NOW THAT WE ARE SIX MONTHS INTO 2018...

So much has changed this year.    Scratch that.....

Change the name of the post from "This Year...2017" to.....

"Now That We Are Six Months Into 2018...".  Ahem.  Okay. Let's do this.

The last time I visited you from here, I'd taken leaves out of the table.  Since then, we've had graduations, relocations, job changes, medical emergencies, life emergencies.......tears, laughter, fear, hope, exhaustion, retreats, doubts, struggles, and bewilderment.

Any of that sound familiar?

My routine completely altered

with the end of a 25 year career as a home educator.

My expectations have constantly been realigning

 to the new realities within our circumstances.

My eyes are often faltering and struggling 

to be focused above on the Lord.

But.  He.  Is.  Faithful.

He. Is. Kind.

When the doubt and darkness overwhelm, remember this dear Christian...

He.  Is.  Good.

Everyone in my house goes to work these days.  

No, that's not exactly right since the "downsizing".....hmm.....oh well......

 I'm still trying to find my way and use the gifts and talents that God has given me. I've been on a very steep learning curve and have often wanted to give up, but there are some big ideas inside of me and I know for sure that if the Lord leads, it will be accomplished. 

 Repeatedly, I am being humbled by the difficulty I'm having learning things that used to be easy for me. 

But whether it is because of age or stress, I'm determined to keep working at it.

 I'm also stepping out into the community as a volunteer and new business owner.

 I'm being forced out of my comfort zone by having to promote myself as an artist and building my website for my new business, WARM HEARTH STUDIO.

 (Right now there are problems with the website...so keep checking back. Please.)

Eventually, 

I see the merging of 

Mom On Assignment 

into the Studio.....

like I said, I have some big ideas...

but, we must all begin 

right where we are.    

Whatever this year has held for you, remember this:

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

 Hebrews 12:3 (ESV)

when you want to disappear.........

I have wanted to disappear.

Into the mist.....

Out of my troubles.......

Turn inward. 

Focus on only the necessary.

Leave these virtual pages 

as sort of a phase I went through...

a whim...

something I could not complete.

Winding Down, Gearing Up, or Just Plowing Straight Ahead

May is nearing an end. 

Co-op is over...

field trips and gym days, nearly so....

graduations are happening......

book sales have started. 

My school room is spilling into the dining room as I clean up and clear out and try to figure out what to keep and what to store.  Intead of feeling the excitement of nearing the end of a school year, we will have to keep going a bit longer with a shorter break this year. To me, it feels like October...and I'm still unsure of what I'm doing.