Today, I want you to shoot into the sun, and see what you find. For some inspiration, go to flickr, and search flare under everyone’s uploads.
My husband actually snapped this. He is pretty handy with a camera too. I decided I liked his so much I would use it today. I will post the one I had for today next week. You know the drill. Post a comment and then we will swing by for a visit.
Now I am off to a field trip to a local art meusem. See you soon!
We all sat at the red light waiting to turn. We were heading to a dinner play date with friends at our local family friendly food stop. As we waited, first in line to turn, we saw a man standing to our left holding a sign like this.
This is how the rest of our evening proceeded:
J: “Mom that man says he is hungry and needs help.”
me: silent
J: “Do you think he has a home?”
me: listening
J: “He is old and scruffy and he looks like he hasn’t had a bath for a very long time.”
me: acknowledging the situation to the best of my ability
Some time passes and we are now entering into the restaurant.
J: “Mom can we help him?”
me: “What do you think we should do?”
J: “Can we bring him some food?”
Me. “Sure, when we leave remind me and we will buy him a sandwich to give to him.”
The kids play and eat and we are getting ready to leave.
J: “Mom don’t forget, we need to buy that man some food.”
me: went to purchase some food and then loaded the kids back in the car to take them to their next desitnation.
C: “That man needs help, we should pray for him.”
J: “Yes, God can help him.”
Me: “We can pray that God will give exactly what he needs.”
C: “Like a home, and some food and a family.”
Stuck at a red light.
J: “Oh I wish this light would go faster, we have to hurry to get to him. Mom what do we do if he is gone?”
Me: “We will pray for him. God loves your heart to help.” as we get closer I can see that the man is gone.
C: “Mom we have to go find him. We have to search for him. God goes to find lost things.”
Me: Speechless. What does a rational adult say to a passionate child in such matters? It is dark, we are in a very busy congested area. We can’t get out of the car and go look for this man, and I am left having to explain this dichotomy to a 5 year old who knows that God goes out to find lost things.
After this whole experience, I am reminded how much our children want to help those in need and how we rarely have opportunities as tangible as that one. So, this week, I am praying through ways that we can be intentional about helping the truly poor in our area. Even if we just buy a bag of apples and some bottled water and go and pass them out at our local immigrant worker area. Just a simple act. A small way to say that you are loved and valuable.
Blessing to all those who want to be like a little child today~
The kids are off to their PE co-op class today. I have laundry to fold, a gallery to put up for a photography client, a kitchen to clean, a floor to mop, a bookshelf to put back in order and some stones to move out of the courtyard. Don’t ask, but they are driving me nuts.
So while I am off working away, you all can stare at this lovely little flower. Don’t feel a bit guilty that you are here, looking at this, and I am on my hands and knees scrubbing junk off our floor and moving little pebbles, one by one, off of our courtyard. Just say a little prayer for me and we will call it square.
Grace and peace to all those trying to get it done while their kids are out of the house for 3 hours~
Jesus took on the principalities and powers. He lived, and taught, a way of being Israel, a way of being human, which challenged the powers at every point. The powers said you should live for money. Jesus said you can not serve God and Mammon. The powers said that Israel’s path to liberation would come through the sword. Jesus said that those who take the sword will perish by the sword. The powers said that Caesar was the Lord of the world. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God.
Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship by N.T. Wright
May you proclaim the kingdom of God today!
Do you see anything new on my page? I wont tell you, you have to see if you can find it yourself. Stay tuned, as I add fun tips and facts on everything from homeschooling, marathon/triathlon training and of course photography. Life long learning is our hope, prayer and dream for our kids, so what better way to instill that, then to model it day in and day out for them and, of course, leave a digital trail on this blog for you. Come on learn something new with me. It is so much fun!
Grace and Peace to all~
So the original idea I had for today didn’t pan out in the images I wanted to shoot yesterday. So instead, give me a macro image today. You know the deal, link in the comments section and we all will go visit and take a peek at your goods.
I thought that I would hand out free money, as it seems so popular these days.
Have a good weekend everyone!
One of the things I enjoy about being home with the kids is giving them a holistic vision of what is means to be the people of God. Isnt’ raising our children in the faith, primarily, our job…not Awana, children’s church, Sunday School, Keepers of the Faith or any other program you could send your child to?
Mike and I have been very intentional about how we have immersed our kids into discipleship to Jesus. Everything has centered on the person of Jesus and then spirals out from there. If you have not done so, check out COGS or Godly Play. Both fabulous methods in their own right. I was trained in COGS and it is amazing but very hard for most people to get the training and the resources to pull it off. Godly Play is very accessible to everyone, and most Moms or small churches can enter into that without any problem so check them both out and ask the Lord to lead you in the best way for your brood.
Our hope and prayer has always been that our faith would be alive for them, and not just something they consume, go to once a week or color cute pictures about. We have also always prayed that the Holy Spirit would teach them and reveal to them supernaturally the deeper mysteries of our faith. I am here to tell you, He WILL. Trust in the bigness of God, and you feebly fill in the blanks with them as God leads you to. Have a plan for how you will train them up in the kingdom, but realize your plan is only a small God breathed part of it, the rest of it, He will accomplish in the most beautiful ways. Let me tell you what happened the other day with our youngest…who is 4.
I had an art piece cross in our home from a worship and art night we just had. I was returning it to our friend who lent it to us. Our youngest kept asking to hold it. In fact, he just couldn’t move on to any other thing. So, I reminded him to be careful because it was not ours and I gently handed him the cross. He then held on to it for the next 45 minutes just jabbering away to himself, our so it seems. I believe he and the Holy Spirit were having a little heart to heart convo, and I just got to listen in.
Hudson, while holding the cross:
Over and over he repeated these phrases, on the couch, in his car seat, out loud in the sweetest way. I kept thinking, “Where is He getting this language from?”. I remained silent. I listened. I prayed and the Holy Spirit kept reminding me that He is calling and leading and keeping up His end of the bargain and reminding me that our kids are really His kids first. We just get to steward them for awhile.
Grace and Peace to All faithful Stewards out there~
I’ve been tagged by Kyla.
Wow….. thanks to Word Girl I am blogging 2x today. I think this is a personal record.
The Rules:
1. Go to the 4th folder where you keep your pictures on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in the folder.
3. Explain the photo.
4. Tag 4 fellow bloggers to join in the fun!
The funny thing, at random, following these rules above, I found my foto Friday image for this week. Now, back to the drawing board on that one. This is the valet board that held our keys for our Valentines Day dinner. Mike and I tried a new place. As we walked in, we were seated and within 5 minutes realized we were the youngest in the restaurant by 30+ years. I said to my dear sweet Valentine, “I feel like I am at the resort dinning hall in the film Dirty Dancing.” We both laughed out loud. We realized later that this is a seasonal restaurant that is almost like a club for snowbirds who dine there ever night with a whole line up of activities. We ate within 20 minutes paid WAY TOO much money, had the valet pull our 1999 Ford Ranger truck around and went off to our Proskyneo evening and had a blast. I will tell you all about Proskyneo tomorrow.
Well now, who to tag???? How about this… I will tag the last few commenters on this blog.
Anyone else who wants to play, leave me a comment and I will direct some linky love your way!
Until then, grace and peace to all who have ever over paid for something and feel totally gypped because of it~
Here is another silly installment of 5 little things about me. Today I am taking our kids to their homeschool PE co-op in the morning, shooting a newborn session and then brainstorming with a friend for a bit and finally trying to squeeze a run in. So quickly before we head out the door for a day of organized play…
1. I have worn that toe ring for about 16 years. Isn’t that interesting? The other night, someone said to me, “That toe ring is so cute.” I said, “Oh thanks, I have had that for a long time.” and then I counted the number of years I have had it and I realized time is moving much faster then my mind and body realize.
2. I have moved 10 times in almost 15 years of marriage. Yikes that is about every 1.5 years. The longest we have ever lived in the same home is 4 years, so I don’t know why I think I will be in any one home for more then that.
3. I drive a minivan - but trust me, I AM still cool. It is paid for and we will drive it until it is dust. Then I secretly want to get an old school open top land rover like our friends in Peru. Only I want mine to be red and beat up. Sand from the beach will rinse right out of that one. Hey it isn’t eco friendly but I don’t drive a ton, and I recycle, use cloth napkins, never use paper plates and eat organic as much as possible so give me a break.
4. I hate doing puzzles, because I get addicted and can’t stop trying to figure it out. We have a 550 piece one right now under the couch and I am the only one doing it? Nice.
5. Last night I laughed so hard, I feel off the couch and starting rolling on the floor with tears in my eyes. I just couldn’t take it. I was truly one of the best and funny moments I have had in a while. Laughing is good medicine, it keeps you young, and clearly rolling on the floor makes you look young.
Grace and Peace to all comedians today. Go have a good laugh!
My closets were that is!
Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Did Benjamin Franklin say that too? Goodness that man coined a ton of terms that we use all the time. My Parents-in-law arrived late Thursday for the long weekend. Every time they come, I get a heap of work done in our home. Granddaddy takes the boys to play and Chloe, Grandmama and myself get to work on all things that need arranging and organizing and general de-cluttering in our home.
All told I cleaned out and rearranged:
I trashed 5 bags of junk, donated 8 bags of toys and clothes that we have grown out of and one box of books that were hand me downs and not a good fit for our family.
It feels good to have it done. In a busy homeschooling family of 5, you need to schedule this type of weed out every 4-5 months or so. It was embarrassing to say the least, to show my mother in law my horrifying hidden closets. People always come over and say, your house is so clean. I laugh and say, you haven’t opened any closet doors.
So, now closets are clean, laundry is done and put away, book shelves are organized and I am ready for a great week.
Peace to all those who need to weed out this week. Just do it you will feel soooo gooooood!~
P.S. - photo taken in Arequipa Peru. Props to all our South American People. We love you guys.
I love triptychs. I paint them, I shoot them, I am always drawn to them when I am looking through others portfolios. I love how they really show many facets of one moment.
The other day, I took the kids to the park with a dear girlfriend and her kids. We had cupcakes galore. You can see all the other photos of the day on my flickr. I thought these three made a sweet triptych that captured this little guys first cupcake experience. It was so sweet, I couldn’t stop shooting.
You do need a photo editing program to do this, but if you are starting to get the shutter bug I highly recommend getting one. Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Elements are great and inexpensive programs to get started with. Check ebay first my friends, you can get some great deals.
So, show me your story in a triptych. If you don’t know how to edit it like this, just post three images in a row on your blog or flicker.
Blessings to all artisits today~
1). Go to the park - your house will be too messy for you to relax anyway, so get out in the fresh air. You might start feeling better. Better to feel the fresh breeze than get overwhelmed with all the mess that has grown up around you, in your demise.
2) Read a book, it may just take your mind of how your head is throbbing. I suggest Outliers. It is a fascinating read. I wonder how homeschoolers fit into all that junk?
3) Give your kids tons of responsibility. They will really enjoy being the boss for the day. You shouldn’t be surprised at how well they all work together. You may, however, vacillate between being disturbed and proud at how well your oldest can do your job as teacher, how your middle can do the job of a Mommy and how well your youngest listens and narrates to his siblings…..Really mind blowing stuff.
4) In risk of milking it….take a day where you don’t speak..at all….to the kids. Heck I would be sick again just to do this once a week. It was fascinating and so calming at the same time. Only motion, do a ton of hand clapping to get their attention, write cryptic notes on scrap paper and make your oldest be your runner. It is amazing how quiet you will find your children, when they have no verbal cues to go on. Little tip, 7 year olds can not read short hand….so write the whole thing out neatly, or you will have to write it 2 times. Do the job right the first time and it will save yourself time in the long run. Isn’t that what we tell the kids about a bagillion times a week?
5) DON’T…I repeat DON’T get overwhelmed with what you have fallen behind in in regards to your homeschool schedule. Take a deep breath, take another Tylenol, drink tons of water, and then right when you are feeling about back up to speed, just do the basics, reading, writing, math…then put it all away. Take your book “Treasure Island” to the beach. Read a chapter and then “play” like you are on the real treasure island and you just found Ben Gunn. Tomorrow will be another day, and you are waiting on the next level of math to arrive in the mail anyway. Relax…life is short…and even real teachers get sick too.
Grace and Peace to all who were sick, are sick or will be sick in the next 24 hours the way this bug is running around~
I now have the soar throat thanks to my dear children. This is not the week I wanted or needed to be sick. Maybe I will find somthing inspiring to say once I feel better. Until then I am taking a break all the way around.
Grace and Peace to All~
Wow, I should get some weird hits form that heading…..
Anyhoo, we are making our glittery and gooey Valentines to send out to friends near and far. I have seem to hit a nice homeschooling rhythm lately, it just takes longer than it used to. I figured it out. My youngest wants to sit and participate a lot more then ever before. It is tons of fun for all of us, but it is taking me much longer to get through a typical day of school. And three times as long to paint, color, glue, glitter and anything else you may do in a typical day. With homeschooling you are always adjusting here and there. Heck,come to think of it, you are doing that with parenting as well so I am adjusting to slowing everything down and taking a deep breath and enjoying this. The big kids seem to love helping our littlest make connections. They nurture him well.
So a little disclaimer about the above Valentines. These little glittery bad boys cost 42 cents a piece to mail and took 3 days in a row to make, so if you get one in the mail…you better keep it until you are old and gray. Frame it, put it on the mantle, pin it to a cork board…I don’t care, just DON’T throw it away. If you don’t get one in the mail, don’t be offended. We realized mid stream that these were way labor intensive and stopped when the glitter was gone. Know we love you anyway, we just couldn’t do the glitter thing one more time. Correction..I COULDN’T do the glitter thing one more time, the kids could of done it well into summer time. Okay, disclaimer over!
Happy love day to all~
Anything ordinary can become artful. It is all in how you look at it. Back end editing is what will take your images to the next level. Today I couldn’t decide. I like the color mix on the first one but like the smokiness of the second one so I put them both up. Show me something artfully ordinary today.
Friday’s has become pancake morning. The kids, make a full breakfast with eggs, pancakes, bacon and fruit. We all work together to make it and then we all work together to clean it up. I don’t know why we started doing this, it kind of just happened. After we cleaned up our mess, I swept the floor and asked the kids to go make their beds. I joined them upstairs to find hair on the floor from a 4 year old hair cutting experiment. Then after cleaning that up, I was asked to come back upstairs to see something. As I followed our 4 year old upstairs he said, “Mom is isn’t exactly safe but it is fun.”
Holy Cow people it is going to be one of those days~
We have lived in good old sunny south Florida for 7.5 years. Guess what, It took me 7 years to actually enjoy it. There are so many factors involved as to why I was not really feelin’ it. If you read this blog at all you may know a little of our church planting story and all that we have had to unpack. So many things you need to process through when you have a dream of planting a missional community of people. If you want to know a bit more about us and our story or what the heck a missional community is, give my husbands book a read. It will fill in a few blanks for you.
Just a little FYI, it takes a long time to break in down here. I guess for us, it took us a little longer than most. But now, I am here to say, we LOVE IT!. I am thanking God everyday, that he lead us here and is planting us deeply and firmly into what he is doing. Thankful that He has connected us with some seriously kingdom minded people who want to see deep things break out in this area and seriously thankful that we don’t have to deal with snow. Okay, that was a cheap shot but I really am thankful for that. It is a serious good time.
Grace and Peace to all those who are waiting for it to be worth it~
We have had a little virus running through our house. Our daughter is feeling better but weak and our youngest is starting into it so I have been a little preoccupied.
Because this space has always been a place that I can record ideas and insights along my journey of life, I wanted to leave a few thoughts about why I am in love with the space that God has us in in regards to homeschooling our kiddos.
Firstly, you have space. Space to work on habits consistently over a long period of time. Space to be still as a family and really watch your children move along in their own formation. Space to stay clear of the “parenting rat race” that is oh so common. Space, to pick up hobbies and customs that would not be possible if we did not live our lives this way.
Secondly, you have time to really see what each child needs, and meet them there. Learn really who they are, and pray that God would show you exactly what they need at any given time in their overall development. Like any parent, there are days you feel like you are not doing enough, your kids are not getting something of what they may need etc. etc. When those days hit I re-read my homeschooling philosophy, and re-read the scope and sequence provided by AO and relax all over again. Whenever I get stuck in the details, I pull back and remind myself of the big picture. Speaking of big picture look at these two jokers. You will have to go to my flickr and read the whole story. I was laughing so hard I could hardly focus my camera.
I say this over and over but honestly it is sooo true. If you can read a recipe and bake a cake, you can homeschool. You have to learn to be disciplined, but hey if you are not, I would say that is a good life skill to work on anyway, so why not give it a go. If you are on the fence, this is what I would say. Try it, you may like it. Hey you may love it, and then tell all your friends and they do it with you and before you know it, you have a regular homeschool party kickin’. If you do want to give it a go. Check out what we use. It is awesome on so many levels. Every time I read the FAQ’s I get so tickled that God lead us to this and I can give this level of education at home without me having to spend GOBS of money and without me having to do hours and hours of work to put something of this caliber together. MAJOR props to those homeschool Moms out there who can pull it together on their own. I know a few and my hats off to them. I just need some traintracks to run on, and I am good to go. Ambleside gives me that. I know the “why” before the “how”, and even then when I don’t understand the “why” I trust the method and in time see the amazing fruit in it.
So, today I really had it on my heart to say GO FOR IT! You have nothing to loose and only buckets of insight to gain. It isn’t a cake walk for sure, but what is? Great Googly Moogly I could go on and on, but I will stop now.
Grace and Peace to all those who love learning~
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