Guarding Your Mind

We are still waiting for Spring around here...Perhaps a little impatiently. I have this feeling that we will live outside once it's warm if this little boy has his way.

So, a few weeks ago, my dryer decided to go on strike and not work. Thus, in order to get laundry done, I had to hang it. By the time the dryer was back up and running I had discovered something. By getting into the rhythm of doing one load of laundry a day(because due to dry time, I couldn't do multiple loads all in a day) I was actually staying on top of the laundry. Instead of washing a drying and then stuffing it in laundry baskets to be avoided until I absolutely had to fold it, I'm spending 10 minutes on laundry daily and never getting behind. So, despite the fact that I have a working dryer now, I'm still hanging laundry because I like this new habit. 

Speaking of laundry...This morning as I was throwing a load in the washing machine, I was think about how laundry is one of those never ending tasks. Even if you manage to be on top of your laundry, it's because of the simple fact that you're always doing it. And then I thought that the same is true when it comes to guarding ones mind. 

It says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to conquer strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 

God calls us to guard our minds, because they can so often trip us up. But the thing is, just like laundry we must actively guard our minds every single day. All to often I find myself struggling, so I go into guard duty mode, realizing that I've let my thoughts go free, leading to anxiety and fear. But then I start to feeling better and eventually let my guard down and then BLAM!!! Before I realize it something sneaks in and my thoughts are causing trouble again. Guarding our minds must be a constant and daily task. Even if skies are clear and the enemy is no where in sight, a castle guard stands watch, ever vigilant...And so must I be with my mind. We are all dealing with the same enemy. He's sneaking and desires to steal our joy and pull us from The One who designed our minds. Perhaps the enemy uses different strategies on different people, my struggles might not be the same as yours, but the end goal is the same. So we must guard our minds daily just like laundry. 

Anyway...These two cuties discovered a new use for the walker. 

Popcorn

Trying out Daddy's boots. 

"You either control your mind, or it controls you." ~Napoleon Hill

Grow in Grace

      For the past couple of years, I have chosen a verse. Something that fits with what my goals for the year are, something that I am striving to grow in or learn(2017). This year, I have chosen,

2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

     One of my goals for this year is to truly learn to live forward in grace. All to often, I find myself stuck. What I mean by this is that I look back to decisions I've made, mistakes, sins etc. and obsess over them. I Play the "What if" game, thinking about what I should have done instead, beating myself up over it. And this isn't good. In our discussions on this, my husband has often told me that I need to live forward in grace. Meaning, strive to be my best, to do what's right, to change what needs to be changed, but to leave the past. To allow the grace of The One who loves us enough to die to be enough, and to live forward.
     And so, the other day, as I was reading my Bible, 2 Peter 3:18 popped out at my, specifically the words, "Grow in grace." That is exactly what I want to do this year. To keep growing towards Jesus, to have a deeper understanding of grace, to rest in the arms of The One who gives me life.

    As for the daily adventures of life...

I think he's a monkey at heart. 

Keeping the house warm. 

This weekend was Mr. Ephraim's birthday. He got a sword...Fun times. 

Burieln thought this whole sword business was interesting as well. 

A valiant knight and his mighty steed. 

The birthday boy shared his party with Uncle Luke who's birthday is coming up.

These are some pretty awesome cousins. 

My sister Lydia was also in town this weekend. 

It's always nice when you find someone willing to share chocolate with you. 

Delicious!

 We've decided to hop on board the Kefir bandwagon around here. It' been fun and tasty. 

Well folks it's Monday and a whole new week awaits. Find something wonderful in it!

"God answers the mess of life with one word, 'Grace,'"~Max Lucado 

John 1:16

"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace."

Memories and Forward Motion

     Today was special. Buirlen and I got up, got ready and went on a field trip. Every spring since I started teaching at Heartland, I have taken my class on a field trip to the Williams family farm. Baby goats and 40 acres have proved to be a hit time and again. Though I am done teaching now, I still wanted to do one last trip with my class. Looking back, this is what I wrote about that first field trip.

  I love being an elementary school teacher and the other day, I had the opportunity to take my class on a field trip to the Williams' farm. As I drove up the lane I thought about the first time I ever made that drive. It was before I knew that I would move to this wonderful town, before I was a teacher, it was the day I met my husband. It's crazy to think about, because that day, almost 4 years ago, I would never have guessed that I would be making this trip now, With a new name and a classroom of kids in tow. As I make this trip I wonder what I will think in 4 more years or 10 or 20. What changes await in the future? What adventures?

     And today, as I drove up that lane, life is different once again. Since that first field trip, Luke and I have become home owners and parents. I've had that new name for almost 6 years now and have learned a lot. So now the question remains, what will be new in 4 more years or 10 or 20? What changes await in the future? What adventures?

Happy Friday!

 “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
~Heraclitus

A Little Adventure

    This past weekend Luke loaded up the bobcat and took it to his sister Abbi's house to help them out with some dirt work as they prepared to landscape. Buirlen and I went for moral support. The weather was sheer delight.

Learning all about the bobcat!

Moving rocks.

Me and my little kangaroo.

The Lovely Keren Ruth just so happens to live a half a mile down the road from Abbi. So Buirlen and I walked over for a little visit while the boys worked.

Mr. Ephraim helping his mamma do the laundry.

It is so sweet to watch Ephraim with his cousin, he really loves him. I am excited to watch their friendship grow and develop. 

Chilling with cousin Mara. This little boy is so loved and he hasn't even met all the people who love him yet!

Abbi was planting some raspberries. 

Sunday after Church we had lunch at the Williams' farm. Buirlen and Brody got some socializing in.

This little boy continues to fill my heart. Life is good!

"Be happy for this moment, this moment is your life."

~Omar Khayyam 

Thoughts, Lessons, and Randomness

     It says in 1 Thessalonians that we are supposed to pray without ceasing. I was thinking about that the other day as I repeated the same prayer over and over again and I realized something. There is a difference between praying without ceasing and praying on repeat. What I mean by praying on repeat is this, I often find myself praying the same request over and over. But, it wasn't because I was doing what Paul was talking about, rather my repetition stems from a lack of faith, it is like prayer OCD. Some part of me seems to think that in order for God to get my point, I need to mention it multiple times, but that just is not the case. Now I don't mean that we should ever only pray for something once and then be done with it, rather I realize that in my case my repetitive praying is from a place of a lack of faith or just feeling like once can't be good enough. Yes, pray without ceasing, but know that when you bring a need to The Creator of all that is or ever will be, He hears you and you don't need to have prayer OCD.

    Buirlen likes to be held, a lot. Because of this I've been using the carrier frequently. I put him in and he snuggles down and ends up sleeping through whatever it is I am working on. As I was lugging him around the other day, I started thinking about how God desires this same thing from us. The One who created the baby's need to be held and loved desires to carry us through the ups and downs of our lives. I believe that our souls long for that as well, to be held in the arms of The One who is our ultimate safe place, and yet all to often we choose not to accept His offer to hold us. But that offer is always there. It says in Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Rest, security, the knowing that we are loved, it is all there for us in the arms of our Heavenly Father. He so wants to hold us close.

    It is just crazy that this cute little kangaroo is already 7 weeks old. 

     

    My life holds some beautiful memories. Moments in time that I love to look back on. I absolutely love where my life is right now, and don't want to go backwards but I do love thinking back to certain points in my life and letting the feelings of those memories wash over me. And the wonderful thing is that each day of this beautiful life holds the potential for new moments, memories and adventures.

    And lastly there is a new song on repeat in this house. I love the simple sweet lyrics. So much happiness. Have a great night!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

"Memories are special moments that tell our story." ~Unknown

"The best thing about memories is making them."~Unknown

And So We Become A Family

      Buirlen is a little over 2 weeks old now. He likes snuggles, snacks, and car rides(He is certainly my kid) and is the sweetest little bundle. My mom told me that the 2 weeks after he was born would fly by in comparison to the 2 weeks leading up to his birth, and boy was she ever right. So much goodness packed in 17 days!

This makes me so happy. The man I love and our sweet baby, my heart is full.  God is so very good to me. 

      After our week long stay in the hospital, my Mom and sisters were able to come up and help out for a week. It was nice, they took care of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. And my Mom helped out in the middle of the night and early morning when I just wanted to sleep and Buirlen didn't.

From Mamma to Ama. 

My Dad was able to come up at the end of the week to pick up my Mom and sisters. Dad loves all things tie dyed and so Buirlen got some pretty groovy clothes. 

I can't get over this outfit or the little dude wearing it!

Three generations. 

Three generations of Williams men.

My sweet Pumpkin Pie

I am so excited to get to be a stay at home mom with the Lovely Keren Ruth. Sunshiny afternoon adventures with our babies here we come. Ephraim thinks his cousin is pretty great!(Photo credits to Keren Ruth)

My friend Katy who was due the day after me finally had her baby, Brody,  almost 2 weeks after Buirlen was born. So maybe we didn't get birthday buddies like I was hoping, but I do believe that these 2 are going to be best buds. 

    And so here we are, it's the first day of Spring and life is so good! Happy Monday. 

"The family is God's greatest masterpiece." ~Unknown 

For the Days We Don't Understand

       I do not always understand the Bible or God. I have frequently ended my devotion time confused and frustrated.  I read something and I allow the tangled web that is my brain get it all mixed up and confused and before you know it I'm frustrated or worried because I either don't get something, or I've allowed my own understanding in and that has clouded the truth.
      What I'm starting to learn is that I will never fully understand the mystery of God, at least not until I meet Him face to face, and that is ok. I need to get comfortable with my not understanding. I don't mean that I should give up pressing in or trying to understand, what I mean is I need to come to the realization that it's a learning process and I may not understand everything right away or in the time frame that I would like. I'm also slowly starting to learn that when I don't understand something, I can't let fear and the idol of my own understanding come flying in, because the minute I let that happen I loose all sense of logic and end up taking steps backwards instead of forwards.
      As I was thinking about this this afternoon, I thought about how it relates, in a way, to a problem I often come across as a teacher. Occasionally, usually in math, we will hit a topic that for some reason my students just can't seem to grasp. It doesn't seem to matter how much I explain it or lay out the steps, I simply end up with blank stares or looks of dismay(long division anyone).
      I know that the best way to teach students a topic is to help them to understand the "why" of something, but I also have come to realize that there are days they may just not get the "why," but we still need to learn the "how." They may not yet grasp the "why" of how long division works, but we need to at least get the "how" so that they can begin working to solve the problems.
      I know that for myself, the "why" for a lot of math things didn't really click till I was much older, but I could do the problems, I had figured out the "how." When we hit these road blocks in the classroom, I tell the kids that for now they need to just trust me and follow the steps that I've shown them, and that we will survive the unit.
     Back to my struggle with understanding, I can apply this same lesson. When I hit a road block and don't understand, instead of freaking out(which doesn't help ever, be it the Bible or math) I need to lean back into trust and God's peace. Trust what I do know, trust the wise and godly people God has put in my life, trust that some day I will figure it out, or even if I don't that's ok, because God is so good and full of grace. It says in Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I love this verse for multiple reasons, one of them being that part about God's peace transcending my understanding. But I've got to be willing to let that peace in. 
      Well, a brand new day is upon us. Lessons and Adventures abound. Happy Thursday!

"Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching." ~Unknown 

Hunting Season With a Twist

      The past few weeks have been deer, hunting, season here in the Minnesota Northlands. I have friends who have been out sitting in trees, anxiously awaiting the appearance of the perfect specimen of future venison and antlers. Blaze orange and camouflage are totally in and the radio has discussed how very warm it is for the hunt.
      Here at the Williams' home, we've been doing a little hunting of our own...Of a slightly different variety. Mice! Once again the creepy little things have decided to move on in and torment me. I know that I am not alone in this hunt. Many of my friends know that the struggle is real as they are dealing with it in their own homes. In fact, I mentioned tonight that perhaps we should form a club and call ourselves The Sisterhood of the Great Mouse Hunters. I have a trapline throughout the house and have had considerable success, and yet they keep coming. Don't mess with me rodents, don't mess with me. Happy Hunting.

(Disclaimer, I did not use the muzzle loader on any mice. As much as I despise the critters, I like my cabinets more...)

"To live will be an awfully big adventure." ~Peter Pan

Life In The Northwoods

     A couple weeks ago we bought a new car. We had decided that a 2 door and a car seat were a combination we didn't feel like dealing with if we could help it. It is a 2004 VW Passat and the newest car we have ever owned. It's a pretty sweet ride and we named her Stella, because every good vehicle needs a name. I'm looking forward to the backseat having someone special buckled in.

    Today, Luke got back to work on the roof. This has been one long project and slowly but surely, it is reaching it's end. Just in time for the changing of the seasons too.

     The first day of Fall is here and gone and the world around us is welcoming the transition. The leaves are starting to change and the crab apple tree in the front yard has already lost most of its leaves. I had a giant pot of chili bubbling on the stove today and relaxed on the couch for a bit this afternoon with a cup of creamy, hot cocoa. It's delightful and I love it. Happy Saturday!

"Life fails to be perfect, but it never fails to beautiful."~Unknown