My mama has lost everything dear and chosen not to be bitter

Larla, Gwen's mom, with Sarah, a couple of years ago

For the past two days, I have slept, eaten, been served and talked and talked to my sweet, kindred spirit friend, Gwen. In between as I sipped my tea in her living room, she would get her mom out of bed, bathe her, cook for her, dress her, undress her, feed her medicine, and all the other things a 96 year old needs to do, but cannot manage.

Throughout, I have heard a gentle, loving voice. "Hi, mama, you are dearly loved today."

"Sweet precious mama, are you hungry? You sure look pretty today."

Patient, kind, tenderhearted, for 10 years, as her sweet mom's brain has escaped into other regions beyond her grasp, at least most of the time.

Last night as we both put her to bed, there was a smile from ear to ear. "I love you, quietly slipped from her smiling mouth." Her crystal blue eyes sparkled as if she had secret delight, but we realized she was delighting in us laying with her and kissing her soft cheek.

"Gwennie, you are so amazingly patient and kind and content, even though now you have to stay here 24/7. How do you stay so joyful and content, knowing you have been in this place for 10 years," was my sincere question as I witnessed amazing strength and patience through out these days, as all of the days of the last years I have visited her.

"My mama has lost everything dear to her over the years. She saw my brothers die too early, she lost all of her relatives and friends one by one. She has seen tragedy. But through it all, she resisted bitterness and chose to be joyful and give love. And so, even the model of my 96 year old mom has spoken to my own heart. If she can do it, I have learned how. Every day she greets me with a smile and gentle soul. It is what she practiced and so it was easy for me to copy."

Home is about the life, not about the perfection

A few years ago, I was visiting a family and everything in the home--I should say, estate, was perfect. A garden without weeds, a home in perfect order, a meal with no mess. But the children were afraid to move, the environment seemed sterile, and there was something wrong. We all felt it and talked about it as we left. There seemed to be form without art.

A home is a place of life filled by a mother whose life is contagious because of her sparkle in the midst of messes, her laughter in the midst of duty, her song pervading the whole place--the music, feasts, art, joy of life..

‎"To build a home of ideals means a life of sacrifice. It means a lot of work, and it's never going to be over. These ideals don't come easily to anyone; they come through battle. It's an illusion to think that building a place of beauty ever happens naturally to anyone; it happens little by little ... through hard work ... when we cultivate our souls, our kids will have something to draw from .. the house with the life of God isn't a perfect house, it's a redeemed house! It's not a home without sin, or without messes or without spilled milk, but we redeem one more moment ... " Sally Clarkson

So, today, it is not about perfection, but about peace, hope, life, vision and love.

I heard Him call, come follow........

"Take my will and make it thine, It shall be no longer mine, Take my heart, it is thine own, it shall be thy royal throne, It shall be thy royal throne." Exhausted, drained, like the lady who touched Him and He said, "The strength went out of me," defined how I felt as I stumbled in out of the pelting rain, last night.

After 2 hours of driving the Kentucky back highways, after a weekend of speaking 10 hours to a sweet group of moms in a Tennessee lake house, I was spent. It wasn't just the weekend, or meeting with more surgeons, or finding an oral surgeon for Joy or working on Dolphin Tale with Nathan, or finding Sarah with a 103 temp and needing advice about a ruptured ear drum or hearing that a sweet friend had borrowed her car and had an accident and totaled the car and trying to figure out how to proceed, it was the cumulative weariness that just comes with some seasons of life. I think there are parts of me that are bone tired and soul weary from many years of being in the battle.

My heart, though, was swimming in hope and excitement and child-like anticipation,  because my borrowed car was headed to the small, hidden in a tiny town of Western Kentucky, home of my forever sister, friend, Gwen, where I knew that God lived.

Sleeping for 9 hours, (unheard of for me), I crept through the rooms and found her, candle lit, Bible in hand, cup of coffee steaming, with Gwen in her quiet time chair. "Curl up in my bed and I will pour you a cup of tea and we will be friends," she whispered, as she gently wrapped her blankets around my shoulders and puffed up the pillows where I had just laid my head.

And so, two friends, a beautiful little candlelit tray came to rest in my room, and life and beauty took place. I have many friends and thousands of sweet women in my life, but few who, when I am with them, I know I will find the palpable life of Him, glowing, living, stirring in our midst. But I always know I will find it here in Earlington, Kentucky, an old mining town, with sweet Gwennie.

After, journeying over bits of life, events, people, illnesses, deaths and heart sharing, we came to the most important subject.

"Why are we so blessed? What shaped our lives so that we have been able to live purposeful lives, we have seen dramatic answers to prayer, we have watched the life of God's spirit swirling amongst the events of our lives our whole lives. Why, in spite of the battles, do we see God's favor?"

And she showed me a poem she had written in her Bible many years ago,

"I heard Him call, "Come follow."

That was all.

My gold grew dim, my soul went after Him.

Who would not follow IF they heard Him call."

That was it. The secret. At an early age, we were both challenged to follow Him, to listen for His voice, to be His bondservant, to let Him show us the path, to live by faith, to believe in the power of prayer, to invest in His kingdom, to put aside the voices, the peer pressure of the world to conform, simply to follow Him.

Both of us have had to reject the voices of "Job's friends" in our lives, and the world's voices, and all of those voices who seemed to have "God's will in mind for us," and we could see, looking back, that holding fast to His voice, His way, His direction, as our pearl of great price, was the secret. Always, He is at the center. Always, His paths are the right paths.

And so, both of us, bow our hearts before Him, together, thanking Him for the miracle of the lives He has allowed us to live.

She has seen the death of all of her siblings, grandparents, many cousins, support systems dwindling, with her precious mama still loving and smiling.

As Clay and I followed His voice, he led us to leave overseas missions, to move back to America,  to raise 4 whole hearted children and to write about  parenting, mothering, discipling the next generation, to make radical decisions that most of our Christian friends and family did not understand.

For Gwen to follow God's voice, after 25 years of serving the Lord in Austria and Eastern Europe, He directed her to live a quiet life in a tiny town,  to move home to care for her elderly mom, day after day, for 10 years as her mother is now in her 97th year. But for both of us, to live in the comfort of knowing He has guided, He has been faithful, in the end, His ways have indeed been the pathway of blessing. And in reviewing His history of faithfulness, our hearts are refreshed in the company of each other.

Gwen and her mama, Larla, (as we call her)

And so we ponder, I wonder how God might direct us to serve Him, to follow Him, to hear His voice in the next 30 years? May we both be attentive, may we both hear, and expect His presence, and may we both obey and simply follow Him.

"Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, Thou my inheritance, now and always; Thou and thou only first in my heart, High king of heaven, my treasure thou art."

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Today, I will be interviewed live on Blog Talk Radio by Dianna Waring, about creating life and beauty in a home. If you would like to join me, please go to: (and share it with all of your friends!) and I will be doing it at 3:00 central time for 30 minutes.

 

Hollywood is paying attention--Congratulations! Amazing!

Sweet friends, I am so grateful to be a part of families who are willing to show up, to go to lengths, to pay for the ability to send a message. I have been getting messages all last night about how shocked executives are at the results of the first day! I want to you so see a part of one of the letters I received:

Wow! Just received this gracious note from Alcon Entertainment (producers of Dolphin Tale and Blind Side) and just had to share it with you! Our voice, desires, impact, and influence is genuinely appreciated. Homeschoolers want Hollywood and production companies to know that if they make quality films like Dolphin Tale , we will show up in big groups on opening day when everyone else is in school or at work!  We pulled it off and it worked!

I want to extend a personal thanks to HSLDA, Classical Conversations, Clay and Sally Clarkson, Sherri Seligson and ALL the amazing field trip coordinators and other fabulous bloggers who got the word out and pulled their groups together!  Thank you to every homeschooler who participated!!

Here is the Alcon 'thank you' letter to all of YOU!!!

as well as:

And so there you have it! Because of you, at least for now, we have the eyes and ears of Hollywood. They are astounded at the fact that an innocent family, child oriented movie could actually tie for first at the box office.

I know all of you fight battles in so many arenas for light to come, but since so many of youth's values are shaped by the stories they see on screen, I want to thank you for attending. Having your children know that they were also a part of a group that supported something also goes deep into their souls to help them understand the value of a community of believers making a difference. May God bless each of you today and may you be strong in fighting the battles of faith--your labor of love and endurance is absolutely not in vain.

Grace, peace and love to you all!

 

DOLPHIN TALE--OPENING DAY!

Today, take a break, shake it up a little, leave all of the responsibilities behind--take your kids to the movies.

We have many ways of bringing family values back into our world. Building our families is the best way of course--taking that time to invest in them and love them.

But, we can send a message to the powers that be that we want our children to be seeing great, moral, heroic, inspiring stories. We send a message by attending the movies and showing that we will support the efforts of those in Hollywood who are willing to listen to us! Dolphin Tale is just a sweet children's story, but it also shows an under story of a child who is failing at school who comes alive when he has real life problems to solve, real causes to get behind. He comes alive because his heart is captivated by the idea that he can do something, even as a child, to help.

Be sure to see the story, ask your children questions about the movie and it becomes a very profitable day. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

So excited that even the LA Times quoted Nathan about the need for Hollywood to do more great movies. Here is what they said:

Nathan Clarkson of the Homeschool Movie Club urged his followers to "make a statement to Hollywood to rally behind movies that 'get it right' and tell great stories without all the junk, twaddle and moral compromise!"

How fun that the Los Angeles Times quoted Nathan, my wonderful son!

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-word-20110922,0,6520273.story

And, Nathan, praying for you and hoping this is the best of days and your work is rewarding to you.

Great Friday to everyone! And thanks so much for the support!

The Fallen Kingdom of Home

"In this world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world." Jesus

Right in the smack dab middle of Jesus loving, teaching, encouraging, and training his disciples, they simply embark on crossing the familiar lake where they have lived all of their lives, and suddenly a life-threatening storm overtakes them.

What could Jesus possibly be thinking? Does he want to lose all of his disciples at once? Is he trying to discourage them? Afterall, they had given up their whole lives to follow Him. Their hearts were dedicated to worshipping Him. They were busy serving other people---really, now this? Is this any way to treat those who are following you? And so sometimes the "whaps" on our lives feel personal, invasive, too much.

Have you ever felt that way? I have cooked. I have washed dishes. I have lost years of sleep. I have loved and served and given--does anyone notice? Does it matter? --and now this? Another storm? Another problem? The relentlessness of life is about to drown me, Lord. "Do you not care that we are perishing, Lord?" That is the question that we, like the disciples, have on our hearts.

Just when we have the ideals of our lives in place, and we have defined what the Kingdom of home is,  and we determine to commit to creating our homes as a place where the life of Christ will flourish, storms  and battles begin to overtake us, and we feel that we may be overcome.

If you are experiencing weariness of discouragement, it just means you are engaged in the battle. The battle and its raging are not a measure of your success or failure--but how you respond in the battle will determine the outcome. Often, people have said, "Well, I am glad Sally has ideals, but that is not what my life looks like and I don't even know how to get there."

My life was a constant swirl of ideals and reality, grace and storm, walking in faith, and railing against heaven--this is the picture of fighting to bring light into a dark world, and the home is no different.

I know that I am  mixing  metaphors and have moved from storms of life to the battles, but hopefully you know what I mean. But, when we determine to make our homes a place of life, Satan is determined to thwart us. Satan knows that the most precious treasure in God's economy are His children, his handmade creations--those who have souls that will last for eternity. And so the battleground for our future is at the soul level of life.

We are living in homes where the laws of thermo dynamics take place every day--that energy is depleting at a constant rate and everything is moving toward disorder. Knowing this--understanding that it will never change--and give yourself grace. Do not expect perfection. Do not condemn yourself or become angry at your children because they are not perfect.

Walk in grace. Celebrate life. Look for joy in the corners of your life. Always find a friend to pray with, to share life with, who holds your ideals and values. Know that all moms have the same issues--just different puzzles to put together.

Our children are selfish and sinful, our husbands (and even we) are fallible and imperfect; things fall apart, get broken, cost money, people are unloving, we are unsupported by the culture around us, and we lack support systems to support the ideals we believe.

In order to know how to raise godly children, we must have a refined picture of the ideals we are aiming for, but the second part of being productive in this venture of motherhood is understanding the battle. All of our homes are broken, our children are broken and without the grace of God, we will not be able to make it. But, I believe, and have seen, that with God on our side, and with faith, our labor is not in vain, and becomes a story of His power and goodness throughout eternity.

Warfare gives us such great examples. A seasoned general becomes astute in battle because he has been successful in weathering many years of battles, and has learned to fight valiantly and enduringly. An officer at war will also not be able to advance in experience and victory if he does not understand and know how to fight against his enemy.

And so, the kingdom of our home is a battlefield from others who would steal our dominion over our family.

Feeling weary or discouraged or inadequate or guilty from failing is a normal part of the process. You are in training. Engaging in the discipleship of my children became the training ground where little by little I learned what it meant to become a more mature Christian.

But remember this---it is not the people who start the race who win, but those who finish the race. So, if God calls you to ideals, and you begin running, don't give up--don't quit. Keep building a picture of your ideals, fan the flame of your vision. More soon about the tension between the vision and the reality of life and how to walk the journey with grace and peace.

I am discombobulated, writing this on the road, between an emergency with my own family. But as a battle worn, general of life, I know He will be with me. So I will pray for you, you pray for me and for my children who are targets--and if anyone can figure out how to put this article up on face book, please help me or leave a comment as I am off to speak. Love and grace to you precious ones who are in the trenches. Love and prayers going your way today!

Ruling over the Kingdom of Home

Myles Birket Foster

If you want to share this post on FB, you can go to mine now and share it from there or as a friend informed me, "I had to open up the post in a new tab or window. copy the url address, and paste it into my status update. And use www.ITakeJoy.com not the url of the specific post or it won't do it." (and be sure to choose the right pic if you can.) Thanks, everyone!

Off to Nashville. I am so sorry I won't be able to see any of you for coffee, as my friends who are having me speak are whisking me up to a Lake House and I won't be staying in Nashville. Maybe next time! Thanks for asking.

DEAR FRIENDS,

MANY OF YOU HAVE ASKED TO SHARE THIS ON FACEBOOK, BUT SOMEHOW IT IS DISALLOWING THE TITLE THE KINGDOM OF HOME, SO I CHANGED THE TITLE TO SEE IF WE CAN FIX THE PROBLEM. DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING  ON BUT IT DISAPPEARED FROM MY FB, TOO. SO SORRY. THANKS FOR SHARING IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS. I WILL KEEP TRYING TO HELP.

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Home is the place of refuge, comfort, inspiration, where great souls can be formed, work habits shaped, models of marriage, love and relationship passed on and eternal spiritual purposes are formed. One of the great losses of this century is the loss of imagination of just what a home was created by God to do.

When I consider the role of motherhood, as well as shaping my children into warriors for His kingdom purposes, I have to consider what God had in mind when he designed women, marriage, and home, as a place to raise whole hearted children. The home and the life in the home, to a great extent, determine the future of children as adults.

Becoming a mother is a role that most women are least prepared or trained to embrace and yet the role that will determine the outcome of history. Clay and I were talking about this the other night and he said, "I wonder if the mother's role might be the most determining factor in our history today as to how history will unfold. I think he could be right.

When I began to understand that the best and most lasting "work" I would ever do, was to build little souls, in my own home, for the kingdom of God, it gave me grand scope for my life. Understanding that I would be responsible for accepting them into my arms and their very health from feeding at my breasts; to emotional well-being by attaching deeply to me as an infant;  or stimulating their brains by talking with them, touching them, snuggling them and predisposing them to know the love of God by building pathways in their brain formation of love, acceptance, words of life, affection were the beginnings to my understanding of just how profound God had created the role of a mother to be.

Later when I read thousands and thousands of pages on issues that created intelligence, moral groundings, strong character, habits, vocabulary and more, social skills, leadership skills, I was challenged to my core to see that the scope of what I could give to my children was indeed profound. It is only lack of education and imagination that prevents a woman from understanding the foundational elements that would cultivate in her children a great soul.

Many have asked me if I think it is God's will for all women to homeschool.  I cannot answer that question. I could not possibly limit God's will to the choice I have made  as the only choice He will bless. I  believe that His holy spirit can work abundantly and miraculously in a myriad of situations in different countries and in a variety of historical situations through out time. God honors faith, diligence and hard work and dependence on Him. I have realized that it is not my responsibility to inform people of God's will for their lives, but as a Titus 2 woman, I believe I must teach wisdom principles that I have learned through out my life.

We must understand, however, that choices do have consequences, and one must make an educational choice for their children based on their walk with God and what would be the best choice for their children, their life puzzle and their family in mind. At the forefront of the decision is the understanding that we will have to give an account to God someday for the way we invested for His kingdom in the lives of our children. The responsibility is to parents to influence their children for Christ.

However, the reason I did choose to homeschool, is that once I understood the Biblical mandate for me as a mother,  to be accountable to God for raising these precious children for His glory, (with all of these things in mind), homeschooling seemed to me to be the best choice for our family. I knew that there was no one in the world who held the ideals, Biblical truths, and family values like Clay and I did, and no one would be able to pass on the messages and convictions that God had put on our hearts. (I believe there are excellent teachers in this world, but God had put on our hearts the very kind of education and messages we wanted to give to our children.

Seeing my children's hearts and souls as treasure chests so to speak, I prayed and pondered, how could I so invest in their lives so that they would have eternal and true values and memories, and foundations of truth and godly purpose to carry with them and to draw from the rest of their lives. This meant reading them the best books, exposing them to the best writers to store important ideas and a Biblical world view in their minds. I wanted them to have the most wonderful family traditions, values, celebrations that would keep them accountable to the foundations of our family the rest of their lives. Cultivating the gentlest and most loving relationships, the best and most personal model of valuing family life and children and passing on manners that valued and respected all human beings was essential. I planned  the broadest experiences of hearing the most wonderful stories of people, exploring God's creation from a Biblical point of view, have opportunities to work side by side with us in ministry, learn to value music and art and history and government and be given the freedom to develop their personalities and gifts to the fullest of what God had created them to be--these and more were areas that I knew no other teacher could give them as I wanted to do.

Whether a 12th floor apartment in Hong Kong, or an old weather-beaten farmhouse in England or a suburban home in America, home is the place all over the world where the scope and magnitude of souls will be shaped and nurtured. Each of us, as mothers, have the ability to create the life of God, in our own homes. We can cultivate samples of His own creativity by home art--pictures on the walls, books in baskets, arrangements of flowers and nature strewn through our rooms, books filling nooks and crannies, pianos or flutes or violins for them to practice music, paints and crayons for drawing pictures of life,--a veritable endless amounts of ways to pass on the reality of our living and vibrant God.

Time is limited and so we must evaluate our children's lives in light of how much we want to allow culture to determine their foundational values, and how much we are willing to work to pass on.

 

The Kingdom of Home

Myles Birket Foster

Home is the place of refuge, comfort, inspiration, where great souls can be formed, work habits shaped, models of marriage, love and relationship passed on and eternal spiritual purposes are formed. One of the great losses of this century is the loss of imagination of just what a home was created by God to do.

When I consider the role of motherhood, as well as shaping my children into warriors for His kingdom purposes, I have to consider what God had in mind when he designed women, marriage, and home, as a place to raise whole hearted children. The home and the life in the home, to a great extent, determine the future of children as adults.

Becoming a mother is a role that most women are least prepared or trained to embrace and yet the role that will determine the outcome of history. Clay and I were talking about this the other night and he said, "I wonder if the mother's role might be the most determining factor in our history today as to how history will unfold. I think he could be right.

When I began to understand that the best and most lasting "work" I would ever do, was to build little souls, in my own home, for the kingdom of God, it gave me grand scope for my life. Understanding that I would be responsible for accepting them into my arms and their very health from feeding at my breasts; to emotional well-being by attaching deeply to me as an infant;  or stimulating their brains by talking with them, touching them, snuggling them and predisposing them to know the love of God by building pathways in their brain formation of love, acceptance, words of life, affection were the beginnings to my understanding of just how profound God had created the role of a mother to be.

Later when I read thousands and thousands of pages on issues that created intelligence, moral groundings, strong character, habits, vocabulary and more, social skills, leadership skills, I was challenged to my core to see that the scope of what I could give to my children was indeed profound. It is only lack of education and imagination that prevents a woman from understanding the foundational elements that would cultivate in her children a great soul.

Many have asked me if I think it is God's will for all women to homeschool.  I cannot answer that question. I could not possibly limit God's will to the choice I have made  as the only choice He will bless. I  believe that His holy spirit can work abundantly and miraculously in a myriad of situations in different countries and in a variety of historical situations through out time. God honors faith, diligence and hard work and dependence on Him. I have realized that it is not my responsibility to inform people of God's will for their lives, but as a Titus 2 woman, I believe I must teach wisdom principles that I have learned through out my life.

We must understand, however, that choices do have consequences, and one must make an educational choice for their children based on their walk with God and what would be the best choice for their children, their life puzzle and their family in mind. At the forefront of the decision is the understanding that we will have to give an account to God someday for the way we invested for His kingdom in the lives of our children. The responsibility is to parents to influence their children for Christ.

However, the reason I did choose to homeschool, is that once I understood the Biblical mandate for me as a mother,  to be accountable to God for raising these precious children for His glory, (with all of these things in mind), homeschooling seemed to me to be the best choice for our family. I knew that there was no one in the world who held the ideals, Biblical truths, and family values like Clay and I did, and no one would be able to pass on the messages and convictions that God had put on our hearts. (I believe there are excellent teachers in this world, but God had put on our hearts the very kind of education and messages we wanted to give to our children.

Seeing my children's hearts and souls as treasure chests so to speak, I prayed and pondered, how could I so invest in their lives so that they would have eternal and true values and memories, and foundations of truth and godly purpose to carry with them and to draw from the rest of their lives. This meant reading them the best books, exposing them to the best writers to store important ideas and a Biblical world view in their minds. I wanted them to have the most wonderful family traditions, values, celebrations that would keep them accountable to the foundations of our family the rest of their lives. Cultivating the gentlest and most loving relationships, the best and most personal model of valuing family life and children and passing on manners that valued and respected all human beings was essential. I planned  the broadest experiences of hearing the most wonderful stories of people, exploring God's creation from a Biblical point of view, have opportunities to work side by side with us in ministry, learn to value music and art and history and government and be given the freedom to develop their personalities and gifts to the fullest of what God had created them to be--these and more were areas that I knew no other teacher could give them as I wanted to do.

Whether a 12th floor apartment in Hong Kong, or an old weather-beaten farmhouse in England or a suburban home in America, home is the place all over the world where the scope and magnitude of souls will be shaped and nurtured. Each of us, as mothers, have the ability to create the life of God, in our own homes. We can cultivate samples of His own creativity by home art--pictures on the walls, books in baskets, arrangements of flowers and nature strewn through our rooms, books filling nooks and crannies, pianos or flutes or violins for them to practice music, paints and crayons for drawing pictures of life,--a veritable endless amounts of ways to pass on the reality of our living and vibrant God.

Time is limited and so we must evaluate our children's lives in light of how much we want to allow culture to determine their foundational values, and how much we are willing to work to pass on.

But, I did realize that choices did have consequences and if I wanted to be the one to most determine these values, ideas, ideals, then I would have to sacrifice my own life to the benefit of their lives.

I was speaking to a mom recently who had raised all of her children and had seen them become godly young adults, passionate about their lives and about the Lord.

She said, "I don't think many are talking about Biblical sacrifice any more. When I was a mother of three and my oldest was 6, all of a sudden, I realized that if I were to embrace giving my children the finest and the best, I would have to work harder than I had been prepared to work, sacrifice my own goals and time, and invest in eternity by giving all of myself to the raising of a godly generation."

I personally was not prepared for all that it would require of me, but God expanded my capacity a little more every year as I trusted Him and learned and confessed and grew.

So, the starting point is to see our domain as a Kingdom. We are the queens who rule over our domain. We are the authorities who will determine, to a great deal, the provision of those in our kingdom, the character, the hope and confidence and success as we lead them and rule over them judiciously and generously. As sovereigns over a domain, we have the responsibility to rule over it with excellence, intentionality, shaping the outcome of the life that is lived there. A good queen always leads in the way that will provide best for those under her dominion, and so we may lead well, as we have observed many in history have done, or we may lead poorly with devastating results for those under our charge.

So, learning to embrace the vision is the beginning point of understanding the influence and capacity we have been given by God to lead, build, inspire and train a generation of kingdom workers who will bring His light to bear in their generation. But this kind of result is not happenstance.

Excellence of any kind comes from focussed intentionality. I have said over and over again, we would not throw seeds out into the wind and expect them to become a lavish, cultivated garden. And so, we must not throw our children out into the winds of a humanistic culture and expect them to become healthy, spiritual souls. We must take care for the planting, cultivating, protecting, picking out the weeds, ridding the ground  of pests, so that the garden of our children's souls might flourish and bear much fruit and beauty for eternity.

Dolphin Tale actors to call your home!

"Mom, I got to be on the red carpet!" (except it was blue!)  were the first words of Nathan's Sunday call. What an adventure he had interviewing one of the actors, seeing the rest parading upon the red carpet at the screening of Dolphin Tale last weekend.

What an blast, he said, to be at the opening and see all the fanfare and people and to see all of the stars of the movie. He even got to interview one, as you can see!

I hope all of you will remember how important it is to attend the first Friday showing of this great children's and family movie this coming Friday at a theatre near you. Showing our support will encourage further great movies as Friday's daytime showings determine so very much. Please tell all of your friends, go have lots of fun and help make a difference in our media preferences for families!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2_IKI4zjeI&feature=player_embedded

This is an interview of the star in the movie, Cozi.

As a thank you for all of your help, Nathan has told me he could have one of the child stars, both very strong believers, call your children in your home to talk to them and to answer questions and to encourage them.

One lucky reader will be chosen to receive a phone call from one of the young stars of Dolphin Tale! Both of these kids are from a homeschool support group in California.

To enter, you must:

Take a picture of your family or group at the theater for Homeschool Day

Send the picture to homeschoolmovieclub@gmail.com

Use the subject line "Itakejoy.com" homeschool day contest (there are only 4 bloggers doing this!

Contest ends at Saturday, 9/24 at 5:00 p.m. (Entries submitted after this will not be accepted.)

Tell your friends about this fun opportunity! Hope it is you! :)

Enjoy!

Our winners of the last giveaway are:

Rachel Priest of

Villa Ricardo, GA 30180 and

Christina Puntigam of

Plymouth, MI 48170

 

Today, I am amidst mixed-up seasons of life

Fall marks the inevitability of the changes that blow through our lives.

The colors of leaves begin to change, as a gentle warning that life and seasons are changing. Usually, I love fall, but I find this fall hard to bear. It had to happen, but it doesn't make it any easier.

I am grieving and inefficient in my life. Grieving the loss of my mother and the position she once played in my life. Grateful for what she taught me and modeled to me in my early years and for her generous spirit. Mothers can be the one who have a heart especially for you and your needs. The one who says, "You are working too hard! You need a break." or " I was thinking about you and I have a little gift for you." (or I want to take you out to lunch, or I am praying for you, or whatever it is that others do not always remember to do in your life--that is what a mother can be and do.)

I am grieving for what can never be again, for what was not there, for things that can never be made whole.

I am grieving because after 27 years of having my sweet, precious children underfoot and needing me, they are all quite independent and not underfoot. Sarah left and I miss her. Joy is driving herself to college and all the other activities that she is in (2 jobs, a play, a discipleship group and college classes), and so I do miss having my sweet ones here with me, needing me.

I am grateful to see my children thriving. I am grateful to hear their thoughts and ideas and goings and comings. I am a blessed woman. I am happy that Joy is flourishing and got an A on her first college math test--this from a family of artsy people. I am thankful she still comes home at night and I can enjoy her sweet friendship.

I am teaching a monthly mom's group, a leadership group and a once a week mom's Bible study. I am still immersed in scripture and love these women who are in my life. I love my sweet friends who I still share life with--(French cafe, breakfast with pastries, strong coffee, and an hour at IKEA yesterday.)

I am preparing to travel to Tennessee to do another Leadership Intensive with precious friends from 20 years ago and that makes me grateful, that we can all be together in ministry again.

I will spend 3 days with my friend who is like a sister, Gwen. We will sit in her home and cook and read and talk about life and be still in the beauty of a life-long sister-type of friendship, as we take care of her 96 year old mom. She became family for my children when my family disappeared from their lives. She sent cards, Christmas presents, birthday presents, and loved my children when they needed someone besides me.  We, who were missionaries together as young women in Poland, have a lot of memories, faith stories and love and grace between us.

I am praying about helping Clay to find the right surgeon for his back and we are asking for wisdom to do invasive surgery or less invasive--we don't know which to choose. Both will cost us thousands and thousands of dollars as we are a small ministry and do not have great insurance. (pre-existings have also hindered the process.) I am praying for God to supply the needed funds.

I am seeking an oral surgeon for Joy as she needs immediate surgery on her wisdom teeth. Praying for timing since Clay also needs me in his surgery. Praying for more funds to pay for her teeth. (All 4 coming in at once and she has no room and it is all painful.)

I am contemplating my life, what has been good, how to simplify, what to cut out, how to escape the bonds and definition I have lived in and see my life with new eyes. What would He have me do the next season of my life? What does He want from me most? What will life look like now.

I am praying that my children will find godly and matching soul-mates soon and for grandchildren and that they will all love Jesus every day.

I am going for my Saturday morning walk downtown this morning, but this time after 8 years, I will do it by myself. But it is a beautiful day and I know I will find joy.