10 Ways to Get More Sleep

I see so many people, most of whom are women, complaining that they don't get enough sleep. I'm one of them.

It's hard enough to deal with sleep deprivation when you're awake because you have a crying baby or a sick child. Yet it's far more frustrating when the cause of your wakefulness lies within yourself and you can't figure out what it is.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, 63% of women and 53% of men report experiencing insomnia several nights a week.

People with insomnia are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, high blood pressure, and diabetes. These recent finds have served to emphasize how important it is that people get enough sleep.

As I mentioned, I struggle with this as well so I am no expert on the subject. Yet through learning and applying certain principles, the amount of sleep I average has increased dramatically.

They are as follows...

1. Consistent Patterns of Sleeping and Waking- It helps to go to bed at about the same time every night and to get up at about the same time every morning, even on weekends. The more our bodies adapt to certain physical patterns, the more consistently they will respond.

2. Exercise- A sedentary lifestyle does not promote good sleep. If you are in a restful position most of the day, your body may respond at bedtime as if it doesn't need sleep. Working the body and exerting your muscles through physical activity will tire them to the point of needing rest.

Also, exercise increases the level of endorphins in the brain, sending a feel-good sensation throughout the body, thereby reducing stress and anxiety. The peaceful feeling that results promotes good sleep.

3. Minimizing Caffeine Intake- Everybody's different of course but for me this means drinking no more than two cups of coffee a day and having both before 2. I usually go to bed at about 9:30, and I am more sensitive to caffeine than a lot of people so what works for you might look a little different.

4. Rest Time- There are many health benefits to taking a short nap in the middle of the day. Twenty to 30 minutes is ideal, just enough to restore the brain without leaving you feeling groggy.

Our bodies operate on a circadian rhythm. You will find that your body gets really tired at a certain time of day, typically between 1 and 3, signaling its need for rest and restoration. Cooperating with your body's natural rhythm by taking a little time to rest, nap, or zone out will set a pattern for winding down that will produce more effective sleep at night.

Inversely, if you're going full throttle all day long, your body will likely be more resistant to winding down at bedtime, as it gets little or no practice at doing so earlier in the day.

5. Eat Balanced Meals- Eating meals high in protein and veggies with one serving of carbs of the whole grain variety at each meal will help keep your energy levels more consistent throughout the day by balancing out your blood sugar levels.

This will prevent the seemingly unpredictable patterns of extreme alertness followed by the crash that typically results from consuming too many carbs and too much sugar.

If you eat too many carbs or sweet treats throughout the day and especially in the evenings, your blood sugar will be all out of whack and you may find yourself feeling wide awake just when it's time for you to go to sleep.

6. Violence Free Media- Avoiding television shows and movies that are violent or over-stimulating close to bedtime will help your body transition to sleep more effectively. Viewing choices of this nature are likely to get your adrenaline pumping, making it hard for you to settle down to go to sleep.

7. Avoid Alcohol- Drinking close to bedtime has been proven to disturb sleep quality. If you've been drinking, you might find that you're able to fall asleep more easily because it causes your body to skip the initial REM stage of sleep and go directly to a deeper stage.

Yet after a while, the body goes back to the REM stage, which makes a person more likely to wake up before it's time.

Naturally, this results in less quality sleep overall.

8. Dim Lights- Our bodies are naturally stimulated by light. For that reason, dimming lights in your house and especially in your bedroom will help you transition to a more relaxed state. As for sleeping, some people like myself are more sensitive to light than others. For this reason, I cover the alarm clock and use an eye mask for sleeping.

9. Light Reading- Reading something that keeps your focus but that is not over-stimulating at bedtime can help your brain to smoothly transition from the troubles of the day to a more relaxed state. I personally enjoy classic novels and poetry.

Choose according to your own preferences, being intentional about staying away from blood and gore. If you're like me, it won't take long for your eyes to get heavy, enabling you to fall asleep more easily than you would have otherwise.

10. No Work Zone- Do not bring work into your bedroom. Evening is a time best used for settling your mind and body down, not amping them up.

Some of you "go getters" may find it helpful to keep a note pad next to your bed to jot down those ideas and plans that pop into your head as you're settling down to sleep. Writing these things down will symbolize placing them in tomorrow's box, enabling you to wind down for rest more easily.

I hope some of these ideas have been of help to you.

I too am always looking for ideas that will help me to get more sleep. If you have anything different that works for you, please share! Thanks for reading!

Chore Plan

When we decided that we wanted to have a fourth child, I know that in order to keep our household running smoothly, I was going to need to make some changes. I decided to develop a chore plan to ease the transition.

I started training our children who were then 8, 6, and 3 to wash dishes, fold clothes, and do outside chores. I worked with them on these things throughout my pregnancy and when Camden was born, we had a plan in place that worked for us.

Some of the benefits of doing this have been...
-helping our children develop responsibility
-enhancing their self-esteem in a healthy way as they've become a pivotal part of the running of our household
-lifting my load and my husband's tremendously
-more time together as a family

A chore plan should reflect the needs and logistics of your particular family situation. We homeschool so ours will look quite different than most.

For us, laundry and dishes were the biggest jobs that needed to be delegated. Teaching my kids to do these things took a lot of time and effort, but I knew it would be worth it in the long run.

I made chore lists for each of my big kids.

We keep them in page protectors and they check them off as they go. This gives them a sense of accomplishment and helps them to stay on track.

Our plan looks like this...

As you can see, my two oldest children alternate between certain jobs.

A cleaner house make for a happier Mama. I'm thankful that we're finding balance in this area. If you have any questions about how we do this, please ask!

Thanks for reading.

12 Habits to Greater Peace

Life is kind of crazy, but we don't have to be.

Looking beyond what we can't do and focusing on what we can can make all the difference in our days.

Below are some things that I do every week, some of them every day, to bring order to my brain and peace to my soul. I hope they will be an encouragement to you as well.

1. Morning Quiet Time- I read recently that sleep detoxifies the brain. I would infer from that that first thing in the morning, it's ready for the filling.

How you begin each morning sets the stage for your whole day.

Every morning I grab my coffee, Bible, notebook, and pen, find a quiet place, and just take it all in. Sometimes jotting down my random ideas on paper (to get them out of the way) helps me to better focus on what God is trying to say to me. I pray randomly during this time as things come to mind.

Through doing this, I'm reminded that it's not all about me and mine, and that even in the midst of the world's chaos, God has a purpose and a plan.

This refocusing on the larger picture makes for a more balanced, happier me.

2. Praying Throughout the Day- Don't wait until a set aside time to pray. Instead, pray your way through the day.

One great piece of advice given to me by a friend is to take whatever thoughts you're thinking and turn them into prayers.

Doing this enables me to substitute God's thoughts for my own. It brings me courage and strength to tackle difficulties that I wouldn't have otherwise.

3. Choosing Media Carefully- Positive viewing options are hard to find. Even when you are fortunate enough to find something good, the commercials are often bad enough to negate the positive effects.

Netflix and Amazon Prime are good alternatives that can enable you to make positive choices and  avoid the rest.

Watching the news is equivalent to watching a horror movie for me, so I don't.

I get my news from our Google home page and Facebook. These at least give you the option to click or not to click, or to keep scrolling without being accosted by a barrage of negativity, unaware.

4. Focusing on One Thing at a Time- This is certainly a lost art. We live in a society that prides itself on multitasking. Yet studies have shown that multitasking actually diminishes productivity.

For many, it causes unnecessary stress as well.

As a mother of four children, I know well that it isn't always possible to do one thing at a time. Yet when we can, we should.

Scheduling, planning, and setting appropriate boundaries are all good strategies to use toward this end.

5. Minimizing Noise Pollution- And yes, I have actually heard some forms of noise termed as noise pollution.

Disruptive noise will diminish your productivity and peace.

This can be in the form of a TV that's on all day, music blaring, kids screaming, or a telephone that won't stop ringing.

Doing what is necessary to lessen the level of noise pollution in your home and workplace will be worth the effort. You'll get more done and feel calmer in the midst of your activities.

6. Orderly Physical Environment- The level of order required for productivity varies from person to person. Some people prefer a messy desk while others can't stand to have a thing out of place.

Determining what level of order promotes optimum functioning for you is important. Maintaining your environment accordingly will produce dividends, both physically and mentally.

7. Predictable Schedule- Keeping a schedule or routine that is somewhat predictable will keep you from having to make decisions all day, thereby promoting productivity and a greater sense of calm overall.

8. Exercise- People medicate with so many different things when they're stressed. Some of them are excessive drinking, excessive eating, and drug use. Any positive results from these habits are quite temporary, and typically result in unhealthy side effects.

Exercise is the perfect stress reliever. It lasts longer than any of the above alternatives, and has no unhealthy side effects.

When you exercise, positive endorphins are released in your brain, bringing an overall sense of calm that radiates throughout your whole body.

The benefits you get from your efforts will be far greater than the cost.

9. Saying Yes to Less- Most people have too much going on. There are so many great options out there. Yet, the best lives are lived by choosing quality over quantity.

You have nothing to prove. Maybe you CAN do everything, but just decide that you're smart enough not to.

Choose the best and leave out the rest. You'll be glad you did.

10. Music- Listening to music can be a great way to balance out or express your emotions. I let my mood dictate my listening choices.

If I'm craving spiritual balance, I listen to K-Love, while for releasing pent up energy I might put in my Aerosmith CD and do some howling with Steven Tyler; for reflective moments, I enjoy something softer like my Hope Floats soundtrack.

Get in tune with yourself and choose accordingly.

11. Mayberry- If all else fails, watch the Andy Griffith show. It's nearly impossible to be stressed in the company of Barney, Andy, Opie, and Aunt Bee.

12.  Keep a Peaceful Bedtime Routine- Don't watch or read things that make you excitable before bed. To much stimulation in the evening will stress the nervous system and disrupt sleep.

Be as consistent as you can, going to bed at about the same time every night. Reduce the amount of noise in your home close to bedtime. 

To tune out the noise in your head, read something soothing like poetry or a classic novel. This will help your brain transition from the events of the day, and enable you to establish calmness and peace of mind.

I hope you got something new and encouraging from reading this. If you have something additional that helps you find greater peace in your life, by all means, share. I would love to hear your ideas!

Thanks for reading.

8 Organizational Strategies that Could Make Your Life Easier

Having kids can be tough.

One of the biggest joy stealers for many parents is a disorderly home. If you're always looking for something that's been lost or running behind due to lack of forethought, it's just about impossible to enjoy the present moment.

I think these are challenges that we all face to some degree.

As I've sought to gain a good balance, I've found it helpful to implement a few organizational strategies in effort to retain peace in the midst of what would otherwise be utter chaos.

I'm far from an organizational expert, as anyone who ever comes by my house knows. Just writing this reminds me how wanting I am in this area. But we're all works in progress.

Sometimes it's the simplest things that can make the biggest difference.

That being said, these are some of the things that make our household run more smoothly.

1. Dishes- We do dishes only once a day. You may be saying "yuck" but it really does work a lot better for us that way. I've found that I have a lot more time and energy to put toward other things if we make dishwashing a "once a day" event.

After meal times, I clean off the table and try to make sure the dirty dishes make it to the sink. Then I move on to more important things.

2. Glasses- In order to limit the number of glasses my kids use and keep up with whose glass is whose, I keep plastic bowls on the counter with the kids' names on them. They are responsible for putting their glasses in their bowls when they're done with them if they're not dirty. Then they'll know where they are when they need them later.

Also, when the next meal time comes, I know whose is whose and I'm able to transfer them from their bowls to my serving tray, ordering them from oldest to youngest child.

3. Mealtime-Serving up food for a lot of people necessitates order.

At mealtime, I line all 6 plates up on the counter by age, same order each time. I distribute each food in every plate before moving on to the next. This streamlines the process.

The kids come to the kitchen to pick up their own plates and are also responsible (except my 3 year old) for taking them back to the kitchen and putting their cups in their respective bowls when they're done.

As mentioned above, I place their cups on a tray, pour their water or juice into their cups, take them to the table, and hand them out.

This makes mealtime a lot easier for me.

4. Time to Go-  I have a set of plastic drawers to the left of our front door, one for each kid, for their shoes, socks, hats, etc.

We have a place to hang their coats on the right side of the door.

We have a laundry basket under that for the overflow. This minimizes a lot of the running around trying to find stuff when it's time to go that a lot of people deal with.

5. Laundry- We have a lot of people here so naturally we have a lot of laundry. Instead of folding clothing and laying it on a flat surface, we fold it and place it into baskets as we go. We have one mesh rectangular basket for each bedroom (so one for every two people) and one basket for linens.

When folding, we sort by owner, not by clothing type. This means that all of Brayden's shirts, pants, and pajamas will be in one pile, which he will have to sort by clothing type in his room just before he puts his clothes in his drawers. And so on with every other person...

Fewer piles and using laundry baskets as boundaries results in fewer mishaps overall.

6. School Books- I recently turned an upright bookshelf on its side for housing my kids' individual school books. There are four sections, one for each child. This being located right behind the kitchen table has made my school planning so much easier, and reduced the chaos of kids having to sort through a shelf of books that they don't need to get to their own.

7. Art Supplies- A shoe bag organizer hanging inside the door of the closet that houses our deep freezer has made art supplies much more accessible.

The more kids are able to find things for themselves, the less they have to rely on me.

8. Keys- We keep a basket on top of our dryer for keys and sunglasses.

"A place for everything and everything in it's place" is a mantra that I was never taught to live by. But thankfully, I'm learning.

I hope something here has been of help to you. If you have any suggestions or encouragement for me, please share.

Enjoy your day!

Adventures in Composting

I've always loved to play and work in the dirt. Though I was very young when my Grandma Perkins died, I remember her teaching me to plant seeds. "Poke a hole in the dirt, drop two seeds in, and cover it up."

Really, I was only 2 or 3 but I remember that. It was just me and her so there's no other explanation.

My Daddy farmed tobacco when I was little. Crazy as it sounds, I loved pulling tobacco. My brother went down there for the nabs and Coke, and because he had to I guess, but I really loved to work. Little as I was, I would pull leaves until my arms got so full that I couldn't make it to the slide. Obviously I was a really big help!

I got to do other things too, like picking up leaves in the barn and putting sticks on the stringer. Those are great memories for me.

I think it's because I got my hands in the dirt so much as a kid that I love to work outside now. 

I asked my husband to build me a compost bin before his outage started but because of the bad weather, he wasn't able to get around to it. When I saw our chickens hanging out in my pile, I knew I had to do something about it. It just wasn't working anymore.

We used to have a bin but it had gotten so full that it was near impossible to stir up. The more I read about it, the more I knew that that set-up wasn't going to give me the results I was looking for. I dumped it out, which is how I ended up with a sprawled out pile of mess. 

On a side note, this is not an instructional post. I truly have no idea what I'm doing so I have no business making suggestions to anybody else. I'm just trying to document my "efforts" here.

Anyway, I know nothing about wood working so I decided to go see if there were any cinder blocks at the barn. Halfway there, I saw a bunch of them at the rock pile between my house and my Daddy's. THIS is truly nature's best playground.

You can't see the whole thing but you really should. If you did, I think you would want to play there too!

Anyway, Brayden and I loaded up a bunch of cinder blocks into the back of the van. I know that's not ideal, but a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.

Then Brayden and I went back to the rock pile and got these rocks. Our compost pile is beside our storage building. There's a gap between the building and the ground on that side so I tried to position the rocks to keep my dirt from sliding under there.

We dug through and got out the good dirt. 

I was thrilled to get a whole wheelbarrow full and more! Brayden sifted through this to get out big twigs and other things that hadn't broken down well enough.

The kids loved playing with worms. Playing in the dirt provides great opportunities to talk to them about worm poop and how it helps the soil. We've read about all of this in our worm books so putting their hands in it and picking them out was a great opportunity to bring all that knowledge to life.

 As a girl who dug up worms for fishing as a kid, I think worms are cool too!

After we loaded the wheelbarrow down pretty good, I decided to use the wooden beam already there as a boundary... 

and I moved another one from behind the chicken coop to close off the opposite side.

I felt really strong, kind of like Shera, Princess of the Universe...but in holey jeans.

Then we started moving cinder blocks. I'm sure there are a hundred methods for doing this that are better than the one I chose, but I decided to just do what I could do with what I had, and get on with it. 

And this is what we ended up with.

She's a beauty I know! Try (hard) to contain your envy!

Composting really isn't a pretty business anyway, though. I do have room to move my pile to get to the goods when I want to and for the most part, the chickens have been deterred. I could use some more cinder blocks to complete this grand masterpiece. Until then or until my husband decides to build one, this is where it's at. 

On an additional note, my favorite pair of jeans suffered a trauma, a massive blow to the left leg...

But they're okay for farm wear and hiking, and soon they'll be cut-offs anyway. 

Happy Spring y'all, and let's get growing!

Annacie, bloggy photographer

Faith Builders

As a person of faith, you have those moments, those times when you just know that God has spoken to you.

The world, your flesh, and even your best friend might call it coincidence. But really, YOU know.

I had one of those moments a couple of days ago.

I was changing my son's diaper and I had a thought, a reminder really that I had meant to lay my Bible open on the kitchen table, so I could think on what I was learning in my morning Bible study at different times throughout the day.

I had forgotten to do that.

I had read that morning about when Moses went up on the mountain, looked over at the Promised Land, and died.

At that very moment, I heard my six year old daughter in the kitchen saying something like, "I bet Moses was scared when he heard God talking to him."

Naturally, I was taken aback.

She and my other kids recently watched the movie, The Prince of Egypt, a cartoon presentation of Moses' life. I hadn't said anything to her about my reading.

YOU might call that coincidence but I knew it was God. You may ask me why that is significant at all. My answer is this.

What may seem irrelevant to you can be a huge faith builder for me.

Some of God's greatest miracles in your life and in my life will be the things only we can see, as individuals.

He knows us and He knows that it is often what we perceive as "the little things" that make or break relationships. So He acts.

My kids and I have been reading this week about the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion.

If you'll remember, Jesus told Peter that before the cock crowed, Peter would deny him three times.

Again, that seemed a detail of little consequence.

Yet, when it came to pass, I'm pretty sure Peter disagreed.

He, who had proclaimed that he would never deny Christ had denied Him three times, and then he heard the rooster crow. What Jesus had proclaimed had come to pass.

Do you not think that made a difference in Peter's future?

I would infer from the fact that Peter stopped denying and went on to be martyred for His faith in Christ, that that little faith builder made all the difference in the world.

So when you KNOW that God had done something or is doing something in your life, don't let ANYBODY make you doubt it.

It might make the difference between staying on the right track and running off the road.

Viewing everything through a worldly lens is convenient when your circumstances are good. Yet when trouble comes, that's not going to produce.

For those times, you will need a relationship with God that is strong, consistent, and secure, one built upon the foundation of all the ways He has shown himself true to you.

You know, in Old Testament times, people built monuments as visual representations of God's mighty works.

I guess that isn't very practical for us but we could at least write them down.

When those low points come, we'll be glad we did.

Crock Pot Freezer Meals

My husband started his spring outage at the beginning of March. Typically, longer hours for him result in a lot more stress and work for me.

Thankfully this year has been totally different. I see no difference in my workload or stress level. There are two things that I attribute to this change, my kids becoming more proficient at completing their chores and crock-pot freezer cooking.

I have a friend who messaged me the other day, asking for some simple meal ideas that will help keep her household running efficiently as she recovers from a surgery.

There are times in all of our lives that are more intense, when stress and busyness threaten to steal our sanity and contentment. I'm hoping that this post will be of benefit to you and your family during those times and possibly even on an ongoing basis.

Here I'll share a basic, step-by-step instructional on how we prepare 24 freezer meals in one day. I'll also share links to some of our favorite recipes. I look for healthy, balanced meals that require little or no effort on the day of cooking.

We don't eat these every night. Other nights we have leftovers, sandwiches, something quick like frozen fish, eat out, or cook a favorite meal like burgers, tacos, pizza, or meatloaf.

We save our crock pot meals for on-the-go evenings, so 24 meals usually last us about three months.

So here we go...

Day 1

Step One... Choose your meals. Print out your recipes.

Remember, the more recipes you make two or more of, the fewer you will need to print out. I make two of most; there are a couple that I make four of, as is shown in the image below.

There are many places you can visit on the web to find these recipes. A couple of my favorites are...
Loving My Nest
Mostly Homemade Mom

I have a crock pot cooking Pinterest board if you need more.

-Make a list of the meals you're planning to cook; write the number of each particular meal that you're planning to prepare beside it. Mine is always two or four. Again, my goal is a total of 24 meals.

Note...we have a large family and don't mind leftovers. If that's not you, you may want to divide some of the recipes in half, and make two meals from one recipe. Do what works best for your situation.

Step Two... Make a list of ingredients needed.

-I categorize a sheet of paper with headings for different types of items...meats, veggies, canned foods, frozen, and other.

-Then I go through each recipe, writing down which items are needed under its appropriate category on my list.

Step Three... Shop.

Remember to buy some gallon-size ziplock bags as this is what you will be storing your meals in.

Step Four... When my husband gets home with the groceries, I sort and order the canned foods on the counter. (We now have a can opener that cuts the whole top off the cans. Before that, I cleaned them before putting them in order.)

Day 2

Step Five... Label your ziplock bags with the recipe name, cook time and temperature, and any ingredients you will need to add the day of. Always add broth the day of cooking to save freezer space.

Step Six... Workstation 1- (Fresh Vegetables) Cut up those veggies.

 I usually use my food processor for the onions.

Choose the vegetable you want to start with. Cut up the required amount and put it in the appropriate bag(s). Then complete the process with the others.

Note...Chopping the entire quantity of each vegetable individually and placing it in the appropriate bags before moving on to the next simplifies the process.

Step Seven... Workstation 2- (Canned Foods) Open your canned foods, drain the liquid from them, (rinse if you want) and pour them into each bag according to recipe instructions.

I choose a recipe, set aside every can that is needed for that particular one, open them all, and pour them in.

Then I place the empty cans in the sink for rinsing. (One of your kids might be well suited for this job.)

Repeat the process for each recipe until all canned foods have been added to the bags.

Step Eight... Workstation 3- (Spices) Add spices to each bag as per recipe instructions.

Before you begin this part, you may want to start cooking any ground beef or sausage if you have any recipes that call for those. They should be cooked before bagging.

Note...it is simpler if you choose recipes that don't require cooking beforehand. It's all about what you like.

Step Nine... Workstation 4- (Meats) Add meats in the quantities that each recipe calls for.

Step Ten... Make sure each bag is sealed and then put them into the freezer. We find that laying a piece of cardboard on a shelf in our regular freezer is helpful. If you don't, the bags can freeze into the spaces, making them difficult to remove. We stack a partial layer of bags on top of those, positioning them so that they won't freeze together.

The deep freezer works well too, again placing them so that they don't freeze together.

Note...If you are doing this by yourself with kids underfoot, I encourage you to take two days to bag your ingredients and get them in the freezer.

I just had to do it this way for the first time. On the first day, I did the fresh vegetables. I saved everything else for the second day and it worked well for me.

Wala! You're done...and exhausted...but it's worth it.

The evening before I cook a meal, I take it out to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

For those who have a long commute and will need to leave it cooking for longer than a recipe states, you might find that it works better to take it out the morning of cooking. Just play with it and find out what works best for you. Thankfully, most of these are pretty hard to mess up.

If you need me to clarify anything, PLEASE ask.

Happy Crock Pot Cooking!

Salvation

Right now in my Bible reading I'm in Deuteronomy. A few days back, I parked in chapter 8 for a while. I found interesting parallels between the words written there and the story of my life so far. I felt somewhat challenged by Deut. 8:2.

"And you shall (earnestly) remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your (mind and) heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not."

It was a reminder to me that there are points in time in which we all need to stop and reflect on all of the ways that the Lord has worked in our lives.

This morning, though not as a result of any plan of mine, I did just that.

I woke up thinking about how hard I worked in the garden yesterday and feeling incredibly thankful that I wasn't feeling any pain as a result.

You see, 8 years ago I couldn't have said that. My body ached from just walking around the house, doing normal stuff, and that's just the beginning of the physical symptoms I was struggling with.

Ultimately, I was led to make changes to my diet which I did, and my health has been improving ever since. I'm tempted to get more into that for anyone who doesn't already know, but that's best saved for another post.

Anyway, I woke up feeling so thankful for that. It floors me to think that I can run three miles or work half a day, physically laboring in the garden, and wake up the next morning pain-free. Those are the things that prompted me to write this post.

I've been remade... physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And that's what I'm writing about today.

Before my salvation, I was living according to what I felt, apart from the understanding that truth is in a class of its own and should not be compromised by my feelings. This brings stability and wholeness to my life that I could not begin to grasp before my salvation experience.

As Christians, our responses to the challenges of life should be reflective of the understanding that truth should have dominion over our feelings in every situation.

I'm still a work in progress, but praise God, I am learning to walk in truth.

I've been remade.

Emotionally  I was basket case, spending a big part of my life worried and in fear of one thing or another. Fear and anxiety took root in me when I was a small child, and they ran deep. I had tried to purge them with the world's version of positive thinking. What I didn't know was that if my positive thoughts were not backed by truth, that they would be of no effect.

When I began to pray, study God's word, and apply it to my life, THAT is when real change began to occur. I still get anxious at times but it is not a way of life for me anymore.

 I praise God for the rest that He brings to my soul and my spirit.

I've been remade.

When we step back and consider the work that He has done in our lives, it enables us to walk in truth, confidently and without reservation.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Developing Responsibility

Children need guidelines and expectations. They also need time to think and decompress, just as we do.

Think about your most inspired moments. Do you come up with your best ideas when you're bound up by stress and controlled by the timer, or when you've had some time to relax and enjoy life a bit?

We all need balance in life. I've gone from the school teacher mindset of being uber structured to the other extreme of allowing my children to totally initiate their own learning. As in most things, what I have found is that the best solution for us is somewhere in between.

I have to say though, that if I had to choose between extreme structure and extreme flexibility in education, we would definitely be on the flexible end.

I'm finding that by setting up our environment in a way that brings out the best in each of our children, much of their learning happens very naturally. They are far more capable than schools give them credit for at managing their time effectively.

Yet if they're never given the freedom to do so, those are skills that they may not ever acquire.

We do have a structure that our kids are expected to follow each day. They have chores that they are responsible for, Bible study with Mama, piano practice, fairly regular meal times, screen time, and bedtime.

Some weeks I fill out assignment sheets for my kids. My 10 and 8 year olds are able to complete most of theirs with little assistance from me. Naturally, I have to help my 6 year old a lot more with completing hers.

Some weeks we don't do that. During those days, they spend a lot of time in independent reading, building, drawing, and playing. Many would be surprised to hear that I often perceive a greater level of productivity and learning when they are doing their own thing.

Since the birth of our first child, we have set up our home primarily to make learning accessible to our children. Knowledge flows in as naturally as food, drink, and oxygen. It has never been placed into compartments of space or time.

They are naturally curious and self-motivated. Much of their knowledge, especially in the area of science, they have acquired through their own reading. I hear them spouting out facts all the time about things that I can take no credit for teaching them.

I'm finding that the mixed-age grouping in our house contributes to their learning significantly as well. They often learn more from each other than they do from me.

Currently, my 6 year old absolutely loves putting together "school" materials for my two year old. He hasn't yet sat down at the table to do the activities, but I am really encouraged to see how much she is learning through the process. She's essentially reviewing and refining the skills that she has been working on, along with developing logic and organizational skills as she creates worksheets for him.

There are few activities I could come up with that would be more beneficial for her than what she's come up with on her own.

My two year old knows his colors, shapes, most of the alphabet song, some letter sounds, and can usually count to fourteen without a mistake. Other than reading to him, my husband and I have contributed little to this process.

Even as adults, we retain the things that are of interest to us. The rest is generally forgotten. Kids are no different.

I'm certainly not implying that our way is the only good way. We're all different; what works for you may not work for me, and vice versa.

I would like to suggest though, that children learn best when they are given adequate time to pursue their own interests in the context of real life. They're full of curiosity and we should protect that.

It is their own personal qualities that make them unique and special. Those things cannot be quantified with pencils and paper. They were created with a purpose and a plan that won't be confined to a curriculum box. Their strengths and abilities far exceed any of that.

Basque in it, enjoy it, and treasure it. The journey is short but the positive effects of it will be lifelong.

Knowing them, I mean really knowing them, loving them for who they are, and customizing their education accordingly, those are OUR priorities.

 It's simple, yet complex, both fun and stressful at the same time.

But most of all, it's worth it.

Life Begins When...

Sometimes you have to write down your thoughts, or you just might go crazy. Oh yeah, that's not you; that's me.

Anyway, I just read something that sent my blood pressure through the roof, or would have if I had that problem. The person who heads up Planned Parenthood said in an interview that life begins after delivery.

THAT is what came out of her mouth.

As I considered the words spoken in the interview, the word "human" came to mind. I pondered that a while.

I would say that to be human, you should be capable of showing some form of humanity.

I looked the term "humanity" up in an online dictionary. It is really just a general word that includes all people.

Yet the antonyms that I found are pretty interesting. Some of them are coldhearted, hard-heartedness, mercilessness, and pitilessness.

From what I've read about this woman, I would say that she doesn't fit in the human category, that because of her behavior toward the unborn it would be more fitting to place her in a different order or species.

However, I have no right to make such a distinction.

If I were able to set aside all antagonism and line my thoughts up with truth, (and I will after this) I would say that even though I do not like her and that I disagree with everything she stands for, she was created in God's image.

Her worth is not for me to define.

She is worthy of life until He deems it otherwise. He breathed life into her, and it's up to Him to determine the length of her days.

Yet, in this society, most people don't believe in absolute truth.

Depending on the weather, what a best friend said, what they saw yesterday on TV or read in a book, you might get five different answers to the same question in a week.

Those who do not have a solid standard for what's right and what's wrong have grabbed on to the "freedom" to decide these things for themselves on a situational basis.

And society is crumbling.

Now I want to ask you a question...

When does life begin? When does a person or "being" become human?

Richards says that it begins at birth. Apparently, she and those who agree with this line of thinking  believe that a baby has no inherent worth until he/she has the ability to have an effect on the outside world.

According to their version of morality, the unborn child has no rights, and if he did, then the rights of those who might be inconvenienced by his presence are more important.

So there you have it.

People think that absolute truth is a crock, that those who believe in it are religious zealots who need to change their views along with society.

Yet God's Word teaches something different, something that grounds me, that keeps me walking against the tide of immorality.

"...be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)

God's Word teaches that EVERY life was created by Him and is valuable in His sight, that He has a plan for each of us that pre-dates not only our birth but our conception.

So if you ask me when it is okay to terminate a pregnancy, I will say...never.

I recently read that one way to get more people to see your posts is to put "like my status if"...whatever.

When I shared my latest link on abortion, that crossed my mind.

Maybe I should have put "like my status" if you think killing babies is wrong, if you think murder is bad, or if you think abortion is a hateful solution that benefits no one.

It's truly difficult for me to understand how this issue is debatable in the minds of those in the general public, and those on my friends list.

Or maybe in your mind it is not debatable but you don't "like" or share because you are afraid of offending someone or coming across as disagreeable.

Just know that there are plenty of people on your friends list who do read your posts. There might be a person who needs to hear truth but won't if you are not willing to share.

Doing what's right isn't always easy, and it certainly isn't always popular, but it is always worth it.

There's a truth for you. Live it.