Thankful Thursday

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

47,201. a new gratitude journal!

47,202. thinking of a gift for Evelyn

47,203. this little room with so much sacred history

47,204. St. Lucia and sweet rolls yesterday

47,205. Wilbur Wright trail

47,206. outside time before, during, and after the rain

47,207. stir fry vegetables

47,208. Mom and Dad taking the early shift this morning

47,209. turning up the heat for us

47,210. Arts Park, LOVE sculpture, plaza

47,211. growing in my barefootedness

47,212. Risk with the big boys

47,213. Calvin reading for over an hour

47,214. Carter picking out a book he wanted to read

47,215. mandatory afternoon reading time

47,216. moving forward in our 3 read alouds/audiobooks

47,217. science time with the big boys

47,218. Scripture Typer

47,219. coat-free weather in December

47,220. starting to make Michigan plans

47,221. playing “I’m thinking of a...” with Carter

47,222. my Bluetooth speaker for songs and Cinnamon Bear

47,223. Mimi memorizing Luke 2

47,224. study Bible notes

47,225. old-school Rudolph movie

Thankful Thursday - SNOW

Lord my God, to Thee I raise this my hymn of grateful praise...

43,294. evening snow

43,295. how snow glows at night

43,296. 2 1/2 hour date with minimal crying

43,297. trying out Happy Sushi

43,298. playing Sushi Go

43,299. Chosen - episode with Peter fishing

43,300. cleaning the kitchen

43,301. phone chat with Katie

43,302. enough snow for snow cream!

43,303. no school! (because when you're homeschooling, you can make those decisions)

43,304. boys playing together after dinner

43,305. some time to myself

43,306. FB group for my high school class

43,307. walking down memory lane

43,308. thankful for my high school and hometown

43,309. how You’re weaving together my background, relationships, skills, and experiences for Your glory

43,310. watching the video of the Big 3 brothers meeting their littlest brother in the hospital

43,311. Psalm 16 song from The Corner Room

43,312. BSF notes—always so good!

43,313. morning reading time together

Thankful Thursday

Great are the works of the Lord; 

they are pondered by all who delight in them. 

-Psalm 111:2

Thank you, God, for all these blessings that I delight in...

43,201. Calvin being so helpful

43,202. trying out some new parks

43,203. having the playgrounds to ourselves

43,204. sunshine

43,205. creative elements on the sides of the structures

43,206. learning from "What's in the Bible?"

43,207. playing tag with the big boys

43,208. tasty oranges

43,209. hearing back from friends

43,210. time at the piano

43,211. Calvin playing with the little boys

43,212. finding a great song for next week's verse (Ezekiel 36:26-28)

43,213. working on the second half of Romans

43.214. reviewing while on the playground

43,215. ice cream cake! 

43,216. a full refrigerator

43,217. storytime on the couch

43,218. finishing My Father's Dragon with Calvin

43,219. Colson's bruise is healing

43,220. the ringing line "Make it a duet."

43,221. thankful to be an Asburian

43,222. finding friends on Facebook

43,223. "kindred spirits" whom I've never met

43,224. the ability to lock the door

43,225. fun trial student this morning

43,226. Colson talking more and more

43,227. Carter reading his book on Marco Polo to Mimi

43,228. weather in the 40s

43,229. hearing Psalm 111:2 on the radio

 

White Christmas

(poem written this early snowy Christmas morning before anyone else is awake)

Of all the songs she could request

Memaw chose “White Christmas”

... “just like the ones I used to know”

I fumbled through the words

    as I thought through the rarity of a white Christmas

        in Indiana where I grew up

        and even more so in Kentucky where my kids are growing up

Yet this year You did it, God

You blanketed our streets and yards with snow

    as a little gift after the hard year we’ve all had

    some “merry and bright” to add to our “masks and social distancing”

As I drove the slick streets to pick up

    the cheese and strawberries and milk in our grocery order,

        I was thinking of this gift 

            You were giving Lexington this year

                and I was thankful

            And almost in the same breath,

                I realized just how treacherous this two-mile trip would be

                    when I slowed down at an intersection...

                    ...and kept going

            I passed wrecks and sirens

                and prayed and praised my way to Wal-Mart and back

And I realized that a White Christmas brought with it a choice: 

        gratitude or grumbling    

        joy or complaint 

Many would see this gift of snow and be thankful

while many would only have eyes for the negative of what snow can bring

This Christmas morning...

I don’t want grumbling to take up any space in my thoughts or words

This Christmas...

I CHOOSE gratitude

I CHOOSE joy

I CHOOSE wonder...

...the wonder of a God who came near into a world  of grumblers

...the wonder of a God who delights in reaching into His storehouses of snow to give us 

        a white Christmas

Thankful Thursday - Reasons to Believe

18(!) years ago right before Thanksgiving my senior year in high school, my physics teacher Mr. Norrick passed out little slips of paper.  He said that when the topic around the Thanksgiving table turned to things to be thankful for, we could contribute what was on our little slip of paper. Different students had different reasons, and we read some aloud in class. Here's an example:

I'm thankful for the size of the galaxy. If it had been too large, the infusion of gas and stars would disturb sun’s orbit and ignite too many galactic eruptions. If it had been too small, there would be insufficient infusion of gas to sustain star formation for long enough time.

It was a very science-y thing to be thankful for!

Mr. Norrick is a Christian, and this was a subtle way for him to demonstrate that a thinking, intelligent, physics-minded person could believe in a Creator.  How could our world or our lives be accidental? 

I kept that slip of paper on my bulletin board for years.  I didn't realize until I reached out to Mr. Norrick on Facebook around Thanksgiving this year that there are 154 such reasons to believe.

I decided in my gratitude journal today to write some of them (but an abbreviated form. It's easier on this blog to copy and paste than in my journal). 

Almighty God, I am in awe of the world You spoke into existence. Thank you for:

42,624. galaxy type

• if too elliptical: star formation would cease before sufficient heavy element build-up for life chemistry
• if too irregular: radiation exposure on occasion would be too severe and heavy elements for life chemistry would not be available

42,625. supernovae eruptions

• if too close: life on the planet would be exterminated by radiation
• if too far: not enough heavy element ashes would exist for the formation of rocky planets
• if too infrequent: not enough heavy element ashes present for the formation of rocky planets
• if too frequent: life on the planet would be exterminated
• if too soon: heavy element ashes would be too dispersed for the formation of rocky planets at an early enough time in cosmic history
• if too late: life on the planet would be exterminated by radiation

42,626. z-axis heights of star’s orbit

• if more than one: tidal interactions would disrupt planetary orbit of life support planet
• if less than one: heat produced would be insufficient for life

42,627. parent star color

• if redder: photosynthetic response would be insufficient
• if bluer: photosynthetic response would be insufficient

42,628. distance from parent star

• if farther: planet would be too cool for a stable water cycle
• if closer: planet would be too warm for a stable water cycle

42,629. rotation period

• if longer: diurnal temperature differences would be too great
• if shorter: atmospheric wind velocities would be too great

42,630. ratio of 40K, 235,238U, 232Th to iron for the planet

• if too low: inadequate levels of plate tectonic and volcanic activity
• if too high: radiation, earthquakes, and volcanoes at levels too high for advanced life

I'll be the first to admit that these are way over my head. I've never had much of an aptitude for science, but I appreciate the work of intellectual scientists who have seen enough evidence to choose to be Christians. As I learn more, my sense of wonder increases.

(Photo by Alex Andrews from Pexels)

 

Sink Full of Dishes

A sink full of dishes

It's been a full day

    since my 4:30 a.m. VIPKid wake-up

        and there are so many things I'd rather do

            than confront and attack

                the pile of dishes in my sink

So, in a measure of

    half-discipline and half-avoidance,

        I send a whiny video message

            while beginning to unload the dishwasher

                complaining about how tired I am

                    and how the kitchen is a mess

                    and how I don't feel like doing the dishes

The reply?

    "Sorry you have a kitchen to clean..."

I knew what she meant

    She was commiserating

                    empathizing

                    agreeing with me

            but it stopped me in my tracks

                and I realized that I had a choice

Am I sorry I have a kitchen to clean?

For me, having a kitchen to clean means...

    I have a home

    I have 6 people in my home, who each ate 3 meals today with snacks in between

    I have a stocked pantry and overflowing fridge and freezer

    I have the luxury of clean water, not just for drinking but for washing dishes

    I have the means to wash dishes with dish soap 

                                                    and with water I didn't haul myself 

                                                and even a dishwasher that does the work for me

    I have the electricity to work after the sun goes down

    I have the technology to listen to music or an audiobook or sermon

    I have these quiet moments to meet with Jesus while my sons are in bed

    I have an opportunity to deny myself and to serve my family

A sink full of dishes can lead to complaint 

                                            or to gratitude

Thank you, God,

    for this sink full of dishes

    and this kitchen to clean

(poem written 12-3-20)

Thankful Thursday

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise...

42,496. the privilege of having a kitchen to clean up

42,497. hearing to be faithful with what's in front of me

42,498. boys becoming more and more Bible literate

42,499. delicious curry, rice, veggies

42,500. Christmas tree up in VIPKid classroom

42,501. hunger for You

42,502. Colson saying "monkey" and "cracker" and "booger"

42,503. encouraging messages from friends on Facebook

42,504. never knowing the ripples of our influence

42,505. re-reading some of Aidan's blog, where I first learned of 1000 gifts

42,506. the boys loving to play with the nativity set

42,507. impressed with Carter and Calvin's cumulative review so far

42,508. Luke 2 - already an existing song in ESV

42,509. Yoyo such a fun student!

42,510. talking with my Level 6 students like I would to any English speaker

42,511. Mia had a better day than usual

42,512. praying before classes

42,513. Lucas making a library run for me

42,514. Susan Sallee's resolve to look to You in these difficult days

42,515. a book about honor

42,516. finishing the Tree comic novel

42,517. looking up cross-references today in Luke 2

42,518. living room and dining room tidied (for now!)

42,519. Lucas rough-housing with the boys

42,520. time at the piano

Magnify Him with Thanksgiving

It was a dreary morning, outside and inside. One brother accidentally kicked another while flipping over the couch, which led to hitting which led to crying. Another brother hit a different brother (I know, so many brothers!). And one boy declared he “hates school,” which is hard not to take personally when you’re homeschooling. 

It was Bible time. I was tempted to skip it because everyone was grumpy, and I didn’t have anything planned anyway. A friend reminded me last night on the phone, though, to be faithful to open the Word of God with our kids every day, never knowing when there will be a breakthrough.

I told the big boys to look up “thanksgiving” in the concordances of their Bibles, and Calvin chose this verse:

"I will praise the name of God with a song; 

I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” 

-Psalm 69:30

What does “magnify” make you think of? 

Magnets! (not exactly what I was going for)

I re-directed them to how magnifying glasses make things look bigger.  We talked about how we can’t make God bigger since He is already so big. BUT, we can make Him bigger in our eyes and in our priorities. 

The thought came to me to have the boys make a tiny pinhole circle with one hand to look at our Christmas tree. It reminds me of the line from the song "I have made You too small in my eyes. O Lord, forgive me."

As we thank Him, we magnify Him. I had the boys expand their hand circle to be able to see more of the tree. The tree itself did not change, but our perception did. We still couldn't see the whole tree ("for we know in part" -1 Corinthians 13:9a), but thanksgiving expanded our vision. 

So, friends, this Thanksgiving, "magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!" (Psalm 34:3). When our thanksgiving is not just a generic gratitude but directed toward the Source of "every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17), we magnify Him.  Our eyes widen in awe. "The things of earth grow strangely dim...when we turn our eyes upon Jesus."

And later this morning when tempted to grumble about the rain keeping us indoors, we busted out the umbrellas and I sang in the rain instead:

Thankful Thursday

Lord, our God, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise...

42,349. sweatshirts on chilly mornings 

42,350. chili in the crockpot on chilly days

42,351. able to stay safe at home

42,352. The Case for Faith

42,353. the flexibility in my days

42,354. looking forward to catching up with Barbara

42,355. not dependent on government or school board to tell me when school is open

42,356. ability to shop online

42,357. found a Luke 2 ESV song

42,358. a break in classes

42,359. Ticket to Ride from the library

42,360. warm cookie dough

42,361. meeting Dre's brother Derrion

42,362. neighbor connections at a distance

42,363. boys entertaining themselves

42,364. all 4 flipping over the couch in fits of laughter

42,365. tree hasn't been knocked over yet! 

42,367. a God who walks with me

42,368. logic games

42,369. Christmas lights help bring cheer

42,370. progress with vaccines

42,371. Cooper spontaneously bursting into song

42,372. following the routine

42,373. extended reading time with little boys today

42,374. re-discovering books we haven't read in awhile

42,375. hikes and walks as a family

42.376. the patterns on our stockings

42,377. brother conversations

Thankful Thursday

42,252. hearing the squeals of the big boys playing outside together

42,253. the little boys taking longer-than-usual naps

42,254. tweezers

42,255. You satisfy me more than the richest of foods

42,256. re-connecting with friends and acquaintances

42,257. looking forward to a camp zoom call

42,258. pomegranate seeds

42,259. lasagna for dinner already prepped

42,260. the flexibility of homeschooling life

42,261. finishing a quick graphic novel 

42,262. Scripture memory connections

42,263. David Platt's sermon on fearing God

42,264. looking forward to family time tonight

42,265. heat in our home

42,266. the boys learning to close the front door quietly

42,267. firming up some holiday plans

42,268. Bible time at the table this morning

42,269. Cooper singing "You are my sunshine"

42,270. the portability of the keyboard

42,271. carrots

42,272. seeing Tracy again this morning

42,273. Carter's quirky habits

42,274. Calvin excited about acquiring more of Daddy's magazines

42,275. boys completing their checklists without complaint

42,276. listening to boys plunk away at the piano

42,277. choosing to be less irritable instead of expecting others to be less irritating

42,278. a load of laundry done!

42,279. "I Rille Love Mary" posted on my wall as a reminder

Aunts and Uncles and Cousins, Oh My!

Do you have a brother? Do you have a sister?

The questions were simple enough. My three-year-old Chinese student had already answered the questions herself (although she was a little confused and said she had one sister in her family because she is a sister). To practice asking the questions, she asked me, half a world away, as I stared at her lovable face through my computer. And then I had her ask her mom, who was sitting beside her.  "Mom, do you have a brother? Do you have a sister?" Nope -- she's an only child. I interjected and asked if her husband had any siblings. He doesn't, either.

And what that means is that my sweet, smiley student doesn't have any aunts or uncles or cousins.  That's hard for me to imagine. I am blessed to have... 

• 11 aunts and uncles [Grace, Ron, Dan, Loni, Lois, Paul, Lisa, Doug, Jennifer, Dennis, Jenny] 
• 19 first cousins [David, Mark, Nathan, Sarah, Annie, Liliet, Jacquie, Alex, Daniel, Lauren, Rachel, Phil, Alex, Ben, Peter, Michelle, Beth, Steph, Chris (and let's go ahead and count Josh, Emily, Caleb, and Hannah although they are technically "first cousins once removed")]. 

Our connections, during my childhood and in the present day, vary. I spent every Sunday night of my growing-up years with my mom's side of the family at Grandma's house. These memories are filled with jell-o and Little Debbie snacks and a Schwinn exercise bike. On the other hand, I would see my dad's side of the family on the yearly road trips to Chicago or the less-frequent trips to New York. Possibly my favorite memory from these visits was the ever-popular White Elephant gift exchange (What treasures had Grace and Lois collected for us this time?). I'm grateful that both sets of grandparents were able to have more than one child and chose to give ME (years later), the gift of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  It's something I assumed everyone had.

The most I see of any of my relatives these days is via Facebook. The cousins have grown up and are all as busy with their lives as I am with mine.  So, what remains? My four grandparents are all gone, but they've left a spiritual heritage.  They were faithful to each other and faithful to God. They laid a foundation for me to one day live out my own faith in Jesus.  And now I'm doing my part so that my grandchildren have the gift of aunts (well, maybe through marriage!), uncles, and cousins. More than that, though, I pray that they, too, will walk in step with their grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents as they choose to follow Jesus themselves.      

So, aunt, uncle, cousin of mine...whatever connection we've had, whether close or distant, whether we've even had a conversation as adults, each one of you has played a part in shaping my sense of family, and therefore, me. To all of you... THANKS!

Dad and his two sisters and two brothers

Mom and her brothers and their wives

P.S. I also hit it out of the park to add 16 aunts and uncles and 20 first cousins to my family when I married Lucas.  I love you all, too!

Thankful Thursday - Follow Me

I'm still feeling scattered, but I'm trying to let any anxiety be a trigger to pray. I just keep going back to Jesus -- talking to Him, declaring my trust in Him, begging Him for peace of mind and heart. This morning, He spoke to me in an unexpected way. I was teaching a Level 1 VIP class, which always starts with a song. For this unit, the greeting song was "Follow me. We talk together. Follow me. We sing together. How are you today? Great!"  The "Follow Me" reminded me of when Jesus called His disciples. This thought led to a wonderful picture in my head of Jesus inviting me to come follow Him as we talk and sing together. It simplifies all the swirling thoughts in my head. 

JESUS, thank you for inviting me to come sing and talk with You. You've given me blessing upon blessing, and I'm grateful. Thank you for...

41,681. teaching Shiny, Teresa, and Tracy

41,682. listening to V audiobook together while doing a puzzle

41,683. a good, long conversation with Katie C

41,684. friends who point me back to Scripture

41,685. I have the mind of Christ

41,682. Your Spirit seals me

41,683. I can take every thought captive

41,684. Lucas was able to get a tetanus shot

41,685. handling all four boys' bedtimes

41,686. reading a Sophie Mouse book together

41,687. dishes done (the streak continues!)

41,688. I don't have any health problems

41,689. one-on-one time with Calvin

41,670. praying for others

41,671. opportunities to recycle

41,672. the smell from the crockpot

41,673. Calvin narrating on Marco Polo

41,674. little boys taking a long nap

41,675. first Thursday with morning time

41,676. teaching Cooper how to play Go Fish

41,677. offloading lots of library books (and returning them on time!)

41,678. Lucas able to get some rest

41,679. Carter doing his schoolwork without complaint

41,680. Bible time at the table together

41,681. songs, stories, game, Bible time - a good mix

41,682. wonderful to meet Sophia this morning

41,683. she played the hulusi; I played the recorder

41,684. having food on hand to make for others

41,685. old e-mails that speak to me today

41,686. big boys helping with little boys

41,687. wisdom from my uncle Paul

This tunnel on the Legacy Trail goes under Interstate 75. There's a light at the end! :-)

 

Thankful Thursday - end of "summer"

God, You delight in the details of our lives. For all things great and small, I thank You. You are the Source of every good and perfect gift, such as...

41,314. seats moved, secured

41,315. vacuuming the van

41,316. extension cord handy

41,317. Colson safe

41,318. Megan - neighborhood watch patrol

41,319. these final lazy days of summer

41,320. that I'm not at school right now

41,321. The Boy on the Wooden Box - such a powerful story

41,322. "date" with Lucas

41,323. time together

41,324. Chuy's take-out

41,325. extra tortillas! Yum!

41,326. finally finishing Hamilton

41,327. the creativity and impressive word choice (and subtitles to be able to follow along)

41,328. the diverse cast

41,329. the interweaving of songs

41,330. learning about his life

41,331. editing and uploading several verse videos

41,332. evening routine getting established

41,333. crust-less cookie pie (or c-o-o-k-i-e  p-i-e)

41,334. sausage egg biscuits

41,335. finished Kamala's memoir

41,336. finished three more songs

41,337. got a ton tidied, rearranged

41,338. Colson walking around like one of the boys

41,339. string cheese and walnuts

41,340. Colson's room now also a school space

41,341. Sushi Go and Sleeping Queens

41,342. the accomplishment of getting everyone's nails clipped

41,343. cleaning out trash bin

41,344. Cooper keeping his undies dry

41,345. Calvin getting Colson up from his nap

41,346. re-imagined spaces

41,347. meeting me in the middle of my mess

41,348. trying out the habit of "reset"

41,349. bath times all around

41,350. Lucas making dinner

41,351. a park walk without the wagon (Colson a walker now!)

41,352. evening walk by myself

41,353. got photos converted

41,354. always challenged by Stacey's blog

41,350. books for science from the library

Colson's room (before)

Colson's room (after)

Thankful Thursday - what "schooling" can look like

(I wrote this on Thursday but am just now finishing it on Friday)

The boys would have started school yesterday if they were still enrolled in the public school. Our district, like most if not all of the public school districts in Kentucky, has opted to begin completely virtual. This would mean that Carter and Calvin would have been on the computer with their class from 9:00-11:30 and then work on other things on their own in the afternoon. During that window of time, they were out on the back deck playing nicely together inventing a new variation of Mario chess that involves a goat, cow, and checkers in addition to the regular characters. We also spent an hour in the backyard, and we read books. I'm loving the flexibility that homeschooling provides. While there will definitely be more structure when we start in a week and a half, it's nice to be in charge of our own schedule and learning. 

Usually, "the first day of school" is such a definitive mark in time. This is the day you put on your first-day-of-school outfit and take a picture in front of the door and go off to start your new grade in school. I say that we're "starting" homeschool the day after Labor Day, but that just means we're starting our curriculum. Technically, we've never "stopped" schooling over the summer. We haven't done workbooks, but that doesn't equate with "school." 

Here's some of the "school" just from yesterday:

• Carter tried to make a dessert by melting a popsicle in a sugar cone. What he didn't anticipate was that the liquid would turn the cone soggy.
• Carter also made a recipe that he wanted to make for us for dinner. It involved brown sugar, flour, eggs, milk, turkey, and hot dogs. It was palatable. I think Carter and I were the only ones who ate ours, though.
• The boys made their Mario chess game variation.
• Calvin put one cup of water in the fridge and one in the freezer to see which one he'd like better.
• Whenever Calvin asks how much time we have until we can go inside, I make him figure out the elapsed time himself by telling him the current time and the time we'll go in.
• Calvin's been my assistant in potty training Cooper. We read books to him while we sat and waited.
• They practiced their piano songs and played around on the piano, too.
• They helped with their younger brothers. We tell them it's training to become a dad. :-)
• We observed lots of bugs in the dirt, including a "grub" that looked like just a shell but squirted when I pressed it.
• Colson's "schooling" involved teaching himself how to climb up on the bench and navigate our backyard.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise...

41,231. making progress in the backyard

41,232. watching the boys' interactions

41,233. small habits

41,234. lots of time outside

41,235. Carter making dinner for us with a recipe he created ("turkey dogs")

41,236. love my students!

41,237. Carter and Calvin making up chess variations

41,238. Mildred Cable and Kamala Harris on audio

41,239. Cooper peeing standing up

41,240. so glad the boys weren't in "school" online today

41,241. Alice, Teresa, Candy, and Yelena on my schedule today

41,242. working on Titus 1 song

41,243. the discipline of early mornings

41,244. Lucas helping with potty training

41,245. Calvin knowing his way around the kitchen

41,246. Calvin helping to get Cooper ready for bed

41,247. "Hey! Pipe down!" -Cooper during Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site

41,248. Cooper's expanding vocabulary

41,249. lots of potty books from the library

41,250. option of curbside pickup for yearbook, library books

41,251. excited about AWANA: Home Edition

41,252. Scott Co. library had book we needed

41,253. love to listen to audiobooks while I'm working

41,254. Colson able to maneuver around the backyard hazards

41,255. visible progress with rocks and weeds