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)

Milestones in the Journey

Since my disappearance from the blogosphere, 

I have passed a few milestones.......

Not in order of importance, 

 nor even chronology....

Shadows of the Mind ~ Shadows of the Heart

She cannot verbalize what is bothering her.

Her behavior is self-destructive and mystifying.

Prayers are offered up to the One who knows the secret places of the soul.

Lost! (Not the Show)

On Monday around supper time, the kids and I were leaving the elementary school where we attend Good News Club.  

On the way home, I started looking for the small little card holder that I had brought with me which held my license, insurance cards, bank cards, etc......

It Was Gone!

Walking the Path ~ 50 Years and Counting......

 It was the dawn of a new decade. 

One that would bring things into existence that were unheard of at the time. 

A decade of unrest, drugs, free love, rock music, riots, turning patriotism into a four-letter word and throwing God out of the public schools. 

But in one small town, the simple things were still the big things - the important things. 

God, family, hard work.

A Needed Word

The weekly physical therapy appointment gives an hour to catch up on grading papers.

 Not much was done last week because I was not here to oversee it.

 Not much was understood because I was not here to explain it. 

Instead, my time was diverted by a child whose needs seem to be growing every day.