five things.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

I titled this post Five things on Friday, which was much catchier, but then Friday came and went and the post sat in my drafts folder (like most of my blog posts, for awhile). This will be a word-heavy, picture-less post, I apologize in advance. I’ll do my very best to make it interesting.

Here are a few things we’ve been up to!

 

1. Starting school

We started a new homeschool year on Tuesday, and it’s been lovely.

We had a wonderful summer. I felt like I truly disconnected from homeschooling and got to travel and take pictures and catch up with friends and just be mom. My kids completed two summer reading challenges: at the library and at Barnes and Noble, and other than that we just did a lot of playing. I spent the week they were at VBS in June planning and ordering textbooks for this year, and then got to forget all about school for another month.

We started back a bit early because of our road trip this fall, but haven’t minded. Our friends who’s kids go to school are feeling the same way. Isn’t it nice how, after all that wonderful freedom in summer, by the time August roles around, you begin to think, Routine is good. School is good.

We began with History, Latin, Phonics, Handwriting, and Bible this week, and are easing into our tougher subjects (adding math and spelling on Monday), and just enjoying structure. We start Classical Conversations on the 22nd.

Oh, also as of this month we quit swim team (sad face). We just couldn’t swing swim fees plus tuition for Classical Conversations and so had a good conversation with our kids about how we can’t always do all the great things, sometimes we have to choose. This year we’re choosing CC. Maybe it will be different in the future. They were disappointed at first, but have already moved on.

Kids are great that way, aren’t they?

 

2. Bible study

A couple of women from church invited me to do a six-week Bible study with them this summer, and it was fantastic.

We used the study Go And Tell No One, by Kristin Hill, and if you order it from Amazon, it’s a workbook format (I didn’t know that ahead of time). I highly recommend this study on the character of Jesus in a few stories from the Gospels. My friends and I did the weekly work on our own and then met to talk about what we learned.

I’m writing here about it, because I haven’t done a really in-depth Bible Study in several years. Typically I read a chapter or two a day from a book of the Bible, and use a journal for notes and prayer. This year I’ve really enjoyed Tim and Kathy Keller’s Proverbs devotional.

But doing an actual Bible study made me remember the value of digging into the Scriptures more deeply.

Having daily assignments this summer made such an impact on me that when we finished, I immediately found another Bible Study to do on my own. Some other friends recommended one on the book of James, by Jen Wilkin, which is free here. I’ve been printing out the pages and putting them in a 3-ring binder. I like this study because it also comes with audio teaching at the end of each week.

Here’s a brief word of encouragement for you young moms: things are crazy right now with babies and toddlers and nursing and diapers and messes. I know. For so many years I felt like I did the bare minimum in spending daily time in the Word. I felt guilty. But even if you have 10 minutes a day to read the Word and pray, stay faithful to those 10 minutes. Don’t feel guilty. It’s just a season. Those minutes add up, and they will change you. God is at work in your life, and He wants to meet you exactly where you are, right now.

And then, there will actually come a season, where you discover that you have time and energy for in-depth Bible study again. I’m in this season right now and feel more thankful than ever, because I remember the years I couldn’t do it. I feel like I’m soaking it all up in new ways because of where I am in life, and how much I need Christ each day.

He will meet you in those chaotic, young-mothering moments, and He’ll meet you later on too, when the challenges are still overwhelming but you have more space in your day to sit at His feet and learn and worship. He is so faithful.

 

3. Movies

Judah and I set a summer goal of watching all the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies together.

That’s six 3-hour movies in all! We’re almost finished: just one left. We decided to watch the movies in the order they were made, and so started with the Lord of the Rings trilogy and then moved on to The Hobbit.

We’ve had such a blast. We pick a night of the week, make a special dessert (usually brownies and ice cream or cookies), and typically don’t finish the movie until 10:30 or 11 at night. Having an almost-eleven-year old boy is so much fun. I love spending time with him.

And don’t tell him I told, but watching movies together is the one time I can still get him to cuddle with me. It’s the best.

 

4. Blogs

This has been kind of a low summer for blogs.

Call me old-fashioned, but I’m still a blog reader. Instagram is not for me. But I feel sort of left high and dry because it seems that everyone’s shifting their communication to Instagram. The blogs I do read have begun disappointing me. There is so much advertising and I feel like everyone’s starting to sound the same. I don’t want to be critical but sometimes it seems to me that when someone gets a book deal their message becomes watered down. I just want to know what’s really going on in your life and what you really think, even if I disagree with it.

So this summer I’ve avoided all blogs besides my friends’ and my one tried-and-true favorite, Under the Sycamore. Ashley is wonderful: fun, creative, inspiring, and honest. Also: they’re doing a house renovation/addition right now! I talk like I know her. I absolutely don’t. But I blog-stalk her like some of you say you blog-stalk me. But it’s not stalking, right? I just pretend that we’re real friends and feel very thankful for her little corner of the Internet.

 

5. Podcasts

I go through seasons with podcasts. I used to listen to a few religiously (Read-Aloud Revival and At Home being at the top of my list, and Young House Love is just so fun too).

But this summer I felt urged to embrace quiet.

I purposefully used moments alone in the van or on a run to spend time in silence. No podcasts. No music. No talking on the phone. I had two weeks of mornings to myself with VBS and then camp. I cleaned my house. I planned for school. All in silence. I was surprised at how good the quiet felt, at how rested I was.

Now my runs are once again filled with worship music or the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat, and I’m checking back in with my podcasts. I don’t listen often, but the one I reach for now is At Home with Sally, by Sally Clarkson.

I’ve read many of her books, but have to say I far prefer her speaking. I enjoyed listening to her at a home school conference years ago, and am loving her podcast now.

This is how a friend described Sally Clarkson: “Some moms don’t like her because they feel like they can’t measure up to the standard she sets, but I appreciate her because she sets a vision for us women. She knows what we can be and can have in Christ, and pushes us toward it, with lots of encouragement.”

I heartily agree.

Actually, the older I get — and, Lord willing, the more secure of a person I become — I long for her words to challenge and point me toward prayer, memorizing Scripture, training my mind to believe truth rather than lies, and abiding in Christ.

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And that’s that!

I’m working on a bookshelf post for your fall, and am excited to fill you in on a few details about our Road Trip.

Happy Saturday!