Truth for the Trenches

                                                    I rarely say a solo "no", it always comes with a long explanation to which one child finds a solution to why we should do it anyways. The arguing begins, it isn't always whining. It disguises itself as problem solving, logical thinking and them offering to help so I don't have to do everything. Ya know, things you want your children to do. So I typically let the decision change along with my "no". I don't say "no" without an explanation or with the tagline "because I said so"...those words are scream inducing in our house. I don't want to hear the screams, trip over the little people that throw themselves on the floor or have to discipline the whiny arguing. So instead I create confusion but not giving clear answers. I respond with... "Maybe later" "We will ask daddy" "If everyone cleans their roo...

                                 During the routines of life there are many things we all feel we miss out on. As a homeschool mom I focus our school time on math, reading, and writing. With a kindergartener and a first grader their attention span doesn't reach much further than those and once those are completed each day we need some free time to run, read books, be loud, clean the house, eat, and give the 3 year old some more focused attention. In a normal day the tasks alone can overshadow larger projects, or something as simple as sitting down and playing a game together. The past few months I have been sad about the lack of crafts, science experiments and family free play time. We need time and space to be creative. It cannot happen in scheduled increments. When the holidays come around everyone's schedules change and for most of us that can feel stressful. I have more food to make and i...

Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Galatians 3:26 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” Family is a group of people that share a house or a last name. They love each other, they celebrate together, they cry together and they help each other. When that family doesn’t live in the same house or share a name but they still love and celebrate, cry and help each other we call them a community. A group of people living life together for the same purpose. When we live around people in our community who love God and we work together to serve God and love each other our family and our community start to become one. God longs for us to love each other well. To dwell in unity means to work harder at loving each other and making peace then fighting over what you want that is different. In families and co...

Psalm 23:1-4 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads be beside still waters. He restores my soul.” What makes you tired? Is it too many people, playing outside all day, helping mom pick up toys or sad things happening in your life? God created rest; a break from work, a time to enjoy what He has given you and a place to be quiet. Rest looks different for everyone. It might look like cuddling up with your blanket and taking a nap after lunch. It might be playing cars in your room by yourself or snuggling with daddy and reading a book in his comfy chair. For most of us rest is quiet. God created our bodies to need rest. He created us to sleep at night so that our food could digest, so that our brains could save memories of what we did during the day and He gave us rest so that we could recharge to have energy to play, eat, obey, dance and work. When we are sad or mad God even can give us rest from that. He wants us to run t...

Genesis 1:29 “And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” What is your favorite food? Think of the food you want for your birthday dinner or every time your mom lets you pick. Is it a delicious pile of dirt? Or a huge bowl of rocks? Or maybe some paper? NO?! What about a cold, juicy orange or a salty olive or a sweet apple or a crunchy carrot? Yes?! God made those oranges and apples and carrots. The Bible says God made them for you! God is the Giver. He made them because just as your mom and dad want to take care of you and give you things you need God wants to give you what you need too. Your mom and dad give you food you enjoy, your favorite toy or a hug because they love you...