Trade off

A month or so ago another homeschooling Mom and I set up a terrific trade off. I am loving this. Two days a week we each get up and get going on school so that we can be done by lunch time. Then one day she brings her kids to me and on the other I take mine to her. Our kids get to be wild, go crazy and play to their hearts content. We each get to have a just a few hours of "down" time. Such a blessing.

Taking time for myself is something I am not especially good at. I give it a lot of lip service. But I am always  thinking of other stuff I should be doing. Laundry, meal prep, errands etc. I am sure everyone has their distractions. Making time for self is as challenging as making time for listening to God. Studying about Him, Yes I do that. Giving Him my laundry list of prayer requests, yes. Just quieting my mind and listening? Not so much.

This process of quieting the mind is hard. Sitting there quiet, de-cluttering thoughts, trying to think of nothing, as soon as one thought exits another pops in from a different direction. It is work to seek the Father with open mind and just listen to Him. It takes perseverance. Most of all it takes practice. I urge you to practice seeking the Lord. Allowing Him to be King in your life and to lead you. I so often feel like a small child. I want to "DO IT Myself!" The life of Christian is very hard and very tiring if we try to do it all in our power. God designed us to NEED him.  The odds are stacked against us. Yet scripture says " If God is for us who can stand against us?" (Romans 8:31a)  He will glorify Himself in our weakness, we need only to acknowledge Him. This Christian life is not hard when we walk in Him, in obedience to His Spirit. I can do it my way. In doing it my way I can be tired, worn out, and somewhat effectual. OR I can follow His way, let Him use me and be exhilarated and successful beyond my wildest imaginings.

The trade off is me being in charge or letting Him be in charge. Similar to choosing to make time for myself or choosing to push through and keep going and going until I burn out. This theme of "do it myself!" or "let him empower and lead me" keeps coming up over and over again. Sunday school, devotions, side conversations at the dentist office, I do believe the Father is trying to get through to me.

Lord help me to listen, help me to let you be God - bigger than anything the world may throw at me, able to handle it all and lead me on this journey. Daddy, help make the trade off.

Pink....

This is Pixie's Non Rhyming Poem from today's Creative expression assignment

Pink...

Pink is my room
Pink is my hallelujah skirt
Pink is like taffy
Pink tastes like watermelon
Pink smells like roses
Pink looks like a party
Pink makes my heart gleam with Joy

Refresh

      Since I feel like I am beginning again, sort of, I decided to refresh the blog's appearance.  So a new header picture, colors, and background. Check it out!

      Whisper to the wind came about because I had felt the Lord pushing me to write. Felt it for a long time. I finally stopped fighting him and decided to obey. I chose a public blog because I wanted the accountability. During this past hiatus there were 3 wonderful friends who very gently but regularly reminded me that I should be writing. I am so thankful for those precious friends. The gentle reminders that they wanted to hear from me again made coming back so much easier. You three know who are. THANK YOU!

      Looking toward 2012, My goal is to post at least once each week. I thrive on feedback, so publicly or privately, please let me know your thoughts on the things I write. My purpose in writing is to share the things God is teaching me through major milestones and day to day adventures.  Please feel free to send questions or suggestions for topics.

Caite

 

Caramel Popcorn

A few days ago the girls and I decided to make popcorn balls. MMMMMMMMMMM !!!! Melted marshmallowy goodness flavored with Jello and coating the popcorn. Joyful, happy, wonderful, mouthwatering, tasty, happiness. I like these. We made black cherry flavored popcorn balls. Then in the midst of the mess making I decided caramel popcorn sounded good too. Because, you know, if the kitchen is already a mess you might as well make it worse. I discovered my recipe had gone awol, so I went looking for one on allrecipes.com. The first recipe I looked at had a 5-star comment that began, "Do NOT make this recipe unless you have iron will power or are giving it away. You will not be able to leave it alone."


It was so right. The stuff is beyond addictive!

My kids kept saying "there seems to be less in the container, Mom. Are you eating it when we are not around?" Well, of course! You try sitting in the same house with such a massively addictive substance as caramel popcorn and not eating it!

If there's one thing I know, it is that I do not have an iron will. There are so many things far less addictive than caramel popcorn that I allow to distract me. Making time to be with the Father is the one way I can come to know Him more. Making time to be in His word. Making time to listen for his voice. Yet like a dog when a squirrel runs by, my attention goes askew and I am off on a tangent.


I lean on the Father above to strengthen my will. Only He is is enough. As I sit nibbling on the caramel popcorn and thinking about all the things in life that distract me from the Lord, I am surprised at my lack of will power. I like to think I am mature in my faith, and then I am reminded that I have so far to go. I am blessed that He will go with me. He will pull me back when the squirrels run by.


Lord, today I give my focus to you, reign in my wandering mind.


Caramel Popcorn

Non stick cooking spray
4 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup brown Sugar
1/2 cup dark (or light) Karo corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

Optional: 1 cup roasted peanuts


1. Spray large shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Add popcorn and place in preheated 250 degree oven while preparing caramel.

2. Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a heavy 2 quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, Bring to a boil over medium heat.

3. Boil for  5 minutes w/o stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla; mix well.

4. pour syrup over warm popcorn; stirring to coat evenly ( if adding peanuts - this is the time)

5. bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally ( I did this every 10 minutes or so). Remove from oven and spread on foil or parchment that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick spray.

6. Cool. break apart. Store in a tightly covered container. ( I recommend something not see through.)

Return from a Far Place

Lessons, A Journey, and the world changes again.

In returning to writing, I feel awkward and stilted. The words are not flowing smoothly  from my mind. I am so out of practice and tentative. Still, I must begin. Every journey begins with a step.

Life has been wild this year.

I have decided not to go on and on about all that has happened over the summer and fall.  I am starting fresh today. This place is my place to share the things the Lord is teaching me day by day. I will also share our lives. I will share some of my struggles and many of my joys in the journey that God is leading me on! I do want to share updates on two things, home schooling & my business.

This year the Admiral and I decided that the time had come to try homeschooling. I was so freaked and nervous. Could I really stay organized enough to pull off my girls schooling? Did I want to "give up" my "free" time?  I prayed and prayed. Then decided that this was where God was leading me/us. So we started in August and I will tell you a secret.... I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!  We are having such a great year! Life is simpler somewhat. We get up when we wake up and our schedule is smoother and less stressful. T is getting to invest a lot of practice time in her piano. It is so exciting to listen to her  play. Pixie's reading has just taken off like a shot. I get to be on the front lines of their lives.  This is not always easy but I am so glad I chose to do it. Each week is an adventure I look forward too.

Around the time I decided to home school and I also entered into the process of setting up a new company with two precious friends. It had long been a dream of mine to have my own business doing events and project management. Several important people in my life asked "What are you thinking?" others thought it loudly in my direction. I was thinking that here was my opportunity to grow my dream and be with my kids too. I think my thought was that I could work in a more structured way and still keep my priorities in line. The dream took off at lightning speed.  My partners and I spent the last 7 months birthing this amazing company. The Lord has blessed our efforts and the company is taking off. Yet through the building success I have begun to feel like the rope in a world class game of tug of war. After searching my heart and pestering God for a few weeks  I decided to resign my partnership in the company and focus on my priorities of God, husband, children and their schooling. This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. It was the right decision. I can chase my dream when my little ones are off chasing their own dreams.

I have chosen to pursue my writing while I minister to my husband and kids to the best of my ability. I am praying that I will listen more closely and be less distracted by the shiny things.

A season of busy

Well My friends.... My last post was May11th. Today  is June 8th.

Life is good. God is so good. This season has been busy, busy and productive. I am thankful. I was feeling seriously guilty about not posting. Then Father God reminded me that worry is not of Him. He is directing this season. I need to function each day in obedience to His leading not my own. I am making my time with the Father first priority. Writing must come last in this season. Please do not give up on me. I have posts they will be coming just not as frequently as in the past.
Following His leading, I have researched and built our homeschool curriculum for the 2011-2012 school year. My business - Aspire Productions LLC is getting lots of work. The many "Aspire events" are in various stages of planning and execution. We have almost completed room renovation for T's room. She will be moving is soon. Of course , Pixie is moving with her while we repaint her room. We are preparing for the the Aldersgate 2011 conference in Dayton OH.  This summer is loaded and we are ready to jump on the roller coaster. Life is so exciting! I am blessed.

Thank you each and all for reading!

More to come soon in the journey of chasing my God!

Caite

Predictions

(written 4/2)

Right now it is supposed to be raining.

The skies were supposed to be drippy all day today. 

I woke this morning thinking, “What good are warmer temperatures if it is just going to rain for days on end?” God immediately called me to confess that bad attitude. This rain fills our water table and sees us through the dryness later and I am Thankful for it.  I told Him so. As we drove to school I marveled at the closeness of the clouds with their many hues of gray. T said “They look so real! So close!” They were close, large black thunder heads that threatened to split the sky at any moment.  The air was warm and fluid. I reveled in it, waiting for the rain.

Now, eight hours later, the rain hasn’t come down yet.

I am feeling so loved.  God knew I needed a break. Knew I needed 20 minutes at the park to watch my precious ones run, climb, laugh and yell! The breeze is blowing across me. It smells amazing. I am so very thankful that the predictions proved false.  

Predictions are good. They can help us prepare for what is to come. Predictions are also dangerous.  They set up expectations that may or may not come to pass. It is really a 50/50 proposition, predicting the future.  There are no guarantees.  Predictions of weather do not control us.  Neither do predictions of other people.   I do not have to live up to the predictions of other people.  I can live free of them because God has claimed me as His child. He has set me apart for His purpose.  I believe this.  

There is a song out right now called “the Voice of truth”. This song zings me every time I hear it. It talks about the predictions of others. 

“But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me

Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed

The giant keeps on telling me

Time and time again ‘Boy you’ll never win

You’ll never win!’”

“But the voice of truth tells me a different story”

The voice of truth tells me a different story! The predictions of others don’t bind me.  They don’t hold you.  Live free of the negative predictions of other people.

Lord, help me listen for your voice of truth. Help me to hear your leading and not take serious the dire predictions of others.