GoD's EmBrOiDeRy-a LEsSoN fOr JoSLyN

Joslyn has been carefully stitching the last two days a new design. This morning she finished after our Bible Study time and showed it to me. Of course it melted my heart and I am anxious to get it hung in a special place, but this special piece of embroidery held with it a lesson as well. She flipped it over to reveal a mess and seems to be discouraged by it even though it is the side unseen. But it reminded me of one of my favorite passages from "Not Good if Detached" by Corrie ten Boom. It is entitled "God's Embroidery." So I had Joslyn go pull the book out of my purse and bring it to me so we could read it together.

Corrie was sharing about a young immigrant women she met who asked her "Can I really trouble God with the petty things of my life?" This women spoke of how she certainly spoke with God about her soul, but I carry the weight of my everyday troubles and loniless, alone.

Corrie shared Psalm 147:11 with her 'The Lord taketh pleasure in those that hope in His mercy.' This verse struck me deeply this morning. Not only is He a God who created us, loved us enough to save us so we could spend eternity with us, has plans to use us and grow us, He actually delights in us bringing our everyday struggles to him, He wants us to ask for help and to hope for His help!! I needed this so much-probably more than Joslyn....

As Corrie spoke with this young woman about prayer, she shared a story from when she was in a concentration camp. She shared how she had gotten a bad cold and asked her sister Betsie, "what can I do, I do not have a hankerchief?" Betsie replied, "Pray" Corrie said that she laughed, but sure enough Betsie prayed very simply and asked that the Lord provide her a hankerchief because of her cold. And sure enough, as she said Amen, Corrie heard her name called by the window. It was a friend with a small package for her. This friend had brought her a hankerchief and Corrie asked her "Did you know I had a cold, did someone tell you to bring this to me?" Her friend said "No, but as I was folding hankies in the hospital, a voice in my heart told me to bring this to you" Corrie said that changed her-it told her that there was a loving God who cared about impossible little things for His children on this small little planet! She shared that God does not always answer us the way we expect, sometimes he even says no. But that is because he sees more than we do. He does not panic and He has no problems concerning us. And then she shows a beautiful piece of embroidery, showing the wrong side and mentions how it is complete chaos.

My life is but a weaving, between my God and me,

I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily,

Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent, and the shutters cease to fly,

Will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful in the skillful weavers hand,

as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

Joslyn's little embroidery for me will help me to remember that I can rest and trust in His plans. Even when life seems like chaos or not what we had planned, He is always at work. He knows what our beautiful embroidery "Life" is going to look like.

What I am Reading Right Now...

I have never taken the time to share about the books I am reading, mostly because I am not a "book" person most of the time. It is hard for me to sit still, calm my mind enough to focus on a book for any length of time. Sometimes it comes from reading so much for schooling our kids as well, it makes me anxious to work with my hands which seems to be almost nessasary for me to function, BUT! All that said, I thought through what I was reading recently and I guess, I am actually kind of a book person considering the list I have right now. Here is what I am reading and why.

The first is "Everyday Talk" by John Younts. i am going through this with a close mom friend that I am mentoring (although I think I learn more from her)! It, if anything, is a strong reminder of how much our everyday speech(conversations, frustrations, murmurrings, questions, discipline, etc)effects our children's world view of God. Convicting! For myself, it has helped me to take a breather before I talk without thinking first.

This book is beautifully done. It is the story of Ruth told in a poetic form from the perspective of Obed sharing with his Grandson David about the life of his great grandmother Ruth. I have been reading this to the kids when we are around the table off and on. Love love love it!

I am reading this book with Joslyn for school. Joslyn will read a few pages and then I will read a few. It is a book telling about 10 women that have changed the world. Godly examples of women who loved the Lord. Among them are women such as Isobel Kuhn, Amy Carmichael, and Corrie ten Boom(of course). Causes Josie to ask questions and begin to see the joy that comes from serving the Lord with our whole lives. There are others in this collection for girls and boys.

Desiring God is my "brain hurts" type of study but in a good way. This one I spend a good amount of time flipping back and forth through scripture with. This is one I do later at night when the house is completely quiet. It takes all my focus, and allows me to pray while I listen( I am doing this with the audio version so I can hear and read. I listen to it in the car as well. This is my challenge right now.

This is a book we are reading as a family. it is one of the books written about the life of Corrie ten Boom. I want the kids to have a real eye opening view of the holocaust and about what Jews and Christians went through during this time. Corrie ten Boom has a way of connecting with young and old and a way of applying the living Word of God to everyday life. Awesome!

And this one is my favorite and will most likely remain in my top of all time. It is another book by Corrie ten Boom called "Not Good If Detached". It is almost like a journal of hers, each chapter is a conversation or experience she had while traveling around the globe sharing the gospel after being freed from the consentration camp. This book goes everywhere with me, it is always in my purse, and I have read and reread this book multiple times. It has caused me to treasure Jesus so much more in my own life, it has so often given me clarity on situations in my own life and the scripture that applies. It is a most precious gift and get this, it was nestled and hidden away on a shelf of books in a little thrift shop up in MN that my mother in law took me to. We got stranded at this shop due to a violent storm that came through, so unlike my normal visits to thrift shops, I had time to leaf through the books. This tiny little beat up book captured my attention immediately. The title actually made me think of the verse in John 15:5

I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing.

And after that thought crossed my mind , I looked down and saw "Corrie ten Boom" And I thought, well, of course. God had sent that storm just for me and had hidden that little book away just for me, knowing my heart and mind, knowing even the little details of what catches my attention -old and worn objects overlooked and overloved. I am now on a mission to track down as many copies of this book that I can so that I can give them away to friends, family, and students.

So for now, those are what is on the reading list. I will make sure to share a few more of my favorites sometime soon.

Times Sure Have Changed.....

I have had the awesome privelege of teaching my children at home. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I hear the question, "Did you do this in school?" Most of the time I am amazed by how little I actually remember about what I learned in school or what I did. And, from day one of becoming "teacher mom" I have been relearning or learning, maybe even for the first time, so many things!!! I cannot believe how uneducated I have felt at times!!! - Or how completely humbling it is when your child teaches you something that you know you should know!

Today has been one of those days, that I can say- "I do actually know a few things they do not!" But! only because I am from the now "STONE AGE" compared to them. We are waiting for our new curriculum to arrive any day now. So, we have been filling in the gap with some fun brainteasers, checkups and reviews. I pulled out a crossword puzzle worksheet today on "which references should be used." I had no idea how funny this was going to end up being. Basically, my son came up with a one word answer for it all....GOOGLE! While I am obviously fond of the latest tools to find information, this actually made me feel like this exercise was quite useful. Now the kids would learn how us ancients located things. Like- how did you locate a book in the library-"What is a card catalog!?" Or "How do you determine the distance between two cities- "What is a map?"- How did you find out the cost of a bicycle- "What is a catalog?"-

Teaching my kids will be one of the most precious and worthwhile tasks I will ever have in my life! It will stretch me further than I could ever have imagined in every way-mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It will keep me on my knees before the Lord-because the only way I can accomplish this is with Him!!! Philippians 4:13 The difficulties will never measure up to blessings! I will remember the laughter, the "I GET IT" moments, and the times at the table when each child first reads an entire sentence after the hours of repeating sounds, the tears of frustration, and the feelings of "Will it ever happen?" finally come to fruition. But one of the important lessons for me will continue to be that the Lord will use my children to teach me probably more than I teach them!