God bless you as you look well to the ways of your household!
Proverbs 31:27 

     
     I mentioned recently that I've been pondering and praying over quite a few things.  The Lord has been so faithful in leading me in several areas by lovingly and tenderly shepherding.  I'm so thankful for His tenderness and kindness to me, all the more because they are so undeserved. 
     One thing that has been in the forefront of my pondering is the idea of "engaging the culture" and how the Lord would have me respond in this season of my life. 

It's been so amazing seeing how the Lord has orchestrated events in my life as I've chewed on this issue. Circumstances of everyday life.  Conversations.  Blog posts from folks I know and respect.  Stories like this one  (Hat Tip to Fletch for the link)
     So how do I respond?  Do I follow the lead of the gal in the story?  How far do I go in reaching out to those around me?  I live in California, so the sky is rather the limit when it comes to how far a gal might go in reaching out, in love, to those around her.  Tattoos and piercings of all sorts are the norm here. 
   




    


     No, I didn't really have my nose pierced!  The kids and grandbabies were working on a craft the other day and I glued a pretty jewel onto my nose just for the fun of it.  However, this idea of trying to reach out to a world that I'm in, though not of, is a serious pursuit. 
 
     Tim Challies is a blogger that I follow regularly.  I love his insight, am inspired by the incredible number of books he reads, and am appreciative of his many book reviews.  I was so pleased this week to see that he is starting a second blog. 
     Mr. Challies plans to read every non-fiction, hard cover book that reaches the New York Times best seller list during the year 2010.  He's actually already begun!  His purpose in this undertaking is what caught my interest.  He realizes that by reading the books from this list, he will be given "a snapshot of the people, of what they are thinking about, of what they are learning, of whom they are learning it from."  Culture.  Worldview.  Understanding!
     I'm realistic enough to know that I will never be able to keep up with Mr. Challies incredible reading lists, but I will be following along as he reviews each of these books at 10 Million Words; and I'll certainly be picking up titles to read myself from time to time, too. 


    




     My friend Kendra often mentions "tomato staking" her younger ones, keeping them close by during times of intense child training.  I used to call this shortening the reins, but the principle is the same.  While this is a great principle for younger children, and one I heartily endorse, I've been thinking lately about the application with older kids, too.
    









 
     Think about it more in terms of young trees.  We stake our newly planted trees, giving their roots an opportunity to sink in deep and protecting them from the strong winds that might blow them over before their root system is well established.  However, once the roots are deep enough, keeping that tree staked might cause it to become weak, relying too much on the stake for its support.  But.....you knew there would be a "but", didn't you?  Of course!
    








     Sometimes a young tree becomes weakened and needs a little help to recover.  Maybe that tree has undergone a season of phenomenal growth above ground, but its root system has not quite kept up, and it is in danger of being damaged by high winds.  Are you following me here?









     
     In those situations, giving that tree......not quite a sapling, but not yet a mature oak......a bit of extra support by staking it for a season is the very best thing you can do as you continue to nurture, prune and otherwise encourage it to full maturity.  My tall, growing oak and I are enjoying spending a lot of time together every day staked at the dining room table.  He with his school work, and me with whatever is at hand.  Areas of weakness are being strengthened.  Roots are being encouraged to grow and deepen.  Bad fruit and ill-placed shoots can be nipped before they have the chance to grow and drain the tree of too much energy.  It's hard work, but it's rewarding!

      
     A few of you have asked for recommendations for Thanksgiving books.  I posted this list a couple of years ago.  I may have a book or two to add to that list, in the next day or two;  but I wanted to give you the link to the old list now so that you could order them from your public library or purchase them, if you are so inclined, in time for Thanksgiving.
 
     
     


     It's a busy time here as I continue homeschooling my two youngest, keeping my home and enjoying time with Corin and the grandbabies as often as we can.  Busy yes, but blessedly so!










     Oh!  Just one more thing.  Mentioning the grandbabies made me think of it!  We were quite a sight as both sets of grandparents joined Rob and Corin and the grandbabies at the pumpkin farm a couple of weeks ago.  The picture is all five of my grandbabies, with Grandma Pam (my dear friend and my grandbabies' other grandma) holding the two year old.  There were fifteen of us making our way from attraction to attraction - wee little ones; children, big and small;  young adults, and four "old" folks. We were three families, and yet one, having the time of our lives!  We always have such a grand time together!

God bless you as you look well to the ways of your household!
Proverbs 31:27 

       The truth of the matter is that it is October, and I am very much enjoying our finally-here Autumn weather.  The high temperatures this week will struggle into the low 80's.  Our mornings and evenings are crisp and cool, and our days are sunny and warm. 

       October also means that homeschooling is back in full swing.  We took several weeks off this last summer, which is out of the norm for us.  The truth of the matter is that we have struggled to build a new routine for the year after our lengthy break.  I've made changes here and tweaked things there, but I'm not certain that our routine/schedule is quite right yet.  I'm watching carefully, day by day, and sometimes hour by hour, for ways to shift things just a bit to make them work for us.  It's slow going.






      The change of season is always hard for my William, too.  I'm not sure if it's the shortened days, the change in the weather or what, but I can count on his having a very hard time every year in early - mid October.  Most years it catches me by surprise.  This year, however, when he began struggling, I realized that this was part of his seasonal pattern and began helping him work through the various frustrations and issues that make his life so difficult.  The truth of the matter is that it is a hard thing to deal with, but the Lord strengthens, encourages and enables me to keep pressing forward, even when I feel I'm at the end of my rope. 

     In fact, He especially strengthens, encourages and enables me when I've come to the end of myself and have nothing left to give!  I should know better than to try to do things on my own strength and wisdom.  The truth of the matter is that I'm slow to learn these lessons of life, even though my ever-patient Teacher is always before me showing me His better way. 




     Copper and I have spent several days in doctors' offices and procedure rooms these last couple of weeks.  I'd love to share all of the details, but it would require far too much time.  Suffice it to say, the Lord went before us and opened up an appointment time for a diagnostic procedure before our very eyes.  Just as the nurse was telling us that the next available date was months out, a cancellation appeared on her screen for the very next day!  We were so thankful for that.  So, last Wednesday, my husband was sedated and underwent an Endoscopy.  Some abnormalities were discovered, and the doctor biopsied some tissue.  My husband has been diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, and he has been prescribed two medications that he will have to take for the rest of his life.  The truth of the matter is that we're still in the research and fact-gathering stage in trying to understand this disease and its implications.  A good deal of my time has been spent this week on line, looking at web sites, researching his medications, etc. 
    
     I'm beginning to catch up, just a bit, on things around my home.  Fall is always such a "nesting" time for many of us.  The cooler weather and shorter days draw us inside more and more, and our hearts turn from gardening and outdoor activities to homemaking, baking and sprucing things up.  The truth of the matter is that harvest is in full swing all around my home.  Field corn is being cut and transported down the road.  Hay is being cut, baled and transported down the road.  Harvested fields are being plowed in preparation for replanting, and the dust clouds can be quite spectacular as they blow across the roads.  There are hundreds of acres of wine grapes grown in vineyards all around us, and the grape harvesting equipment can be heard running all night long as the grapes are shaken from the vines.  The truth of the matter that all of that harvesting, cutting, mowing, plowing, transporting and vine shaking covers absolutely everything in dirt.  Our cars look horrible, and so does the inside and outside of my home.  Within hours, a freshly dusted surface will be dusty again!  It's a sign of the season to be sure. 


       The truth of the matter is that life is just very, very full right now.  It's full of struggles and difficulties, but growth comes from trial, and I long for that growth!  There is nothing more important for me to do right now than to continue to do what I always do - look well to the ways of my household by:

• Working out homeschool and daily routines for my family. 
  
• Helping Will as he struggles through yet another difficult time. 
  
• Researching my husband's illness and educating myself on the disease and its treatments. 
  
• Doing my best to keep the inside of our home as clean and dust free as possible. 
• Nesting and baking and sprucing things up in my home as we all begin to spend more time indoors.
• Thanking God for the precious gift and incredible blessing of being able to be the one here, every single day, to take care of all of the above!

God bless you as you look well to the ways of your household!
Proverbs 31:27