Mercy #2: Thankful

So, today....Joel jumped off the diving board at the pool deep end with no floaties, no significant swimming skills, no one in the water to catch him, and no permission to do so.

I had been sitting on the deck observing and thought when he headed that direction that he was going to the shed to get some toys. Then I hear a big splash...

He came up attempting to dog paddle, but it quickly became clear to me that he wasn't going to make it to the side on his own.

I got to jump in with my clothes on and save him. 

I'm thankful to God that I was there and able to do it; thankful for my little guy even if he currently has an under-developed sense of danger; and thankful to my father-in-law for subsequently swimming down to the bottom to retrieve my glasses.  

Ready to Go? Mercy #1

We're leaving for our EXCELLENT ADVENTURE tomorrow morning. God's mercies have already been rich on us: provision for all the legs of this trip, the travel, the housing, the timing; kind friends who have been serving us, babysitting the kids, feeding us, encouraging and praying for us; and the perspective to see that this is a big OPPORTUNITY rather than simply something to survive. So it's not right to name this one as Mercy #1, because it's not even Mercy #1 for today! But even so, let's call it.

Mercy #1: First a weird feeling, then a terrible burning smell, and finally smoke rising up from the passenger side tire. That's when I pulled over. The car broke down today, here in Harrisonburg, and not tomorrow.  Today, when we could do something about it. In the early afternoon, when the fine fellows at AAMCO still had time to look at it and fix it. Today.

Even as we grimace that the problem was one that Mark could have fixed himself given enough time and the right tools, we can be thankful. As Mark just said to me, "Some problems go away when you throw money at them. They are not the worst kind of problems to have." So it's a mercy, and I'm thankful.

Next stop: Ohio.

The Adventure Awaits...

I've been pondering what actions would be appropriate to document the upcoming Year of Adventure. To blog? (Oh, so trendy!) To scrapbook? (hahaha...I'm stuck back in 2008 already with pictures) To let it slip by without any reflection or communication with my friends and family? I've pondered that, too; and it seems like it would be a waste of opportunity.

I don't know what God has in store for us in the coming 365 days. There will be a lot of travel, many new faces, good ole' homeschooling, uprootings and replantings, new experiences. Chicago. London. Washington, DC. Los Angeles. I don't know what God is up to besides giving us many miles to go. How would He have us serve? To what will He have us be exposed? Why me? Why this year?

I had been very anxious about the whole adventure. There are so many logistics to work out; so many unknowns; and besides--what about not being at home? friends? routines? traditions? I'd cry thinking about my kids' possible reaction to not being able to go to their favorite places or groups or be around their favorite people. I cried at the thought of not getting the sixth consecutive annual picture at the pumpkin patch this fall. Who am I going to talk to? How am I going to catch a break ever from childcare? Even though I tried to tell myself that God is sovereign and has this all well in hand; it still was a struggle. The loss of 'home' is really what upset me the most.

I'm thankful that a few weeks ago I was listening to a favorite Rich Mullins cd of mine. His music always makes me feel better anyway, but this day I heard as if straight from the Lord this line in the song, "Here in America":

 

"But I am home anywhere if You are where I am"

 

Thank you, Jesus, for that insight. It spoke to my heart and relieved my anxiety. So even though I am quite like a hobbit and would much rather stay home than go on adventure; I have been chosen for one. Let me go with willingness and in expectant faith that whatever God does, it will be suitable.

I recall Psalm 90:12: "So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom." Let me appreciate each day as it comes for what it brings. It is a gift that I can give back to Him.

So perhaps I will blog. :)

What I've Been Reading

Well, hi there! I haven't forgotten you; I just didn't feel like I had much to say! ...for months....

We've been at our temporary location since the new year, and I'm definitely looking forward to getting back home. Being out of the normal routine and sort of lonely without my buddies and my buddy-related activities has afforded me an opportunity to tear through some reading material. Also, I got a Kindle for Christmas (yay!), so I've got easy access to lots of different things now. Pretty handy when I can't really go anywhere without a significant effort.

So here's what I've been reading.

• Home Education by Charlotte Mason. She was a 19th-century British educator whose writings on educational philosophy are giving me a little extra boost of confidence about...educating the kids at home. This book lays out her basic principles of what education is (a discipline, an atmosphere, a life...). Don't let the Victorianness stop you. Volume 1 of 6.
• A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. Poems for kids. I read this because Noelle wanted me to read her something from the Kindle.
• Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason. This one is more her thoughts about parenting itself as it pertains to education, though there is a weird chapter about Beowulf being the ideal English hero. I read selections of that out loud to Mark and we laughed and laughed...because we're really big nerds. Haven't quite finished it yet because I got tired. Volume 2 of 6.
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I got to this one from a referral in the Andreola book below. I really enjoyed this story about a little girl and the resilience with which she bears difficulty, though it tore my heart out. Oh those Victorians.
• With Lee in Virginia by G.A. Henty. This man wrote an historical novel to correspond with about every major event through history. I'm told they are all (70 of them) centered on a young male protagonist who finds himself in the middle of whatever major thing is going on, and emerges with virtue and heroism. This one's about a young Virginia planter who finds himself in the middle of the Civil War (on the confederate side) and...emerges with virtue and heroism. It was so fun for me to read this book because it's tracks all over Virginia, and now I have some faint idea of the terrain, the locations, and the sentiments. Henty made me feel sympathetic to the confederate cause; I couldn't believe it! I'm a yankee by heritage and training.
• Back to Basics: Raising Self-Sufficient Children by Barbara Frank. A quick read about needing to teach one's children to sew, cook, do chores, etc.
• A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. This would be a great starting place for one interested in Mason's ideas but not in her prose. Good summaries of all the major ideas joined with Andreola's real-life examples from her homeschooling.
• Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman. Whoa. The Bible study leader at the church we've been going to up here has been plugging this book for the last couple of weeks. When I walked by her Tuesday, she said, "Here? Want to read it?" and handed it to me. Though I had been interested since the first mention of it, I had been NOT reading it on purpose--because I cry when I read cereal boxes these days. Well, so I read it and bawled the whole way through. This woman is the wife of Steven Curtis Chapman, and basically she tells her life story of how the Lord has allowed her to go through a lot of pain (including the tragic death of her 5-year old in 2008)...but that even though she's still suffering with it (and yes, she WOULD change it if she could); she's choosing to SEE that God is using all these things redemptively. On one hand, I heartily recommend this book to you and am even pondering whether or not to mail you a copy (yes, you). On the other hand, I don't wish bawling upon you. It was a good crying; mostly.
• Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? by Gary Thomas. I just started this today. Chapter 1 BLEW my mind. I think I'm going to love it and be super encouraged, even as it pokes me with thorns.

How do I love thee, Autumn? Let me count the ways!

I love...
1. Sitting in a library watching leaves fall in swirls off the trees
2. Doughnut day and apple cider
3. Apple crisp and apple products
4. Pumpkin Spice Latte and any and all pumpkin products
5. Soup and stew with saltine crackers
6. Sunshine and a crisp breeze
7. Chilly rain, especially when combined with 4) and 8)
8. Wearing a sweatshirt and being just the right temperature
9. Seeing people's fall decorations--the pumpkins, scarecrows, mums, and straw
10.Cinnamon and nutmeg, especially when combined with 2), 3), or 4)
11. Thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas

Eleven! Eleven Ways! AH-AH-AH!

What I've Been Reading Lately

Inspired by recent related posts by Sarah at Dancing Through Life with the Downs Family and Lindsay at Bytes of Memory; I thought I'd give you...what I've been reading lately. Two posts in one month--whew! Don't get used to it. :)

• The Gospel of Mark. Reading through this one for small group; disturbed by how long it's been since I've spent any concentrated time in the Gospels. Have I forgotten who Jesus is? In some ways, of course not! In other ways, yeah. Putting my nose in here has been a good memory-jogger. Reading straight through a book like this has also reminded me of the more perplexing passages that I'd be hard-pressed to explain to others. More research required.
• www.simplycharlottemason.com. After a summer of putting it out of my mind, I've had a mini-renaissance of thinking about parenting and specifically about educating the kids. This is a cool website devoted to making a particular philosophy of education --19th century British educator Charlotte Mason's, to be precise--um, simple. My mother-in-law has the complete 6 volume set of her writings in the basement, and I've often eyeballed them curiously but not picked them up due to my experiences with other educational philosophy books a la John Dewey. Now, however, I will abscond with them at my earliest opportunity. This website offers some free e-books (read, pdf files) that really give the ideas and the methods in a nutshell. I've inhaled these over the last week or so. If you're interested, you can check them out here. (Note, while I did download, print out, and read all the others; I have not done so for "The Swedish Drill Teacher.") I am highly tempted to buy their other resources, but this will involve some saving up. What IS this educational philosophy, you ask? Oh ho ho! You'll have to go see for yourself! ;)

Another Recipe: Chicken-Spinach White Pizza

My tastebuds delighted in this recent invention. I hope you enjoy it too.

Chicken-Spinach White Pizza

Toppings:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 chicken breast, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 red onion, sliced
2-3 large handfuls (maybe 5 oz?) fresh spinach

White sauce:
1 cup boiling water, more as needed
8 oz cream cheese, more as needed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, more as needed

Dough for 1 pizza, or premade pizza crust

In a large skillet, saute the chicken and onion in oil over medium heat until chicken is cooked through and onion is quite soft. Add spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until spinach starts to wilt--probably less than a minute. Remove skillet from heat and remove chicken mixture to a separate bowl.

Return the skillet to the heat and add the cup of boiling water, scraping the brown crusties from the chicken and onions off the bottom of the skillet with a flat-sided spatula (a wooden one works great). Add in the cream cheese and stir to dissolve it in the water. Turn the heat down to low, and add in the Parmesan cheese--stirring to melt it in. As this cooks down into a semi-smooth sauce, add more water to make it thinner, more cream cheese to make it thicker, or if you feel like you need more sauce than that. (*Confession--I did not measure any of this stuff; I'm just guessing on amounts)

Spread cream cheese sauce on prepared dough, put on chicken-onion-spinach mixture as the topping. Bake at whatever temperature and time is appropriate for your pizza dough, until dough is cooked and chicken/onions/sauce are hot! (My dough recipe calls for prebaking just the dough for about 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then adding the toppings and baking another 10-15 minutes or so.)