Jesus Is Enough

Fame
Fortune
Reputation
Comfort
Respect
Love
Which is your god?


Jesus is enough. Period. It's that simple.

Manners

It's really simple to have good manners. Why do so few use them? A friend of mine and I were talking and we agreed that more than education, status, knowledge or strength, the thing that will get you the farthest with others is good manners.

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use. ~Emily Post

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are. ~Author Unknown

I imagine my Mom and Step-father when I think of the topic of manners. They always think of others before themselves and are kind, generous and great role models to me.

Memorial Day 2011

My family and I went to our town Memorial Day Parade this morning. It was a wonderful reminder to be grateful for all of those who have fought so that we can live in a free country. Do we struggle in this country? Sure. But, we have unprecedented freedoms in this country. We can believe what we like without being burned at the stake by the government. We can say what we like without going to prison. We can homeschool, meet together, hold political rallies, own property, vote, protest, etc.... Many people talk about how they don't "feel" free to speak their mind here in the USA without having some kind of consequences. Our Constitution doesn't guarantee that we won't be socially ostracized, it guarantees that we can speak what we like, and believe what we like without going to jail! And, that is a freedom that we should not take for granted.

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

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My kids and I studied this poem this morning. What a great poem....jam-packed with things to talk about. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did (and continue to).

Where was I?

It's the end of the school year and I've figure out how to bring things to a close by the end of June. But...this time of the year and the upcoming summer are anything but simple for our family. The months of May-June tend to look a lot like Nov-Dec- filled with events, graduations, dinners, concerts & goodbyes. And then there is summer...8 weeks of conferences, all of which my husband is a part of in some way or another. Don't get me wrong, I love the events and concerts and conferences. It's a nice change from the rest of the year. But, it's just not....simple.

So, why am I writing about not being simple on a blog about being simple? I guess that's just because that's life. Sometimes life is simple and sometimes it's just not. But, even when it isn't it's important to have that quiet time with the Lord, to stop and smell the fresh oregano growing and to take time to listen to that new song that your 4 year old just "wrote". All these things remind us that even in the midst of chaos, life at it's core still hasn't changed.....it's still simple.

Inchworm, Inchworm

A favorite childhood song of mine is the tale of a poor inchworm that is so distracted with measuring his marigold that he can't see the beauty of the flower he is measuring! It goes like this:

The inchworm: "2 and 2 are 4, 4 and 4 are 8, 8 and 8 are 16, 16 and 16 are 32.......2 and 2 are 4....."

The onlooker: "Inchworm, inchworm measuring the marigolds, seems to me you'd stop and see how beautiful they are...."

A good reminder.

Talent Show and Yearbooks

Today was the last day of our fine arts co-op. Just about all of the kids participated and did something and added their own special gifts to the show! It was great....old fashioned fun! It was simple.....a recorder solo, a card trick, a piano piece, duets, memorization songs, a skit.....

After the talent show we all got our yearbooks and the kids had a blast walking around and getting signatures from all of their friends. It is such a great group of families that we have the privilege to participate with throughout the school year. They know the value of family, community and simply enjoying each other and the gifts that each person brings.

Keeping It Simple

Keeping it simple....

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." - 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

In this life where there is a mad rush to get to the front of the line, where everyone is putting their children in activity after activity, and when the most time that a couple spends together is texting on their iphone deciding what take-out to have for dinner, this is my attempt to jump off of the train and to remind myself (and maybe others) that life can be- and is most beneficial when it is- simple.