The Essence of a Mother

Vision? What is the vision for your family? What is the vision for your children? Are you walking aimlessly or are you walking with a purpose. Are we as parents teaching our children to walk with purpose; to walk in the calling they have on their lives? As homeschooling parents, we have a huge responsibility to make sure our children are learning the right information. We want to make sure they are successful in all they do and make sure there are no gaps in their education. STOP!!! Are we losing focus here? What does God want? Have we asked Him lately to show us what direction our childen should take? Or are we just filling their minds with useless knowledge? Most of the information we throw at them they will forget a day from now. But the things the LORD has chosen for them, will remain for eternity. Yes, we as homeschooling parents have a huge responsibility; the responsibility to teach and train up our children in the way they should go. This is made known by seeking the Lord Himse...

It is the day after Christmas, and the New Year will soon approach us. Time seems to fly and when we look back we ask ourselves---"What have we done this past year to make a difference in someone's life?" Sometimes as mothers we can get so distracted and caught up with doing "stuff", whatever this "stuff" might mean to you. Ask yourselves, does this "stuff" that I am doing have eternal value. I have been looking at my life like this lately. I am usually the first to get up tight about my agenda not going the way I have planned. Or the house is a wreck. Or I have to this or that. I can absolutely drive myself into a panic if I start to look at all the little details of my life. Little details here or little details there, can steal our joy right out of our day. The LORD wants us to cast our cares and burdens to HIM. Then he wants us to look to Him for direction. He does not want us to fill our minds with the details of life, because He will ta...

So what is it for you, a Merry Christmas or a Happy Hannukah? In our family we celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah. We started this, I don't exactly remember, 4-5 years ago. Since becoming Christians, we have always been interested in the Jewish Feasts and Holidays. Anything that has to do with Israel, we are interested in. Even our children's names are of Hebrew origin or meaning. I think it is such a unique and awesome culture. I met a Messianic woman right before Shiloh was born almost 5 years ago. Our girls were taking ballet together and I remember asking her all sorts of questions about Jewish holidays and culture. She was very involved in her Messianic walk with the LORD. She even called Jesus--Yeshua, his Hebrew name. She said their family had traced back her husband's heritage, and found out he is from the Levitical line of Jews. In the congregation, her husband is the "Priest" who reads the Torah (the first books of the bible--Genesis to Deuteronomy). ...

Ugh! The thought of training my children wears me out. Such responsibility and hard work is included in this training thing. Sometimes, I feel like an Army drill seargent. Sometimes, I feel like quitting. There are even those days that I just don't want to train. "Again LORD! Haven't they got it yet." "When are they ever going to learn." "I am really messing up here." I often wonder if the LORD says this about us? His children. Does HE ever feel impatient? Does HE ever feel like quitting? OF COURSE NOT! HE is God Almighty and our Father. But we can learn wealth of information from HIM. He gives us all the knowledge and understanding we need to train up these gifts he has blessed us with. As parents, we need to have a vision for our training. A vision put there by God Himself. A vision for each one of our little ones. From the oldest down to the baby. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:17-18 "Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he wil...

Farm life can be the most peaceful life on earth. I think back to those years growing up in the rural parts of Cedar Falls, Iowa and taking car rides with my family. I remember clearly looking out the window across the beautiful plains and thinking I wanted to become a farmer when I grew up. I would then start day dreaming of how life would be like as a farmer. Getting up really early and going out to feed the chickens and milking the cows. Oh, how excited I would get just thinking of how someday I would have my very own farm. Now that I am older, I don't have the farm, but I think one day I might. I strongly believe God put those desires in my heart years ago. I am just waiting for the right time the LORD will bring it to pass. But for now, I have a great friend I met through my MOMYS (mothers of many young siblings) email group. She is a wonderful mother to seven beautiful boys. They live on a 20 acre farm. She bakes her own bread; raises chickens and cows; have kittens and a...

This is Justin my 12 yr old. It is unimaginable to think I was holding this little (not so little anymore) bundle in my arms 12 yrs ago. Time seems to fly when you have children. They grow up right before your eyes and before you know it, they have left the nest. Justin is the clown of the family. Takes after his daddy 100%. I couldn't find a serious picture other than the one with the blue background. The one of him jumping in the fish mouth is alot like his personality. There is a soft side to this young man. He loves his brothers and sisters. Anytime he gets a chance, he wants to play and entertain the whole bunch. He is not the type to hide in his room, so his brothers and sisters don't bother him. He loves quality time with any one who will spend time with him. He loves to hang out and have a good time. The teenage years are around the corner for Justin. He will turn 13 in June. Wow! The world says "Look out for those teenage years." But I say "Bring them ...

"No Greater love has man, than to lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 This was ringing in my head as I was sitting at the Charlotte Web movie last night. Donnie and I took the kids to a Drive- in Theatre. I haven't been to one of these since a little girl. What fun we all had. This was one of our first Hannukah gifts to the family. A side note: Our family incorporates Hannukah with Christmas--I will post later explaining. Driving down to the theatre, I knew we were going to see this classic story on the big screen. I kept saying to myself, I know the story. The little girl loves the pig and then there is the wise spider. So as I was watching this story come to life on screen I watched how unselfishCharlotte the spider truly was. Then there was the rat Templeton, who I think can represent the majority of all of us. Selfish, always thinking for himself. True love was shown by Charlotte. This tiny little spider, with a huge heart. She saw the beautiful things abo...

Galen. He is my 2 yr old. He is the sweetest little guy I know. He is the first to greet me when I get home from having been out running errands. He yells "mommy" really loud, runs up and hugs his arms around my legs. He is a tiny little guy with a big heart. He is laid back, but if those buttons get pushed (usually by older siblings) look out. Toddler years can be difficult. The world calls them the terrible twos. But I believe they can be a blessing. I guess it depends on how you look at the two year old stage. These little ones are confused a bit, especially when they are not the babies anymore. They wonder what is going on in this big world. They can't seem to communicate clearly enough to get what they want, so0000...............what do they do----- Scream, yell, throw those tantrums. Disciplining is a big tool for training. Consistency is the key. Eventually, they will get it. Our roles as parents is to have patience, don't lose our cool, speak with a calm sooth...

For all those homeschooling Moms out there--Just in time for the Holidays!!! T'was the night before Christmas and all through the home, Children were still studying for their test on Rome. Mom was planning, she had just an hour, To teach 'one more lesson' before their night shower. A whole week of vacation, the children were thrilled, But Mom saw the lesson plans, and the blocks were still filled. "Can I stop for a day, much less a whole week?" Just the thought of time off, made me shudder and shriek! Would they remember anything, would they fall behind? "Lord, I need your help, just give me a sign!!!" Then out on the sidewalk, I saw my four boys, And I heard them say, "it's not about toys." To the neighborhood kids, they explained Jesus' birth, And how through Jesus, not toys, we gain our worth. At that point, math and spelling and learning to write, Meant little to me as I had lost the sight Of what teaching at home was truly about. T...

This is Shiloh, my 4 yr old. He was wondering why I haven't posted his picture. I was waiting to get my camera back from my friend. I actually forgot it at her house. We went to butcher a few roosters a few days back and I took great (and gross) pictures. I will post those soon. But for now I have this one of Shiloh. He said he wanted this one because he is running. He is such a joy in my and Donnie's life. He makes us laugh so much. My Shiloh is our second son and we are so blessed to have him in our family. Just to think that if we had decided not to have more children after the third, then we wouldn't have this gorgeous boy, who loves God with all his heart. The other day when we were at my friend Jennifer's farm, she told me that Shiloh had left an impression in her father in law. Basically, Shiloh came up to him and asked him if he knew Jesus and if he went to church. Wow, it is true that the praises come forth from babes. Maybe this is why Jesus says to be as litt...

My girls bring so much joy into my life and our home. They are the "giggle girls". They do this all day long sometimes. I have to admit, there are days that I just want silence. But when I step back from my agenda, I just giggle along with them. They are so special in my life. They are growing up so fast. Moriah is 9 and becoming such a little Miss. Tsavah is 7 and she to is following after her sisters footsteps. Tsavah is the little mommy. She is usually the first to get the baby out of his crib and hold him in the mornings before I am ready to tend to him. They both love the Lord with all their heart. They love to worship him in song and dance. It is a lovely sight to watch my girls worship God. Having daughters is such a great blessing in my life. They are the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. (mama bragging a bit) The Lord has only blessed us with two girls and who knows maybe one day there might be another litte girl in the home. I actually use to say I didn...

My baby! He is sooo cute! There are those days that just do not go right, but when I look into my little boy's eyes and he gives me this big smile, everything just seems to melt away. All those stresses and demands of the day just disappear. Doing the laundry, schooling, cleaning......the list can go on. But when my Kole wakes up, his big smile makes me think that all those demands of life are not important but only my family. God, has given us babies and children to make us step back and look at our lives and say "WOW, if we love our children this much, just imagine the love the Father has for us. It is truly amazing! I stand in awe daily of his wonderful Love for me and his mercies and much grace in my life, especially when I feel like I have messed up the entire day. But my LORD still calls me "A Joyful Mother" despite my flaws.