So after last week, I had a couple of pitfalls with working on patience. I guess we all have them. But the plan is still in effect and working well. We'll be doing some daily tweaking for the interruptions that I know are coming, but for the most part, we're sticking to it. The kids are finally out of the confused mode of "Where am I supposed to be again???" and "You mean I'm actually supposed to work on Math for one hour even if I finish today's lesson early????"

To that last question, I say, "Yes." Reasons abound here, but the main one is 2 hours of piano practice on Wednesday and three hours of bible study on Thursday. If you can get 5 lessons done in four days, Friday is free for you, at least from school that is.

Physical therapy is still a tough thing for me and even tougher for my son. He struggles with the pain and yet I can see so much progress in his back pain. So we continue and I see the value and in those 10 excruciating minutes of PT, he can't see anything but the pain. I rub his back and remind him that this pain is actually good. But his ears can't hear me for the pain. He's a trouper through it all and doesn't fight, though he does wiggle all over the bed, trying to remove himself from the pain. That only happens when the pain is unbearable and he isn't conscious of what he's doing.

Today he said, he may be a physical therapist one day. I told him that he would be able to be compassionate toward others because of the pain he's been through.

Listening to Petra's -Thankful Heart, thanks to my brother-in-law for posting it on FB. I find that when I cannot be grouchy and thankful at the same time. I think I need to focus more on what Christ has done for me and I will be the woman that He wants me to be.

Patience

Planning produces patience. One active way I can be more patient is to plan ahead. The other thing planning does is helps me not to worry. It's an active way I can be obedient. I love it how God provides things to do instead of the things we aren't to do. How many times as parents do we say, "Don't do that."? But we don't give them something to replace "that" with.

We do need to be vigilant about these areas in our lives. The key thing for me though, has been putting my Bible study on my list of things to do. Yes, I know that may sound legalistic. But it's necessary for me. With only 8 hours off during the day, I can do a good job teaching my kids, if that's all I do. So spending time in God's Word was lacking a lot, not just sometimes, but most days. Since it's on my list, I'm having a blast, learning and growing. So, I guess I would say that's not legalism. The hope is that I would be diligent about this and keep it consistent in my life.

Patience

I've really been thinking about how to be more patient with teaching. One thing I've noticed if I get bogged down in my own things, I don't usually have success being patient when the kids ask me questions or have needs with their work. Also "He who fails to plan, plans to fail." So when I wake up in the morning with a plan in hand, I'm set.

This doesn't mean that I don't get impatient, but that the chances that I'm tempted are less. When I have a plan posted on the fridge, the kids know what the expectations are for them and they aren't surprised. They actually might be surprised if they find that I stick to the plan. I have a very hard time with that.

I love to make a plan and do it for a week and then leave it altogether. I think, in our family, we need to have a plan and tweak it where necessary, but mostly always stick to that plan or the tweaked one.

Like Elizabeth George says in her book "Loving God with all your mind", we must be prepared for a major upheaval to our plan for the day and if this happens then we need to evaluate the interruption and decide if it's from the Lord or not. If it is, then we are to accept that with our whole hearts and "always abound in the work of the Lord."

Bible study with Forever 31

I was studying for Bible study in chapter 7. I think I might be behind a bit. But I love the idea of how we eat an elephant - one bite at a time. I have a lot of things on my plate and if I can take a bite of each one, each day, then I can get done and feel more motivated to do more tomorrow.

I like Elisabeth Eliott's idea of "Just do the next thing." Seems I can get bogged down with discouragement, but I just need to do one more thing and I'll feel a lot more like doing another thing.

My list is long as I'm sure yours is, but if we can break it down into bite-sized chunks, it will get done.

Just some food for thought.

God's faithfulness

Last week in Sunday School, we were talking about the faithfulness of God. One of the key things that stood out to me was that when we are looking at what God does we are on a roller coaster, because the things that are happening to us and around us don't always make sense. But when we focus on who He is, we are on an even keel, so to speak, and the waves crashing around us don't worry us so much.

My husband and I had been discussing our future and we were both feeling rather bleak about it. He desires to be in full-time ministry, which means that it is his job rather than a side thing. There were tears and long conversations about this because we haven't seen God leading us into full time ministry. Yes, we believe that's what He wants of our family, but we didn't see any direction.

So I shared this with my Mom-time prayer group and my Sunday school class. On Monday, out of the blue, we recieved an e-mail from a close friend telling us of a need in Kansas. He and his family are missionaries, but his home church needs a pastor. He was letting us know so that we could pray about applying for the position.

My husband and I both felt the same way that God was leading us in this direction. After a night of thinking about it, we both saw all the ways God was using us here and how much we had to do if we were called to this ministry. It was an eye-opener for us because we realized that God was using us even though it didn't look like it to us.

Whether or not we move to Kansas, is still up in the air. But God is showing us that the process is very valuable, maybe even more than the destination. We get so caught up in figuring out what our future is, that we forget that the "getting there" is also a valuable time of learning.

Girls' room

Today, I'm home for the weekend. I'm quite tired and really don't feel like dealing with the issues that must be dealt with at home. But I know that once I get started I'll be glad I did. Maybe starting with a shower would help. It was somewhat of a long week at work and I'm not really ready for more work.

Later: I got inspired to do some work - not really housecleaning, though it will help. I've been wanting to paint the girls' room, since I bought the wrong color of paint for the downstairs bathroom. It's not a good color for that room, but a great color for a girl's room. So I cleaned everything out of their closet and started painting it. Then Jeff is planning on putting shelves in for organization, and I'd like to figure out something for shoes. I know they have those shoe things to go under the bed, but I'm hoping to keep from spending money. I also need to screw in their curtain rod and maybe put the blinds back up.

Even later: So I painted the closet once and while I was doing that, the boys got into the sugar and spread it all over the kitchen and were cutting bread with scissors. So I finished the closet while they were napping. Actually finished painting it once. The trim still needs to be done.

My goal for myself these days is to love my children. There's too much impatience with their naughtiness and I don't believe that is right. Naughtiness and disobedience are unacceptable but when I'm mad because they are disobedient, then I am wrong and not displaying the fruit of the Spirit. Consistency tempered with love is what my kids need. Compassion is missing in my life.