Confessions of an Un-Morning Person

I'm going to come clean. I like my bed. A lot. We have a good mattress, a wonderful down duvet, and a peaceful bedroom. We frequently have a late-night visitor climbing in between us in our warm cozy bed, but it's a pretty nice place to be. Another confession. I tend to stay up way too late. I used to think I didn't require a lot of sleep but I'm rethinking that one. The post-bedtime hours in our home are quiet and enticing. I seem to start projects late in the evening and get caught up in creating or laundering or reading or anything else that is more enjoyable in quiet or that I've put off doing in the day. Years of getting up in the night with a baby or two and grabbing every bit of sleep until the first child awoke in the morning conditioned me to get up only when I absolutely had to. I used to think I was rather enterprising, still finding time for hobbies even with little ones around. Now my littles are, well, not-so-little and sleep is a bit more predictable around here. Now it's simply a matter of personal discipline.

It's no secret here that I love the Word of God. Day after day and year after year I grow only by exposing myself to God's Truth and my relationship continues to grow. I've made time for this at different times of the day, out of necessity, and that quiet time has come in the late morning, afternoon, or late at night. I've been convicted lately of my need to seek God in the morning before my day starts.

You see the challenge. If I'm not up before my children, I'm not going to have time for reading and prayer in a quiet room. After eleven years of motherhood I sleep through the alarm clock without hearing it. How am I going to consistently find that morning time if something doesn't change?

After six weeks, I can tell you that I have consistently had a good half-hour in the mornings to spend with the Lord. No, I'm not waking up to an alarm. No, my husband isn't waking me up. No, I don't make my children sit quietly in their rooms until it's time for the noise of the day to begin. It's been a very simple solution, quite honestly.

I started praying six weeks ago that God would wake me in the morning so that I could have that time with Him before the children get up. And you know what? He's been totally faithful to do so. It hasn't been the exact same time every morning but within a twenty minute window. I wake up and anticipate that time. Heading for the sofa in our south-east facing living room, I grab a warm throw and settle in with my Bible and journal. I shouldn't be surprised that God would wake me consistently but it is just so obviously not something I am doing on my own that it excites me. These times are fulfilling and quenching and intimate as I seek Him.

Maybe I'm becoming a morning person after all.

Sunday Night Musings

Returned home a short while ago from our annual church picnic (rescheduled to today after the initial June date was rained out). Neat to catch up with a few people and enjoy a wonderful afternoon/early evening outside. Fall is settling in, with a crispness in the air and the changing palette of the leaves. I love this time of year but am often disappointed by how short this season is here. I wonder if there are "season chasers" similar to "storm chasers"? If there are, I would love to spend a year chasing autumn around the globe, crunching in leaves for days on end, and enjoying the mastery of God's paintbrush dotting the trees with the wonderful colours of fall. Perhaps I wasn't made for the Canadian prairies after all?

Last week was tough. After months of a more leisurely schedule, returning to a full week of activities, lessons, teaching seemed a bit of a blow. I am struggling with impatience within and am repentant for the ways this has spilled over in my dealings with my family. I have the same 24 hours to do my work as everybody else and I find that I get overwhelmed, let it pile up, and feel sorry for myself. Not a good cycle, huh?

Still plodding through my valley, working through some old hurts, and trying to get real life done well on a day-to-day basis. As you can tell from the previous paragraph, I'm failing sometimes. Miserably. And yet I know the One who is faithful to heal and restore and bless and I continue to chase after him.

Forget chasing seasons. I'm chasing after eternity.

A Special Meeting

We had a real thrill Friday afternoon traveling out to my friend's country home to meet the new puppies. Now, a bit of sadness has fallen over this sweet tale as the puppies' mama died when these little ones were just 1.5 weeks old. I have to say that this sweet family is loving all over these little pups and just taking tremendous care of them. Enough chat, you have to see:



We've named him Caspian and are looking forward to integrating him into our home in just a week and a half.

{randomness}

It's a new month and that means a new Scraptivity! kit. Here is one of the layouts I submitted for the Design Team reveal:




Journaling reads:

Homemaker - Homebody - Homeschooler - Stay-at-HOME mom. Not exactly the life I imagined. I thought I'd be a lawyer, marry late, and have 1 or 2 children. Make a real difference, you know? And now I'm pouring my life into what goes on between these 4 walls. Wife - Mother - Homemaker...making a real DIFFERENCE.

Isn't it amazing how you think you've got it all planned out? I've always admired women who are so settled in their path. I thought I was one. I'm really thankful that God planned differently for me.

Carrying on with Week 2 of our homeschooling year. I received two huge boxes of a curriculum order I placed last week. So many great titles to grace our bookshelves. Even my son's interest was piqued by a couple of the new books we unpacked. Reading Marguerite Henry's Justin Morgan Had a Horse
to my oldest two and we're all enjoying a good read. My 7-year-old is quite pleased with herself as she works through her Phonics book, thrilled with words like "skunk" and "plum". My youngest shows diligence and enthusiasm, for which I am thankful.

My eldest daughter is struggling right now with an infection on her leg as a result of a wipeout on her bike, an ingrown toenail, and a possible throat infection (we're awaiting the lab results). She's this stoic child who rarely reacts strongly to anything and is obviously dealing with a fair bit of discomfort and sadness as all parts of her body seem sore. I'm not always the best mom in these situations as I struggle not knowing what to do, how to fix things, and how much coddling/rebuke they need. I am hopeful that she feels at least a bit better in the morning.

There you have some randomness from me. It's just that kind of day.

Funny little quiz

82 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Longer post later. This was a fun little quiz.

First Digital Layout

I didn't think I'd ever try digital scrapbooking. I bought Photoshop Elements 6 in May. I had to have it. Then I didn't have a clue what to do with it. Small problem, right? After asking around a bit, I decided to take a scrapbook-focused Photoshop class at http://www.jessicasprague.com/. I have finished the Week One lesson and have my little layout for you to take a look at. What do you think? Surprisingly fun and I've learned how to do a lot in Photoshop (which maybe isn't saying much since I knew nothing, nada, zilch prior to starting the class). What do you think?

Thank you for all the kind thoughts and concerns regarding my last post. I can say that this is a necessary valley for me to walk through in order to move forward in my marriage, my walk with God, my ability to be an effective mentor, and just to live life abundantly. It's a dark valley, to be sure, but I came across this verse in my reading this morning and I think it describes what I'm clinging to right now:

Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy
Though I fall I will rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me. (Micah 7:8, NASB)

New Look?

Playing around with settings and such. Anyone know how I can stretch the template to make it take up more of the screen?

Started school this morning with some hostility from the masses. They'll get over it, I'm sure. I try to ease into our schedule, gradually adding materials and subjects as we move towards our full load. I'm desperately trying to stick to a wake-up time and basic morning plan for myself so that I can spend some time with God, make some coffee, have a shower, make the bed, that sort of thing. Years of getting up in the night developed a habit of getting up when the first child arose but I really need that time in the morning before they need me. Hoping to see a little more fruitfulness from the work of the day.

Personally working through some tough issues that have come to the surface this summer. Be encouraged to seek godly counsel (notice I did not say "counsellor" in the societal, pay-for-it, letters after the name kind of counsel) and work through anything that is hindering your walk with the Lord. I am in a valley right now but leaning on the promises of the Faithful One.

I completely enjoy this blogging thing. Thanks for taking the time to read this, dear one.

I leave you with a layout I recently completed: