Sunrise and Fog
All my gardening life, I’ve managed to keep ahead of the weeds using a combination of diligent effort and Amy Dacyczyn’s simple advice to stir up the soil every week. This summer, we’re struggling just to get out the weeds out before they go to seed, and I’m not sure we will even manage that. It’s a matter of priorities, and the garden is not as high a priority as other things this year.
We can—and must—plan our days carefully and wisely. Occasionally, however, God replaces manageable plans with a whirlwind, speaking to and through us in the wild spinning. Even though he gives calm in the midst of it, and even though the outcome can be good beyond our wildest expectations, I find it can take me a long time to recover.
For a months now, we’ve focussed on reviewing the Bible texts, Psalms, and hymns we’ve memorized over the years rather than learning anything new. Now we are memorizing again, and it’s refreshing to be putting new aspects of God’s truth into our minds. Once again I’m reminded of the difference in memorizing ability between my brain and my children’s brains. Honestly, it is such a difference that I would suggest that memorizing the Bible and Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is one of the most valuable opportunities of childhood.
Other activities this week: camp, including waterskiing and canoeing; Bible study; caring for our bunny’s sore leg; eating cherry plums, plums, apples, and raspberries and giving them away; praying for many sad and sick people; drywalling part of the basement; visiting friends; swimming; driving lessons; avoiding the heat; cleaning up inside the house and out; watching spiders mend their webs at dusk; swimming at night; watching the bats fly around in the evening; playing Cross Crib; eating lots of barbequed food; walking; eating outside; digging up wild parsnip; medical appointments; watching the full moon instead of sleeping.
Project progress (or lack thereof): I did not get a chance to sew our bedspread, nor is my desk looking much better. There was absolutely no opportunity to work on the back end of my blog, and the homeschool planning did not progress much either. Next week looks less busy, so hopefully at least one of those projects will move along…and the younger girls may start to patch and paint their bedroom walls under the supervision of Miss 17 who knows all about that sort of thing.
Reading: Little pockets of waiting time are perfect for reading, so I did do some of that. For our study, I read the next section of Disciplines of a Godly Woman, and I also finished Bonding with Your Child Through Boundaries. It turns out there is a similar book for older kids, Bonding with Your Teen Through Boundaries, which I should probably have read instead, considering my children’s ages.
I’m eager to start Side by Side, a book about walking through pain with others, and Death in Florence, about Leonardo de Medici and Savonarola, my big history read for the summer. Minds More Awake, about Charlotte Mason education by one of the founders of Ambleside Online, is also on my list for next week. Books to be finished and/or reviewed: Disciplines of a Godly Woman, 101 Top Picks (but not until I’ve finished thinking through the educational implications of Scrum); Sex Matters; Taking God at His Word; God Did Say.
Now that Miss 12 is home from camp, we’ll pick up Journey Through the Night again; I can’t wait to do lots of reading aloud just like we always used to.
In Bible reading, we’re in Proverbs most meals, when my husband is home we read John, and in my personal reading I’m in 1 Kings with many forays into other parts of the Bible.
Our summer is half finished, and I really need a vacation. Careful prioritizing and planning may help get me the breathing space and project time I’m looking for, but I need to remember that when God sends whirlwinds into my life, it is always his best for me.
How is your summer going? Is it almost over or are you still looking forward to a few weeks? Since I’m having trouble with my blog, please go here to comment.
Where I want to spend a lot of time next week.