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My 9 year old has decided to write a book. :) She's gotten drawn into a series she found in the library called The Fairy Realm and her story is kind of along the same lines yet completely original. I was so impressed to see the organized manner in which she set out to write. All on her own, she sat down and determined how many chapters the book would have, basically what would happen in each chapter, and the chapters' titles. She wrote out a synopsis and the table of contents. It was really neat. Then she started to write. :) As I fell in love with her story more and more, I asked her if I could put it up on my blog in installments as she finished each chapter. I hope you and your children will enjoy it as much as I do. Fairy Grove Hill - by Elisabeth E. Kaether Chapter 1 - In the Grove One day, as Jane was in the garden she found a big gold stone. When she picked up the stone, she found a strange mark on the bottom. It looked like a button. When she pushed the mark there was a big cloud of mist. It swarmed around her for a minute or two. Then it didn't feel like fall anymore. It felt like summer! When she could see again, she was not in the garden anymore either. She was in a forest flooded with golden sunshine. It was beautiful! She must be in a different world! But she was still holding the rock. Could she have been knocked out for one day? She wondered about it for a little time, and then took a walk. A squeeky little voice startled her. "Are you lost?" said the voice. "I think so," said Jane. "Can I help you get home?" asked the voice. "I don't know, said Jane. "I don't even know where I am," she said. "Well, you're in the fairy grove, of course." "The fairy what?" said Jane. "The fairy grove," said the small voice. So, that's where she was, she thought. "Will you help me?" Jane asked. "Yes, if you will do a favor for me first," said the little voice. "What can I do?" asked Jane. "You can help us find a lost treasure," said the voice. "By the way, my name is Lily. What's yours?" "My name is Jane," said Jane. "Well then, Jane," said Lily. "Let us be off!" "Off to where?" asked Jane. "Well, to meet the other fairies, of course," said Lily. "Oh," said Jane. "You're a fairy?" "Yes," said Lily, and flew out of the bush. "When we get to town I'll introduce you to Lilac, Rose, Foxglove, and Violet," said Lily. "Oh, and I can't forget Princess Snowflake and Queen Crystal," said Lily. They walked to a row of houses. Lily knocked on four doors. Four little fairies came out into the sunshine. "Hi, Lily!" they yelled all together. "Hi," said Lily. "Lilac, Rose, Foxglove, Violet, this is Jane. She is going to see how she can help us find the Princess' and Queen's treasure," said Lily. "That's great!" said Rose. "It's wonderful!" said Lilac. "I'm so happy!" said Violet. "Yes," said Foxglove, "but when can we get going?" "As soon as you're ready," said Jane. "Wait," said Lily to her fairy friends. "Jane can't make it up the hill without riding something," said Lily. "So we need to go to Unicorn Valley next." "I think we should go talk to the Queen and Princess before we worry about my needing to ride," said Jane. "Ok, we'll go to the palace next," said Lilac. And with a flutter of wings, they were off. It seemed like they'd been walking for hours yet they had only walked halfway. Jane was getting tired, but she ran on with the fluttering fairies. When they finally got to the palace, Jane was out of breath. "So, this is the palace?" she panted. "Yes, said Violet. The palace was huge and glowed in the sunshine. A little fairy dressed in white greeted them at the gate. She had a crystal crown. But this time, Jane introduced herself. The fairy said she was Princess Snowflake. Snowflake had them come in for the night. The next day they had a wonderful breakfast of sausage, pancakes, waffles, bacon, and eggs. When they left, they brought the princess with them, for her mother had lost something very valuable on a walk a very long time ago and it still had not been found. She said that it was on the hill that they were going to, and that it was urgent, so they took her with them. Lily had explained that Unicorn Valley was 13 miles away, but the road was rather icy. Halfway there they met an elf named Pip. When they told Pip where they were going, he said, "You're doomed! It's too far. It would take forever even if most of you have wings! But I could show you a short cut." "Really?" said Lilac. "Really," said Pip. "Cool," said Rose. "Where?" said Violet. "Over here," said Pip. So they went with Pip to a tree with a very big trunk. "So where exactly is this shortcut?" asked Snowflake. "Well, it's very secret. You have to promise that you will not use it without me, ok?" "Yes, sir!" Pip twisted three knots on the tree and just then a little door opened. When they were all in, the door shut, but it was light enough to see for the walls had lamps on them. It was beautiful! Flowers were hung on lanterns on the ceiling and berries were strung to the walls. A moss carpet covered the hard dirt floor. When they came out, it was very sunny. They could see the door to Unicorn Valley, but Lily had said that only the Daisy fairy could open the door. So they made up a game. The first one to find a daisy and life the correct three petals wins of course. It was easy for them because they all knew what a daisy looked like, but Jane was the winner. She picked the daisy, lifted three petals, scooped up the fairy, and asked her to open the door. But alas, she was asleep and Violet said fairies are very deep sleepers. So they had to wait til it was dark before she would open the door. It was almost evening. Jane said, "I better be getting home or Mom will get worried." "Boloney! You just want the way home so you can leave us here," said Lily. "I do not!" yelled Jane. "Well, you're the one that made it so we came here first instead of the hill!" yelled Lily. "I was not! You said that I could not make it up the hill without riding something!" Jane yelled back. "Well, you two better stop fighting or you're going to make the unicorns stampede!" yelled Pip. Just the the fairies' eyes opened wide. "Wot's awl the hustle an bustle, ey?" "Y- you're awake," whispered Lilac. "An it seems to me ye've gawt a good faght awn yor hands. Are ye awl lawst?" drawled the sweet Southern Daisy fairy. "No, we're on our way to the hill, and Jane, the big one, said she needs to go home," explained Lilac. "Nawt true," said the Daisy fairy. "What?" asked Jane. "Nawt true. Oh, ye dinna know the tahm in yer world goes much slower than he'ah in the grove?" "Really?" asked Lily, turning from the fight. When Jane looked up, the Daisy fairy was looking in her bag for the key to the door. All of a sudden, an owl swooped down with something in its beak. When it came down it handed the Daisy fairy a gold key. "Wayl how'd ye git this, Harold?" "Whoooo," said the owl and flew off. "Now, Ah jist have to fahnd the lock to the door." "Daisy, when we leave, will you come with us?" asked Snowflake. "Why, Ah'd love to," said the fairy. Pop! the latch opened with a blast of light. "Ok, now, we jist need ta push it opin." "Here, you will need this." Lily handed Jane a ring. She said it would make her know how to ride a unicorn. When they opened the door, it was day. Daisy said that it was always day in Unicorn Valley.
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Posted in Sisterly Advice
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One of the difficulties that seems to afflict us as women fairly often is depression. As we head into the darkest and coldest season of the year, it can be especially difficult to keep a cheery disposition. Yet God calls us to rejoice in all things! It has been on my heart for many years to write a book on escaping from depression. As a teenager and young adult I went through some very dark times. I won't go into every detail right now, but I will tell you I went as far as attempting suicide more than once. When it got to be at its worst and God still did not allow me to die, I begged Him to heal me and allow me to help others who were in the same situation. It was a long road, but one so worthwhile. Praise God, He has given me the victory today and I want so to let others who are still in the darkness of depression to know that He CAN heal you too! "Every experience that comes to us in life, be it joyous or painful, comes sifted through the hand of God." Whoever said that was incredibly wise. There will be times when God lets us experience pain. That's a given. It's hard to see the good that will come out of it when you're in the midst of it, but when we *wait quietly* for the salvation of the *Lord*, the good *will* come. There are pains in life that we bring on ourselves - consequences of sin. But even then, God does not thrust us from his presence forever. Even the Babylonian captivity was limited, though the Israelite's sin of idolatry seemed boundless. So, to us also, God promises He will not cast us from his fellowship and blessings forever. He is with us all through it! When life gets tough, we are tempted to despair, but despair and depression only keep us in bondage. Depression is a rock that closes up the pit that we have fallen into, closing off all hope of escape. But here is the key: God may well have allowed the pit, but the rock is of *our own* making! This doesn't mesh well with our generation's concept of mental illness being the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. I believe that chemical imbalance may well exist, but I believe it is a *result* rather than a *cause* of our thought processes. According to the research I have done, when a child begins to learn how to walk or how to read, the brain does not at first know how to send the messages and utilize the proper brain chemicals to make the body or the mind do what it should, but as the child is shown and helped to do the right thing over and over again, the chemical pathways are laid down in the brain until the act of walking when he sees a toy across the room, or reading anytime the printed word is seen, becomes nearly automatic. Human beings are creatures of habit. If we drive to work the same way every day or always have cream with our coffee, chances are we will again tomorrow. If we exercise our muscles in one way only, day in and day out, our bodies will show that imbalance in strength in one set of muscles but not another. And if we exercise our minds and thought processes in a specific direction, our minds will be built up in that area for good or for ill, until that direction of thought becomes so automatic, it is almost inexorable Chemical balances in the brain CAN be restored, just as a balance in muscle strength can be achieved - through proper exercise (prayer) and determination. The rock on top of your pit may be particularly heavy. You may have been building it up for many years, and your first attempts to move it may give you only a tiny glimpse of the hope God has for you. But God is able and willing to give you the strength to keep on "working out" until the bright star of His hope can be seen shining through a widening crack in your self-made prison. Then, one day you will push that rock completely off the top of your pit and be able to see the rope of God's escape plan hanging there where it was waiting for you all along! I pray that you will see what I write as my heart for you who are suffering - not as a judgement. Remember that I HAVE been there. I had to come to see these things within me before I was able to break free. I know it is not easy, but God is able to work the changes needed within you. |
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Posted in Oldies but Goodies
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In the fall of 2000, when my two oldest boys were 9 and 7, they started a business they called, "Micha's Marvelous Munchies and Terran's Terrific Treats". All my children, but Terran especially just love to bake and he really enjoyed having an excuse to make cookies every day. Micha enjoyed the real-life math he got to do as well. It was a wonderful educational experience on top of getting to earn a little money. We started by making an ingredient list for several kinds of cookies the boys hoped to make. We took the list to the grocery store and wrote down the prices for each one. Then we looked at the nutrition information on the packages to figure out how much was in each package. For instance, the four pound bag of sugar said it contained 567 1tsp servings! Micha had to figure out how many teaspoons were in a quarter cup - 3 teaspoons in each Tablespoon and 4 Tablespoons in each quarter cup, meant there were 12 teaspoons in each quarter cup. So we divided 567 by 12 to find out how many quarter cups of sugar were in the bag. This brought in a review on rounding. 47.25 is rounded down to 47 quarter cups. Then he had to find out how much each of those quarter cups of sugar cost. He divided the cost of the bag - $1.49 by 47 and got .03, so each quarter cup must cost 3 cents. Then he figured he needed 3/4 cup in each batch of cookies, so the total sugar cost was 9 cents. He did this with every ingredient over a few days until he had figured a total cost for the whole batch of cookies. If I remember right, the cost for a batch of chocolate chip cookies was $1.18. Next, they determined how many cookies were in a batch. Of course, this required making - and eating - a batch of cookies. Keeping the cookies approximately 3 - 4 inches in diameter, they were able to get two dozen cookies, plus a small amount of cookie dough that found its way into their tummies uncooked. Micha divided the cost of the batch of cookies by 24 and got a cost of .049, or approximately 5 cents per cookie. So, if they sold their cookies for 25 cents a piece - not an exorbitant price - they would get a profit of 20 cents per cookie - not bad! They were in business! Each afternoon they set up their folding table at the curb in front of our house. The school buses let the kids off right across the street, so there was a built in market for their cookies, and at least a few of those kids came over every afternoon to check out the special of the day. As the days went on, Micha's math moved to keeping the books for their business. They started out with a $9.00 loan from me, which they quickly repaid. Micha would subtract their cost, which they paid me each day for their ingredients and add the total number of cookies they sold times 25 cents. They considered the cost of extra advertising, and rejected that idea. As it turned out, word-of-mouth worked so well that they ended up being visited by a reporter from the local newspaper and they got their picture in the paper! I was proud that they had the self discipline to leave the money in the business through that whole season. When snow arrived and it was too cold to sit outside selling cookies, they closed business until spring. When they divided the money in the cash box, they each had more than $10. A jackpot for a 9 and 7 year old, and of course it was off to the toy store for transformers. The best thing about allowing my children to do this, was seeing the wheels in their head turning toward more business ideas for the future. It was a wonderful way to teach math - both for Micha, who kept the books, and for Terran, who worked with the fractions in the baking department. Who needs Saxon? ;) So, encourage your kids. You just never know where it might lead! --you can see the picture that was in the paper at http://www.geocities.com/kaetherhome/kids.html--- |
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Posted in Oldies but Goodies
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This is the time of year for looking back over the decisions that we've made and planning ahead for the year to come. One of the things that I've been doing the last few years, as you know, is Daddy's Little Princess. For the most part, I wouldn't change it if I had it to do over again. There aren't a whole lot of people in this world who get to do what they are passionate about and get paid for it! If there's one thing, one message I could shout out to the world on this New Year's eve, it would be that you CAN do it! Whatever God has put into your heart to do, you can do it through Him! So many times I hear people say, "oh, I could never do that!" be it in regards to homeschooling, or a home business, or whatever. And that just breaks my heart! You are a daughter of the King! And like most Daddys, He wants you to succeed in all areas of your life. In everything that He calls you to do. So, if you're a mom who is struggling financially and debating going out to get a part time job, or if you're feeling useless at home - desperately needing to get outside of yourself and give to others, consider starting a home business/ministry this year. It may be something that's been niggling at the back of your brain for a while and you think, oh, I could never do that - or I don't have any skills that anyone would pay for. Trust me, I used to think the same thing! So first of all, tell the voice inside your head that says, "I can't" to take a hike! Then pray. First, ask the Lord to guide you as to His will for your life. First of all for His timing. If you are struggling financially, He may be calling you to start a home business or He may be wanting you to learn to rely on Him alone. If you are feeling useless at home, He may be calling you to start a home business/ministry or He may be calling you to accept your role and give of yourself to your children and husband. His guidance will be for you alone and for you specific situation. Second, ask for His direction. Take an inventory of your gifts, talents, and passions. No fair saying, "I don't have any." That's a lie from the Enemy himself! Even if your greatest passion is something "unproductive" like watching old movies, you could write reviews and send them out in an e-newsletter, set yourself up as an affiliate with Amazon.com or a similar company that sells those old movies and build a website with links helping people to find a place to purchase those difficult to find, but family friendly black and white and colorized films. Perhaps you could even go so far as to provide a rental service through the mail as some have done, but just for old movies. Hard as it may be to believe, people will listen to YOU and to your opinions in the area of your passion. Sure, not everyone will agree with you. This world would be a pretty boring place if we all agreed with eachother, wouldn't it? But, in any case, whatever your passion, there is something that you can do with it. Don't believe me? I challenge you to stump me - write to me at hmschlrof6@yahoo.com. :) Third, continue to ask for His guidance as you do some research. Check out the laws in your state. Do you need a business license? Here in Wisconsin, only certain businesses need a license. You will probably want a checking account in your business name. Your bank can help you with that. The easiest way to get started in a business is over the internet. "Rent" consists of registering a domain name and having your website hosted somewhere - much less expensive than a store front downtown! Also check into tax ramifications. It's not as complex as you might think, though. It may be in your best interest to set up your company as an incorporation or an LLC. I am pretty sure that is where Daddy's Little Princess is headed this year, but if I'd worried about that the first year I got started, it's a pretty good bet that Daddy's Little Princess would not be in existence today. I would have gotten scared and run far far away! :) But, it isn't very hard to call your business a sole proprietorship. Tax time consists of filling out a form called a schedule C which basically boils down to your total earnings minus your total expenses - which you file along with your 1040. Not too difficult! Finally, network with other Christian families to get the word out about your business. Write to me and I will put an ad in this newsletter about your family friendly business. Put your web page address in the sig line of all your emails. Frequent bulletin boards and e-mail discussion groups. Usually you can mention your business briefly in those places or others can mention it for you. One great place to get to know others who are "crazy" entrepreneurs is on a site like that of my friend, Rhea Perry! Entrepreneurs at Home Most of all, dare to dream! You can do ALL things, through Christ, who strengthens you! |
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Posted in Oldies but Goodies
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Many parents have asked me over the years about teaching their child to read. There are huge amounts of curriculum out there - fancy schmancy phonics programs with flash cards and progress charts or scripted - say this now - kind of formats. How much should we expect to spend on teaching a child to read? How much time and tears should be invested? Is this kind of a formal setting even the best way to teach your child to read? I'll admit, I looked at my share of phonics curriculums, and even liked parts of each one, but in the end I had to ask myself, "why should I pay a lot of money for something I can do myself?" Does teaching a child to read even have to be a formal process, or can it fit into my overall homeschooling philosophy based on Dt. 6:7? In the end, my first son pretty much learned to read on his own while I tried to figure out how to teach him! Well, somewhat on his own. Just as we took the next step when he was learning his first words and his colors and shapes, so we took the next step in learning to read. The first step was simply to read to him - as much as he would let me. We made it a habit to read before bedtime from the time he was born, so that at least was one time each day when I knew I could get my active toddler to sit down next to me and listen to a story. As we read, I might point out a letter here and there. "Do you see this, Micha? This is an A. We made our own alphabet books with pictures of things he was very familiar with for each letter and used these as our bedtime story occassionally. Maria Montessori explains the didactic steps very well in her writings... 1. "This is". Show the child the letter or object and say, "This is a..." and tell him what it is. Do this naturally as God gives you the opportunity in your reading together and in your life. There are letters all around us. Use them! 2. "Which is?" Show the child two or three letters and ask "which one is the letter A?" Sometimes a child may know the answer but still find it hard to articulate. This approach gives him the opportunity to see the answer in front of him and even answer without speaking. This makes teaching a toddler to read possible even if he doesn't speak yet! Sound surprising? I've actually seen it done. One of my younger sisters was taught to read by my mom before she was two. If you showed her two or three phrases and asked her "which one says..." she could point to the right one every time. You could even write a phrase such as, "Where are my glasses?" and she would go find them. So it is perfectly possible. But I digress... 3. "what is?" Finally, you can ask them, "what is this letter?" and the child can tell you the answer. The important points in all this are to keep the learning sessions as natural and as short as possible and to have fun! If the child does not remember that this letter is called A, tell him - not in a condescending - of course you wouldn't remember - tone, but as if you just remembered it yourself. You can point out some of the clues like the pointy top of the letter and the bar across the middle that looks like the end of the swingset in the backyard, but in the end, if he doesn't remember, that's ok. He'll probably get it next time. After all, he is still pretty little. When my oldest son was 18 or 20 months old, we started pointing out the letters all around him. When I made up some homemade flashcards to teach him his letters, I was amazed to find that he already knew most of them. We did find a use for those flashcards, playing matching games. Index cards are wonderful things! We found pictures in magazines that went with each letter, some letters we had many pictures for, some only one, and we glued one picture onto each card. Now we could play "concentration" - turning the cards all upside down in a grid format on the floor, turning up two at a time and checking to see if they were a match. If the two cards were a letter B and a picture of a bicycle, (or a bicycle and a banana) it was a match and could be kept. We could also just lay the cards out on the floor and match them up without any specific game format. I still remember the cards my mom made like this when I was little and stretching them across the livingroom floor from A to Z with all the pictures that started with that letter next to the letter cards. My son wasn't even two years old, and didn't know his alphabet song, but he knew the name of every letter like they were old friends. No curriculum did that - and no genius intellect in my son - although I consider him to be pretty smart - just a natural learning environment. One of my favorite homeschooling authors, Marilyn Howshall, says that if you want to teach your child anything - no matter what the topic - you should simply fill yourself up with it, become passionate about it, and it will naturally flow out into the lives of those around you. If you fill yourself up with good books, if you are excited about reading, if you have fun reading with your child, you will hardly be able to keep him from learning to read. So, my son knew his letter names. Now it was time to take the next step - learning the letter sounds. In Seigfried Englemann's book, "Give Your Child a Superior Mind" (I know the title sounds terribly prideful, but the information in this out of print book is wonderful!) he lays out a logical progression for teaching children the letter sounds. First start with f,l,m,n,r,s,and x. All of these letters have their sound at the end of their name. If you say the letter's name and just hang on to the end - like effffffffff - you'll hear the sound quite clearly. Second, go on to the letters b,d,j,k,p,t,v,and z. These have the sound at the beginning of their name. You could make some index cards with pictures of 15 children with these letters on their shirts, read the story of the Sneetches by Dr. Seuss, and then play a game about the end sounding letters who thought they were better than the beginning sounding letters. After my children knew these fifteen letters well, I next went on to the short vowels. With a,e,i,o,and u we could start building and sounding out words. We had a little song that we sang when we were sounding out a new word - c,a,t, say it faster, c,a,t, say it faster, c,at, say it faster, cat! Now he could read the word on the bathroom door that said MEN and he did, every time we were at a place with public restrooms! Finally, there are the letters that you just have to memorize, c,g,h,q,w,and y. These took longer to learn, but that didn't hold us back from reading lots of books and playing matching games with the upper and lower case letter flashcards. Whenever there was a word I knew my son could manage in the book we were reading, I'd ask him to figure it out. Eventually he realized that he was reading more of the words than I was. What a revelation! He could read! And I found that he knew those difficult letters too, just by seeing them over and over again. By then I realized that we didn't need a curriculum to tell us what to learn and how to learn it. I got children's books from the library and an old Dick and Jane type reader that had been my husband's, and we simply continued to read together. I never made flashcards for the letter combinations like sh and ch and ing. When we found those blends and diphthongs in the words in our book, I simply pointed them out, just like we had pointed out the green truck when he was tiny. When we saw a word like eat, we talked about the two vowels that stood next to eachother and how the a made the e say his name, but we never filled out a workbook page, circling the diphthongs in all the words on the page! I still remember hating those phonics workbooks and how pointless they seemed to me, even as a first grader, even as a child who already knew how and loved to read. As time went on, my children needed fewer and fewer reminders. One of the disadvantages I've seen of working with a reading curriculum is getting bogged down on getting a particular phonics rule mastered before allowing your child to go on. I've found in every area of my life that when God wants me to learn something new He will drop the topic in front of me, maybe just in some aside comment made by a friend. I may not understand it right away, but while life goes on, in the midst of everything, God will let that topic come up over and over and over again. I will be reading a book or talking to someone after church and out it will pop. Until eventually I start seeking out more information and reading more and more about it, and it becomes a part of me. Learning to read is just like that. Each new concept is explained, and then the real reading continues. It will surely come up again on its own. There's no need to harp on it. And after a while, that concept will be a part of your child's reading strategy and suddenly one day you will be surprised to realize that he's got it! This drastically reduces the time it takes a child to learn how to read. While one child is spending day three on the br combination, the other is reading real books. And then the parents wonder why my child can learn to read before he's even "school age" and love reading while their son struggles with and hates br? The sooner we learn that life IS learning and how to ask the Holy Spirit what the next step is, and then simply take it, the better off both we, and our children will be. |
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Posted in Oldies but Goodies
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Have you ever noticed how many times in God's Word, He compares human beings to plants? Psa 128:3 Thy wife [shall be] as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Jhn 15:5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Mat 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Not to mention passages like "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it." - which I have come to understand recently also has tree/plant connotations - training in the sense of training a young tree and pruning it as needed! Last weekend, our family devotion centered on the idea of trees, comparing deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves each year) to Christians whose faith seems to wax and wane, and conifers (evergreens) to Christians whose faith is constant. It got me to thinking all over again about the many tree metaphors the Lord has shown me over the years. The author of the devotion urged the readers to be conifer Christians, always green and growing. But is this a realistic expectation? It seems to me the normal Christian life IS a life of cycles and seasons, more like the deciduous tree. Like the trees, we are called to go through seasons of emptiness at times. God calls us to let go of certain things, idols or pet sins. He calls us to drop these things, as the trees are called to drop their leaves. Did you ever notice that there are some trees that seem to drop their leaves quickly and easily? There isn't much color change to these trees. It just starts to be autumn and they know it's time to let go. Other trees hang onto those leaves for dear life. The maples around here are some of the last trees to drop their leaves, and they are also the reddest. In my morbidly poetic teenage years :) I imagined that red color to be the blood of the trees fighting against the coming winter. But I realize now that winter is not the demonic, terrible thing that I'd imagined. It is a season, created by God, a necessary part of life, through which the only true growth can happen. So we have a choice; we can obey God's calling as He makes it clear to us, and let go of the sins and idols of our lives quietly and quickly, or we can fight against God's plan for our lives, hang on, and suffer the much deeper pain that comes from that choice. In the stillness of the winter, after the leaves have been dropped, God's moonlit snow and ice transforms the barren trees into creatures of true beauty. Beauty that comes from God, not from ourselves. The winter is often still a difficult season to be in. Some winters are harder than others, but God is there with us through all of them. Just as when a tree has been cut down, you can see by the size and shape of the rings which years have been colder winters or dry years, so God promises that He sees every tear and has written them all down in His book. The coldness of yet another miscarriage, the dryness of a move to a new home where you don't know anyone yet - God sees them all and allows them, in the hopes that we will snuggle in closer to him and allow His life to begin to flow through us. As His life flows through our veins like the sap beginning to flow through the trees, our growth will begin to show on the outside and a new greeness will come forth with the excitement of a spring breeze, showing God's handiwork to all around. The spring is such a beautiful season to be in! Everything sings with a joy that can hardly be surpassed! The love of God for us and our love for Him can be almost tangible. God's lessons of the winter have begun to show in our growth. As spring moves into summer, it is easy to feel this green fullness will last forever. The warm rains and sunshiny days of God's Word and fellowship with other believers begin to fill out the fruit that has begun to grow. And then, the autumn comes again. First the fruit ripens, which can be small and sickly or large and juicy sweet, depending on how much good or bad has gone into the tree/Christian throughout the summer. It's probably no coincidence that it is in the same season that the fruit comes to ripeness and then the leaves fall again. Just as in the parable of the wheat and the tares, there have been sins and wrong thinking mixed in with truth and faith. After all, we're human. So after the fruit has ripened and been harvested, the wrong that must be weeded out is pointed out by the Lord yet again and the leaves of sin must fall. Most plants are pruned in the fall too. And God will prune away all of the dead wood and selfishness, to help us grow so as to produce the best possible fruit for our type of tree. That's one of the other neat things about trees. Just as there are many different types of fruits, but none better than the others, so God has made us all to bear different types of fruit. I may bring forth apples while another brings forth pears and another olives. The fruit we bring forth is determined by God to compliment the variety within the body of Christ. I can't wish to be an olive tree if He made me to be an apple tree, but through His pruning and watering through all the seasons of my life, I can be the very best apple tree I can be. So, can Christians be conifers? I don't think so. I think that the evergreen is the perfect symbol for God, the never changing, always loving, always just, eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But at least on this earth, I think Christians have to be content to be deciduous trees. The letting go of autumn and the starkness of winter may be difficult to bear at times, but as deciduous trees we can bring forth the most wonderful fruit! |
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Posted in Oldies but Goodies
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Yesterday morning, my five year old came up to me and asked for another band-aid. You know how band-aids just seem to be the cure- all for kids? Often it's for the tiniest little scrape. So I looked, and she had a fairly large scab on her ankle. It's actually been there a few days, but I noticed it was bleeding a bit again. She'd been picking at it. I asked her, "honey, why are you picking at your scab?" She said, "I wanted to see if it was done yet. But God hasn't healed me yet." Isn't that just like me! How many times God has promised me something, and I keep checking, "is it done yet?" - poking at it, "can I hurry things along?" Only making things worse in reality! And maybe the band-aid isn't such a bad idea. No matter how small or large the promise that we're waiting for, perhaps putting it under a spiritual band-aid of sorts would help with the waiting process. It would be a reminder that, yes, God has promised this to me, and yes He is working on it. And it would keep my fingers out of the works, wanting to make God's promise happen in my own strength. Thank God for band-aids! :) |
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Mike had to work over 2 hours away from home every day this week and was getting tired with the long drives - Mike suggested half seriously, that we take a mini vacation as a family - two nights in a hotel. :) Of course we have to get two adjoining rooms as they won't let 10 people stay in one room even if it is just one family ;) LOL So Tuesday morning the kids and I booked the rooms, packed for 10 people, talked the neighbors into taking care of the chickens, and drove down and surprised Daddy by asking if he'd like to join us for supper at pizza hut in Janesville! :) It was a fun couple of days. The kids had coupons for pizza hut from the library's summer reading program so we got supper for all of us for just over $16! Then we went to toys r' us and looked around. It was fun seeing how excited the little girls were. They seldom get to go even down the "girl aisle" at walmart, so this was a treat. They didn't ask or expect anything to be bought, just delighted in seeing everything. The boys had money they'd earned and Jeremi found a transformer he'd been wanting, so he was allowed to get that. Mike decided to pick up a set of art supplies on sale for the girls to have something extra special. 4 bears in the bed and the little one said... ;) The next day after Daddy had gone to work, we got up and had breakfast in the hotel lobby then went back to our room and let the girls use their new art stuff while we decided what to do. We ended up visiting the huge walmart where we bought food for a picnic lunch and then went looking for a park. We found a rummage sale along the way and decided to stop by. Abi and Manda each found a 25 cent stuffed toy that I let them get and I got these darling little sandals that fit Emi perfectly! And joy of joys! I found a queen size feather bed! Now I've been dreaming about having a feather bed ever since we stayed at the Jamieson House bed and breakfast for our honeymoon, so it was just too cool to see it sitting there in it's zippered plastic bag just begging to come home with me! And I can tell you it is SO NICE to sleep on. Even Mike said that sleeping on the feather bed felt like being tucked in! ;) We asked the lady who was holding the garage sale if she knew of a nearby park, and sure enough there was one just a block away. Who hoo! So off we went to find the park. It was one of those parks that is built in the center of a circle of subdivision houses, all with their back yards backed up to it so you feel like you're almost trespassing even though there's a sidewalk marked "park public access" between two houses that you use to get to it. But we went anyway. ;) It was a lovely park with swings, slides, climbing wall, even a zip line!
And lunch was yummy with meat and cheese sandwiches, potato salad, cherries and grapes, chips, and lemon water.
Finally, we packed up to go back to the hotel And the girls zonked hard and slept for quite a while.
I didn't get pictures, but after nap we went swimming in the hotel pool - with Daddy joining us when he got off work. Then went out to Denny's for supper. And went back to the hotel for a well earned sleep before driving home in the morning. |
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What to do on a hot summer day? Work on sewing projects . I'm trying some new fabrics and styles. Biting my fingernails LOL. Our friends' daughter is having a violin recital next month. She has asked me to play with her on the Bach Double Concerto and has requested that everyone playing in the recital wear something black on the bottom and cranberry on top. Yikes! So, having nothing like that, it was off to JoAnn's. I found a pretty embroidered black on black linen that I'm using for my skirt. It has sequins all over it, but I plan to snip them off except for an a border of about 4" down by the hem. Then I found a black fabric that looks just like silk dupioni but it's actually polyester so it's cheaper and washable :) I plan to use it for a sleeveless nursing blouse to wear under the loose over blouse... ...made from the cranberry, I found a sheer fabric with a bit of a sparkle (much less sparkle when it's just one layer like it will be when finished, than it looks like folded up in the picture.) The pattern sitting there is what I plan to do with it.
The perfect hot day activity - running through the sprinkler...
And finally, taking a well earned nap!
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Guess what Mike brought home for the kids last weekend...
BUBBLES! My great big 7 year old :) Yes, she's really sleeping! |
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In addition to our 8 special blessings here in our home on earth, we have three special blessings waiting for us in our mansion in heaven. Victoria Ruthanne (Tori) born into heaven July '00 Sarah Morganne Laine born into heaven Mar '01 Stephen Matthias born into heaven May '03 One night in 2001, after I'd lost the first two children, the Lord gave me a dream in which I was able to go for a visit to that mansion the Lord is preparing for me in heaven. I don't know how biblically accurate it was, but I believe it was given for my comfort. It was a beautiful house. :) I love to plan out dream houses, plotting floorplans on graph paper. This house was all of those dream houses and then some. My Gramma was there. She went to be with the Lord in 97, the same year my Lissa was born, the day after her 80th birthday. She was a mentor to me especially in sewing and I've often wished she'd lived to see where the Lord has taken my sewing through Daddy's Little Princess. I think she'd be thrilled. :) In my dream she helped me sew for DLP. Wouldn't that be awesome to really be able to do that in heaven someday? Best of all, all my children were there. I got to hold and nurse baby Sarah and snuggle up with her in a comfy chair. I got to listen to little Tori reading to me out of the Dick and Jane reader. One scene that stayed especially clear to me was in the kitchen. Gramma was sitting in my antique rocking chair, the light spilling in the french doors to the garden behind her. In her lap was a bowl of apples she was peeling as she planned to bake an apple pie with Tori - the same way she'd baked with me so often when I was little. Gramma looked just like she had when I was little - dark hair, pretty face, always wearing her apron. In my dream, little Tori leaned up against Gramma eating one of the apples, asking if she could help. It brought tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful. I don't think I told anyone about the dream then - not even my husband, so it was with wonderfully surprised and happy tears that my dear husband confirmed God's comfort to me not long after on our anniversary, when he brought in a beautiful art print to hang on the wall. The print is by Loren Entz and it's called Apple of Her Eye.
Isn't God Amazing! It now hangs in a very special place in our livingroom. To me, it will always be a picture of Gramma and Tori making an apple pie in our mansion in heaven! |
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I guess it was simple writers block to begin with, then the longer away from blogland, the harder it was to return. That old perfectionism rearing its ugly head again. I MUST not have flaws - or at least not let those flaws show! I've been reminded again this week of just who I am in myself. Yuck! Over the years, God has been covering me over with Himself more and more. I was beginning to think that old heart of perfectionism and even deceit were dead and buried. Well, maybe buried - but still oh so much alive. I am disgusted by the glimpse and sickened by the realization of how I have hurt people I love because of it. How I wish I could cut that aspect of myself away. But I realize the more I try - the more I work at it - the more I look at it - - the more I am pulled toward self-pity, despair, and depression. I can't concentrate on fixing me. I acknowledge it. It is there. Lord, forgive me and touch those I've hurt. Now I must turn my eyes back to Him - concentrate on drawing closer to Him, and chose to believe that He IS changing me and He WILL cut that evil deceitful heart out of me in His perfect timing.
In the meantime, life at the Kaether homestead has been more than a little busy... In May, we got baby chicks! Now I feel like a real homesteader. ;) They are brown leghorns (brown chickens who will lay white eggs and plenty of them or so I'm told). We got just 6 as our first experiment and we are enjoying them very much. They grow even faster than children - I'm just amazed!
Late in May, my mom (Nana G.) came for a visit. It was so wonderful to see her. We had 2 1/2 days of fun activities - The Historic Surgeon's Quarters and seeing the animals at the McKenzie Center one day - then a wonderful teaparty picnic at Devils Lake State Park the second, and finally a quiet day at home baking. :)
As summer blooms, we have had wonderful brushes with nature. We are so so blessed to be in the country. There truly is a peacefulness that touches the soul.
And another great visit - albeit way too short - - this time from my "little" brother, Karl. The children completely overwhelmed him with love and bunny ears. ;)
On the personal side, I've been busy working on my website Daddy's Little Princess, adding new pictures and new designs and a whole new ordering format that I hope will work more smoothly. And finally getting around to decorating our bedroom.
Hope you have a lovely lovely day! God bless you! |
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Where did it go? We've had some lovely spring weather this week. What a blessing! The girls found these in our yard... Now it must be truly spring! 
More progress has been made on the city house. Here are before and after pics of the kitchen. We're hoping to get the moldings and some plywood for subflooring in the front porch this weekend, and hopefully will be able to finish really soon. Mike mentioned having it done in time for my birthday, next Wednesday. What a great present that would be! 
Saturday, the kids and I took the garbage to the dump and just look what we found there! The sewing machine inside has been converted to electricity but it doesn't look like it would be too hard to convert it back. It looks very much like the one my mom had when I was growing up. I love being able to touch the past and incorporate it into our home. 
My mind this week has been wrapped up in thoughts of my friend's little boy who is in the hospital after a tub accident. Why God allows tragedies like this to happen, I can't understand. All I can do is rest in the knowledge that God knows and has a wonderful plan, and I hug my kids a little tighter as I thank God for every moment that I have with them.  
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Squirt guns in March - - Sleds in April! Amazing, isn't it? Hard to believe also that another week has come and gone. We've been trying to get back into a schedule after our holiday crazies, and that has mostly gone pretty well. In homeschooling, the boys are doing literature together for the first time this spring, all reading the same book and then discussing and doing several related writing assignments. The last one just finished reading their book "A Wrinkle In Time" yesterday. Hooray! As that was one of my favorite books growing up, I'm really looking forward to some great discussions this coming week. I'm thinking about what activities to use in our April time travel to the Revolutionary War. I want to do some calligraphy and read the Declaration of Independence - one of those things that I've actually never done myself either, so it will be a new experience for all of us. We'll have to find some timely recipes again too. That beefsteak pie that we made for our Pilgrim day has become a family favorite and we've had it more than once since. April is swiftly disappearing though, so I'd better hurry up and just do something rather than getting bogged down in planning, which is my usual M.O. My sister from Minnesota dropped by Thursday morning on her way through town and we had a wonderful visit, even if way too short! And that's all the news from the Kaether Homestead, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average. ;) |
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Micha - 15yo His head is above the top of the armoire now! 
Terran - 13yo Couldn't find his long sleeved shirt, but a handsome fellow nonetheless. 
Jeremiah - 10yo Hard to get a serious look out of the boy ;) 
I don't get to make clothes for the boys much anymore. I never did master pants with zippers, ....but now we get to the dresses which I enjoyed making very much. :) Each little girl got a purple pettidress with a collar and then a white on white something over the top. ;) Elisabeth - 9yo I was looking for something more grown up and finally settled on this simple white on white vest. The left side of the vest has bead work and ribbon flowers sewn on to bring out the vine-y pattern of the fabric. 
Julihannah - 7yo Juli got a round yoke pinafore with angel sleeves. I've made this style for my website before, but this time I did it all in white on white - white piping stems instead of green and white sheer ribbon roses and leaves added to the stems. I think this is my favorite of the Easter dresses this year. 
Abigail - 5yo Fancy and frilly like my fancy little girl. It started out like a simple jumper and then I got to the skirt and went a little nuts. I started out with patchwork squares in tiers, all different whites, different textures, bits of laces and ribbons added here and there. Fun! But I got down to the third tier and realized I would need at LEAST three more to get the length I needed and I didn't have that kind of time. So I searched through my stash and found a piece of chenille I'd been saving for something special and pieces of broad eyelet lace. I added those and a nice deep ruffle of white on white fabric, and voila! A drama queen gown for my little drama queen! ;) 
Amanda - 2yo I decided on a petal skirt for my little flower fairy. White eyelet seemed a sweet choice for fabric. Then I created a little flower and a caterillar out of buttons on the bodice just for fun. :) 
Emilie - 5 1/2mo So finally, there came little Emilie, and I was out of inspiration and quickly running out of time. I finally asked Mike to see if he could find a little lavender sleeper and I could either make her a white dress quick, or if worse came to worst, she could wear her white dress from Christmas again. He couldn't even find a lavender sleeper except for the fuzzie jammie type, so he came home with a cute white sleeper covered with little purple hearts. The best part was the adorable little feet of the sleeper were made to look like ballet shoes! Finally, I had the inspiration I needed. :) Saturday evening, I whipped up a little jumper with crisscrossed lace on the bodice and a pieced lace "tutu" style skirt for her to wear over her new sleeper. :)  |
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Monday this week, I asked the children what this Sunday was about. I was dismayed to find that my 5yo couldn't answer that question. It wasn't like we'd never read the story, talked about it often, watched "The Miracle Maker", etc. Her idea of Easter was going to Gramma's house, getting presents and candy from Great Gramma, playing with her cousin, and eating lots of yummy food. So I told again the wonderful story of God's great love for us, how He sent His son to die on the cross in our place and how through faith, we are saved. Tuesday this week, I asked my 5yo what Sunday was all about. I was met with silence. I think she remembered that the answer she'd given the day before was not the one I'd been looking for, but not what the right answer was. So I told again the wonderful story of God's great love for us, how He sent His son to die on the cross in our place and how through faith, we are saved. Wednesday this week, I asked Abi again what Sunday was all about. "God?" was all the answer I could get out of her. So I told again the wonderful story of God's great love for us, how He sent His son to die on the cross in our place and how through faith, we are saved. Thursday this week, I asked Abigail what Sunday was all about. "God dying on the cross." "Good, and then what happened?" Silence... So I told again the wonderful story of God's great love for us, how He sent His son to die on the cross in our place and how through faith, we are saved. Friday this week, I asked my daughter what Sunday was all about. "Jesus dying on the cross." "Then what happened?" "They put him in the grave." "And then what?" Silence... So I told again the wonderful story of God's great love for us, how He sent His son to die on the cross in our place and how through faith, we are saved. Saturday this week, I asked my little girl what Sunday was all about. She told me that Jesus died on the cross, went in the grave, and then came back alive. I was glad to hear she knew the answer, but there was no emotion or excitement in it. I asked what that meant for her? Silence again... So I told again the wonderful story of God's great love for HER, how He sent His son to die on the cross in HER place and how through faith, SHE was saved. That evening we made resurrection cookies. She joined her brothers and sisters in beating the nuts just as Jesus was beaten by the soldiers, tasting the vinegar just as Jesus was given vinegar to drink while on the cross, tasting the salt of the tears shed by Jesus' followers, putting in the sugar to remind them of God's sweet love toward us, adding the egg whites as a symbol of new life, then beating the whole thing into bright white stiff peaks reminding us that our sins were made white as snow, stirring in the nuts and heaping the little mounds onto the cookie sheet, putting them in the oven and sealing the door with tape just as Jesus' tomb was sealed. (Well, technically they never did quite get to the stiff peak stage and they were more like rounds than mounds on the cookie sheet LOL but I hoped they'd work well enough to get the story across at least.) Sunday dawned bright and early. Mike made a special breakfast and afterward we checked on the cookies, now hollow and empty just like Jesus' tomb. We had a special time of worship and Mike used the Resurrection Eggs to once again tell the wonderful story of God's great love for us, how He sent His son to die on the cross in our place and how through faith, we are saved. We had a beautiful quiet day at home with yummy things to eat and pictures taken of lovely children in Easter outfits, talking often of Christ's work on the cross for us. Mike and I had some great conversations about what a celebration of Easter should be (and Christmas too). - having realized recently that the roots of some of our holiday traditions were a stumbling block to dear ones that we've been praying salvation for. In the evening, it was bedtime for the girls and Abi's turn to pray aloud. A smile filled my heart to hear her pray, "Dear God, thankyou that you died on the cross for me and everyone and that you came back to life again and that you love us so much! I love you, Jesus! In Jesus' name we pray, Amen." He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! |
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A year ago we felt led to move our family to a rented house in the country and put our house in town on the market. We got a lot of painting done but were unsure what to do with the very old and ugly brown carpeting - or whether to leave it as it was and let the new owners do what they liked. Our finances made the decision for us, and we left it alone. LOL. Then we waited and watched and wondered why God didn't sell our house. Every time I began to question whether we were in God's will to move, He brought to my mind that old veggie tales song... "The Lord has given this land to us. No need to fuss. He knows what He's doing. We know that He will take care of us, if we will follow Him." Kind of cool, huh? We got part of an answer in September when family needed a place to live for a while and God allowed us to bless them in that way. They were able to stay until God opened a door for them to something even better. And God got us through to another tax return so that we could address the issue of that (let's face it, it really is) ugly floor. ;) We found the perfect wood laminate flooring on sale and tiles for the front porch. And it is turning out so nice! LIVINGROOM BEFORE: 
AFTER: 
OFFICE BEFORE:  (didn't have a picture of the inside before as it was still full of stuff - suffice it to say old floor was those ugly industrial tiles. :)
AFTER: 
Also, we now have someone who may be interested in our house - at least it's the first person who has come to see it more than once - actually 3 times, each time bringing more of her family along to see what they think. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high - but I told my children last year that all I wanted for my birthday was a closing date on our house. Maybe I'll get it for my birthday this year. :) :) |
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Unbelievable how quickly the huge piles of snow have disappeared. It is truly spring! (Ok, so it's only March and there's no reason we couldn't still get a bunch of snow! LOL but for right now I'm drinking in the warm breezes and scent of growing things!) A week from this Sunday and it will be Easter! I'm almost done with my orders, Praise the Lord and should have the last of them sent off on Monday and then I can make dresses for my little girls. They are waiting with anticipation, knowing full well that the elaborate sketches of dress designs Mom made last month may well be much simplified by the time they're finished. They're so forgiving - even ok with it if I don't get them done at all - but I'll certainly try. :) Emilie is growing! She is now officially mobile, having rolled herself over this morning flat on the floor (she's done it on the bed before kind of down hill ;) ) and getting her arm out from under her, pushing up on her arms and looking around, and then rolling back over with a little kerplunk! She is a real sweetheart. She loves to grab hold of whatever she sees and get it into her mouth, whether that's her rattle, her pacifier, or her toes! We had a couple of gorgeous mid-seventy degree days last week. It was so beautiful we just had to get outdoors and spend some time in the sun. I love seeing the children play - and get a little color in their cheeks again too. We called our friends across the street and asked if they'd like to join us in playing hooky and staying for lunch and they said yes. It was gorgeous sitting out on the front deck, watching the children ride their bikes and pull the little ones in the wagon. Mandi and our friends' little Caleb were the recipients of many rides. Terran has taken a bit of pride in the fact that since he learned to ride a bike, he's been the teacher for each sibling to come along behind him. He's done a wonderful job teaching and encouraging Jeremi, then Lissa, then Juli. So when my friend learned of this, she asked Terran if he would be willing to help her son, David, who had been trying the last few summers to learn without success. Within half an hour, Terran had him riding and has had a great deal of pleasure in noticing David riding up and down his driveway across the street many times over the days since. :) Then we got some cooler rainy days, so the boys have returned to the kitchen more. Terran made a recipe he saw on a food network show called Gorilla bread. Oooh was it good! One of the projects Mike wanted the boys to make sure they accomplished right away was raking up the leaves that didn't get taken care of in the fall. They worked very hard, clearing half of the large yard on one afternoon, and then working on the other half the next day. Of course you know that saying about all work and no play... ;) Occasionally the rakes metamorphose into light sabers and the boys have them twirling about at their imaginary foes. The foes vanquished, the boys are back at work finishing the raking. Micha uses the leaf blower while Terran and Jeremi rake in front of him so that they make fairly short work of the big job. And life goes on... God is on the move... We are seeing His hand in the lives of friends and family right now, some heart rending, some exciting, but all God. He is so good! Hope you have a blessed day! |
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Posted in Day by Day
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I sent the boys out to get the mail, and when they brought it in, what should I see wrapped around the envelopes, but a brand new catalog from Magic Cabin! Score! Mom always gets first dibbs. LOL. I take my time, immersing myself in the world of make believe - drooling over the endless variety of natural wood and wool - Waldorfian styled - timeless playthings. Bringing back memories of sweet childhood and Montessori school. All part of that ethereal fairy land life that I want for my children and somehow can't seem to grasp. I cringe at the prices, yet think - this time, just this once, I'm going to go ahead and get something - maybe. :)
Then the catalog gets passed on to the children, taking turns - well mostly - perhaps an occassional snatch while the current owner is in the bathroom. The cries, "Mom, did you see this?!" "Oh, isn't that sweet?!" "Hey, Mom, do think I could ever save up enough for this?!"
It will be days and days before I find the catalog plopped in a corner, forgotten, cover half ripped off, well loved. And then I'll pick it up and dust it off and start all over dreaming through it again. :)
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Posted in Sisterly Advice
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In her wonderful writings, Marilyn Howshall suggests that God speaks to us most often in metaphors. I too have found that occassionally something will suddenly come to mind - a little seed of an idea - a spark of understanding - a bit of a metaphor - and I have to work it all out, find the ends of the idea, pull it out until it breaks down. So forgive me while I think (type) outloud, for while writing to a friend in a dark spot today, God gave me a metaphor seed.
Looking down at the mire and focusing on the sin done to us, God's flashes of brightness and hope are only flickerings on the edge of consciousness, hardly noticeable - but looking up and focusing on God's love, those flashes are so bright and beautiful - like looking up at the sky knowing that the next firework is coming momentarily and expecting its beauty.
The idea of watching the fireworks has continued to pull at the edges of my mind. It's kind of neat really. We don't go to see the fireworks only to keep our heads down and stubbornly gaze at the earth. Can you imagine, someone walking along looking at the ground and the sky lights up with golden sparkles above his head, and instead of saying, "ooh, fireworks!" and turning to look up and wait for the next one, he only complains that the ground is so muddy and there are so many rocks. The flash of light was too short to do him any good, he thinks. He's still in this horrible muddy place.
Oh, does that sound familiar! Crazy as it sounds, I have a natural inclination to do that very thing. It's easy to see life in terms of the negative. Negative self-talk, negative experiences - the whole cup half empty and then some. The children may be arguing and fighting, full of selfishness and spite. Then one of them comes up to me with a kiss or does something helpful, and I hardly notice. I still see them as selfish, naughty kids. Lord, forgive me!
But, if I go to see the fireworks, EXPECT to see beautiful fireworks, and keep looking up, God does not disappoint! Each little spark is so exciting! The colors, the sounds, the lights - such lights!
And then, what's really neat - is after gazing up into the heavens watching the grand finale - all the wonderful things God is doing in our lives, then we look back at the earth, and there are echos of the fireworks on our eyes. Blinding us to the negative. Keeping before us the thought of God's goodness and love.
I love fireworks, don't you? :)
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