It seems as though every one of my friends now has a blog. I think that it is wonderful in so many ways. I get to keep up with what the Lord is doing in their lives and they can keep up with mine...well, they can as long as I write on our family blog...which, yes, I know, I am not good at doing on a regular basis. It is a mystery to me how so many people can be so regular with their blogs. I think that perhaps I am just not as organized as I think that I am and I KNOW that I can be horribly lazy especially right now as my body is adjusting to pregnancy, again. However, I think of how much time it takes to sit and write a post. My three youngest are under the supervision of who, as I sit down to write? I feel that, with daily chores, etc. they often are "on their own"-ish, which I despise. As they grow older, they are helping me more and more and certainly when Big Sissy Faith is home, she is a super huge help to me. I find though, that as their mother, I feel it is wrong to rely on her too heavily because she is not their mother but rather their sister and it is not her responsibility to raise her siblings. Help with them, certainly, but not raise them. I am, by no means, criticizing my fellow bloggers. Everyone does things in their own way...I simply cannot simplify my life enough to be able to squish everything in, it seems. Which brings me to something else. I am noticing a huge trend in simplification! I think that it is wonderful! So many people are coming to realize that they do not need all of the stuff that they have been stuffing their homes and lives with! I am constantly battling with stuff. Toys, clothes, dishes...it is all stuff. I am constantly trying to simplify our lives INCLUDING our schedules! Now, if you happen to have one of those elusive creatures at home called a "teenager" you will understand why I add schedules to the "stuff" category. Not everyone would do so. My beautiful and amazing teenage daughter, Faith, is a people lover! She works at a cafe, which suits her personality. She attends a group study, studying midwifery. She soaks people up. She just loves people. Which means that she is always on the move. This is not a criticism...it is simply, who she is. It is how the good Lord designed her. He has some plan for her involving people and I cannot wait to see how her life unfolds. HOWEVER, it has been a HUGE adjustment for my dearest husband and yours truly! When the Lord brought her into our lives, a little over two years ago, we had NO idea the changes He had in store for us. We were floored. We struggled. Sometimes with her...sometimes with Him. Our social calendar exploded...and here we are, two years later, still recovering from the shock. It has been a blessing in many ways, though we have not always been willing to recognize them, being such reclusive homebodies, ourselves. It has forced us to be a bit more social and hospitable. Funny, the Lord commands us to be hospitable...now, He has forced us into it. Hmmm...no, that is unfair. He opened the door and said, "Step out of your comfortable little box and experience what I have for you." I think that the Lord also has had and continues to have lessons for our daughter. You see, as reclusive homebodies, we also help her to moderate her activities. If we did not, she would run herself into the ground with all the things that she wants to do and all the people that she wants to go and see. My husband is also helping her to moderate her spending. She would happily spend all her money on her friends and really "cute" shoes, if it were not for the guidance of her Papa. It is something that I am still learning myself, so, he is definitely the better teacher!! All in all, it has been a growing experience for us all. We are trying to help our daughter understand, however, that too busy a schedule can run you off your feet and actually keep you from true hospitality and fellowship, just as much as no schedule at all. She has helped us to learn to open up our schedule a bit...and we are teaching her, with the Lord's help to close hers just a smidge so, that she can truly enjoy the life that He has given her and that it does not flash by her in a series of meaningless events that never allowed her to really get to know, love, trust or grow...that never allowed her to actually meet and know the people that the Lord has placed in her path for either their benefit, or hers.
Well, those are my ramblings for the day...thank you for stopping by and reading them. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Obey
