Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Monday, September 26, 2011

Outside my window...a single visible branch from a nearby tree very, very gently swaying in the breeze; two young peach trees that have proven very hearty and have grown tremendously; occasional traffic on the highway; bird sounds of all sorts; and a lovely coolness.

I am thinking...about how I typically shorten the full extent of our Bible time in the mornings when we’re running late. I don’t cut out the prayer and memorization, but I frequently cut out the “extras” (some of the deeper, more time-consuming Bible study or the games). But today I felt very convicted that I was making a poor choice, so even though we were starting school 30 minutes late, we still did the entire 30 minutes of Bible, extras and all. We stayed behind and even got further behind through the morning such that we had an hour of work left in the afternoon! And yet, my afternoon was the most productive afternoon I’ve had in a long time, with something I expected to be very difficult and time-consuming taking a fraction of the expected time. All that to say…I think maybe I need to work on my teaching priorities a little bit and trust God with the results of getting behind!

I am thankful for...God’s faithfulness and patience with me; the beautiful way He answers prayers when we wait for Him; the fact that even though we had to close windows when we got home last night, we were able to open them right back up this morning.

I am wearing...jeans (yes, long pants! I love it!) and a short sleeve dark blue shirt.

I am creating...Thanksgiving napkins, Christmas calendars, and the master Christmas gift list to keep track of what all the kids are making/buying for each other. They already have it all planned out! I love it!

I am remembering...to delight in my children even in the midst of times of frustration. It makes a difference.

I am going...to have a busy week, but I’m excited about it!

I am reading...The Faith of Leap by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch (not on my list of highly recommended books!), hoping to start The Story of Your Life by Matthew West and Angela Thomas soon, and chomping at the bits to get caught up on review books so I can dive into Tricia Goyer’s latest book Along Wooded Paths for my own personal pleasure.

I am hoping...the remainder of the week runs as smoothly as today.

I am hearing...an unfamiliar voice from the living room. Doug is listening to a lecture or something on his iPod, I think.

On my mind...joy and the fact that although we can have joy even in the midst of deep sorrow, our deep abiding joy should also be frequently reflected in an attitude of happiness and delight.

From the learning rooms...the end of WWI, Roaring Twenties, robots, more magnetism experiments, basic geometry (Olivia), more intense creative writing practice (Angela),a whole new world of books (Steven – he finished his basic level books and now gets to move on to discovering he can truly read most of the books on his shelf now!)

Noticing that...it’s about time to start baths.

Pondering these words... Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath via Tricia Goyer on Twitter

From the kitchen...yummy smells as Doug whips us up some supper. Mmmm… At some point this week I might try to tackle cooking the squirrel we were giving yesterday.

Around the house...last bits of clean-up after doing a little weekend reorganization to improve the effectiveness of Doug’s home office space. (Some days it’s just plain hard to focus in the office of an empty church!)

One of my favorite things…my kids asking deep questions about spiritual growth and theology and showing signs of spiritual growth. Oh, and Steven being able to find the passages Doug was preaching on last night! He found Exodus 3 (where Doug started) and then moved on to Genesis 25 (where the bulk of the sermon was) all by himself and almost as quickly as I did!

A few plans for the rest of the week...Thursday Doug and I will head to Arkadelphia bright and early so he can go to the OBU Pastor’s Conference and I can go to a minister’s wives event. Between now and then I’ll be helping with the last-minute prep for our event (and, of course, we’ll have normal school and such). Friday after school/work we’ll head to Judsonia to spend the night with my parents and then go to the Prospect Bluff parade (Jud used to be called Prospect Bluff) of which my grandparents are the grand marshals!

A picture worth sharing...the rope attached to this car was being used to pull the car around while little Knox rode inside and the other four kids (Olivia, Angela, Steven, and Knox’s big brother Sawyer) took turns riding on the back. It was so much fun to watch!