This is Why

This has been the kind of day that a home educating Mommy dreams about. It was a cold morning, really the first of significance this season. With a fire crackling in the fireplace, warm blueberry muffins and scrambled eggs on our plates, steamy hot cocoa in our mugs, the children and I had a brunch picnic on a blue plaid flannel sheet that we tossed out over the rug. Luke made the blueberry muffins, Alyssa scrambled the eggs, and John Pierce carried the sheet out afterwards to dump all the crumbs outside. I was the overseer/helper/instructor to Master Chef Luke.

While the food prep was going on, it was discovered that we did in fact have some marshmallows, (after previously mourning the lack thereof). They were the little kind, best for putting in hot chocolate or on top of sweet potato casserole. Alyssa, however, had other plans for the mini marshmallows. She braved the cold (in her bare feet - AAAAGGGGHHHH!) to go find a very thin, long, stick with which she could pierce her marshmallows for roasting. Her brothers and I were very impressed, and the boys eagerly followed her example until everybody had little sticks with gooey, burnt, delicious little blobs at the tip.

With full tummies and toasty feet, we all sat back to discuss some scripture I had been reading in relation to a bible study I am participating in with some ladies from our church. We are going through the study Stepping Up: a journey through the Psalms of Ascent, by Beth Moore. Anyway, the scripture was from Psalm 124, and Romans 8:28-39. The point of this reading was to point out to the children that our God is “for us.” I wanted them to really get that no matter what is going on around us, or how alone we may sometimes feel, our God is ALWAYS for us, and nothing can separate us from His love. This acknowledgement led to the most amazing conversation in which we discussed everything from blood sacrifices, the entrance of sin through the deception by Satan in the garden of Eden, Abraham and Isaac, how Israel got its name, how alone Jesus felt on the cross and how he was still loving and forgiving until the very end. Somehow our conversation went to the Roman Empire, Nero, Alexander the Great, early names for Germany(Germania), England(Britania), and Spain (Espania). We discussed the fact that the Jews didn’t fully understand that Jesus, because he was the only human who was totally innocent and had never hurt anybody, was the final blood sacrifice, and that animal sacrifice was no longer necessary. How, even today, the majority of the people of Israel don’t recognize their own Messiah and are seemingly baffled by Christians who love them despite the difference in belief. I explained that we love them because it was through them that Jesus came, along with our salvation.

There was more that we discussed, and it was all so - very - PRECIOUS! I don’t know how much of this morning will remain with them, but my heart is full to overflowing. I do have the promise that the word of God will not return to Him void, without having accomplished His purpose for which He sent it. To be able to participate in that miracle alone is indescribable. The rest, is just icing on the delicious cake of being the one who presides over the education of my children. To God be the Glory.

Better than Chocolate

Today's post is about the joy of "girl time." Make that "grown up girl time." I had some today and it was so desperately needed.

A trip to WalMart and the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

It wasn't the places we went, it was the girltalk that fed my soul. The title of one book I saw at the Thrift Store was something like, "Chocolate for a Woman's Heart." I don't know anything about the book, but I loved the title. I like Chicken Soup when I have a cold. But I like a little chocolate, ....mmm....pretty much any and all the time. Just a couple of hours to talk about the things close to our heart, to connect, well it was better than a pan of double fudge chocolate brownies.

My precious children probably don't realize that when they say their prayers tonight, they should thank our Lord that Momma had some girl time today.

I will thank Him for creating chocolate. And girlfriends.

Amen.

Leisl

This is what's happening here

My husband is in the middle of a job that has taken him away for 10 days. He is getting some wonderful time with his Dad in the process, which is so great and so needed. We (the kids and I) are just fine. Short term single parenting I can live with, briefly. :)

So, the kids and I are just getting the school work done early so we can move on to the rest of our day which will include hanging out at the park with some other homeschool families. Wow. That was a really long sentence. Sorry about that.

Anyway, so I am taking part in this Beth Moore Bible Study about the Psalms of Ascent. It is really good and really awakening my Spirit in some ways. This particular day in the study reminds me to pray for the peace of my city. Not something I often think to do if I am honest. So I did.

It's interesting, because for two years we tried really hard to sell our house. We had two or three times that offers were made but contracts either fell through or were broken by others. We were trying to pay off some school loans and move closer to our church.....well, God had other plans. And here we sit. Same house, same neighborhood, different church since my Kurt got called to preach at one in a neighboring city. I don't understand why we are still here, but I don't have to. I do need to be awake enough in my spirit to recognize the needs around me and just trust my God.

So, in a little while the kids and I will head to the park.

Can I just add that I am particularly enjoying my children right now? Such precious, not so little ones, growing so very fast. I love to see their senses of humor blossom. They crack me up and I think I would be much older without them. Does that make sense? I also love those aha moments when they have them.

Right now, they are in my face wanting lunch and to get moving toward the park or whatever we do next so, that is all for now. The natives are officially restless and distracting. Did I mention I'm really enjoying my kids?

Later,
Leisl

Thanks

The good news is K, the young lady for whom we were praying has been moved out of ICU and at least has a diagnosis. So the doctors at least know how to treat the condition called Polyarteritis Nodosa. It involves weakening and damage to certain arteries in the body and can cause excessive bleeding and/or blood clotting. Her home church, which is the one I grew up in, held a prayer vigil for her a couple of nights ago. Their family has a lot of support and that is a blessing that can't be overlooked.

The other young man I mentioned, is now home from the hospital with a change to his medication that will hopefully help him function a little better. There has been no improvement really to his heart condition.

I so appreciate all who prayed on behalf of these people and their families who mean a lot to me.
Continued prayer is appreciated too!


Thanks,
Leisl

Please Pray

I have just learned that the precious daughter of some sweet friends from my home town, is in very serious condition at a hospital in Birmingham. Doctors have not yet determined the exact diagnosis. She is in Intensive Care. Oh, it hurts to know that people you love are hurting.

Also, a young man from our church has a heart condition that seems to be worsening. He has a wife and two young children. Again, doctors are not really clear about why he keeps having the exact problems he is. All I know is Joshee and Tori need their Daddy, and Erin needs her husband.

All prayers are welcome and appreciated.

Thank you!
Leisl

Just Meditating in Print

From The Amplified Bible:

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. -I John 1:9
______________________________________________________________

I freely admit that I have sinned by allowing something in my Spirit and/or personality to fester for so long, so many years without dealing with it once and for all. Before anyone starts speculating about what insidious, hateful, vice I am about to reveal, just go ahead and sit down. (you probably don't stand while on the computer anyway so I'll just assume the obvious---you are already sitting.) . For anyone who has ever participated in any group activity with me, lived near me, attended church or school with me, you may beat me to my own confession. For anyone else, I am only procrastinating in print as I build up to the confession and it is this:

I, Leisl Lemire am annoyingly, perpetually, frustratingly.....late.

Late. Late. Late. Late! Nearly, but not quite, always.

It is the thing about myself I hate the most. It is likely the thing about me that others hate the most. There have been times that I have confessed this sin, and others have said, this isn't a sin is it? This is just a shortcoming. Well, I fear for me that it is a lot of things, including but not limited to, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) {and boy, can't I use that excuse for lots of things},
a very bad habit years in the making, a generational curse (sorry Mom, it is what it is, and you have at least overcome it for yourself),....I could go on and on. If I did, I would merely be attempting to excuse myself from a societal reality that, like it or not, I am stuck with until Jesus comes to take me home where I pray there are no clocks.

I hear that some cultures south of the border are not so locked up in time constraints. While I envy them and am slightly tempted to head out on the next bus to Mexico, well, its just not feasible and wouldn't really resolve anything. The real issue is, apparently, within myself. I can honestly tell anyone who will listen that when I am late, I am not consciously or otherwise committing an act of selfish passive aggression or trying to cause my marriage to self destruct. I am not trying to exhibit some type of power over others. I am not in the deepest part of my being expressing a belief that I matter more than the rest of the world.

I have pondered many times over how to correct this. I have read books on managing time. I have cried. I have prayed. I have moped about like a scared puppy hoping nobody noticed but knowing my husband ALWAYS did. Today, I am addressing the situation a little more head on, hence - the blog post.

For anyone who might still be reading this wondering why I just don't get overmyself, well, believe me, if it were that simple I would have already done it. It is really quite humiliating to have to admit this in a public forum. However, though it might appear that I am a glutton for punishment, my goal in writing this is just to give myself a whole TON of ACCOUNTABILITY.
So, in the coming days, ask me, remind me, hold me accountable for what seems like a very basic rite of the typical person's life; p-u-n-c-t-u-a-l-i-t-y.

See, what I am counting on is in the last part of that verse I quoted above. The part where it defines unrighteousness as anything not conforming to His will in purpose, thought, and action. And the promise is given that if I confess my sin that He will cleanse me from all that. {All that}being, anything not conforming to His will in purpose, thought, and action. Do you follow? He commands us to "love our neighbor as ourselves," and to "do unto others as you would have done unto you." It is obviously His will that we, "do good, one to another." Well, by causing others to wait, as a result of my tardiness, I am not showing love, nor am I doing unto them what I want done unto me. This is not legalism, neither is it perfectionism. It is acting with purpose.
So, do I think I will be late ever again? Well, statistically, the chances are pretty high that I might fail again sometime in this endeavor. But let's not focus on that shall we? Nope. I have been as honest in my confession as I can be, and I am trusting that it is "God who is at work in me to will and to act according to His good pleasure." So that is where I leave this now. I am going to bed.

Much Love and Many Blessings,
Leisl

Am I Really Up this Late?

Why yes, yes I am. This laptop has been on my thighs so long I am sure to have burn marks. I have done research on everything from homemade ice packs to put on my Daddy's aching knee, (no, not just ice in a ziplock bag - this really cool gel kind that comes from mixing three parts water to one part rubbing alcohol,) to drug reactions and definitions of medical terms. I also checked the blogs I follow and a couple of more that I follow but don't remember how to show on my blog.

I was kind of staying up late, hoping to hear from my friend who is beside her Grandmother in a nursing home tonight. The news was not good, and we are just praying for the Lord's Presence to just really surround them all.

It is amazing how some of life's sweetest moments are bound up in sorrowful ones. Just today, I got on my knees beside my earthly Daddy, put my hand on his feverish leg and prepared to pray with him and my sweet Momma for wisdom regarding some frightening symptoms he was experiencing. As I bowed my head to pray, I was just OVERWHELMED with how much I love my parents. The thought of being in this world without either of them is just SO SAD to me. I began weeping, and then my Mom stepped on my glasses that I had just put on the floor in front of me. Then, I started laughing, and they both did too. It kind of released that heaviness from us and we were able to pray, each one of us. It was just so - very - sweet, to be able to go TOGETHER into the presence of our Father in Heaven, and relinquish the whole thing into His very capable hands. Peace.

He is God. He is Good. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

In awe of the simple things,
Leisl

Old Friends, Short Blog

I've had this insatiable desire recently, to reconnect with people from my past. My husband is also, experiencing this same phenomenon. Maybe it has something to do with getting old. Regardless, I just want to see and or talk to old friends. Along these lines, from yesterday's post, I received a comment from one of those old friends, Ann. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw your comment girl! If by the grace of God, you happen to look at my blog today, please give me your email address or something. I was just thinking about you, like two days ago. And start blogging if you can. You always have something interesting to say, and you are funny as all get out. I know you still are, (funny) because your kind of funny doesn't go away and it runs in your very creative family. By that I am refering to the family I know, which is your husband and your brother.

Okay, my Kurt has taken our kids today, away from our house so that I can do some organizing and planning regarding our homeschool. If I sit at this computer and do what I am tempted to do, keep blogging and checking all the ones I follow....well....it will be SIN!

Temptation comes in so many forms......

Leisl