Joyful Journey

Week before last found me grumbling.  To myself.  I really didn't want to do the job that had to be done.  I had plans.  Other plans.  Plans for things that also had to be done.  Only now they took a back seat to these new plans.   I did my work (with a quiet, but poor attitude) for awhile, before I thought about those in Houston, many cleaning up huge messes that they weren't planning on.  Hurricane Harvey had interrupted their plans as well. Okay, I thought.  I'm definitely not in as difficult of a situation as they are.  My unplanned work would only take a couple days.  I should be able to do my planned work without any sleepless nights. Okay, I thought.  I won't complain anymore. But that's when the Lord challenged me with the scripture that came to mind "Do all things without grumbling" (Philippians 2:4 NASB) The verse doesn't say, "When you can think of someone who is in a worse situation than you, don't complain." ...

I know many haven't even started back to school, but we start back the second week of August. (Since August is normally very hot, it's not bad to actually spend it inside and be done in May, when it's normally very nice!) I teach high school math classes for homeschool teens. We only meet once a week, and I need to teach the main points of their math lessons for the week during my 2-hour session with them.  It's quite a bit of material to cover, but with some availability on my part during the week, it works. I've done it since 2004 and absolutely love the opportunity to encourage these teens in their education.  I love being able to help a homeschool mom continue to homeschool, even if she doesn't feel she can teach mathematics. This response had me laughing out loud But I have found what I enjoy the very most is having a teen walk into my class and I can either tell by their body language or see by their response to the survey I have them each fill o...

We had been out of town for a couple days and returned late the night before Father's Day when I discovered a box that had been delivered sitting on the front porch and addressed to me.  I couldn't remember anything that I had ordered that hadn't arrived, so I checked the return address and found it was from one of my uncles. Elmer Stoltzfus's well worn Bible Opening the box, I was shocked to find my Grandfather's Bible.  It was late and I would be getting up early to prepare for family coming for Sunday lunch, so I didn't do much other than a quick perusal.  That afternnon, after we had cleaned up after the meal, I brought it down to share.   What I had noticed the night before was how worn the Bible was, how many pages were actually taped to keep them together. But that's not surprising.  In my grandfather's latter years, he memorized large portions of scripture, includiing entire books of the New Testament.  I remember as a teenager hearing...

One of the (many) things that I enjoy about our home is its location.  We are tucked away in a small neighborhood with large lots (3-8 acres) and are surrounded by trees.  It is not unusual to sit on our screen porch and enjoy the sound of birds chirping. I enjoy the sound so much that I use the "birds" setting on my tablet alarm app as my alarm clock.  When the chirps actually wake me up (I usually wake before the alarm goes off), hubby will comment on my chirping birds. Last night, we both commented on the chirps.  Only it wasn't my alarm going off at 3 a.m., it was the smoke detector chirping at us.  Again.  In the middle of the night. Jump back a few weeks ago.  One of the smoke detectors began chirping.  We replaced the batteries and I commented that we should probably do all of them, since we normally replace the batteries in the fall when we change the clocks.  Next time I was out running errands, I picked up enough 9 volt batt...

It's a blessing that one of our sons and his family lives within a few minutes drive from our home. It's a blessing to be able to spend time with our son, his wife and the grandkids on a regular basis. It's great fun to spend weekly time playing with the grandkids.  It is also a blessing to have a husband who flies frequently enough that we can either fly our other son and his family out for a visit, or, as we just did, fly west and visit them. This most recent trip included some time in a beautiful area of northern Idaho. We vacationed in a lovely place at the base of a ski resort. Even with three children ages 3-6, we were able to spend quite a bit of time enjoying the grandeur of the mountains and the beauty of region, as well as the fun of a small town parade on July 4th. One of the perks of staying near a ski resort with a chair lift open in the summer is that when hiking with kids, we can easily reach the top of the mountain. Not the same sense of accomplishment ...

He always said that they got married on his birthday so that he wouldn't forget the date.  A wise man. Remembering dates was not his strength, but he exhibited wisdom in many of the decisions that he made.  (I remember shortly after Mom died that Dad asked me for a list of everyone's birthdays, because he realized that he didn't know them.)  No, dates weren't his strength, but I am very grateful to have had a father who was a man of prayer, a man who desired to live a godly life, a man who gave his life to encourage others to do the same. On June 8th of this year, my dad would have been 82 and my parents would have been married 59 years.  Dad has been with the Lord for 8 years now and Mom for 13.  I would have loved to have had them in my life, the life of our sons as well as our daughters-in-laws and grandchildren longer. But God in His wisdom took them home earlier than I would have liked. As a child, I often failed to realize that my home environment migh...

April is a month when I tend to think of my mom more than any other month of the year.  Anyone who knew her, knew she loved April Fools' Day.  Last Sunday would have been her 85th birthday and she went to be with the Lord in April, 13 years ago now. I have other friends who have lost their moms in April.  One a year ago and one just a few days ago. As I grieve with them, I am grateful that they, like me, will with time be able to miss their mom, but be able to mainly reflect on the benefits she brought in their lives, rather than mainly grieve their loss. I know because we all had moms who poured greatly into our lives.  We each had mothers who put their faith and trust in the Lord and so we know that they are simply waiting to welcome us home. And I know, because with time, although I still miss her greatly, it is now with joy that I think on who she was instead of grieve over my loss. Oh, it took me a (suprising) number of years before I stopped picking up t...