Willingness

"...and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do." Exodus 4:15

Moses didn't want to go.

He didn't want to talk to Pharaoh,.

He didn't want to say the wrong thing, or mess things up.

I so get it. It's exactly how I feel about homeschooling.

Most days I feel completely inadequate. I wonder what the Lord might have been thinking in laying this endeavor on our hearts?

Are they learning enough?

Am I really the best teacher for them?

And as I'm reading about Moses this morning, I discover the one place He went wrong.

God had asked Moses to go to Pharaoh and speak to him. And Moses was terrified. (I am terrified of how my treasures might turn out if we continue on this homeschooling path.)

And Moses asked the Lord several questions, until finally the Lord became angry with Moses.

Moses asked, "Who am I?" (Exodus 3:11)

Then he asked , "Who should I say sent me?" (3:13)

Still doubting, he asked, "Suppose they will not believe me, or listen to my voice?" (4:1)

And then in Exodus 10, Moses tried further still to tell God that he was not, and had never been, eloquent enough to speak."

Even at that point, the Lord was not angry with Moses.

He got angry when Moses stopped asking questions and simply became unwilling.

  Yesterday was probably the best school day we've ever had. The kids played outside all morning, and I sat on the schoolroom floor, listening to U2, "With Or Without You," over and over again, and carried on a long lovely conversation with my Jesus.

And who would have thought that the Lord could use Bono to speak into the deep parts of my heart?

I can't do homeschooling, I can't do parenting, I can't do this life, without my Jesus.

I get all caught up in all the decisions that need to be made, all the lessons that need to be learned, all that needs to be met in a day, and I just wanna sit on the floor and cry. Because I CAN'T do it all. Plain and simple.

And then I see it on the pages of His love letter this morning.

"I." I, being Him. It's Him, that does the necessary heart work in this family. It's HIM who will "be with my mouth, and who will teach me what to do."

"I-will-teach-you-what-you-are-to-do."

I simply have to be willing.

My disobedience comes when I let fear cause me to be unwilling.

HE will move me forward. HE will water the souls of my children. HE will grow up their minds, and knead their hearts into His likeness.

Will I mess up along the way? Royally, I'm sure.

But the only tool that I really need to have, is willingness. The courage to put one foot in front of the other and walk straight into Him.

I need you Lord. Teach me what I need to do. And fill my mouth with Your gentle, comforting words, as the treasures, the Cowboy, and I, grow up together under this very raw and real  farmhouse roof. :)

It's Coming

Can you see it? 

 That wee bit of color?

 Spring is coming!!! :) 

And I couldn't be more joy-filled. :)

Family & Easter & Fun

  Some of the things that I love about Granny are how she loves on my kids, how intentional she is with them, and how she shares the love of Jesus with them in everyday conversation.

She's a great Granny. She's creative. She's fun.

 

And this week she took the treasures on a colorful journey into this glorious season of Easter.

With a few dozen eggs, some dye, and a wee bit of creativity, she walked our kids through The Word and showed them the joy of it all.

It's an easy activity for the whole family.




































Start with a black egg.
Black: Sin. All people have sinned and are separated from God. 


 Red Comes next.
Red: Blood of Jesus and Jesus taking the punishment for our sins, paying the price.




Then White.
White: Jesus conquered death by rising from the dead and because of this has provided forgiveness of sins, purity, justification.


Green.
Green: Growth in our relationship with God through reading the Bible, praying, fellowship, and singing songs of worship. Santification.

 
Purple.
Purple: Royal color representing Jesus. He has ascended to Heaven and will return for His church.



Bringing us home is Gold.
The pearls represent the pearly gates of Heaven, and the gold represents the gold streets of Heaven.

 Now hide your masterpiece eggs and let the treasures seek Him with hilariously happy joy!
 So fun!
Thanks Granny. :)

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We've also been learning the Roman's Road around here. Not to long ago at church the question was thrown out there, "How would you lead someone to Christ?

And of course I should know this, right? But it kinda caught me off guard.

I've been taught the Roman's Road but to be honest I couldn't remember most of the verses off the top of my head. So as I was thinking through what the treasures and I might tackle next in the scripture memory department, the Romans Road seemed perfect... Not to mention that it's perfect during this lovely Easter season as together we think upon all that Christ has done for us.


Then to make it even more fun, My AMAZING friend Tara made me these little wallet size cards with each verse on the Road. My kids love having their own cards, and the older two can read them by themselves. It's been such a treat to see them practicing scripture on their own time, simply because they want to. :)

If you would like to get in on these awesome cards, check out her website. She offers tons of scripture cards and personalizes them for YOUR treasures. I have been blessed beyond measure by the talent that the Lord has given my friend. (These specific cards are not on her site, but that's the sweetest part about her little shop. If the Lord lays specific scripture on your heart I know that my lovely friend would be more than happy to customize any sort of card for you. :)

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And before I sign off for tonight, I wanted to share the treasures final creations.
At the end of the colorful egg journey, Granny let all the kids decorate an egg however they wanted.

If you wanna know my kid's personalities, just check out their egg.

This is Siah's.

























All His decor is in a straight line.
He is orderly to the max!


This is The Dancing Girl's....

























See all the drawings and writing.
She's my artist.


And this.....
Wait for it.....



Is the Spunky girl's.
























Pretty spunky, eh? :)

***********************

He's bringing us further into Himself this Easter season.
And life can't get much sweeter than that! :)

The Oil Of Joy

I know sometimes it's hard to find joy. 

 

I know because I've lost, hard.

I know because I think on this friend of mine day and night, the one who's daughter is always in pain and the it just won't let up.

I know because of the text I got on a Tuesday, the one that begged for prayers because it is just so much easier to fall into bitterness sometimes, than it is to find joy. 

My parents are in town this week. 

And everything in me wants to be with them and the treasures, making memories, and just spending time.

But instead, I'm sick in my bed with all sorts of who knows what. 

Lord, I need a little joy reminder.

 

I'm laying here thinking about these amazing, godly women that I know, these women that are hurting.

And I want to encourage their hearts, but I know that my words can sometimes be empty when the fight is so intense and joy seems so far away. 

I'm in my bed and I open The Word, the place of NO empty words, and hours pass and I find all this joy-glory all over the pages! 

His Word is seriously great!

Did you know that HE "clothes you with His joy?" Psalm 30:11... Clothes you! How sweet is that? 

Did you know that He ALONE, can complete our joy? John 15:11 Nothing outside of what He gives can bring us that deep, soul-saturated joy... NOTHING!

Did you know that joy always comes in the morning? That our deepest sorrows are only but a moment? Psalm 30:5

And my absolute favorite find came from the author of Hebrews who asked that the Lord would "anoint them with the oil of joy? Hebrews 1:9

How amazingly wonderful is that??? The OIL OF JOY!!! And so I've been praying fervently, not only over the ones that I love, but over myself.

It has been this constant stream off my lips. 

When I feel the urge to be grouchy, I just whisper it out loud, "Lord, anoint me with the OIL OF JOY!"

Who wouldn't want that???

May I live COVERED in that amazing joy oil... :)

 

 

The 25 Year Project

 A year and a half ago the Cowboy and I and our treasure friends bought a farm together.

I had seen a listing in my inbox that seemed that it must have been a mistake... They were asking way to little for two houses on ten acres. And the next day both of our families drove out to what we now know as, The Farm. 

As soon as we drove onto the property and unloaded our many small children, we all smiled at one another.

All ten acres were overgrown chest high. 

The two houses on the property were soiled in animal urine, mouse poop, and dust two inches thick. 

There was an old bench swing rigged with rusty chains, swinging in the wind between two glorious trees. Back then, I was enormously pregnant with The Charmer but I felt brave enough to sit on the old rickety swing with Tara and over all the weeds was the most beautiful view of one of the tallest mountains I had ever seen.

When we left that day, we put in an offer on the Farm and five months later, it was ours. 

We knew from day one that we had just bought ourselves a 25 year project. And we also knew that we were committed to fixing only what we could do with cash... no debt. 

 

We've be moving forward one with project at a time. 

The Cowboy and his son spent the weekend pulling out the old, and building up the new.

When they tore down the front porch, they found a GIANT hole in the front of our house. (I'm thinking that's probably the reason that we had a snake crawling across our living room a few weeks back. :) 

The Cowboy fixed that right up and then with the help of some lovely friends, built us a glorious new deck that spans the whole front of our little farm house. 

 I love it! Now all we need is a couple of rocking chairs and maybe a porch swing. 

And I LOVE the view. 

It's nice to have a house to fix up.

But what I love even more than our house, is all the memories were making as we daily turn our house into a home... A place where we can all be our real selves. A place where we might be broken yet gloriously redeemed. A place of belly laughter mixed with elephant size tears. A place of grace and hope and always the growing... growing straight into Him and all His extravagant love. :)

What On God's Green Earth Is Happening Around Here????

If you've known me for more than five minutes, you know how I feel about dogs.

But it's also no secret that I have been outnumbered 5/1 for some time now.

So when the Cowboy called me at noon on a Thursday, I could hear that little-boy joy in his voice.

All he said was "hello," and I knew.

"Love, you didn't????"

I asked him with a small pit in my stomach...

I could see him smiling through the phone.

It's a GOOD thing I am sooo in love with this Cowboy of mine...

"Kace... You're gonna love him, I promise."

To which I responded in a slow whisper,

"I think I just threw up in my mouth."

We were at Old Navy buying the crew $5 flip flops when the Cowboy phoned again and said that he could meet us in the parking lot and surprise the kids...

My wise and gentle friend, Mindy, highly suggested that I make the moment that was about to happen, a joyful memory for my treasures and NOT a memory that involved a grouchy Mama.

I'm so glad she reminded me...

And with a smile on my face and a lens in my hand, we walked across the parking lot and straight into him...

Meet Chief!

The Charmer was giddy-excited... And the girls were glowing... My Siah was still in his classes, and would meet Chief when the Cowboy picked him up that afternoon.

I know it's a strong word, and I don't even really have a good reason to feel this way, but I think I might go as far to say that I kinda of, sort of, hate animals. I know! Who doesn't like animals, right?

But I'm thinking that the arrival of Chief on the farm is much more than just a little throw up in my mouth.

These recent years have been all about one thing for me...

Acceptance WITH JOY!

That's the thing in this one life I've been given. The trouble is not so much in the "acceptance." For me, it's always been the learning to do so "with joy."

And on that Thursday when the Cowboy called with joy so deep I could see it through the phone, I heard that still small voice of My Jesus whispering to me,

"Swallow that small bit of throw up in your mouth and let ME open your eyes to the joy of loving others above yourself. Those treasures, that Cowboy, jump into their joy and you just might find an unexpected joy in your own heart."

"But LORD!"

"But Kace. Trust me." :)

And here in this quiet little corner I will confess,

I just might have petted our Chief for a few crazy moments...
And I might have even smiled while doing so. :)

I have no idea what is happening to me and this heart of mine.

But I'm thinking that this journey into Acceptance With Joy is the best way, for me, to live my one life well. 

I'm so thankful that HE loves me enough to keep me ever moving straight into Him...

Even if it might involve a dog. :)