Days of Summer

                                                                 Date Night! 

Today I struggle with finding the right words to even write...hmm...a right and a write?! My heart is just so very full as we look at events across our land. “America, the Beautiful” are you still? Just in the last week alone, rioters and acts of  violence have rampaged our country. Clearly, we’ve not taught history as mobs of angry people seek to destroy national monuments. I absolutely believe that we have made mistakes as a nation, but the solution is not to just destroy everything! Maybe the solution is to ACTUALLY Teach history?! It seems to me that a lot of the monuments being torn down actually have nothing to do with slavery or black lives but rather with anger, disrespectfulness and hatred. Did you know that if you don’t like or agree with a law, policy or monument there is a procedure process that you’re supposed to follow? News alert...if you don’t like something, you’re not supposed to be allowed to destroy it! 

For sure, the root of the problem is that we are all sinners. There is none righteous, and we are all gone astray (two different verses there). Because man is sinful, we need laws. When the laws fail to be upheld, chaos ensues! I don’t know about you, but that’s where I feel we are today-in chaos! I hold to the promise that God is not the author of confusion, and that He sees the bigger picture. He truly sees the storm from the other side. However, since I’m on the storm side at the moment, it’s my responsibility to cling to my Anchor (Jesus). I am also praying fervently and diligently that God will give grace to America, and that the “silent majority” (if there is one) will start standing and speaking louder! 

Well, you’re probably not reading this blog to get my take on our nation, so I’ll tell you about our family. Roger had the day off yesterday and we spent the day doing errands, working around the house, and I was able to go to T.J. Max and use my gift card from my birthday. I had such a good time wandering around the store, picking up 500 things, and setting them back down. I did find some really good deals, and even bought a few Christmas presents. Chandler and Garett are working on a job for a friend of ours this week. They are cleaning out an old barn. It’s dirty, hard work, and just the perfect kind of job for our kids. Life is not all roses and fun jobs, so it’s good to have jobs that aren’t as pleasant.Regardless of whether or not you like the job, it’s a reflection on your character to do the job and do it well. I’ve been impressed with the two boys. They asked me to take them early in the morning (around 6:00am.) and they work for a few hours. They seem to be doing a good job and actually working well together. They have a few more mornings of work before they’ll be done with the job. Their goal is to finish it before we leave for Wisconsin next week. 

Roger and I went on a date last night. It was our first date in over twelve weeks...we went to Home Depot! Restaurants haven’t been open around here, and it doesn’t seem like nearly as fun of a date to eat your food in the car! We left the kids at home and went to the hardware store to get a few things for a project Roger is working on. While it was not wildly exciting, it was nice to have some time to ourselves without “ears in the cornfield” as my dad would say. Growing up I could never understand why my parents would stay out in the car talking while we kids went in the house. Now I understand! Our children are naturally nosy, so between the five of them, we often feel like we have “ears in the cornfield”! 

Roger was working today, so I took Garett and Chandler to their job. I went to get a few things for a baby shower that I am hosting on Saturday, and then came home. It’s overcast and foggy today, so I’m feeling ready for a nap. But instead we did a few pages of school, mowed grass, worked on the laundry, folded clothes, and cleaned! 

In closing, yes there are days when I am weary and my soul feels weighted down. However, I can also rest in knowing that God wants me to bring my burdens to Him. He cares about the feathers on a sparrow, so we can rest in knowing that He truly cares for us. 

                             Doing summer work is not their favorite, but we are working through it!