Things I Love, September Edition

turning leaves and seasons, new routines, stories, and the lovingkindness of God

The leaves on the maples are starting to turn. That is the first thing I love. I am feeling a stirring with September as I’m just transitioning into the second trimester of this pregnancy, beginning to feel better, more awake, more alive, happier to be in the kitchen and eating food. I had a cup of coffee with a swirl of cream for the first time in six weeks. It was so good. I have been waking up in the mornings with words tumbling out of my head. This is a welcome change after the weeks of thoughts like slow molasses. The season is beginning to change for me, and I am so grateful.

There have been lots of things to love in the last few weeks.

Getting into Routines! I wondered if it would ever happen, but yes, we are starting to get into some healthy rhythms around here again. I mentioned last month about a podcast that I listened to by Sarah Mackenzie on using spiral notebooks as a simple, but effective tool for homeschooling. This is changing my life. The principle is simple: Get a notebook for each child, and the night before, make a quick list of everything you want them to do the following day. In the morning, they get the notebook and get to work. When they need you, or you need them, you get together. I’m simplifying it greatly, but I would highly encourage any homeschooling Mamas who struggle with consistency or getting it all done on a regular basis to give this podcast a listen.

Game Nights! The older kids invited friends over for epic board game nights weekly through the month of August. I made the commitment feeling a bit of hopeful bravery about it, because traditionally, having people over is a lot of work. Mainly because the house is never clean. And because I am sometimes overwhelmed by my own chaos… But we gave it a try, and it has been such a great experience all around. For one thing, our kids are highly motivated to help get the house in order, and this is a great checkpoint in our week to get that cleaning done. Also, game nights are an almost effortless way to fellowship and have fun. We start with a potluck (another wonderful thing!), and then spend a few hours playing board games. I’m so glad we did this.

Gifted, by Chris Davis: The book that has had the greatest influence on me as a homeschooling mother is a book by Chris and Ellyn Davis called I Saw the Angel in the Marble. I read it years ago, and have reread it many times. It has shaped many of my ideas and ideals about raising children, childhood, and what home education can be. I had heard of the author’s book, Gifted, but have only just read it because it is out of print and a copy is hard to find. As a homeschooling pioneer, he challenges many of the assumptions that we bring to the table as home educators. He begins the book by saying there are two ways to look at a child—either as an empty bucket waiting to be filled or as a gift ready to be opened. He asserts:

“Each child is a unique creation of God, and God has placed within that child very specific giftings and callings. God, then, sends the child into our time-space world to be raised by the adults He has chosen and who are responsible for discovering what God has put within the child. Having begun to discover the child’s giftings and callings, parents must then provide the child with the tools and the time to become proficient in those giftings and callings. The purpose is to allow the child to grow up to express what God has put within him or her. This brings glory to God.”

He challenges the traditional idea of the standard scope and sequence, the one-size-fits-all education, and says that the only thing that should could come prepackaged in education is the child, who has already been given the specific gifts and callings that God designed.

These ideas resonate deeply with me, and I’ve been encouraged by reading it.

Christy by Catherine Marshall I’m pretty sure I read this book as a teenager (or maybe I watched the tv series???), but I had forgotten almost everything about it. I read it with my oldest daughters (as a part of their book club), and I was truly surprised by how much I loved this book. It is the true story of a 19-year-old young woman (the author’s mother) who left her home in Asheville in 1912 to live in the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains as a missionary. Here she encounters trials she had never before imagined, as she becomes acquainted with the hard life of the people. It was a beautiful story of God’s grace, mercy, and redemption. I loved the message and the storytelling, and I was also charmed by the way it made me feel a connection to my roots. I have known many people who speak like the characters in those mountains, and I confess that I have started using the word “onliest” as part of my functioning vocabulary. I mean, why not?

The Kindness of God: Do you ever go through a season where you feel that God is especially trying to show you that He is with you, that He cares, that He is watching over your life? We have seen so much love and kindness in the last few weeks—friends bringing meals, answers to secret prayers for desperate needs or for a way forward, generosity beyond belief from unexpected places. There are times when I get overwhelmed by the fact that we are raising eight children and about to bring another into the world. How will we ever do it? How will we have the money/energy/time/strength/wisdom/presence/vision to accomplish this great task that is now required of us. We are in over our heads. I lost the illusion that I am in control a really long time ago. But God graciously allows us to go through seasons where we see the answers to prayers, where he delights in blessing us and showing us that He is pleased that these children are in the world. He reminds me that He will never leave or forsake us. That he is Emmanuel, God with us. I am overwhelmed by the kindness of God, humbled by his tenderness that we have seen through human hands reaching into our lives to bless us.

Sending love, and praying that you sense the presence of God, his love and tenderness, that he will bring you peace.

Thank you so much for being here!

Love,

Mackenzie

New Podcast:

I find that one of the greatest lessons that motherhood is teaching me is how to hold onto the things that I desperately love while also learning, little by little, to let these things go. In this episode, I share what this looks like for me in this season of eight children, ages 2-15, with a baby on the way. As well as thoughts on overcoming fear, letting go of regrets, and living in the present moment with a heart of gratitude. Pull up a chair, and let’s talk it over.

From the Family Archive:

A loooooong time ago. I wrote this song when our oldest daughter was a baby. 14 years and 7 babies later, I’m still singing these words from my heart.

Have you picked up a copy of my book? Click the image to go to my Amazon store, or buy this book wherever you shop online.