Happy Monday evening! I didn’t forget about this post. It simply took me some time to get to it today. Partially this was due to the fact that I had things to do that included deadlines. Part of it was due to a child who needed extra mom and dad today.
It was also because I’ve been immersed in a few particular theological topics about which I’ve been praying for weeks. I’m thankful I can see the answers coming together. Those posts will come later, but they are related to some of the thoughts I shared in Head Down, Blinders On (Antennae Up). Related to this, I’ve been spending a lot of time revisiting the life and work of J.I. Packer after his recent passing. If you’ve never read Knowing God, I highly recommend it. I haven’t read it or Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (both on my bookshelf) in many years, but they are both excellent. I’ve also been revisiting the Puritans which I have been enjoying. (Packer wrote and spoke extensively about the Puritans.) Packer was singular in his devotion to faithfully teaching the Word of God as a Christian. There is no one else like him today, serving the church faithfully and without compromise in such a public and steady way for so many years. It is a sad commentary of the state of the church.
My goal last week was to get our homeschooling organized. I did spend quite a bit of time thinking and praying about it. I revisited my post from last summer, Homeschooling a Child with Language-Based Learning Disabilities (LBLD), because I was feeling at such loose ends about our homeschooling. Everyone I know is “this kind” of homeschooler or “that kind” of homeschooler. They are all buying these massive works of curriculum and we’re just not that kind of homeschooling family. We’re relaxed homeschoolers and each year I have to decide what that means for the coming year.
The reality is I wish I had someone to lay it all out for me, but I don’t. I can’t do plug and play with my daughter. Revisiting parts of the outstanding book Helping Your Child with Language-Based Learning Disabilities reminded me yet again that this is the case. Our homeschool is always going to look different from what most people do. I decided to give myself some grace and not pressure myself to make choices right this minute just because everyone else around me has already made their choices.
Instead I’m allowing myself to continue to read and pray for direction for our upcoming school year. In the midst of a pandemic and lockdown. With a teenage daughter who is really tired of it all. I’m trusting that the same God who has always led us in the past, even when we couldn’t clearly see it, is still leading us each day and with our choices.
Related to homemaking, I’m enjoying Mother’s Hour. Such simple stories and words of encouragement. I could easily read right through the book, but am forcing myself to only read a few short chapters each night at bedtime to make it last longer. I’ve also been revisiting Faith That Does Not Falter by Elisabeth Elliot for a project I’ve been mulling in recent months.
So I have two goals this week.
Goal 1 – Read encouraging books about homemaking, mothering, and being a godly woman. That’s it. This week is about feeding myself and meeting my own needs whether they are spiritual, emotional, or philosophical. I’m not even sure what I’m going to read. I’m simply going to allow myself to do a lot of encouraging reading this week.
Goal 2 – Update my own binder with my own products. LOL! I need to update the printables I’m using myself from A Quiet Simple Life Planner & Guidebook. Every year life changes and I need to revisit these topics just as much as anyone else.
What do you have planned this week? I hope you’ll leave a comment and share.
Artwork: “Lessons” by Helen Allingham
20 Goals In 2020 – July Update
I need to sit down and plan out my school year. I picked up your planners, so I can get that organized. I got it printed out and that is as far as I got.
From there, I made a bunch of progress on the general cleaning and stuff of the house, now I need to figure out my next step there.
We are in the midst of cleaning our front porch. We had to move things around in order for the men to bring in our new refrigerator. It barely fit through the front door. They had to remove the back to get it through the kitchen door. We had just bought a lot of groceries when the old refrigerator died. Most of the groceries had to be thrown out since they spoiled. We are still reading a lot. Marion and Marilyn are continuing to study and learning sign language. Marilyn is teaching herself Latin. we all are doing history quizzes from a book,too.We are trying to keep cool in this awful heat wave. We do mot do well in the summer. Stay safe and well.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
Love JI Packer’s “Knowing God.” Highly recommend.
We are one month into moving into our new home. Everything is mostly in its place.
Looking at homeschool options for my 7 grade daughter. I’m not new to the idea as I have known many homeschooling moms but I need to figure out what I can manage considering I have 3 other kids ages 14 down to 4. They will follow the local schools that they are enrolled in. My teacher husband will also be working from home.
I’m getting a couple of boxes of donations ready for pickup.