A Mom's Musings

We recently welcomed our first grandchild, a daughter born to our oldest daughter and her husband. On the morning of her scheduled c-section, as I prepared to go to the hospital, I felt rather contemplative, and decided to write down my thoughts. Now, after 2 months, I have decided to share them here:

We are quiet this morning, thoughtful, as we await the delivery of Anjali. It is not unlike a pensive pause in the flurry of activity just before a wedding, or a reflective time in the room of the dying: joy mixed with anticipation.

Events in the lives of loved ones have a way of making us contemplative-- as we ponder the meaning of life. So concrete, yet so elusive and transitory. Just as a mother cannot stop a baby from "coming," so, too, we cannot hold the living among us when their time comes to leave us and move on.

At these moments, it is good to pause and reflect on life, and the One Who is the Giver of all life. He, too, was born. He, too, celebrated marriage, indeed, will come one day for His bride. He, too, wept at a friend's tomb. And He, too, died. But His death was designed to bring us life --not just this fleeting, ephemeral one, but Life Eternal, the only concrete thing of which we can be sure.

Father, thank You for life, both the temporal, and the eternal! Thank you for Anjali, and her parents, Christy and Manoj. We commit them into Your keeping.

Well, sorry, I still don't know how to resolve the issues I have with sharing pictures!! Oh well. Maybe I'll do better next time. More later.

Rejoicing in the Harvest

Well, after more than a year, I thought I'd update my blog. There are so many things that have happened, and so many thoughts I've wanted to share, that I should share here. So here goes:

This year, 2009, we actually cleared an area of the back yard of the giant evergreen bushes, and planted a garden. It took weeks of pulling out roots and weeds, sifting rocks and weed roots out of the soil, raking, leveling, etc. to finally have usable ground. We finally planted most of it about Memorial Day, about a month late.

We had read that you can water the seeds with a dilute hydrogen peroxide solution, so we decided to try it. Amazingly, the seedlings were up and growing in just a few days, and in 5 weeks, we had pickling cucumbers and small zucchinis!

We were really getting used to going out every day to harvest our wonderful produce, when, on August 8th, at 11:30 pm, we heard hail begin to pelt the house! We ran out to the garden, trying to pull plastic sheets, or buckets, or something over our precious garden, but the hail poured from the sky for 30 minutes, soaking and freezing us along with our beautiful garden! I was so sad and disappointed, that I didn't even go back out for a week.

The girls suggested we do another dose of hydrogen peroxide solution, so I agreed, and they did it for me... I still couldn't face the devastation. Another week passed, and I finally went out to see the mess, and although I could still see bent stems and see-thru leaves, there were big new leaves covering the zucchinis, and a couple of tomatoes were turning red! I couldn't believe my eyes. I praised the Creator, my God Who does all things well!!

This fall we have harvested several hundred pounds of produce. Zucchini, yellow squash, slicing cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, lettuce, baby carrots, radishes, and even potatoes! We are truly giving thank to God Almighty for the increase He has given our efforts at a garden this year.

More photos of Israel, starting with our arrival at the airport

Inside the building at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, this greeted us. Hebrew is the official language, but we saw English on a lot of signs.





This menorah stands at the entrance/exit of the airport. The base is about 4 feet tall, and the menorah itself is another 12 feet or more above that.

In Jerusalem, this is the gate of the Old City that faces east, spoken of many times by the prophet Ezekiel. It was blocked and bricked-over by the Arabs long ago, completely sealing it shut. In front of it is a large Muslim cemetary.

More to be forthcoming, as I master this blog layout!

Oh happy day!

I kissed my husband good-bye at the door and turned back to the kitchen. Two big boxes of peaches sat there, waiting to be processed. Another chore, to create good food for my family, that voracious appetite that always wanted MORE.

“Well, maybe the girls will help me, at least,” I thought. “That’s one nice thing about having them home with me.”

My eyes caught the cover of the new CHEC Homeschool Update, so I poured a cup of coffee, toasted a piece of homemade bread, and settled down at the kitchen table for a few minutes of peace and quiet.

“What Are You Running On This Year?” I read the article’s title.

“Empty!” I thought sadly. I was dreading another long, empty school year—alone at home, again, with three girls, twelve and under. With me at home full time, the budget was too lean for much curriculum, and I just couldn’t seem to get inspired to to glean what they needed this year from the resources I had on available. I was down to survival mode.

I read on, about that point behind our right eye… the “right orbital prefrontal cortex” he called it, that is our fuel tank, our central point of energy, inspiration, strength, drive, ambition—all those things I lacked! He wrote of us being made in God’s image, and how we need relationships.

“Amen!” I assented. “I crave relationships. That’s what’s wrong with me, and with being stuck at home with no friends!” I grumbled inwardly. I read on.

Then sin messed us up. “(Adam and Eve) feared being judged by their actions rather than valued because of the price someone was willing to pay for them,” I read. The message went straight to my heart. I continually felt judged, and not valued! The message burned in my heart as tears streamed down my cheeks. I read on, about David recognizing the joy of the Lord's salvation in Psalm 51, and Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17, that our joy might be full, and in Nehemiah, where he tells us that the JOY of the Lord is our strength.

“What are you running on? Is it joy?”

“ No,” I thought. “That’s what’s missing!! My fuel! I've lost my joy!

When we find joy in the Lord again, we can begin to renew relationships with those around us. We can be the fountain that spreads joy and gladness, and receive the strength we need to carry on in our homes, and our home education. That in turn, turns on the joy-centers in our children, encouraging them to learn faster, obey better, and embrace life more fully.

“Oh, Father, forgive me. You are always trying to show me how much You love and value me, but I judge myself, and reject Your love, and that root of bitterness defiles those around me. Have mercy, Father. Root out my bitterness and self-pity, and help me to fill up on Your love and Your joy today. I want it to overflow all over my children and my husband. What joy it is to serve my family and my Lord!! Thank You, Father.

Quotations from What Are You Running On this Year?, by Keith Dorscht, CHEC Homeschool Update Third Quarter 2008

It's About time...

Well, many of you know that I recently was privileged to make a trip to Israel, as the traveling companion of a dear friend. We departed on May 10th, and returned May 26th this year. I have been wanting to share some of my more than 1100 pictures, but had not figured out a location online where someone might be able to peruse them on their own time, when I was checking up on Rowen and Janet's family, and decided this might just be THE venue I sought!



So, if I am smart enough to figure out the HOW, I will be sharing some of my pictures with you here. I'm sure that you'll never see all 1186 of them, but maybe enough to get a feel for what I was blessed to see and experience.