time in Ohio we learned about an orchard where we could go and buy freshly picked apples.  I was so excited about our recent canning experience that I decided to take the children to the orchard and for us to travel home with a massive amount of apples.

  We ended up purchasing a bushel of Ginger Golds and half a bushel of Paula Reds. Additionally we bought some paper sacks full of Gala and Honey Crisp apples just for snacking and sharing with friends.  We had never purchased this many apples at one time!  Now since these apples had just been picked, and were mostly hard and good, I thought we would have ample time to get home, unpack and then start the canning.  Well, I was wrong!  Due to the massive amount of stuff in our van the apples got shoved around and bruised here and there, so it was vitally important to process them immediately after returning home.  Suddenly canning apples was more important than unpacking our bags, doing laundry or anything else around here.  

  On our way back to Texas we spent the night with friends in Oklahoma, and when they heard that we were going to be canning all these apples they insisted that we borrow one of their mills to make the process easier.  I had no idea at the time, but I am so grateful that they sent us home with this mill.  It really did make it so much easier to process the applesauce.  What we did is cook the apples down in the Instant Pot and then ran them through the mill two to three times.  It was so nice not to have to peel or core the apples.  

  In the process of apple canning we also enjoyed lining up all the peach jars we brought back from Ohio!  This has been a dream of mine for so many years to see canned Mason jars lining my shelves! It is a beautiful sight, and I told the girls that I see so much more than food when I look at these jars.  What I see is friendship, conversations, memories of canning, time with my daughters, and a friend who cared enough to teach us the process of canning these peaches.

This week has not been without its challenges coming in after a month long trip, trying to unpack, errands that had to be run, losing power in our house two nights in a row and much more.  One night I was in the kitchen canning late at night when the power went out and I was working by the light of my iPhone flashlight!  Somehow we pressed through a lot of inconveniences this week and have finally processed all these apples. All in all we ended up making apple jam, canned apples, apple pie filling, and lots of applesauce.  

  

  I actually do not recommend jumping into a huge canning project immediately upon returning home from a long family vacation, but this was necessary if we did not want the apples to spoil.  I was thinking about how I could bring fruit home on future trips to Ohio, and I am thinking next time I might put the fruit in five gallon buckets and see if that helps protect it from bumps and bruises.  I really like the idea of bringing home canning fruit, because Ohio has so many wonderful fresh fruit stands and orchards.  I just have to figure out how to preserve it until we have been able to get home and situate ourselves.  It seems everything is a learning process, but one thing I have learned is that I REALLY do enjoy canning!  I think it can become very addictive to see these beautiful canned goods filling my shelves.  The girls really enjoy helping me, and so it is good time with them as well.  I am thinking my next attempt might be pears, and I am also researching pressure canning.  So far I have only done the water bath canning, but I feel like I may need to enter the world of pressure canning before too long.  Of course this all motivates me to work harder at my garden as well.  The possibilities are endless, and I am excited to learn more!  Do you can your food?  What are your favorite things to can?  Do you have a favorite pressure canner?  Enjoy your week, friends!  

Trusting through the Changing Seasons of Motherhood

  

As I write this blog post I am on the long van ride home from Ohio to Texas.  Our family lives on a small hobby farm in Texas, but we also have a vacation home in the heart of Ohio’s Amish country.  We really enjoy going there a few times a year and getting to live out the simple life while enjoying the beautiful agrarian scenery. We have a growing number of precious friendships there, and so we look forward to going and spending time with friends as well.  

  As we left the leaves in Ohio were just starting to show signs of turning color, and some days are starting to cool down with fall winds starting to blow across the countryside.  As we head back towards Texas the temperatures are getting muggier and hotter with each stop, and I know we are months away from any resemblance of fall.  We got an early taste of fall in Ohio, but now we will have to wait patiently for cooler air in Texas.  

  Thinking about changing seasons has had me pondering the different seasons of motherhood.  In all honesty I definitely feel that I am in a transition period in my own mothering journey.   My oldest is inching up on graduation, and so we are praying about what the days ahead hold for her.  My second-born is right on his older sister’s heels and is starting to think about how he can find a way of bringing in some income to save for his future.  I am quickly coming up on the tail end of raising my first two children, and I feel as though the others will be like dominoes falling behind my first two. 

  Then I look at my last two children, my babies, and I see that they are growing up very quickly.  My next to last baby recently turned five which in my mind is a milestone birthday. This means he is no longer a preschooler but a little boy who is of school age.  My baby also just turned three which means I no longer have a baby. There is a true sense of loss I feel in knowing that I am moving out of the baby/toddler stage very quickly and will no longer have these precious little munchkins to hold and enjoy the little years with.  

  I would LOVE to have more babies, but I cannot.  I had my last baby at the age of forty-two and had a near death experience in the hospital.  I was hospitalized for eighteen days and had a real battle for my life and health.  The whole story is written out in my book Legacy Reflections of a Homeschooled Homeschooling Mama.  After that ordeal multiple doctors strongly advised us against having more children if I want to be around to raise the seven children the Lord has given. It took a long time to restore my health to where it was before I had her which was not the optimum of health anyway. I still have some chronic pain issues that I live with.  

  At this point I am forty-five, and I know my season of having babies has passed.  I have been grieving this the past three years and still just break down crying sometimes.  I am really having to pray that the Lord will give me eternal hope in Him in light of this loss.  I know all ladies come to this reality sooner or later.  I think, however, that when you give your life to having babies and raising children for as long as I have that it can be a real issue to work through when this season closes.  I really don’t know of anything that has ever broken my heart to the extent that this situation has.  I long to have even just one more sweet bundle of joy, and yet I know that I will never be able to experience giving and nurturing new life again.  

 So here I find myself on the cusp of starting to launch children into adulthood and trying to figure out how to do that graciously and also clinging to the last moments of the little years with my baby number seven. It has caused me to cherish the sweet little antics of my little ones as I know very soon I will have all adult and school aged children and then they will all be gone.  Life is flying by so very fast.  

Recently I came across a writing from Elisabeth Elliot where she quoted the verse, “In quietness and trust shall be your strength.”  - Isaiah 30:15  I have been mulling that phrase around in my head and trying to counsel my heart with this truth.  I realize that the Lord is calling me to have a posture of heart that is quiet and trusting before Him.  This situation has also given me a deeper compassion for those who deal with infertility. I now know what it is to long for a little one with no hope in sight.  

  As I grapple with the changing seasons I wonder what the future will hold?  I feel like I am in a new season of learning as a mother.  When I was a new mother everything was new and I was having to learn a lot.  At this time the launching of young adults is also new,  and I am having to learn a lot of things along the way.  Seeing myself moving very quickly through changing seasons feels uncertain and a bit scary, but I know Who has been there holding my hand thus far.  I know that my hope has to be in Christ alone.  

  Sometimes I ask myself questions like what will I do with myself once my children are grown and gone?  Will I be happy? Will my children carry on the faith?  Will we be safe and well?   What will life be like in the years ahead?  All I know is that I must cling to my Savior and trust Him to be my fulfillment.  I think there will be new joys, different joys, new opportunities, and hopefully more opportunity to engage in ministry and serving others.  Recently I was in the basement of one of my Amish friends, and we were discussing children growing up.  Just in the midst of the conversation she offered me a word of encouragement that I have been thinking about.  She said the time does come when you think to yourself, “OK I’m ready for it to be just me and my husband again.” Her words made me think about the fact that one day it will be just the two of us again, and when that time comes we will be free to focus on one another and enjoy more time together again.  She was not at all trying to communicate that we don't value or desire children, but rather that when the time comes that our children are grown there is a new sweetness in once again having more time to spend as husband and wife.  I guess the seasons go full circle to where husband and wife end up where they started with just the two of them.  This is a reminder of why it is important to nurture the marriage even in the midst of all the busyness of raising a family.  While I really do not want to see the seasons change, I pray that I can graciously embrace each season as it comes and goes.  I know my God is faithful, I know He has always been loving and kind, and I don’t know about tomorrow but I know Who holds my hand.  

 Can any of you relate to the changing seasons of motherhood? What is the Lord teaching you about changing seasons? What do you cherish about today and what do you look forward to in the days ahead?