What I’m Into {July 2015}
I spent the last month on a writing sabbatical. It was truly a wonderful break! I thought it would be fun to jump back into blogging with one of my “What I’m Into” posts.
These style posts are always fun to share. It gives me an opportunity to summarize some thoughts and document some notable life events. Hopefully it gives you a nice glimpse into our family life so you can know that there are real people on the other side of these written words!
You can catch up with previous months here:
What has my family been up to in July?
Read on …
In Our Home:
The big news from July was that we moved into our new home in Virginia! No more living with the in-loves. Woohoo! And then they all breathed a sigh of relief. 😉
Our lives in July consisted mostly of this …
And this …
And this …
After many days of unloading boxes, organizing and re-organizing, placing something here only to move it there over and over again, I’m happy to say we’re mostly settled. There are still PLENTY of projects to complete and an extra bedroom that’s just holding all of the “I don’t want to deal with this right now” boxes. But overall, we have a working home that’s in pretty good shape!
For example, here’s the living room most days …
And the kitchen at the end of the day …
And the school room lately …
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen a lot more of the house and projects we’ve been completing. We’ve all been working hard to get our home put together.
We spent a lot of time together as a family this month which was wonderful. It felt like forever since we got to shake out our family muscles and just be together.
Hands down my favorite memory of July was this night …
We made good use of all the boxes we used for moving our belongings and had a little fun!
We made a washer and dryer out of two of the boxes. Sam did all the writing. Mommy invented the ideas and cast the vision. Daddy did the making. Timmy did the gluing and mess making. I even taught the boys the proper term for laundry detergent- wurshin’ powders.
It was so much fun!
Mark and I celebrated seven years of being married with an overnight sans kiddos. It was totally amazing! The boys enjoyed their first sleepover with Grammy and Big Papa while we enjoyed a nice dinner, bookstore meandering, late night movie, and a house all to ourselves! A night without bed bugs. How did we get so lucky? 🙂
There was so much more fit into the month of July, but I hit the highlights I think. It was a big month, but a fun one.
In My Heart:
There are so many changes taking place right now that I feel like I’m still in the middle of culture shock.
Making the move from Tennessee to Colorado to Virginia all in less than three years finally caught up. These last three years have felt like standing in front of a fire hose as we drink from God’s Word and experience a chiseling and refining like no other we’ve ever experienced before. It seems that just when we have clarity the Lord turns our world upside down again and again and again, and I confess, I’m a wee bit exhausted of it all.
But at the same I would not for a million comforts and early bedtimes trade my working, living, breathing faith for whatever mask of belief I had before. We have walked through the fire to come out with a clearer understanding, albeit far from where we want to be, of our God and Savior.
In this day and time, we are grateful for the wisdom that’s been hard earned and the grace we have experienced so that we can hopefully by the same grace be a light as our world continues it’s moral descent and troubled times continue to come. In the end, I can say all the tears, pain, joys and sorrows have been worth it. So very worth it!
My heart battles every day to cling to faith, and I continue to come back again and again to the need for daily bread. He will give us what we need when we need. He’s never late and He always portions just enough. He can and will do more than we can even ask or imagine, and even though I have no idea what the future holds or where He’s leading our family in regard to ministry in our town, I do know that He is faithful and our job isn’t to know how it all plays out. Our job is to do the next thing.
And for now that’s potty training a very determined, not-even-two-yet toddler, teaching my oldest to read, staying faithful to family devotions and loving my husband like no one else on this earth can. It’s the daily, seemingly mundane that doesn’t seem very glorious that I am called to go knee deep in sweat and laundry and dishes and all the things home and family. It’s writing when I can and trying to be faithful to stewarding this space of the online world well.
I don’t know how it all works out, but I do know the One who is working it out and for now, in this moment I rest in His grace.
What I’m Reading:
Boy have I been reading! I will share a round up of what I’ve been reading these last couple of months soon, but for now, I’ll just share what I’m CURRENTLY reading.
– I’m still working my way through this series, and I am enjoying it so much. I’m reading it ever so slowly, and I only read a chapter or two at night before I slump off to sleep. Most nights I’m too exhausted to read before bed, but when I am alert, this is what I turn to for enjoyment.
– I check this book out from the library, and I have been engrossed in this book every day since picking it up. I am devouring the research and stories the author shares. I was naively unaware of how bad things have gotten in regard to our children and nature, even my own children. This book has been helpful in not just giving pat answers, but providing me with solid statistics that stick with me and propel me to change. I haven’t read every single chapter and ever single study – the book is rather dense. But I have read much of it and will be finishing it up soon, and I can say it’s changed the way I look at our homeschool and out of doors play.
– Because of what I was reading in the previous book, I was appalled to realize that I could scarcely recall the games I played outside as a child. I couldn’t remember how to just be in nature myself even though we are a family who loves outdoor biking, hiking, camping, etc. I had forgotten so much! I needed help seeing nature and the out of doors life from the eyes of a child again, so I picked up this book at the library as well. I’ve been reading it to gain insight into some simple ways I can engage my children in nature and teach them to play outside so that this art is not lost on them. I don’t want them to know childhood apart from the games made up out of doors.
What I’m Watching:
– We are still making our way through this series. I’m so happy that we’ve finally made it to the last season. It’s possible that this show went one season too long. I want to know how it ends, but I’m growing weary of the show.
I think once we finish this series we’ll take a nice hiatus from TV time. I need a break!
Popular Posts in July:
- 9 Ways to Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy
- How to Make a Prayer Notebook
- Recipe: Southwest Chicken Crockpot Soup
- 5 Bible Verses Toddlers Can Memorize
- Homeschool Preschool Curriculum 2014-2015
And that’s what I’ve been into lately! What have you been into? Do you like these type of posts?
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Where did you find that red record player? I have wanted one for my kids for so long!
Also, I have Last Child in the Woods. It’s a great read. You may also like “Boys Should Be Boys” (it addresses some similar topics) and Babes in the Woods. I want to check out that other book of outdoor activities you recommended. We are always up for more ideas and next week we will be spending the week in the mountains to unplug and recharge.
The record player belonged to my grandmother and she passed it down to me. So I have no idea where it originally came from. It was the record player she used with her children and grandchildren. 🙂
This article came at the perfect time for me today ! We have had a similar past several years, where it seems God is always asking us to make the next huge transition. We currently feel a call to move overseas and I am also battling chronic illness. God has put on my heart just this morning in my devotions that He won’t push us past our limits, just like you said . One of my prayers this week has also been eph. 3:20 that “our God who is able to do more than we ask or imagine…” I sometimes struggle with thinking “He is able,but will He?” And I loved reading in your reticle today that yes, He will! 🙂 and as you said, trusting for the next step has been another thing He is constantly laying on my heart. It’s so hard when you just want to see how it all works out, but I can certainly say my love for Jesus has grown more than ever!
I can relate to so much of what you said! Thanks for sharing. It’s always good to hear what others are battling and conquering by His grace.
Glad to see you back on the web, and I’m loving the new design of the website! It’s funny that you’re currently reading Anne of Avonlea as I have been working on Anne of Green Gables! I’ve got a book that has all three novels in the series in one, so my plan is to read through all three of them back-to-back.
Question: does the new website layout have an RSS feed? I know people don’t really use them anymore, but i have igHome as my homepage and even though I get the e-mails it’s easier for me to keep up with my daily RSS feeder. I’m so glad you’re back – I’ve missed getting your e-mails every week!
It does have a feed. I *think* this is it: http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntentionalByGrace
That was, in fact, the correct feed! Thanks so much. I look forward to reading your blog every day as it posts rather than having to catch up at the end of the week (or, you know, checking the website manually every day. But who does that anymore? Lol!).
So glad that worked!! Thanks for reading 🙂