Moments of Joy

I don't know about you, but I often wonder if I'm doing this right. I wonder if anything I try to teach my kids is ever going to amount to anything other than "doing the time", and that's not what I want my children to take away from this schooling experience. Somehow, in the midst of the pity party I was having, my child presented me with an opportunity to see into "the future"...figuratively, of course.

I lost my mother in March. My dad, trying to be helpful, brought me all her sewing things knowing that I would want them when I was ready. Well, I wasn't ready. They have been sitting in a pile in the corner of the living room and I walk past and ignore them daily...until today. One of my girls is wanting to learn to sew and asked if she could have Gramma's machine if I wasn't going to use it. So, we got it out, cleaned it up and made sure it was working. Then she wanted to explore the boxes of treasures as well. Most of it was not worth saving because it had been in storage too long. When we got to the bottom of the box, we found patterns to make Barbie clothes. I couldn't believe my mother had kept them, but I couldn't help smiling. We sat and laughed at how funny the clothes looked (I was a 70's child..) and I told her about how I would sit and look through the scraps pile to pick the material for the clothes. What started out as getting ready for a school subject I wasn't looking forward to, quickly became a time to share old memories and make new ones.

Never underestimate the power of your influence on your child. You never know when what you may think is a small, inconsequential moment of your time will turn into a memory. A memory that brings joy, and remembrance of things you taught, to future generations. Enjoy home schooling your children, you're doing great!

His Grace is Enough

This story was forwarded to me not too long ago. My friend was shocked (with good reason) to read of this man's deception. The more I think about the story, the more it occurs to me that this man is just that, a man. We have all sinned and none of us is worthy of Grace on our own, yet God offers it to us so freely.

I can't presume to say why this man would choose to deceive millions the way he has. Perhaps he thought that producing a "miracle" would inspire someone else to believe. Perhaps he shamelessly had a plan to make money off the pity of others. I can't say. I do know that miracles are possible. My son is one. He was dramatically healed. I do know that not every prayer is answered with a miracle. Or is it? After 25 years of pain my mother went home to be with her savior last March. Is that a miracle? Maybe not the one I was hoping for, but the fact that God loved her so much He saved her soul so she could live with Him eternally sounds pretty miraculous to me.

I don't know what God has in store for this preacher who has so publicly fallen. I do know God loves him very much and is waiting with forgiveness and mercy and grace to wrap him in and hold him close. The same love and grace He offers to me every time I fail. He makes all things beautiful. Every sin I allow Him to cover with that unending grace turns from something ugly, to something He uses for His glory. His Grace is ENOUGH and I thank Him for that.