It’s been awhile

It has been awhile since I have last posted on my blog.   On Facebook today some ladies commented on how they have missed me via Internet.  I have realized that I have been MIA this past month.  There are a couple of reasons for this.

#1  I have started homeschooling.  It has taken me a little bit figuring out the schedule that works best for us.   For years I have been a morning bird.  I love getting up early and having my quiet time before everyone gets up.  Since we have moved to Estonia, though, our whole family has become night owls.  So,  even though I had every intention of getting the kids out of bed at 7 am, breakfast and girls hair done pretty by 7:30 am and beds made, teeth brushed, dishes done, everyone dressed for the day, sitting, smiling, ready for a great school day by 8 am  ….  well, it’s just not happening!  : )    I have found that my kids cannot be rushed in the early morning.  A lot of mornings I will make a nice breakfast – pancakes, french toast, eggs with toast, oatmeal and fruit – and then we will all eat together. (I am not much of a breakfast eater so I usually have half of an orange.)  I love having meals together as a family.  As I clean up, Bob will have devotions with the kids at the kitchen table.  We have been memorizing entire chapters of the Bible.  We have memorized Psalm 23 and Psalm 1 so far this school year.  Bob also sings with the kids and he tells a Keys for Kids Bible story.   By the time he is done, the kitchen is cleaned up and I have done the girls hair.  I canNOT teach if my kitchen is a mess or if my girls hair is a mess.  : )  I then send the kiddos upstairs to make their beds and straighten up their rooms and have their own Jesus time on their beds … brush teeth and get dressed.   During this time is when I sit with Bob and we drink coffee and I read my Bible.   And then we start our day : Bible, Math, Language Arts.  Then they have an outside break and play.  Then it is a story time and onto history and spelling and writing.   YEP, we have found a  schedule that works for us.   But, I must admit that I am a spontaneous person and at times I become weighed down by schedule and routine.   So, it is at those times that I say, “lets go on a bike ride and explore the woods”.   We started school on July 13th so we can skip the book learning every now and then ( without guilt ) and go nature learning.

Samuel’s best little buddy arrived back from the USA a couple of weeks ago.  They were in acrobatics last year together and I think they are going to be doing indoor soccer this year.  His friend’s name is Chad and his mom, Wendy, is a wonderful homeschooling mom and missionary wife.

#2 Reason I have been MIA:  Personal reflection.  A friend of mine sent me  a book called Lord, I Want To Be Whole written by Stormie Omartian.  I have read her book The Power of a Praying Wife – very good book.  I will be the first to admit that I don’t have it all together all the time.  I think if we are all honest with ourselves and each other, we all struggle in certain areas.    I so desire to live an obedient life – to be free to be who God created me to be.   So, this past month I have been on a little journey of grace and healing … searching and finding.  ( Actually, I think I am always on this journey but I have been pursuing it more lately. )   Very soon, another missionary wife and I are starting a ministry to street women here in Tallinn – women who sell themselves.   It is not enough to tell a woman “I will pray for you” as I walk away to the comfort and safety of my home -they need salvation but they need Biblical counsel and direction.   They need healing.   I do believe that if Jesus were here in the flesh in Tallinn, Estonia, He would be ministering to those that feel they have no hope.  I ask that you pray for this new ministry.  Andrew and Sarah Bunnell left yesterday for the USA to have their second boy.  We are blessed to have sweet Estonian friends in the church as well as wonderful Americans, too.  We realize that whatever is done through us is because of Him.  Where would we be if we did not know Him??   Pray that God’s light will shine through us in this dark and oppressed country.

Blessings on you and yours this day, I pray.