Have You Found Your Bear in a Tree

Reblogged from Wordsmith's Desk:

In yesterday’s posting, I shared how our grandson found his “bear in a tree.” It was literal as he carved his bear out of a tree trunk with a chain saw. I use the term, “bear in a tree” to represent a God-given talent that each of us has. Our grandson found his talent out of curiosity and the use of a chain saw. You may not have to use a chain saw to find our “bear in a tree,” but you might have to be more aware of an idea or a curiosity that may lead you to discover your talent. You might find it in …

Talents aren’t always on the surface and easy to discover.  Sometimes you have to pick up a chainsaw to find them, as the Wordsmith’s grandson did.

Wisdom from the Doctor

Be who you are and say what you feel
because those who matter don’t mind
and those who mind don’t matter.

Dr. Seuss

What Goes Around…

My grandmother likes to watch the seasons change.  The cycles of life mean more to her now that she is approaching the eighty mark.  When my mother or I cut flowers for her kitchen, she will leave them in the vase till they are all dead and brown, watching the graceful way they die.

It’s February again, and whether that means snow, cold, rain, or just a season of brown for your particular part of the country, it’s still February.  The period after the Christmas rush when the fun part of winter is over and it’s not spring yet.

Yet.

But we know that spring will come.  And we can live in that hope.  We remember past springs, which led into summers.  We have God’s promise to Noah that while the earth remains we will always have seed-time and harvest.  So no matter how grey, brown, or white the day is today, we can think forward to the greens of spring.

In the same way, it can be hard for us in these Last Days to realize that our spiritual spring is around the corner.  After 2000 years, I think many of us have gotten used to Christ not returning.  Sure, we may sing about the “Sweet By and By” when “I’ll Fly Away,” but how often do we sing with our mouths and not our hearts, singing without meaning what we say?  And how much do we realize that His coming could be tomorrow, or even today?  Do we even wish it?

I’m by no means saying we should subscribe to the theories of those like Harold Camping or to the Mayan Calendar, which try to put a date on the end of the world, but at the same time, I know that we are indeed a part of the Last Days, and we have little time left in which to shine our lights to the world.  When we look around, we see the darkness of this world, but when we look up, we can see the brightness of His heart, and the glorious eternity that is waiting.

The question is, will you allow yourself to be caught up in the present, or will you look to the eternal spring?

Will you be found among the righteous when the King of Kings returns for His own?

A new day is about to dawn.

I pray we will be ready for it.

I pray it comes soon.

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Homeschooling and a New Baby (or two!)

Homeschooling is plenty of work for everyone involved, though I think most homeschooling moms and students would say it was worth the effort in the long run. But I have to think homeschooling is at its hardest when you are pregnant or have a new baby in the house. My mother knows all about that, having done it with not one new baby, but two.

I had just turned 10, 3G was nearly 8, and Sister was almost 6 when my youngest brothers were born in the middle of the school year.

Knowing that she was going to be due mid year, Mom and Dad had discussed sending 3G, Sister, and me to public school for a year because she wouldn’t be able to give us as much attention even during the first half of the year.  Dad’s final decision was, however, that whatever she was able to do for us was still going to be better than sending us among strangers in the public school system.

I, of course, was not part of the decision, although Mom did ask us what we thought.  None of us wanted to go to school for even a year.  We wanted to be home with Mom.

Was homeschooling different that year?  Sure!  We did a lot more of our subjects much more independently than we had in previous years.  And we started school sooner.  And we ended later.  But we got to have a week off when the twins arrived.  This, of course, was because Mom wasn’t ready to dive right back into schooling yet, but we looked on it much more as a chance to enjoy our new baby brothers.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing of what my parents did that year.  We all learned a lot, and much of it went beyond academics.  3G and I especially started helping out a lot more with household chores that Mom in her last three months did not have the energy or strength to do.  And we all put in a lot of hours with the twins.  Was it a lot of work to homeschool with two newborns in the house?  Sure.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

Thirteen years later, I look at my youngest brothers, now growing like a couple of teenage weeds, and smile to think how small they were when I first visited them in the hospital.  I’ve probably learned more about parenting from watching Mom and Dad with the twins than from my own experience as their child.  And that will be invaluable when I have my own “quiver full of arrows” to raise.  Would I have wanted to miss most of their first months by going to school away from home?  Not me!  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Have You Forgotten How to Live?

From Phylicia Duran:

. . .“If people spent half as much time being nice to each other as they do being mean, the world would be a much better place.” Mr. Deeds was a character of simple words and thoughts but of strong principles. It is the simplicity of his words that carry such weight. His words brought back memories of another man with strong principles and simple faith. When I was in college, Tim Tebow was still playing for the Gators, appearing in the news now and then for the same reasons as he does now, only with… Read the rest on A Quill And Inkwell.

Making A Difference

Sometimes making a difference is as simple as a smile . . . check out the latest from the Wordsmith’s Desk.

Does it hurt to be friendly?…

Pondering

If you ever wonder whether your life makes any difference in the grander scheme of things, here’s a quote from Emily Matthews that I just rediscovered.

Hours pass into days and time slips away, but the words that we speak and the things we do touch the lives of others and live on forever.

I’ve been learning that simply Living can have a profound impact on those around us.  Hopefully I’ll be able to put it into words for a post soon.

Dear Tim

I don’t follow all of the hype, but I understand that a whole controversy is brewing over Tim Tebow’s habit of wearing his faith on his sleeve.  I don’t mean to add to the cacophony of opinions, but I wanted to extend a round of applause to Tim, and since I’m not on Facebook or Twitter, where sending him a high-five would be relatively easy, I’ve chosen to write a post for him.  Football fan or not, I hope you will agree with me that Tim has been faithful to walk the talk despite opposition.  Would that more of us would learn to do this, whether we are in the public eye or not.

Dear Tim,

Thanks for being such a strong example to our nation of what a Christian looks like.  I can only imagine how hard it is to deal with everyone who is questioning the way you live out your faith.  Personally, I am thrilled to see someone of my generation (or any generation for that matter)  standing up for Christ and living as if he means what he says.  Stand strong, brother!

While I have to be honest that the Broncos aren’t my first favorite team (yeah, I’m one of those people who roots for several teams – gives me an advantage when it comes to the post season because one of them usually makes it!), I’ve always been a Denver fan because I have family living there (and my dad is a fan).  Now with you as the quarterback, I’ve been pulling extra hard for you guys!

My encouragement to you, Tim, is to keep walking in The Way you’ve begun.  Stay humble, and let the hype and controversy, whether it’s over your throwing motion or your praying, roll off your back like water off a duck.  You know whom you serve, and you know that His approval is all you need to go forward.  As your sister in Christ, I feel privileged to watch Him work in you, and I rejoice in the opportunity to stand with you through prayer.  I can’t wait to see what God will do with you as you focus on being God’s man first, last, and all the time!

Congratulations on making the playoffs!

Oh, and by the way, I love your closing salutation.  I’d use it here, except that I’ve not figured out how to coax superscript out of my editor yet.

God Bless,
and
Go Broncos!

~Homeschool Graduate