Working and Reading... in my spare time

I'm always up for the challenge of learning something new.  Raising children was like that and so was homeschooling.  Now that both of those are going fairly smoothly (I say that with GREAT hesitancy as I would never want to say I've arrived in either realm but am continually growing through the grace of God), when the opportunity was laid before me to have a real money-paying job, I took it!  About a month ago I took the job of Office Manager for Postal Equipment, Inc. Matthew and I know the owner, Leroy, through the Gideon ministry and it was at one of our camp meeting where he first asked me if I would consider the job.

After meeting with Leroy and his wife Janice and hearing more about the business, it seemed like a perfect fit.  He had been running the company all on his own for the seven years since he began it.  It had prevented their family from taking a vacation without handling business while there the whole time and with their son's wedding coming up in July, he really wanted someone who could handle it when he didn't want to.  Also, there was also a need for someone to handle things "in the office" while Leroy could spend some time on the road traveling to visit current customers and meet new ones.  That's where I come in.

I've been employed by Postal Equipment, Inc. for a month and have come to learn a lot about the bulk mail industry.  I've also learned that it's going to take a while to find a happy balance between homemaker and working mom. Mostly, it's just me getting anxious about the what if's.  What if we have another baby, what if it's too much once school starts in August, what if the kids feel neglected, etc.  Most days the job only requires me to enter 2-3 orders (this takes 20 minutes per order and they are often spaced out through the day) and occasionally run some ink or tabs (the little circle stickers which close folded mail) to our UPS store (thankfully, I've had to run things to UPS on Wednesdays so it actually causes us to be EARLY for church supper which is a blessing for us!).  Leroy added the task of contacting customers about some new products but said I can do as much or as little each day as I want.  It's fun talking to people and have something I can call my own.  Matthew is excited for me to have this job and the kids enjoyed receiving the little mailboxes Leroy gave them filled with candy.

And to ensure my days run smoothly (as far as I am able to control), I begin each morning (when my will power is stronger than my desire to sleep) with Bible study.  Since my BSF class ended last week, I am now reading through a devotional book and Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  There is a study group going through this book on Sunday nights at church through the summer.  So far I'm still in chapter 1 but my eyes are opening (or rather being reminded) to God's amazing love and our needed response.

"We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God. You've probably heard the expression, 'I believe in God, just not organized religion.' I don't think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live. The expression would change to 'I can't deny what the church does, but I don't believe in their God.' At least then they'd address their rejection of God rather than use the church as a scapegoat." (Preface, page 21-22)

Homeschool Conference Recap (Part 2)

So it's been two months since the Teach Them Diligently convention and my enthusiasm of all I heard has waned.  To pump myself up and make good on finishing up my recap, here's a QUICK overview.

"Preparing Sons... The Mom's Part" -- Shirley Solis

• Proverbs 1:8 "Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching." It is Biblical for us to teach our children.  (Kind of a "duh" comment but a great reminder nonetheless.)
• God knows I can raise a godly man because He gave this child to me.
• Be a strong mom. Find strength from the Holy Spirit. Be able to set limits -- I'm not his friend, but his parent.  Be a tulip stem -- strong yet lovely!

"Understanding a Loving God in a World of Suffering" -- Ken Ham

• Bad things in life give us a tiny taste of life without God.
• We shouldn't blame God for horrible things because they are humankind's fault.  We brought sin into this world, and sin caused God to remove some of His sustaining power from the world.
• After the sixth day of creation (the day when God made humans), God said, "It was very good." If fossil record occurred millions of years before mankind, death would be grouped in with everything that was "very good".  Doesn't equate.
• Without faith, it is impossible to trust God. Compared to what God knows, we know nextdoor to nothing.  How arrogant are humans to tell God that He doesn't know what He's doing?!

"Multi-generational Vision" -- Voddie Baucham
(This one was so good I'm gonna give you all my notes!)

• Multigenerational problems: Strained marriage/divorce; confused gender roles; career-driven children (living with mom & dad until getting a job) vs. family-driven children (live with parents, caring for grandparents then care for parents); delayed / strained marriage (putting if off til late '20's); decreasing fertility rates (partly due to effects of birth control)
• A much loved and often misused verse: Jeremiah 29:11
• the interpretation: God's promise is health, wealth, not bothered with world problems
• the problem: inconsistent with real-life experience, leads to despair and loss of faith.
• Biblical Christianity: Acts 4:21-22, Romans 8:16-17, 2 Timothy 3:10-13; we will have persecution.
• A text can't mean what it never meant. The truth behind Jeremiah 29:11...
• a letter to specific people in a specific time/place
• words were written to people whom God had sent into exile
• promise was made to people who would be dead when it came to pass!
• it is a corporate prayer; not a personal prayer
• If promise is not for us, how do we live?
• Stable - Jer. 29:4-5 "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.""
• Fruitful - Jer. 29:6 "Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease." (What an idea?! Help our children find their spouses!)
• Missional - Jer. 29:7 "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
• In His providence, God uses horrible, awful events to preserve His people through trial.
• Don't think about here and now, but look for God's multi-generational plans!

And I guess there will be a conference recap, part 3, when I can get some more time.  Stay tuned...

Braewyn's Barbie Party Has Happened!

If you are wondering about the title of this post, read the next post first and then come back.

Anyway, if you're with me, the Barbie party was a big success tonight with the only hitch being that Braewyn's closest friend Anna was the only other little girl in attendance.  We decided to invite Anna's whole family and Philip's friend Hunter and his mom once we knew the rest of Braewyn's invited friends declined.  It turned out to be a great night of awesome hamburgers (Thanks, sweetie!), a feeling of accomplishment that the cake turned out pretty cute (Braewyn helped with the cake decorations), and the fun of watching BOYS play "Pin-the-sunglasses-on-Barbie"!  Glad you picked the Barbie theme, sweet Braewyn!

Did Braewyn Have A Birthday?

Not to let a month go by without a post, I'm posting pastdue about Braewyn's birthday that didn't go exactly as planned. My sweet middle child turned the big 5 on May 2. All year long, she knows that May 2nd is her birthday. During our calendar time of school, we were eagerly awaiting May 2nd all through April as it fit on the bottom of the calendar as April ended on a Monday. Her big day was approaching and so I habitually took her to Party City to pick out the celebration paraphenalia (she was going to have a few girlfriends over and have her first friend theme party). Well, we went it looking for Ariel stuff. Ariel wasn't a category by herself (she was part of Disney Princess stuff) so Braewyn decided on Barbie (she doesn't own any yet but has watched a few of the computer animated movies. Ok, we were set with plates, cups, party favors for 8, "pin the sunglasses on Barbie" game, and a giant wall poster so you can "stand" beside Barbie.

With May 2nd falling on a Wednesday, we weren't doing anything super special on her exact birthday (I did have her favorite foods for breakfast and lunch but the day ran as usual otherwise). That evening we were heading to church for our normal Wednesday routine only to have it derail. When we arrived at church, I came around the car to find Juliet in a puddle of diarrhea in her carseat! Yuck! Food to go that night and home we headed to Matthew who was already laying on the couch with fever and body aches.

Over the next 5 days, Matthew, Braewyn and Juliet had a diarrhea-inducing stomach bug. There goes the Barbie birthday party which was planned for Saturday. Braewyn's grandparents still came over Saturday afternoon to bring her presents, but we held on to the party stuff hoping to just postpone it a week.

Jump to today and the party (which may or may not happen tomorrow) has only one attendee planning on attending and she was diagnosed with strep on Thursday (even though she was in our house Wednesday afternoon!). All that said, my poor kid has asked several days this week in reference to her party, "When's my birthday?" In her 5-year-old mind, I think she thinks her birthday is tied to the day we actually have the party (5-year-olds don't really keep up with the date). Well, party or not, I love my girl and am so thankful the Lord chose me to be her mommy. Yes, she is the one who has strengthened my parenting skills the most (you get what I mean!), but she brings such joy to our family. I love the way she states things (i.e. I quoted a comment I had seen on something and she didn't know what it meant so Braewyn asks "Is that Spanish mode or English mode?" It's not a language difference but a mode difference like how toys have those two modes), her personal fashion style (she wears skirts to soccer practice and purposely mismatches socks), and her love for Philip, Juliet, and our dog Chloe. So hard to believe my girl has grown into the little lady she is! Here's the yearly recaps plus some great photos taken recently by my friend Jessie.

One month old...

One year old...

Two years old...

Three years old...

Four years old...

And our beautiful gift from Jesus now FIVE years old!!!

Braewyn, I know Jesus has big plans for you and I can't wait to see what they are!