Today I have done something that I was not sure I was going to be able to do. I have had a new entry on my blog every day for the past 31 days. It was because I took part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. It is amazing to think I found things to write about every single day. I have enjoyed sharing, remembering, feeling and writing about so many things our family has experienced over the years.
I want to be able to continue this journey. I know I have many more words, stories and posts to share. I have more pictures, recipes and homeschooling posts to share. I love getting the opportunity to record my thoughts to where years down the road, my children will be able to read them and gain insight into their mother. So even though the Ultimate Blog Challenge ends today. Tomorrow, I am starting a new challenge. I am beginning the NaBloMoPo November Challenge. Plus I am beginning the NaNoWriMo challenge.
The NaBloMoPo challenge will involve blogging every day during the month of November. So stayed tuned to see what topics come up. The NaNoWriMo challenge involves me trying to write a novel. I have tons of material to share thanks to my husband and family. So my goal will be to write 50,000 words by the end of the month. I have some ideas of what I want to write about, but we will have to wait and see what develops.
As my children grow up, I really enjoy sharing memories and stories with them. But more importantly I enjoy making memories with them. Every day is a blessing given to us by God. Each day deserves us giving our best
Today is not just the ending of the Ultimate Blog Challenge, it is also the final day of the Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Study for "The Best Yes" by Lysa Terkeurst. I have learned so much from this book. I don't want to focus on "people pleasing" instead I want to focus on pleasing and honoring God. I want to spend time in His Word and in prayer. I want to draw closer to God. After all, He is God the Father. He is a father who willingly sent His Only Begotten Son to die on a cross for our sins. He was the perfect sacrifice. I need to give Him my best yes. This means I need to give my best yes in everything I do, say or think. I know I will never be perfect. As Romans 3:23 - 24 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus".
I want to strive to honor God, even if it means I give "small no's", so I save time to give my "Best Yes". It means I need to take time to listen to the sometimes small, still voice of God - even when it is not the answer I want to hear. I pray you strive to give your "Best Yes" as well. I pray you have enjoyed the journey this month. I would love to hear from you.
So today I say good bye to this past month and this past study. But I say hello to new challenges and around the middle of the month I will be saying hello to a new Bible study as we begin Max Lucado's book Before Amen and I invite you to come along with us for the journey. This study is all about prayer. And what better time to begin a study on prayer than in the month before we celebrate Jesus' birth. The best part about this study is that the conference calls are FREE! That is right for this study the conference calls cost NOTHING! So I hope you will join us.
Right now I am involved in several things simultaneously for different things. One thing I am involved is the Ultimate Blog Challenge. My goal is to do one new post for 31 days. This is day 3 of the challenge. I am also involved in Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Study for The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa Terkeurst. This book is all about determining what our "Best Yes" is. We are just completing week 2 of the study and have finished the first 6 chapters of the book. And I have to say I love this book. Lysa has the ability to make me laugh, cry and even relate to everything she is saying. I stop and think. She causes me to want to dive deeper into the study and into God's Word to determine what I really should be doing and how I should be living.
A third thing I am doing is a prayer challenge for my husband along with Darlene Schacht. I have only just begun this challenge, but I love the idea of praying for my husband. This challenge is in celebration of the release of her new book, Messy Beautiful Life: Hope and Redemption for Real-Life Marriages. When I signed up for the challenge, Darlene sent some wonderful freebies to help with the challenge including a study guide and a beautiful set of prayer cards. I am still in the midst of getting them printed out and set up the way I want them.
If all that were not enough, we of course still have homeschooling. I still have to feed the family. I still have to clean the house and do laundry. So there is a lot on my plate. A little more than a year ago, I started a website about our family, but have not devoted the time and resources to it that I wanted to so that is one of my goals to complete.
Also, I walked into saying my best yes and that resulted in me starting a new group on Facebook. So I have been working on that including starting to create original content yesterday. I need to create guidelines and welcome documents along with a Member list for the group as well. But I am so excited for the challenge. Not to mention, the ladies that have joined the group seem to be really exciting. So that is what a typical day in my life entails.
So I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge and today I want to talk about life for me as the mom of 4. I am a wife and a mother. I also homeschool our 4 children. Obviously I have held the title of wife longer than mother or homeschooler. Life is never dull being the wife of a military service member, nor is it dull with 4 children in the house.
Our oldest turned 18 back in June. He has been our interesting child. Since the day he was born, he has never let us have a dull moment. From breaking our crib to driving our van into a fence at 4 years old (although our 2nd son was his cohort in crime for that little excursion). He keeps life exciting. He is the protector of his little sister and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He is the reason we got into homeschooling in the first place. At 18 he still gives me tons of hugs and kisses along with saying he loves me. He even does this in front of his friends (much to the friends' dismay and the friends' mothers disappointment that their sons don't).
Then along came number 2. He's my one that arrived in the world before nurses or doctor were ready - or even the aunt who was my coach. He has a smile that lights up a room. Although he quietly goes around stirring up trouble and leaving excitement in his wake. I quickly learned to find him when things happened at our house. This was also the child that at 2 years old assisted in the great minivan fence fiasco. He is also an Eagle Scout and was the youngest scout in our troop at that time to have earned the rank. He sets goals and achieves them! He and his older brother earned their ranks of Eagle Scout on the same day and we had one fantastic Eagle ceremony, where their younger brother served as Master of Ceremonies.
Then came number 3 who took anything we might have thought we learned from 1 and 2 and made us throw it out the window. This child had no fear - I repeat no fear! He would jump into pools even if mom and dad were on the other side of the pool. Because he knew we would race to the other side to get him. At Busch Gardens Williamsburg, he went up and down the ropes area for kids and race down the slides only to jump up and race back to the top - sure that Daddy would catch back up with him before he reached the point where the attendants might make him stop. And this was all because Mom couldn't keep up seeing how she was about 7 months pregnant at the time. He's had the most stitches of our children- approximately 7 sets with the majority being in his head within a one year period. We quickly discovered the only thing wrong was motor skill issues. Fortunately we were able to take him to an amazing physical therapy office in NC. He was the only one to fracture a bone and other adventures as well.
Then along came his cohort in crime. They are the dynamic duo and the Bobbsey Twins and quite a few other things rolled in one. Our little girl quietly entered the scene and took everything in. She moved with stealthiness that is hard to come by. She is defended by her three big brothers. She grew up with three brothers plus being surrounded by loads of boys thanks to Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. She has no fear either. Anything the boys can do, I assure you she will say she can do better. She is my little doll. She is my sunshine.
So needless to say, my life is never boring they keep me on my toes and I love every minute of it. Often people tell me, "Oh I couldn't homeschool my children". Well I say don't say you will never do something, because God has an amazing sense of humor. So you might be surprised what you find yourself doing. And #blogboost - 2 days down and 29 days to go!
