The Intentional Life

 At this point in my life, May is seen as the last month of glorious, wonderful, freedom filled, school days.  Summer doesn't hold the same sparkle as I would hope.  Thankfully, as in my last post, God has encouraged me with His word and I am going into this summer a bit more at peace than perhaps the last 4 summers we have spent at Gateway ('bout time I figured it out, huh?)  Still, we tried to make the most of the family-time mornings and beautiful sunshine early afternoons.  Life is full, and we are blessed. Bring on summer.  Lunches at Cypress House, usually leftovers, sometimes with smiles   The Wiegands leave for Zambia in August.  This month they headed to Colorado for training.  This was our 'practice goodbye.'  Not as many tears as will most certainly be in August.  Hannah graduates from Preschool! and a halfway decent pic of us five - score!   Really enjoying a fudge pop  Field day at G...

Serve. That word can evoke many types of emotion.  Good and bad. If I am at a restaurant: I am glad for that waiter who serves .  And I expect good service . If I am doing the fifth load of laundry of the day and a Suvar-child walks in with mud from toe to teeth, and I serve my family with clean laundry...well that type of service can sometimes rub the wrong way. I must admit I have been struggling with the day to day and trying to find joy in the work of the mundane.  I know some things are necessary, and I conjure up some tolerance with a little prayer and scripture, but nothing seemed to last. Thankfully, a friend recommended  One Thousand Gifts , by Ann Voskamp .  I came across this part of the book and it has stuck with me: Whenever man is made the center of things he becomes the storm-center of trouble.   The moment you think of serving people, you begin to have a notion that other people owe you something for your pains…You begin ...

I'm sure she thought it was a good idea.  It looked safe, she had done things like this before and it had worked out. Why should she wonder if this time it would not be safe? But I could tell.  From my vantage point it was not a good idea. A robin built her nest on the front porch of our home.  On a windowsill, solid brick, safe from the rain and wind.  In theory it should work. But that porch sees 13 different people coming and going all day long; 4 of them teenage boys, 3 of them small children. For weeks the nest sat empty and I thought - hoped - the robin had obtained some smarts and found a new place to roost. Then one day Hannah comes running to be to tell me of a surprise she found. A beautiful blue robin's egg. My heart sort of sank.  I did not have high hopes of it's survival.  I gently warned our kids about not disturbing the nest, leaving the egg alone. I should have told the boys. The egg lasted a whole day.  Si...

I didn't have a stellar Saturday. One of those days where there were many things that I felt needed accomplished, and by the end of the day the only thing I accomplished was a poor attitude and feelings of failure as a mom (and those were not on the initial to-do list!) I woke up this morning feeling pretty unworthy of this holiday, Mother's Day. I sought God's Word for an answer.  Encouragement, direction, I would even take admonishment.  I needed an answer for the funk I was in. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. I Cori...

I'm not sure when it started.  And I'm not sure it was a specific event.  It may be the fact that I am just growing older, and unfortunately, am more aware of what is going on around me. But I have had this sense of foreboding that I have been carrying around with me for quite some time. I think it was sometime last fall, although I can't pinpoint an exact time. I think it was a number of things that just piled on top of one another.  Things I had heard on the news, the election and all that it entailed, more and more sinful things becoming mainstream and accepted in society. The sense, that although it is not physical persecution, that there is definitely verbal persecution going on against God and His people. I wouldn't say it made me fearful.  But definitely anxious.  It seemed I could reassure myself with God's word.  But I would fall right back into the state of anxiety so quickly.  The peace never seemed to last. The anxiety wasn't c...

 For some reason, April just flew by.  There wasn't much Spring to speak of, but it was slightly warmer (sometimes) so that we could actually be outside without a winter coat on.  I'm thankful for the season of Spring and for the awakening of Creation from the cold.  The month, for me, started out in a bit of a slump, with feelings of burn-out and melancholy.  Thankfully the Lord is faithful and He showed me through His Word of His faithfulness and goodness (more of that in another post).  Now we look forward to May and the waning weeks of school before all craziness lets out with the summer. But for now, Happy Spring! Kite flying  Milkshakes for evening snack, while watching Paul play Lord of the Rings on the Wii.  The kids enjoying watching just as much as Paul enjoys playing.  It's a win-win!  Hannah's Spring Concert at Preschool.  A lot of kids screaming and chaos reined.  Owen wanted to try his hand ...