Just some thoughts while I watch the snow melt ...

It has been a week of frustration & of joy. I haven't been able to update like I wanted because we have the unfortunate luck of being unable to use DSL here at the cabin. Apparently the networking doesn't run this far up the mountain, and thus our only source of internet is to rely on dial-up through the phone company. Due to years of neglect, the phone lines in our area are seriously outdated and the system is shot. Because if this, internet usage is limited and sporadic at best. So please bear with me for awhile longer until the system gets overhauled. That's the frustrating part. Now for the joy ... We have celebrated a whole slew of birthdays lately. My Mejia turned 17, my two sons both had birthdays on the 28th of March and turned 26 & 24 respectively. (Happy Birthday Eric! Happy Birthday Matthew!) Not being able to be with them on that day left me with the 'motherly task' of walking down memory lane that whole day. God is good. He has blessed me with all of these wonderful children ... and amazingly enough, they all lived to adulthood without me killing them.

I looked back on the few 'atta-girl moments and smiled with pride. And I visited some of my regrets, still wondering how I could have done things differently. My biggest regret comes from not having the ability to homeschool the boys and spend more time with them as they grew up. And as my children grew and in my earlier career days, I have had the opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the public school system. All I can say is, "God be with our children".
I continue to see more and more evidence across our country showing that our public education system is broken and there is little hope of it being "fixed" without stripping it completely down and rebuilding. There continues to be more and more reports of teachers (women & men) having sex, molesting, and acting inappropriately with children of all ages. A growing number of schools across the country have promoted homosexuality as a lifestyle, encouraged abortions without parental consent, and absolutely slamming the door on God by banning students from not only wearing Christian t-shirts, but from sharing Jesus with other students as well. I found a news article a little while ago that I want to share with you.
HOSTAGE DRILL AT NJ SCHOOL FEATURES MOCK 'CHRISTIAN TERRORISTS'
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/hostage_drill_at_nj_school_fea.php.

Granted, schools in some towns & states are a bit more 'Christian friendly' but even in the little town where I grew up ... the growing trend there is to slide God out. I realize that homeschooling isn't the answer for everyone. Private schools are extremely expensive and for the most part too exclusive. But, whether or not we have children or grandchildren in the public schools ... we need to not only be praying for our local schools, the administrators & teachers, and the children who attend but we need to be praying for the turn around in our homes. The reason God has been evicted from our schools is because we as a community never came to His defense and demanded God's place in the education of our children.

May the Lord bless you.

Spring

With spring comes change. Despite the foot of snow still on the ground, spring has finally arrived. We are all breathing a sigh of relief that another winter is behind us and before long we will be seeing green. When I see my first red-headed woodpecker of the season, I KNOW that winter is over. My beautiful little woodpecker was out today hammering on the birch tree with gusto ... PRAISE GOD!
We passed another milestone this week. Our sweet daughter turned 17. Our families combined when my little Meja was only 9 years old. Now, I'm amazed at what an awesome young woman she has become. We spent her birthday in town mostly window shopping and acting a little crazy. She and I have so much fun when we get out together. First, we converge on the bookstore, (one of our favorite places!) and in looking through the various books discovered an enormous amount of books on the homosexual lifestyle. Oh my goodness! She and I were amazed at the amount of books written for women about this. We just don't understand the whole concept of women living in this manner. That's not the way God designed us to behave and to have it put in our faces in that way really put a damper on the jolly mood we were in. So ... unwilling to loose the fun ... we headed to other more wholesome stores. The task of shopping doesn't do much for either one of us ... but being together just hanging out makes even the dullest of events fun. We have a lot of the same interests and get tickled over the silliest things. She is my joy and my best friend. May the Lord bless you my dear Meja ... Happy Birthday!
The next day, my youngest son packed his meager possessions in his van and headed back home to North Carolina. He was only staying with us for a season, and the Lord opened the path for him to go back down South to start his new life. We miss his laughter. The house is a lot quieter these days. But, we are all excited for him. It's a new chapter in his life and I am so excited to see what the Lord and Matt are going to write in it. The Bible says that our children are arrows in a father's quiver. We train them and when we send them out we hope that they fly true. Without a doubt, I know that Matt's arrow will fly true and that he will do great things for the Lord in his new home. We love you honey. May the Lord bless you in your work for Him.
Normally I would have thought that the events of this past week would have been depressing, but to my surprise, I feel such excitement! God is good and we are going to see such amazing things in the days, months, and years to come. Enjoy your children while they are young & rejoice with them when they make steps toward freedom. Encourage them to serve God with their wonderful & unique gifts. I promise that the blessings will be endless.
May the Lord bless you.