God is so good!!!

God is so good, God You're so good to me!

I don't know why I bother worrying. I am learning not to! God takes care of everything. He provides, He cares, He loves us so much! He so often shows up in unexpected ways bringing unexpected blessings.

My surgery is actually happening a week from tomorrow! The Lord has made provision for this to happen and I am so very thankful to Him!

The boys will be taken care of while Archie and I are away, the bills are provided for, we have a place to stay in Atlanta, and Archie has the time off of work!

Yes, I know, I am using a lot of exclamation marks, but I am feeling so incredibly blessed and I hope that comes across in this post. I want everyone to know that the God of the Universe is awesome, all powerful, amazing, AND He loves us! He loves you!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

How you can help

Many of my friends and family have asked how they can help as I prepare for surgery on Oct. 28th. I have had kind of a hard time asking for help. I feel very awkward about it. I am always telling other people to ask for what they need, to let people know what they need, and I think I need to do the same. So here goes...

1. Prayer. I need this more than anything else! The Lord knows all of my needs and He has the power and resources to meet every one of them. My specific prayer requests are as follows...
       ~That I will not need a bowel resection. (it is a possibility)
       ~That the surgery will go smoothly and the Doctor will be able to remove everything that shouldn't be in there.
       ~That I will be a witness to the Doctors, Nurses, and other staff that I come in contact with.
       ~That my boys would be well and well behaved as they stay with others during my time away.
       ~For safe travel to and from Atlanta.
       ~That I will stay free of colds and flu as I await surgery and during the recovery.
       ~For Archie and I to be able to navigate all of the fees, insurance, paperwork, etc.
       ~That the Lord will provide financially for the portion of the bill that falls on us.
       ~For quick healing and recovery after surgery

2. I still need a place for the boys to stay for a couple of the days that Archie and I will be in Atlanta. I have a couple of people who have offered, but am still working out the details. (Please pray that it will work out smoothly).

3. Since this is happening a lot faster and a lot sooner than expected we are not prepared to cover the deductible and up front fees. We have made the down payment to hold my surgery date, but we will need the rest of the deductible by the surgery date. Please do not feel obligated, but if you feel led to make a donation, my sister-in-law has graciously set up a page to accept donations. You can find that page here. If you choose to make a donation via paypal you can choose the friends and family option to avoid fees. If you would like to make a donation some other way, please let Archie or I know.

The Lord has already provided in so many ways. I went years without health insurance, and now we have it! We are so blessed to live near such a highly skilled Doctor who specializes in the kind of surgery that I need. Many of my friends prayed that I would have an earlier surgery date when I was originally told I wouldn't be able to have surgery until December or January, and it happened! October 28th is less than 3 weeks away now. I can see the Lord's hand in this, I know He will provide for all of these needs and I am trusting in Him. May He be glorified in my life.

God bless you!

From worry to worship

I saw a quote on facebook that was something about turning our worry into worship. It got me thinking.

I have always struggled with worry. I have memorized scriptures on the subject, prayed and prayed to be delivered of worry, and overtime, I think I have made some progress toward learning not to worry. Lately, I have had a lot to bring me to worry.

One of the things I have struggled with is how to stop worrying. I know that I should, but I have never quite grasp the how. When I read this quote the other day it got me thinking, perhaps the worry needs to be replaced with something good. The solution to giving up many bad habits is to replace them with good habits. Could this be the same with my worries?

Philippians 4:8 says Finally, brethren, whatever things true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things.

This is one of those key "don't worry" verses, and I have known it for a long time, but it is only recently that it has really had the impact I think it is supposed to have on me. It is so practical, it is the how of not worrying. When the worries creep in I am to worship the One who is all of these things, true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy! I am to meditate on Him, and to worship Him. So lately, when the worries and fears creep in I begin to sing praises to the Lord God. I still do the other things I know to stay calm, deep breathing, eating healthfully, and such, but I think the praise of God is what really clears the worry out of my mind. Sometimes instantly, sometimes it takes a while, but when I worship the Lord, my fears are calmed and my worries fade.

Worrying is of no use, it does not add anything to a situation, but rather takes away from trusting the Lord to provide, to heal, to save, to do His work. If I replace my worry and fear with praise for God, it refocuses my mind on what is most important, Him.

Will I ever worry again? Of course, I am human and still in my earthly tent. Do I know what to do when worry creeps in? Now I do! Praise the Lord!

Test results and surgery date

Praise the Lord! He is so good to me! I do not deserve His great grace and mercy but He bestows it on me because He is so good and He loves me so much!

I got my ultrasound results, no PCOS, nothing scary. I have a calcified uterine polyp but the Doctor is not concerned about it, especially since I am going to have a hysterectomy. Endometriosis and Adenomyosis are still suspected. Surgery will hopefully confirm.

I am so very impressed with the CEC (Center for Endometriosis Care). They have always answered my phone calls and emails promptly and answered all of my questions. They are kind and considerate! I wish all doctor's offices were like this!

Yesterday they called to set a date for my surgery, even though I thought it was going to be January they told me they had an opening on October 28th! I just about cried for joy! I had been crying to my husband yesterday that I didn't know how I was going to make it to January with all this pain. God is so good! They called again this morning to confirm October 28th as my surgery date. I am so excited! (That sounds so crazy to be excited to have surgery, but after being in pain for so long I am SO ready!)

So many of my friends told me they were praying for an earlier surgery date. I must admit, I didn't think it would happen. I was wrong, the Lord had other plans for me! I am so thankful for all who have prayed for and with me. I have spent so much time lately praying through all of this and I can see the Lord's hands all over it. Keep praying for me!

Archie and the boys are so excited and happy for me. They have seen how much pain I am in on a daily basis.

So now I have 5 weeks to find care for my boys for a week, get the money I need for my down payment/deductible, Archie will have to arrange for time off, I will need someone to care for our animals, figure out what I should stock up with in the freezer for easy meals, etc, etc. I am so trusting the Lord though! He is making this work, He will be glorified!

I cannot stop singing His praises! He is so good to me.

I love you Lord!

"...don't let my pain be wasted."

I will not start at the beginning with this post, but rather tell you where I am at now.

For the past 27 years I have suffered from pelvic pain. Over the past 7 years it has gotten worse. I had some reprieve for about 4 years but the past year it has steadily been getting worse and worse. Now I have pain to some degree daily. A day without pain is something I cannot imagine.

My pain ranges from a 2 (just little twinges that I can ignore if I keep busy) to an 8 (as bad as when I was in labor with my boys). Most days are in the 3-5 range on the pain scale.

I take medication for pain, but only when I feel like I really need it. I hate taking meds so I often wait too long to take them and then they don't work as well. I'm getting better about that though because I need to be pain free enough to take care of my children.

Some days I go to bed feeling OK, but then wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning in such horrible pain that I can't get back to sleep without taking medication. Some days I sleep OK but then when I get up and start my day the pain takes me back to bed. Some days I can't get to sleep at night because of the pain. Occasionally I am in pain at bedtime but when I get in bed it eases off enough to get to sleep.

Exercise has been harder in recent months. I was walking 25 miles a week earlier this year, but in the last couple of months I have had to cut back. I still aim for at least 20 miles a week, but sometimes it is less than 15 and I walk a lot slower than I used to. I was doing other exercise as well for a while, but now I stick with just walking.

About 6 weeks ago I started the process of getting my medical records reviewed by a Specialist to see if I am a good candidate for surgery. It is suspected that I have Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, and possibly PCOS. (If you don't know what these things are, google does). The only way to diagnose Endometriosis is to do laparoscopic surgery and visually identify it. I have known this for a long time, but until now, it didn't seem like something that was an option for me.

The Surgeon called me a couple of weeks ago and confirmed that he did believe I was a good candidate for the kind of surgery they do and he would get the office staff started on processing my paperwork and checking on what my insurance would cover. They will call me in a couple more weeks, and according to an email I received, they will likely schedule surgery for sometime in January 2017. In the mean time, the Surgeon ordered an ultrasound. I am currently waiting for the results. If I have Adenomyosis or PCOS there should be visible signs that would show up on Ultrasound.

Waiting is hard. I've waited a long time to be in a position where this surgery was a possibility. Now I am waiting for test results, then a surgery date, then for the actual surgery! Waiting, waiting, waiting.

I have worried about many aspects of all of this. How can I afford this? How can I manage the pain until surgery? How can I care for my boys when I am in pain? Am I going to be able to do the grocery shopping this week? Am I going to be able to make it to church in the morning?

When my youngest son, Silas, had cancer, I struggled with lots of fears. I struggled to know what and how to pray. I struggled to stay in the Word of God. At first I was determined to continue my Bible reading plan, but that only lasted about a month. My Bible reading became sporadic for the next year and a half or so. I continued to pray, but my prayers consisted mostly of "Lord, help me! Heal Silas."
In the 3 years since he passed away I have grown in my relationship with the Lord. I have been in His Word daily most of the time and my prayer life has improved greatly. I have become closer to Him than before. When my own pain started increasing about a year ago, and especially the past couple of months, I started to worry that I would fall away again. That I would stop having regular time in the Word of God, that my prayer life would suffer. However, I feel like I learned from my experience with Silas' illness, and the Lord is using that to help me stay focused during my own pain. I feel determined to stay in the Word, to keep praying, even when I am not sure how to pray. I know that it is not my effort that will keep me close to the Lord, but rather His continued work in me.

"God, don't let my pain be wasted. Use it to conform me to Your image." ~Linda Dillow (Calm My Anxious Heart, chapter 2).

I have to cut back on my normal activities and learn to pace myself. I can't keep up with all I want to do, so I have to prioritize and let some things go. I can pray though, I can be in God's Word every day. I can read to my boys from the Word. I can, I should, I will - by the grace and with the strength of the Lord!

I pray for healing. I pray that I will be able to have surgery and that it will be successful. But if the Lord doesn't heal me, or surgery isn't successful as I would hope it to be, I am determined to praise the Lord. When it comes down to it, Jesus is all that matters. My life belongs to Him. Because of this, I know I will not always suffer, because He has promised me a home with Him in Heaven one day, where there is no more pain or suffering.

Blessed be the name of the LORD!

About reading

If you can read, you can learn about anything! Reading is such a wonderful tool and I love reading! I am a slow reader but I enjoy it. In recent years I have mostly read non-fiction. Most of my reading consists of books, blogs, and websites about child rearing, homeschooling, nutrition, health, gardening, home care, care giving, etc. I also read the Bible regularly!

I was a "late" reader. Good thing I was homeschooled! My parents tried to teach me to read but it did not come easily. I remember at the age of 9 being so proud of myself for reading the word "ICE" at a convenience store all by myself. I could read a few easy words before age 11, but it was difficult and I would have to painstakingly sound them out. The Summer when I was 11 and a half years old was when it suddenly clicked. All of the sudden I just got it! I remember we were doing a reading program through the library and I was borrowing books to read and I could finally read them with little help!

2 years later, when I was 13, I took part in standardized testing. I tested at a 9th grade level in reading! In such a short time I went from probably a Kindergarten reading level to a 9th grade level! In my teen years I really enjoyed fiction as well as non-fiction, especially Missionary Biographies. I tell this story often, because I often hear other homeschoolers, and even parents of children in traditional school, worry that their child isn't reading yet at age 6, 8, or even older.

When my oldest son came to me at the age of 3 and BEGGED me to teach him to read, I was a little beside myself! I had always said I would not push my children to read before they were ready. I think my parents handled it well, they worked with me to learn the basics of reading, but I don't remember them ever becoming frustrated or pushy about it. I was determined to let my children learn to read when they were ready, but I wasn't ready for a 3 year old who wanted to read! At 3.5 years old I started teaching him to read using a book called "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". By 5 years old he was reading at a 2nd grade level and now as a 15 year old he is a voracious reader! He will get 2 inch thick books from the library and devour them in a day or two. I have actually taken his books away at bedtime so he will sleep instead of read the whole night.

My second was much slower to read. He finally finished the same "100 easy lessons" book at age 11 and even then really did not read very well until age 12. Now at 13 he reads much better though still struggles some with unfamiliar words. He has always had a desire to learn to read, but it has been a struggle for him, much like it was for me.

It took my 3rd son a long time to see any value in reading! He just didn't see the point! Why read when someone else can read to you? Or why not just skip anything that involves reading? Yes, I know those are not good reasons not to read, but that was his thinking and nothing I said could change his mine. He completed the reading book at age 8, but had no interest in reading at all, unless it was to earn a Book-it Pizza. About age 10 he suddenly decided that there was a benefit to him to be able to read! You see, he wanted to be able to read the text in his video games! Now, about 6 months later, he is reading the text in his games, he is reading his Bible, he is reading over my shoulder when I text people (well, only when I let him), he is reading a lot!

This isn't a post about how children are meant to learn to read later than society tells us, although I am pretty sure that's true. Nor does it contain any information from studies done on children learning to read. It is simply a story about how my children and I learned to read, in hopes that others will be encouraged, especially those whose children are taking their time when it comes to learning to read.

Yesterday all three of my boys told me that one of the goals they each have for themselves is to read through the whole Bible. It may take some time (It took me 5 years the first time I attempted it!), but there is no greater reason to learn to read, than to be able to read God's Word for yourself.

A little encouragement for homeschoolers

I LOVE Homeschooling. I was homeschooled myself all the way through my childhood along with my 2 brothers and 2 sisters. 3 of my siblings graduated from Bible College. My sisters and I are all stay-at-home moms homeschooling our own children. One brother works in Special Education, and my other brother is a Missionary. We are all married with kids, and all love the Lord and are involved in our churches.

I always imagined I would homeschool my own children. It was what I knew. It seemed natural, and made sense to me. My husband was not too sure when I first mentioned it but it took no time at all to persuade him. Our first 6 years of homeschooling were fairly traditional but relaxed. We studied the recommended subjects for each grade but we didn't make our kids sit at desks to do their school work. Well, at least not all of the time.

Half way through our 6th year of homeschooling, our youngest son was diagnosed with cancer. Our whole world changed. Chemo treatments, surgeries, blood transfusions, and almost all of it out of town. Our goal of completing all of our school subjects each day changed to making an effort to do at least one "schoolish" thing each day. Some days I was too tired to have any idea if my children had learned anything at all that day. In my school journal I would mark these days by simply writing "unschool day". It was the best I could do. I had heard of unschooling, but at this point I had not really looked into it too much.

This cancer beast took over our lives for nearly 16 months, then grief took over when our precious almost-five-year-old, Silas Nathanael, went home to Heaven. He passed away Memorial Day weekend of our 8th year of homeschooling. For the rest of the Summer, all of our days were marked "unschool day".

I knew we couldn't just not ever do school work ever again. I thought I knew that. I was so anxious and worried at how far "behind" the boys had gotten in their school work over the past couple of years and I wanted to get them "caught up". My 10 year old and 8 year old were barely reading and I was feeling so guilty. It was a challenging school year. Our grief was so fresh and just getting out of bed was hard. School was so hard and no one was enjoying it.

Our 9th year of homeschooling I decided to have the boys do a free online school program I had found. I figured that way they would be sure to get everything they need and I wouldn't have to worry so much about buying the right curriculum. Everything was all right there on the computer. We also joined a homeschool co-op. The boys really enjoyed this a lot, they enjoyed spending time with other homeschooled kids and I enjoyed spending time with homeschooling moms! We needed the fellowship desperately. The online school wasn't going well though. My 8th grader was on track with most of his school work but he hated it, and my other two were obviously way "behind" grade level. They were learning, but were not where I thought they "should be". About half way through the year, I decided to drop the online school and keep things simpler. We focused on Math, Writing, Reading, Science, and Bible.

Our 10th year started out with me stressing out A LOT about High School! My oldest was now in 9th grade and I felt so much pressure to make sure he was going to be prepared for college and had everything he needed to go to college. Transcripts had to be written, I had to make sure he was taking all of the right classes at the right times, etc. He was not liking it much and I was so stressed out about it. I was comparing myself to other homeschoolers and felt like I was so far behind and unprepared. By this point my 12 year old was finally reading, but my 10 year old was still not. This caused more stress. We continued attending co-op, but I was still stressed out.

Around January I was seriously questioning a lot about our homeschooling. Why do we have to study certain subjects during certain years? Why do we have to study certain subjects at all??? I loved the idea of unschooling or child led learning, or life learning, or delight led learning (whatever you want to call it). I loved the idea of living life as though "school" didn't exist, but I wanted to know, is this biblical? Does this fit with living a godly life? Does this lifestyle fulfill our God given duty to raise up our children? I started reading unschooling blogs such as this one and this one. I was hugely encouraged! I discovered that God designed children to learn! They have a desire to learn about the world around them naturally! They are going to learn even if I don't cram math books into their heads, or force them to memorize poetry. In fact, if they are given the freedom, encouragement, and support to learn about the things they are interested in, they may even learn better! God also gave them unique desires, interests, and abilities.

Suddenly the idea of forcing a child who loves being outdoors to sit inside studying a subject he has no interest in at all seemed wrong. I want to help my children learn what talents and abilities God gave them and help them learn to build on those. I want to help them learn how to learn! How to access the information they need to pursue the projects they are interested in. I want to show them where to look for information and resources on their own so that even if I am not available they can figure things out for themselves. More importantly I want to help them to learn to hear from the Lord and pursue what He is calling them to. I can't figure that out for them, but I can show them how to look to the Word of God and how to pray. I am accountable to God to teach my children His love, and His Word, when I think of things this way it changes everything.

After a couple of weeks of talking with my husband, reading blogs about unschooing, and through prayer. We made the decision to quit "school" and start learning through life! I feel like my world view has changed. I am seeing things I have never seen before. I am seeing how intelligent my children really are. If I looked at a standardized test to tell me what they know I might be disappointed, but when I look at them, my children, I am amazed! My 10 year old is reading now because he loves video games and there is so much text involved he realized to be able to play he needed to read. He is not only reading video games, he is reading the Bible! He memorized over 40 Bible verses through the AWANA program at church this past year. My 13 year old is reading better, and has been brushing up on his cooking skills, trying new recipes and experimenting with flavors he has never tried before. My teenager has changed from a grumpy, angry moody kid to a happy, helpful, considerate man-child! We are all getting along better, there is less arguing, and more conversation. LOTS more conversation! We talk ALL the time!

Some of the best things we have done as a family are not really academic but I think they will have the biggest influence on our children as they grow.

~We always attend church together. Sure we occasionally miss, but those times are rare. Daddy usually only comes on Sundays since he works during the week. We have also been part of AWANA for most of the past 7 years. Perhaps AWANA isn't for your family, but as a Christian homeschool family, Bible memorization should be key. I was in AWANA as a teenager and I am so grateful for the verses that I memorized at that time. They have stuck with me and the Lord has used them so much in my life!
~Bible reading. We have changed things throughout the years, sometimes having children's church at home with the boys, sometimes having family devotions, sometimes simply reading through scripture together and discussing it. The Bible has always our guide for how we do things. It is God's Word! It contains God's plan for our lives and we have always shared that with the boys throughout every day life.
~Adventures in Odyssey. LOL, I am going to sound like an advertisement, but here goes. We love Adventures in Odyssey from Focus on the Family. I remember when it first came on the radio when I was a kid. I LOVE that it is full of biblical principals and truths. I love that it confirms to the boys the lessons they have learned from the scriptures. I love that it encourages both adults and kids! They weren't really interested in it when they were little but now they could listen for hours. So many great discussions have happened at our house after listening to Adventures in Odyssey. (even if most of the kids in Odyssey attend public school).
~Conversation. We talk about everything! We discuss movies, radio, church, Bible, video games, social issues, you name it! We don't listen to the radio or watch videos when driving around town, we talk! I have to say, I love the internet, I am able to answer so many more of their questions much more quickly than I would otherwise. I remember a few weeks ago when my 10 year old came in my bedroom at 11 o'clock at night and said "Momma, remind me who the Hellenists were again?". Yeah, at 11 o'clock at night, I needed a little help from google with that one.
~We have down time together. We don't rush around a lot. Part of this is because of my health, but partly because we don't want to be rushed all the time. We enjoy simply hanging out together and with friends. There doesn't always have to be a schedule, though schedules can help us accomplish our goals. Down time is good too. Time to rest and renew. This is needed every week!
~Fundraising. While we have shifted away from being so busy with fundraising for Childhood Cancer this past year, there are still some fundraisers that are close to our hearts. We do a toy drive each year on Silas' Birthday to take toys to the children's hospital where Silas was treated. This is something we all participate in and really enjoy doing. We participate in a head shaving event to raise money for Childhood Cancer research. The boys all had a chance to speak at this event a few months ago, what a great experience for them, speaking in front of hundreds of people! It also helps them to be aware of the hurting world around them.

There are many other things we have done as a family that I consider amazing and important, but I won't go on to name them all. Now that we have changed our perspective and are allowing them to pursue their own interests, they are learning so much through living life! Setting aside work books and text books has not put them behind, but has helped them move forward!

I no longer believe my children are "behind". Behind what? Behind what the world decided they should know? Why should they be reading at 5, learning multiplication at 8, and algebra at 13? Not that reading and math are unimportant, but I now believe that there are very different ways of learning and that learning to read at 12 is just fine! My children may not be able to recite rules of grammar, but they can have a conversation with anyone. They may not spend hours pouring over text books but they can measure ingredients to make a batch of cookies to take to a pot luck. They are learning life skills rather than useless facts they may never need to know and I am totally OK with that!

Our life has become simpler in a way, less stressful for sure, and more focused on important things.

Today, they cleaned out the van, helped me with the dishes and laundry, and now they are building something or other in minecraft together. In a little while we will read another chapter in the book of Judges and discuss it. Then we will cook supper and probably spend some time outside. It's a Saturday as I write this, but learning doesn't just happen Monday through Friday 180 days a year around here, it happens everyday, 365 days a year, and we love it!