My 10 Goals for the Week

This is a crazy, busy week for us.  Most people with kids can probably relate to all the Christmas activities, plays, concerts, and all that goes along with the Holiday Cheer.  We are also recovering (finally) from the nasty cold that has been going around.  This week we have 3 doctor appointments, 1 orthodontist appointment, 1 college graduation to attend, 1 band concert, 2 Christmas cantatas, 1 Christmas parade, 2 weightlifting meets, Bible Study, Awanas, 3 book reports and 1 science project due.  Whew!!!

Here's my goals for the week:

Family:
1.  Nail down the dates and details of both sides of our family's Christmas get togethers.
2.  Pray for each of my kids and my husband daily.
3.  Encourage kids not to procrastinate on these projects.
4.  Continue reading "The Greatest Gift" for each day of Advent.

Grocery Budget:
1.  Finalize our Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's menus. 
2.  Make a plan to shop on December 15th for all items and foods that we will need from December 15th- January 5th.  I want to stay out of the stores during those crazy weeks except for the Day after Christmas clearance sales.

Christmas Prep:
1. Print Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt lists from Pinterest.
2.  Make cracker candy, fudge, and divinity this week.

House Management:
1. With all of the coming and going I want to keep clutter and piles to a minimum.  I'm already losing that battle this morning, lol!

Homeschooling:
1.  Continue working with Annika on her colors and shapes.
2.  Camryn is working on her Elf Journal to keep up with the adventures of Freddie, studying Christmas around the world, and continuing with reading and math 1st grade.

What is Advent anyway?

The craziness of December began at my house last night after the children and my husband acknowledged that school and work were on the horizon.  After a glorious 10 day vacation, normal life was to begin with the alarm clock at 6 am today.  We compared schedules and events for the week and I realized that my dream of a calm, dreamy December may be outvoted by Christmas concerts, cheering events, and practice schedules of every kind. 

To most of the American public, today is a return to work after a long weekend.  But have no fear my shopping friends, it is also Cyber Monday which follows a weekend of crazy consumerism that began with Thanksgiving sales on Thursday and continued with Black Friday and Shop Small Saturday.  So while many are physically at work, they will still be sneaking in some shopping online.  Somewhere, sandwiched in the last four days was the first Sunday of Advent. 

Perhaps business and over scheduling is the reason why Advent, in my neck of the Baptist church woods, has not been a big deal in the past.  Of course the season was marked by decorating the church with a few more wreaths, putting up a tree, and covering the alter with poinsettias.  Everyone looked forward to the fellowship meal, especially for the homemade cakes and pies from the older ladies.  You could tell Christmas was coming when we began signing Christmas carols and the preaching came from the book of Mathew. But these were all things we did in church, isolated from our very typical, busy lives on the other 6 days a week during the month of December. 

Now that I'm older I'm discovering what Advent is truly meant to be.  A time to be excitedly awaiting the Savior not waiting for the presents under the tree.  A time to reflect on the blessings I already have in my life, not a time to dwell on a list (even if just in my head) of all the things I want.  A time to show the greatest love to a dire, desperate world who is rushing around with no true anchor to why they are even carrying on their Christmas traditions.  A time to seek Him daily, moment by moment and see that He is Good and worthy of the wait. 

I try to think back to the times I was waiting for something really big in my life~ my wedding day, the birth of my kids, the arrival of those we adopted, moving days, graduations, and even debt pay off dates.  All of those shared one theme~ nothing would stand in my way to make those days the best.  Nothing would dampen my spirits in the weeks leading to those dates circled on the calendar.  I marked the days with "things to do" and "things to prepare".  Should Christmas and the birth of my Savior be any different?

Sure, it's not really His birth.  That happened over 2,000 years ago but just as I celebrate milestone anniversaries in my life, I celebrate Christmas to remember that God became man and walked the earth and loved and suffered and bled and died so that I might be redeemed from my sorry, sinful state.  Upon my birth, I was immediately separated from God, having a sinful and selfish spirit.  We all were.  From the very foundation of the world, from the time Jesus with God the Father and God the Spirit breathed life into the first man, the birth and death of Jesus had already been decided.  God knew we would sin. He knew we would reject Him over and over again.  He told us so through the Jewish prophets and He told again through his own spoken and recorded words.  But He came anyway.

He came anyway!  He loved anyway!  He continues to love me anyway!  

So this December, in the rush of my life as mom of seven, wife to a very busy teacher and musician, and even while scheduled to be somewhere and do something almost every single day I will wait for the Savior and seek Him daily.

That Time When a Lady Showed Up in My Driveway with an Unexpected Gift

Last week I wrote a post titled "Dear Mama Relying on Credit Cards".   I was a little worried about how it would be received.  I had the convicting power of the Holy Spirit all over me that morning and I knew I had to write that post.  Still, I was concerned about opening up so much of my personal story to the world.  I prayed and hit publish.  And tried to forget about it.  Well, God had other plans.

Later that morning, I was cleaning up breakfast while the two little girls went into the garage to play.  It has been great weather lately so the door to the garage was open and I was actually having a conversation with Camryn while she chalked her spelling words.  Next thing I know she says, "Mom, there's a lady in the driveway that wants to talk to you".  I went into the garage to see who it may be: was it someone picking up their coupons, or someone from the neighborhood on their morning walk? 

Turns out it was a lady that I know from years back.  We are friends but don't have many occasions to interact.  We keep up with each other and share deals and frugal stories.  But there was no reason, really, for her to be in my driveway. 

She got out of her vehicle and we greeted.  She and I both felt a bit awkward; both unsure of what the other was thinking.  Her words were "I'm here to give you something.  God told me to bring this to you last week but I ignored Him.  I didn't want you to think I was weird or anything so I just didn't do it."

 Now at this point she had nothing in her hands so I was still clueless, although I was beginning to tear up because obviously this was a "God moment". 

She went on to say that she had read my blog post that morning and having been through lean times as a stay at home mom herself she was very moved by my honesty about credit cards and debt and allowing God to be in control.

She said that after she had read my post the Holy Spirit said, "So are you going to go do what I told you to do last week?'  She then said "yes to God" and was there in my driveway because of His prompting.

She walked to the passenger side of her car and reached in.  Before she revealed the contents of the very blessing that she had brought she added, "I'm not sure why He wanted me to bring you this exactly.  But I trust that He knew why."  And she presented me with a large bag full of frozen meat beautifully wrapped in white butcher paper.  Yes, meat! 

The floodgates to my soul overflowed like Niagara Falls.  I wept with joy.  I hugged her neck and said, "I know why."  I explained that I was preparing the only package of meat I had in the house for dinner.  It was a package of cubed steak that would feed about 5 of us so I had been happy that three of my kids would be eating on the road with the weightlifting team.  That was the last package of meat I had for the next few days.  Earlier in the week I realized that my meat supply was about three days short of making it until payday.  I prayed for the wisdom to use what I had in the best way possible and for the ability to make some very filling meatless meals.  I had a plan to make it through, oh but God?

He had a plan for me too.  He had a plan that would not only make it through a few days but many days.  His plan blessed the giver and the recipient at the same time.  His plan allowed my family to see His very words  as truths~

"But My God shall supply your every need", "I will never leave you nor forsake you", "The Lord is My Sheppard, I shall not want".   

But this story doesn't end there.  I am writing this to let her know that this blessing was even bigger!  You see I wrote that post about the credit cards because of the text message I had received from another friend that morning.  She had written to me to let me know that she had shared my blog with a family that she had went to visit after they had attended our Fall Festival.    That one text message was like a whisper from God saying, "You are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing."  Then when the other lady showed up with a bag of meat it was like God had shouted, "Keep doing what you are doing. I've got this under control."  

All day long I could not wait to get to church. I prayed I would find my text message friend so I could share what had happened since 6 am that morning when she sent me those encouraging words.  We sat together during the service and afterwards I shared the story with not just her but two others from my Sunday School class.  My text message friend then shared that this was the first time she had been on a visitation in many years.  She had woken up the morning of visitation and God laid on her heart to go.  She was off from work the entire day and as she said, "had no excuse for not going".  She obeyed  and went.  The family was home.  The family was receptive and she was able to share my blog with them in their times of needing to get out of debt.  

Do you see all the miracles?  Can you connect the dots?  

1.  A family visits my church during the Fall Festival.

2.  A couple weeks later we hold visitation to go see the families who filled out information allowing us to visit.

3.  My friend had the day off from work, prodding by the Holy Spirit to go, and no excuses so she did.

4.  The family was home and shared some needs.

5.  My friend shared my blog as she thought it may help and encourage the mom.

6.  My friend texts me the encouraging words that what I'm doing is making a difference.

7.  I do my bible devotion and felt conviction over my lust for credit cards and a prompting to write about it.

8.  Dear friend reads my post and responds to God's request that she bless me with a bag full of meat.

9.  I share the experience with some friends after church to only realize that God had set this entire thing into motion weeks before I even had a need for meat for my family.  He crafted, through the Holy Spirit, a plan to reveal Himself in a loving, fatherly way to not only me but the family that was visited, my friend who was faithful to attend the visitation, and my friend who supplied the meat.   10.  And now I am being faithful to share His goodness and His graciousness on this post.

My God is real y'all.  He is still making miracles happen.  He is still providing ways for us to see Him even in 2014 in this messed up world.  He is still God.  It is my prayer that I will always be reminded that saying yes to God leads to many blessings and when I say yes to even the smallest prodding to  know that I am just a little part in His big plan to draw people to Him that they might be redeemed.  Then they can share their stories too.