Just What do you do All Day?

My mother recently asked me what I do all day. I love my mother. I really do. But she throws these types of things out there quite regularly. She doesn't agree with homeschooling, though she has two daughters who homeschool their children. She believes in a meticulously clean house at all times. So she then adds, "because I know you don't keep house. So what do you do?" Wow. Ouch.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times that my mother has been to my house since I moved in three and a half years ago. I am usually the one to go and visit with her, and you can probably start to see why. Yet on those few times when she has been here, there have been toys in the yard (that's where my kids play most), some dishes in the sink (did I mention three meals a day, every day), and the kids' bathroom (KIDS' bathroom) wasn't sparkling.

The kids and I clean the house every day. We also happen to live, work, study, and play here every. single. day. So whether my house looks clean when you stop by for a visit really depends on when you happen to stop by. I liken the keeping of my house to shoveling while its still snowing. hard.

Somehow I am taken off guard by her questions and I simply, but out of frustration, say, "I homeschool three kids, mom. And I do keep house." What I really want to say is that if I didn't keep house it would look 100 times worse when she stopped by. Ha ha! That if I didn't keep house then we wouldn't have meals to eat, dishes to eat on, and the kids wouldn't have clothes to wear.

I want to tell her that what I do all day between said laundry, dishes, and cooking three meals a day is teach Biology and Algebra to a high schooler, work really hard with my middle schooler who has serious learning problems, and not only teach my little one to read and do math, but find things to do with him every day as well. Throw in groceries and other errands, exercise, working at home, and a million other little things, and you have my days.

I was grouchy the whole rest of the day. Why does it bother me so? Because what I do is UNSEEN. There is a fantastic post about this very thing at A Holy Experience. I have it bookmarked right onto my toolbar so I can refer back to it at times such as these - times of defensiveness and frustration because I devote all of my time, energy, heart, and soul to things mostly UNSEEN.

Last night I found a comment someone had left me online and I followed it to visit her blog. I read post after heart-wrenching post about the death of her daughter and how she copes. I cried like I haven't cried in a long, long time. And I thanked God for every single day that He lets me be with my babies. The author has other children and I would bet that she knows what she does all day. Loves. those. babies.

That is what I do all day. I love my babies. I nurture them, teach them, guide them, laugh with them and cry with them (and over them). Its all messy, chaotic, and the most challenging thing I have ever done.

I wonder if my teenage son would still come and wake me in the middle of the night to seek advice over sin he is wrestling in his heart, keeping him awake, if I weren't here for him every day, building a close, trusting relationship with him every day that requires TIME and PRESENCE.

I wonder if my "tween" daughter would hug on me and tell me she loves me all the time if we didn't spend our days together. I wonder if she would still make Godly choices even when her friends don't if I didn't invest so much time guiding her precious soul. I wonder if she would still consider me her best friend if she spent her days with 100 other 12-year-olds.

What I really do all day can't be seen by looking around my house, looking at me, or asking me what I'm physically doing during the day. What I really do is UNSEEN. But that's okay. Because I know in my heart that it makes all the difference.

Our Daily Bread: Perspective

Before we moved this last time, we lived in a city with the most gorgeous sunsets. It also had huge, intricate trees, the silhouettes of which looked amazing against the sunset sky. I really missed that when we moved here. We live in a little neighborhood, a new neighborhood so it only has three big trees. Here is a photo of one at sunset:

Not very inspirational, right? I was feeling a little sad about this change. Then it hit me! Maybe if I walk around the trees, I will find a pretty view since there is, afterall, a sunset sky. When I walked behind our neighborhood to get on the other side of the tree, here is what I got:

Much nicer, right? I can't see this view from my house but a metaphor was developing in my mind as I walked around and took these photos: when our view of life isn't so pretty, maybe we simply need to change our perspective! Here are the photos of the same trees before and after I "changed my perspective":

Our Daily Bread: Calm in the Chaos

Photo: Stock Xchng/ Alexander Israel

If you haven't felt it already, life is about to get a little extra hectic. The shopping, the cleaning, the visiting, the wrapping, the mailing, the decorating. I'll tell ya - when I am at home I feel peaceful and that we can take this season as it comes, calmly. I feel that we have everything we need and can simply enjoy each other, make happy memories, and prepare for Christ. But then. Oh, but then. When I leave my home, I get overwhelmed. I do. I admit that I see plenty that I want to buy, even though when I am home I know we are blessed to have as many decorations and things already. I feel a bit stressed with the lights and activity and commercialism. And I even feel quite impatient at the crowds and their slow browsing.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20:

"O our God, . . . we are powerless against this vast multitude that comes against us. We are at a loss what to do, hence our eyes are turned toward you."

The Spirit comes and a message from God is delivered:

"The Lord says to you: 'Do not fear or lose heart at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. . . . Take your places, stand firm, and see how the Lord will be with you to deliver you. . . . Do not fear or lose heart.'"

He says to take our places. Where is our place? Abiding in Him. When we abide in Christ, He gives us peace that passes understanding. Why "that passes understanding"? Because the peace of God does not mean the absence of turmoil. Rather, it is the calm in the chaos. When our Christian lives have difficult times, just like anyone, yet we abide in Him and remain calm, we glorify God because we are a living example that His ways work.

Remember the story of Jesus calming the sea? The sea was in complete turmoil, the boat was in turmoil. The fisherman were freaking out. Where was Jesus? Sound asleep in the peace that passes understanding, the calm in the chaos. And that's where we can be when we abide in Him.

So I just wanted to remind you (and me!) that if we will abide in Christ throughout our days this holiday season, if we will seek out His calm, we can have a peaceful, joy-filled season even in the midst of chaos!

And if you feel yourself starting to get overwhelmed at what still needs to be done, remember that God instructs us not to worry about tomorrow, it will be taken care of, for today has enough troubles of its own. (Matthew 6:34)

God Bless You & Yours this Advent Season,

Thankfulness Challenge

We are on day 10 of the Giving Thanks Challenge, but it is never too late to join! Just write what you are thankful for and add one new thing each day this month of Thanksgiving. I put my list in my sidebar; that makes it easy to add to daily.

"Be thankful . . . with gratitude in your hearts to God. Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  ~ Colossians 3:14-17


Do you realize that:

if you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, then you are richer than 75% of this world?

if you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, then you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy?

if you woke up this morning with more health and strength than illness and weakness, then you are not to be one of the million people in the world who will not survive this week?

if you have never experienced the terrors of war, imprisonment, torture, or the pangs of starvation, then you are better off than 500 million people in the world today?

if you can attend religious service without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, then you have more freedom than three billion people in the world?

if you can even read this, then you have more formal education than over a billion people in the world today who cannot read at all?

Gracious God, we thank you for bringing us to another Thanksgiving Day to celebrate your goodness to us. Open our eyes to see and appreciate the many ways that you care and provide for us and our families. In grateful response to your goodness, may we be your instruments of kindness and mercy in this world, knowing that we are blessed by you so that we might provide help and create hope for others. Thank you, O God, for the wonderful things you do. We are truly grateful for all your gifts to us. AMEN. 

All from Catholic Charities' We Come to Give Thanks, where you can also find an absolutely beautiful prayer of thanks.

Now that you realize how very blessed you are, please go and share that blessing with others.

On Life and the Power of Prayer

Photo: Stock Xchng/ Ryan Forkel

I still remember part of a story I heard in church many years ago. It was about a woman who had a dream that she was a sheep and flies kept swarming around her. First they would swarm around her face, but when she would shake her head they would go to the back of her. When she would shake her tail they would come back in front. Finally she asked God in frustration what she can do. His reply was to simply pray.

This story could easily have been about me. My first instinct in any situation is to do something. I only later realize (doh!) that I should start with prayer. Even though I know better, and even though I have experienced the blessing of answered prayer more times than I could possibly count, I still feel that prayer is too passive. But oh, how it is not!

Today I read in the newspaper that Missouri is now the second state (after South Dakota) to legally recognize life as starting at the time of conception. Abortion businesses are now legally required to tell clients that "abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being." They are also required to offer the client the opportunity to watch an ultrasound before making a decision. Finally, in abortions that are sought after 20 weeks of gestation, the client must be told that the fetus can and will feel pain, and be offered pain medicine for the baby. Planned Parenthood of St. Louis CEO Paula Gianino says that they do not have a legal road to follow (in trying to fight the law).

This news is so exciting and just blows me away. After years and years of prayer by thousands and thousands of people, and after the respect for life at any stage has seemed to have gone lower and lower, it seems that the power of prayer is shining through after all. It seems that things may be turning around with answered prayer.

It reminds me of another situation involving life and answered prayer. In Chattanooga, TN, from 1985 to  1993, Christians prayed for closure of the city's abortion clinic. They prayed in the parking lot, offered counseling to women heading to the clinic, and even opened a pregnancy center across the street, offering real alternative help for the women. The prayers never ceased and one thing after another "coincidentally" happened to bring the abortion clinic to a halt until finally, the property was bought out from under the remaining abortionist. The man promised that he would simply reopen in another location, but he never did. In fact, he got out of the abortion business altogether. Chattanooga is now one of the largest cities in the United States with no abortion clinic. The old clinic location is now a National Memorial for the Unborn. 

Prayer may feel passive at times. It may seem that years go by without a response from the Lord. And you may think that the obstacles are just too insurmountable. But don't lose hope! The prayers of the faithful prevail in the end!

In awe at His miraculous nature,

Our Daily Bread: A Little Reminder

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"  ~ Matt 6:25-27 NIV

I just wanted to pass on a little reminder today about not worrying and rather, trusting God completely. Do you know that the Bible contains some form of the phrase, "Do not fear," 366 times? That tickles me so. It's as if God is telling us not to fear enough times for every single day of the year. And just in case we still don't get it, He threw in one extra!

Have a blessed day!

Our Daily Bread: The Joy of the Lord

"The joy of the Lord is my strength."  ~ Nehemiah 8:10

Do you know that God wants us to take delight in Him? There are so many places where the Bible talks about joy. As Christians, we are to put all of our trust in Him, to know that He has everything under control, to know that He will work all things for good for those who believe in Him. If we truly trust God with everything in our lives, then what is the result? Peace that passes all understanding, and the more we develop a friendship with God and leave the worrying at His feet, the more we are able to have the joy that the Bible mentions so often.

I want to share some verses with you about joy, and I pray that it lightens someone's heart today. (Emphasis in the verses are added by me) I recently heard some huge homeschooling concerns, some folks for whom homeschooling in a huge burden. Yet they feel in their hearts that its what they should be doing. For others it may not be a huge burden, but we all struggle with different challenges at times. We need to remember to trust Him and to hold on to our joy.

"Rejoice in the Lord always.; I will say it again: rejoice!"  ~ Phil 4:4

When should we rejoice in the Lord? The Bible says ALWAYS! What is our strength in times of trouble? The JOY of the Lord.

"Although you have not seen Him you love Him; even though you do not see Him now yet 

believe in Him, you REJOICE with an indescribable and glorious JOY."  ~ 1 Peter 1:8

"I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds. I will 

DELIGHT and REJOICE in you; I will sing hymns to your name, most high."  ~ Psalm 9:2-3

"Learn to savor how good the Lord is; HAPPY are those who take refuge in Him."  ~ Psalm 34:9

"HAPPY are those whose trust is in the Lord."  ~ Psalm 40:5

"I recognized that there is nothing better than to BE GLAD and to do well during life. For every man, moreover, to eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of his labor is a gift from God."  ~ Ecc 3:12-13

"Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, 

so that your JOY may be COMPLETE."  ~ John 16:24

"You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with JOY in your presence." 

 ~ Acts 2:28

Joy is a fruit of the spirit, which means the seeds of it are in you. You may not have practiced it much, it may seem far away, but the more you use it the more it grows! God wants you to rejoice in Him!

"Joy is the echo of God's life in us." ~ Abbot Marmion

I want to leave you with a few thoughts on joy from the amazing & inspirational Rev. Charles Chaput:

"Faith has unkempt hair. Faith laughs. Faith is jubilant because it connects with the source of all meaning and joy."

"Jesus became God's presence in the world, the source of living joy. 'Joy' is an interesting word. 'Contentment' and 'happiness' have a kind of restfulness to them. 'Joy' has just one syllable, but it's much more active and alive."

"A healthy concern about problems is good. But fretfulness or brooding is foolish. They suggest an absorption with things, and a lack of trust in God's providence. Joy flows naturally from the presence of God. This is why Catholics have always said, 'There are no unhappy saints.' All saints, finally, are consumed by joy. That's what God intends for each of us, and it's the reason Jesus came. That's the purpose of 'living in Christ' - joy in His presence."

Have a great homeschooling day today, and remember to delight in the Lord!