Staying Busy…AND normal
Hi all. After a day of shoo-ing out fear and answering questions to my girls of why would God allow this, I knew we needed some normalcy or fun somehow. So we took to the woods behind our home. One side of our property is a cornfield and the other side we live along a creek that runs into the woods directly behind us. The usual arguement around here is…where is the front yard? The yard that faces the highway or the yard that faces the road? Or the yard that faces the field? Bottom line though, we are blessed.
So no school today for the girls and we made list of the things we may be able to see in the woods. We all got our rubbery boots on and grandma came over and we hit our woods. I thought of you that read my stuff that haven’t been able to get out and thought you may enjoy these finds we found along the way. (BTW…I’ve been to the woods and to the dollar store once all week)
Things on the list:
Deer and raccoon tracks
Black, gray and white rock
Tree nut
Something made by a human
Loose tree bark
Scat!
Sycamore leaf
Spider web
Forked stick
Only thing we didn’t find was the spider web. This adventure took our minds off of everything and calmed us considerably. We had a nice dinner and a calm evening where daddy taught the girls how to make yarn dolls and I retaught myself to crochet.
Antidote to Crippling Fear
Hi all. I told myself I probably wouldn’t post much with all that’s going on, but something happened to me today that I want to share with you…
The thing I keep hearing myself saying to my girls over these past days is, “Many homes, many families and many kids are facing the same thing we are. The letdown feelings when big events get cancelled. The fear and even the boredom.”
I devised a plan to make a signal for our family when the walls are closing in on us and the sight of one another gets to be too much…Operation Alone Time! We all have a designated place we will go and the one rule is no one is to question why, just stop what they’re doing and go to their alone place. Pray it works, y’all.
After this talk with my girls this morning, and a little while after our devotion and prayer time, something happened to me. I became very shaky and a bit disoriented. I felt it in my hands all the way to my feet. I kept moving in the kitchen with my task all along worrying I would fall over any minute. I asked myself what is this? The cold I’ve had? Low blood sugar? Then it hit me…anxiety, adrenaline. It was exactly that. Fear was about to cripple me.
I had just prayed, why was this happening to me? And what should I do?
I sat down at my table and I prayed again. I bound the spirit of fear in Jesus name about 4 to 5x’s before I felt it leave my home out the front door. I didn’t see it but I felt it leave. I loosed the spirit of peace coming down from heaven upon me and my home and my family.
It was gone. The physical symptoms were gone. A peace filled my home. God is real. He is here. He hears us. He answers prayers and He brings peace.
I will never see this verse the same after today. May it help you as well.
My Take…
Tonight my sensitive Abigail started to cry and say she was getting scared with all that is going on in our world. I tried my best to reassure her…and me. I explained to her about how germs are spread and how people stay away from one another, the virus has nowhere to go. This helped…this time.
Abigail went with me to the store this past Friday. She experienced the empty shelves, the packed aisles, the frantic faces, and the tension in the air. She said that night to us that she felt like she was being pushed through the store.
Seems like everyone has an opinion on this thing. Seems like they all know one way or another how it’s going to play out. Some blow it off while others are stocking up at any cost. I saw a 4 pack of toilet paper online for sale for 15$. The conversations everywhere are either jokes about toilet paper or hand sanitizer. It was funny a couple days ago…until President Trump announced to keep our gatherings to 10 or less people. That hit me. Scared me. I started to think of the things we have. The things we don’t have. The things I always said I’d get in a time like this. Frantic is the feeling I had inside. Fear is another word for it.
Seems like all over the Internet you can find jokes or encouraging do not fear quotes. Or if you’re a facts kind of gal, you read the articles that are cranking out daily. Bottom line?
What if? That’s a question I bet many of us ask when the devices are put on the charger and the televisions are turned off. What if? When the school work is done. And the dinner dishes are cleaned up. What if?
I’m not here to give you a quote to make you feel better. And I’m out of jokes on the matter. There is a fear that has been knocking on my heart. And it comes and it goes. It goes mainly when I remember I’m ok I’ll make it to heaven. But then the fear returns when I think of my loved ones who may not make it there. What if?
Yep leave it to me to dramatize this whole thing. Leave it to me to be the raw one…but, what if?
Honestly, none of us have an answer to any of this. We definitely do all have our opinions though. But…what if? What if it happens to you? What if your child gets it? What if your child suffers from autism and OCD and fear of germs? And now her world is torn apart by the one thing she usually has to make small in her mind just to make it through the day. Have you considered those who have legitimate fears of germs? What that looks like for them each new day?
There will be many more stories like that, along with others I’ve heard. A father to stationed states away from his pregnant wife. Who now can’t make it home for the birth of his child. Children of elderly parents who sit in their homes wondering and worrying over their parent in a nursing home.
There are going to be some sad stories that come out of this. Tragedy. But what if? You become one of those stories? Who will you lean on? What about those who have no one?
So you see, again my dear reader, the conundrum I find my thinking in. But you who know my writings know I never leave you with a bad/sad ending because out of all of this chaos, out of all this fear, our God still sits on throne. Our God still wins. Our God has this in control. He said, and I believe it with all of my heart, I will never leave you, nor forsake you. He’s there for you and He’s here for me.
So the next time we ask what if? Maybe we can hear Him say…I’m here.
What Are You Afraid Of? — Unshakable Hope
This says it all.
If you don’t follow Bill, you should. He helps us keep life, suffering, pain and most importantly faith in perspective.
The public is panicking over this Coronavirus. Sporting events have been canceled, churches are vacant, and grocery shelves are all but empty. Many people in America are in fear of contracting this virus, so they’re hunkering down at home. Having overcome the fear of death, contracting the virus is way down on the list of […]
Amy’s Spring World
Hi all! Well my youngest is a paleontologist. You buy the little stone and dig out the bones to snap together, but she’s still working on it. Abigail got herself a 3-D puzzle by Melissa and Doug toys. So much fun.
So here’s where the chicken saga begins. Our hen went broody, meaning she sat and sat and sat on her eggs…so my husband started shoving more eggs under her. Her name is Mother Hen. So she sat on about 15 eggs or so. Then one hatched and my girls were over the moon about it. The first baby is named Onsie, poor guy if it turns out to be a boy. Lol…Then a few more hatched. My husband held one in his hands and helped one hatched.
After this, Mother Hen didn’t behave the same. She began to peck at her babies. So this baby came in for a night. The girls were so happy to have a chick in the house!
This one is named Glenda. Sorry, Sister Glenda (our pastor’s wife) but you’re loved so much by our girls!
Little over a week ago they were sledding in the snow here in Indiana. By today, they were running through the yard in rain boots and sweatshirts.
Homeschool is going strong. I’m starting to feel ready for the summer break, but will have to suffice for spring break. I’ve been gathering and planning for next year’s books. It’s refreshing to know what to buy compared to last year. We’ve been using Abeka curriculum and I love it. The writers use the same methods throughout the grades which helps you as the teacher. I have been using a friend’s DVD’S of abeka video lessons…but I’ve made a decision to start teaching my little one for the rest of the year without the DVDs. They go so fast that I wonder how much my child even hears or retains. So pray for us.
The latest in Doves…well the girls put all their shoes in a pile, then got in 2 teams. On the count of 3, both teams ran to the pile and grabbed their own shows and put them on. First team standing with shoes on…won! The majority of the girls loved this.
We also did the hula hoop game where they have to pass it around without letting go of each other’s hands. This is a good way to teach them to help one another.
After some consideration, I decided to have a fb account recently. The most social media I ever do is here on WordPress. It amazes me, and scared me to see how quickly that platform can link people together. Before a few days were up, I had a ton of “friends” on there showing up in my feed. People who don’t even usually ask me how I am, who see me regularly, are posting sad or angry things out there for me to read. It brought me down quick. Many try to encourage with 3-liner quotes with pretty pictures, but after about 20 of those…well they all say the same 3 lines. Videos of dogs doing stupid things, babies rolling over with jelly on their faces, and image after image of the latest on the coronavirus. Even if it’s postings of how we shouldn’t be scared of it, it’s still getting the attention the devil desires to hype us up and scare us into to being distracted from God.
Maybe some people can get on there and be okay but for me, it settled down in my soul and left me feeling agitated, annoyed, tense and mostly distracted. THEN, God spoke to me through this post by Lisa, (read it, it’s good) and I knew exactly what I should do. I will be erasing that account very soon! The quickness and the connectedness of fb reminded me of this verse…a hint that we are in the end times.
A mother’s poem
My dear, dear daughter take a good look at me
See the love I carry for you to the nth degree
Dear, dear daughter if only you could see
I’m on your side, not your enemy
Chastisement is example from the Father above
Discipline is good when done in love
Beautiful child I wish I could live this life for you
Instead I’ll try my best to guide and show you…
All about the Lord and how to navigate your way
How to be a good mama and wife someday
Dear daughter of mine I have a continual hope…
That you’ll call on God when you’re at the end of your rope
Written by Amy Blount
