Happy Thanksgiving

Sweet moments.  Beauty.  Comforts.  Blessings.  Abundance.  Warmth.  Health.  Love.  Kindness.  Children.  Laughter.  

Gratitude and thanksgiving comes so easily with the likes of these.  But what if yours is a season like Jobs?  What if your life is full of affliction, disappointments and despair?  What if the darkness seems to drown out the light?  Is there thanksgiving even in the dark?  Is gratitude even there, at the bottom of the pit?

I am learning that, yes, there can be gratitude even there.  There MUST be.

This Thanksgiving, alongside all the glorious goodness the Lord has heaped upon my life, I am also giving thanks for...

the afflictions in my life.

They remind me that I am wholly dependent upon God's mercy.  In my own sanctification.  In mothering.  In the lives of my children.  It is far too easy to forget how full of sin and misery we are without His grace.  

They tear down my idols.  Somewhere along the line, I unknowingly began to believe that it was by my own merit, my own good mothering, my own selflessness, my own wisdom, my own protection, my own efforts that I would create a peaceful and holy bubble in which the sins of this world could not enter.  By my will alone!  I have created idols of myself, my husband, my children, my friends; no less ludicrous than dumb statues or golden calves.

They remind me that my brightest accomplishments are like dross.  They remind me that nothing good comes from my own hand, but simply by the Grace of God.

They draw me close to the Lord in prayer.  

They shine a light on my need for repentance.

As Thomas Watson said "God makes adversity our university and affliction our preacher."  The Lord  uses afflictions to instruct.

for the suffering...

It purifies me.

It refines me.

It reminds me that my Father is a Comforter.  I cry out to Him.

It reminds me that this world is not my home and there is a more glorious life to come.

It shouts with a megaphone over the noise of this world that all is under His watchful hand.

for the separations and goodbyes.   

The goodbyes, as painful as they are, indicate that there once was togetherness.  And it was sweet.

for broken hearts.  

And for the healing that comes after. 

Whether the blessings in your life are pleasant ones or hard ones, whether the gratitude comes easily or with some practice, may your Thanksgiving be a day with eyes be wide open with the wonder of a loving God.

(Also, if you are struggling with hard providences of your own, might I suggest reading The Art of Divine Contentment by Thomas Watson?  It has been a true comfort and source of guidance for me.)

Romans 8:28

All of these things happened this week.  And as each absolutely typical thing happened, I was filled with overwhelming gratitude and the breath-bating knowledge that life could have looked very different.  

You see, some of the dearest people in the world were walking through a very dark and deep valley, one whose end on the other side offered no assurances of life here on earth. Everlasting life, yes, but the selfishness of humanity is putting off the everlasting life of those whom we love in order for them to remain.  No one wants the people you love to go to Glory, even if Glory is the Very Best.  

And so the day after life-saving surgery came and the Lord chose in His mercy to preserve my friend, I canned salsa thinking about how I was canning tomatoes with joy, not desperation.  Not weeping tears of sadness, but joy and gladness and gratitude.  I was not making a meal for a family in mourning but making it for one healing.  Not wracking my brain with how to ease the suffering of these people I love but anxious only to hug them hard.  Not wondering how ten children would overcome their grief.  Not worried for a husband left split in two.    Not angry with God and angry with myself for being angry.    

Adele' perched atop a Papa project with a quiet heart.  Dew jewels sparkled and my tears didn't drown my vision.  A calf was born.  Dinner was made.  Tomatoes preserved.  Laundry was done. 

But it was all done... differently.  

It was surreal to see inside the alternative, safely, through the window of the mind and heart but not living and walking its' corridors.

God's ways are always good and bring about glory. We must believe this.  (Romans 8:28) If the alternative had happened, and my friend joined her Sweet One into the arms of the Lord, the Lord would be have been good in that too.  But it would be the kind of good that would require all of our shattered hearts to piece themselves together out of sheer and faithful truth-telling and that is harder than it seems. Oh, we of little faith.

But praise God for His mercies and His answered prayers and the rejoicing that comes after the valleys.  

The gratitude is ever present... it's even right there in the salsa.

Sunflowers and the State of Things

This is the state of my life right now:

I made the executive decision to tackle cleaning out our Granary.  I didn't want to.  What I WANTED to do was ignore it forever.  (Possibly burn it down.)  

But when your entire families' fall/winter clothes are in there, buried under 4 feet of STUFF and the air is turning brisk and the leaves are beginning to blush, you know it simply must be done.

It was in a shameful state.  

I worked on it every day last week and this week will be consumed by it as well.  I am essentially bringing every.single.thing out of the Granary.  Washing it up (it's disgusting).  Sorting out things to burn, things to trash, things to donate, things to give to others, things to save.  Packing it all back away in a more thoughtful and organized way.

Every.single.thing is being touched.  Quite a few times, in fact.  It's been an exhausting time of sweat, dust, cobwebs, rodents, nastiness and lots and lots of heavy lifting.  It's also been an emotional rollercoaster.  Sorting through baby bins and memories and once upon a times can be hard.

And all under the watchful eye of travelers driving along our road.  (It's mortifying watching the people slow down to gauk.)

But here is the thing!  It is going to be GREAT when it's done.  SO, so great.  

I even have hopes that it might even stay that way.  If I get rid of enough stuff, right?! (I know.  Wishful thinking.)

I've wanted to blog all summer.  I have loads of photos to catch up on.  But as with homeschooling, the clothing switcheroo, and even sometimes meals... everything must wait until THE GRANARY IS DONE.

But I thought I would just pop on here quickly to say hello to the few faithful readers of ye olde blog.(Hello Corynn!  I love you!!)  And while I am here, I figure why not plunk up a bit of sunshine while I am at it?  We all could use some! 

(These photos are from a nearby farm/creamery and taken on a day I got together with my Mom and some sisters.)

 

We all have our own trenches this week to be in.  We might be covered in dust, grime, sweat and mouse guts (or maybe that's just me).  Or maybe you find yourself in the trenches of loneliness, despair, homeschooling, overwhelm, pain and suffering, financial ruin, empty cupboards, hurt feelings or pining for things the Lord has chosen not to give.  Or wondering at the things that Lord has chosen to give that feel like they are breaking you.

Hard and messy things are hard and messy... but they are also often the things that produce the most fruit.

Gratitude is the antidote to so many of the problems in our lives.  If not the antidote, certainly a strategy that the Lord has given His people to strengthen us to endure and overcome.

 I'm thankful for sunflowers.  They aren't in my life today... but they were.  And it was beautiful.  

I need to be more thankful for things that were.  

And now- I need to get back to the Granary so I can bear more fruit.  😁

Summertime Funnertime Field Trip

In an effort to squeeze more home-education into the summer months as well as to conscientiously try to be a more FUN parent, last summer I created a Summertime FUNNERTIME Bingo board.

They dabbled in learning and I dabbled in being more intentionally fun by hosting game nights/ movie nights/ and field trips.

But truly, it was basically just an elaborate bribe to justify riding on a train.  ;-)

I made a BINGO board with all sorts of different activities, many to do with trains, and as children won bingo, they were awarded some trivial dollar-store-esque prize.  If they completed the WHOLE BINGO board by the end of September, I hereby solemnly pinky-swore, I would take them on a road trip to ride a REAL train.

Lo and behold, they ALL won the whole board.

And we finally took our trip a few weeks ago with two tag-along cousins:

Hey!  I know her!!!!

The man behind the town

David said this was Andrew trying to get a girl.  But it seemed Moses was taking the most notes.

This picture is for Corynn.  You have to up your game, my dear.

Here's the BINGO board, if anyone would like to copy the idea.  

Even if there is no train ride at the end, it added lots of fun (and learning!) to our summer.