Test Results: What matters most
{Finally getting a chance to share this with you. Hope it encourages you on your own journey!}
I didn’t need to wait for any test results: The findings were clear.
I wrote here about the day I thrust a practice test at my son with no preparation, and a hummingbird saved the day and reminded me that education is more than standardized tests.
I was reminded that nature and care for living things will teach us more than a million worksheet pages.
But even with that gained perspective, I was still surprised by the results of the “real” test day. Thankfully, this time there were no tears. We had prepared. We worked hard finishing all my son’s curriculum for the year.
We had completed several practice tests. We reviewed the concepts from the year. Since we’d never done testing, I really had no idea how he’d do.
Mostly, I just wanted this test-experience to identify where we needed to focus our efforts for the next year.
It definitely did that.
{Read the rest over at Simple Homeschool… thanks!}
Conquer Day
Your difficult is different from mine. Of course, there are things we’d probably all agree on–extreme stuff–but the day-to-day challenges we face are usually uniquely challenging for us.
This is especially true with a certain special son of mine. If I were to make a quick list of someone our recent, or common, difficult things it would look something like this:
- State testing
- Leaving the house (for any reason)
- Leaving the house early in the morning (thus feeling rushed)
- Playdates with large groups of children he doesn’t know
- Costco
Well, wouldn’t you know it, four of these items all happened to fall on one day. We’d already gotten through #1 and Dutch did great, although we hadn’t heard yet what his test results were. But this particular day, were not only leaving the house, we were leaving fairly early in the morning, to be gone the entire day (ai yai yai!), going to not 1, not 2, but 3 different people’s houses, playing with some children he didn’t know, then topping off the day with a trip to Costco.
Usually, when I begin a post like this you know it’s going to be a “Why am I so stupid?!” sort of thing. But, for once, that is not the story.
We had been focusing, the previous 5-6 days, on some areas that needed work. We started by memorizing, together, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” We returned to this, again and again, when we met new challenges or felt overwhelmed. And it’s true. We can! It always surprises me how things that seem so discouraging, behavior-wise, can often be turned around so quickly when we really put in the time and effort (effort!) to pray over and work hard, together, by Christ’s strength, on that area. Anyway, we did that, and so instead of cringing or expecting this day to be a nightmare, we firmly explained the plan, the expectations of the day, the benefits (sprinklers!) and built-in bonuses for good attitudes (ice cream at Costco!).
To my everlasting amazement, the day was great. Not just good. Great. He hit it off with new kids. Didn’t have a single melt-down. Never even complained. In fact, (get this!) after Costco, when we’d already been out and about for 8 hours, when I needed to make one last stop for a few extra groceries, he said, “Sure!” with a smile.
Say what?! Who is this kid?!
Later that night, just before bed, I finally got around to opening the mail, and we received his state testing results. It will take all my efforts to not just shamelessly brag on my boy right now, but suffice it to say, he was very happy. In fact, in math, which is the area we always say he “struggles with” — he didn’t miss a single problem! HUH?! So yeah, I guess I need to stop saying he struggles with math. 🙂
ANYWAY, I wish you could have see the BEAMING SMILE on my boy’s face as he looked over the test results, and we reflected on the day’s activities. I encouraged him, “You conquered! We conquered together! All the things we thought were so hard, we conquered!” He thought for a second, asked me the day’s date, then said with a smile.
“August 2nd is CONQUER DAY! Every year on August 2nd we need to go to Costco and do hard things and celebrate that fact that we can CONQUER. It’s CONQUER DAY!”
YES! We all agreed. Then Dutch called us to put our hands in altogether, like they do at the end of a sports’ game.
“Ok. ‘Conquer Day’ on 3. Ready? One, two, three…”
“CONQUER DAY!”
I’ve said before, I’m all about celebrating little victories. I know some kids are already professional actors, elite athletes, or performing musicians. This mama’s heart is overflowing full because we conquered our difficult, and every day can be a chance to overcome my selfishness, my fear, my doubt, my unbelief.
Everyday can be CONQUER DAY through Christ who gives me strength.
{Thanks for reading.}
Our spiritual Vitamix, the most neglected weapon
When I think of effective weapons, I think of my Vitamix.
I know, sounds crazy, but for the kind of Sacred Mundane battle I face on a daily basis — that of feeding my family healthy foods prepared from scratch — there’s nothing else like this blender that’s basically a countertop lawn-mower.
Without this tool, so many of our favorite foods would be virtually impossible to make. No nut-butter protein shakes. No whole-fruit smoothies. No hummus. No Yumm sauce. No homemade ice cream. No blended fruit-wine. No butternut squash soup. No quinoa cupcakes. No apple-pancakes. So many things would be impossible (or much more difficult) if it weren’t for this one simple weapon that sits on my counter and pulverizes food with ease. What would take hours to accomplish by hand takes just seconds with this awesome tool.
Spiritually speaking, we have a weapon available to us that’s stronger than a million Vitamixes and has the power to push back forces of evil, open our eyes to sin, effect change in the spiritual realm, tear down strongholds and conquer invisible forces of darkness. We can pulverize the toughest situations by utilizing this weapon.
But, this most effective weapon is also the most neglected weapon.
Fasting.
Did your heart sink just a little? Were you hoping for something else? I get it. For years–YEARS–I tried to avoid this topic. Scripture reading? Awesome. Prayer? You bet. Fellowship? Bring it on. Church attendance? Of course. Loving people, tithing, discipleship, let’s do it all. I’m all in.
Give up my food? I’m squirming. Seriously squirming. People, I like my food. Look, I don’t really shop, I don’t watch TV, I don’t have guilty pleasures or things I do to check out or escape. My life is pretty basic. All I want is a good meal, let’s say 3 times a day.
Is that too much to ask? No, it’s not really. Of course God does provide food for us, but there’s no denying the clear pattern in Scripture–in times of great need, crisis, needing discernment, in times of wanting to draw closer to God or see Him move in miraculous, supernatural ways, the people of God pulled out the spiritual Vitamix.
They fasted.
The specifics vary. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all fasted for 40 days. Others fasted for 3. Daniel abstained from only certain foods. Some fasted in order to cry out for protection. Jesus refers to regular fasting, in conjunction with prayer. We see examples of personal private fasting, and corporate non-private fasting. Both are beneficial for different reasons and seasons.
We contemplated buying a Vitamix for years before we actually took the plunge and purchased one. I read dozens of reviews, heard testimonies from friends, and prayed about it a lot before making the investment. Why did it take so long?
Because of the cost.
You can pick up a new blender at Walmart for $19.99 and if it doesn’t work you’re not out a whole lot of cash. A Vitamix is upwards of $300-700. Yikes! That’s a cost. Was it worth it? Would it really work? When I finally found an older model for $300 we were brave enough to make the leap. That was doable. We made the investment. And you know what?
I’m so glad. Because that thing works. I have used it nearly every single day for 3 years. (Yes, the photo above shows that we even take it camping. 😉
There is a significant cost to fasting too, yes? I tried to ignore fasting for years, trying to take an easier route, something that wouldn’t cost me so much. Anyone can pray, even invest a pretty good amount of time to praying. But giving up my food? I just wasn’t sure if there was anything I desired more than my food.
But in His grace and gentle kindness, the Lord kept putting fasting on my mind and heart. Now, hear me: I’m not talking crash dieting. I’m not talking starving yourself to lose weight. We’ll talk more details in days to come, but that is not fasting. I’ve done both of those things in my life, unfortunately, and it’s nothing like fasting.
Fasting is the most effective and neglected spiritual weapon, a lawn-mower kind of blender on the counter of our lives, just waiting for us to employ and pulverize the attacks of the evil one. I’m certainly no expert, but we just emerged from a 40-day glorious journey of fasting, and I’m convinced there is so much power, joy, freedom, effectiveness, VICTORY available to us if we’d embark on this adventure with God.
So, I’m going to write a series called, The 40-Day Fast for the Rest of Us: An Extraordinary Adventure for Ordinary People. It may turn into an ebook, but for now I’m just going to capture my thoughts in this space, and maybe you can help me make sense of it all. Deal?
Now, I’m off to make dinner: Walnut taco-meat made with the Vitamix. 😉
{Thanks for reading!}
Cutting new roads deep into glorious truth
I just came inside from my walk, so thirsty, and filled the mason jar full of cold water from the tap. It’s a simple routine, my daily walk up and down the driveway, but it’s great exercise, and I love the fresh air and time alone, quiet, to think.
One of the things we love most about this property is the fact that the house is set so far back from the road, and my favorite thing is the long tree-lined driveway that winds down to the house. It’s very secluded, in fact if it weren’t for the mailbox you wouldn’t even notice the driveway.
Long ago, the original house-site was right up near the road. You can still see the driveway leading off to the side, and the cleared off spot where a mobile home had been. It’s still a lovely spot, but somewhere along the line, someone had been brave and said,
Let’s cut in a new road.
I’m so glad they did. Because the property’s sloped, someone had to do some massive excavating to cut this driveway into place. Same with the house. Originally, the whole property was just sloped, but now there’s a house-site tucked into the trees, and we’re so glad! Sure, we weed and maintain things, but the real work was completed long ago.
I’m also glad that someone did the work of clearing trails. Just moments ago the kids and I were hiking down to the pond, our favorite afternoon pastime. I’m so glad someone did the hard work, and we just get the fun job of maintaining them with our daily walks.
Most of the hard work has already been done.
This past week in our Armor of God study, we talked about the mind. As I met with several ladies recently, this theme arose again and again: Thought patterns.
Thought patterns are really just walks you take in your mind. You go somewhere with your thoughts. You follow a trail. Some of us rarely even give much thought to what that trail is or where it might be taking us. But there’s no denying this truth: The same thought-path taken over and over, becomes a well-worn trail that we find ourselves traveling again and again, whether we like it or not.
Usually, the destructive paths are the ones that are easy. Certainly, it was much easier for the original owners to just make the driveway way up by the road. No excavating necessary. But the truth is, there’s so much more beauty when we do the hard work of cutting in a new road, way deep into the glorious woods.
Our destructive thought-patterns are usually the ones that are easy. No resistance needed. No real mind-training needed. No battle. We’re slipped suggestions every single day, “Just meander down this mind-trail, it’s so easy…”
So we do. We meander to nursing wounds or feeding pride or silently criticizing others. We meander to worldliness and vanity, we meander to ungratefulness and entitlement.
Oh there are so many easy paths presented to us each day!
But what about cutting a new one?! Are we willing? There is so much BEAUTY if we will do the hard work of excavating out the recesses of our minds, and cutting new roads deep into truth, deep into glorious truth.
The real hard work must only be done once. After that, it’s just maintenance. Once we declare war on destructive mind-walks and begin to set our minds on things above (Col. 3:2), and purposefully think about what is true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Phil 4:8), we will find it easier and easier to travel that road again and again. And there is such fruit!
The fruit is peace, joy, love. The fruit is a settled faith and unshakable confidence because our mind is stayed on Him.
May we cut in new roads deep into the beauty of His truth, and enjoy the daily thought-walks along the paths of His glorious grace.
{Happy weekend! Thanks for reading.}
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Phil. 4:8