One of my most cherished passages of Scripture is from Acts 2.  Jesus had just ascended back to heaven and the Apostles were following Jesus’ last command and the Church was growing.

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe^[d] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Last night, as I sat in a leader’s training, the first thing the speaker said is that “Relationships are the most important part of our lives.”  This passage kept floating around in my head and filtering down to my heart. (Side Note: I may have gotten a tad bit giddy when he spoke of mirror neurons and how relationships can transform us.)

I cherish the community we have, and the people we’ve had in our home over the years, sharing meals and our lives with. Must be hundreds, maybe thousands of meals together! When I think of all of those meals together, I get excited about heaven.  It will be one great big fantastic feast with so many we love and people from everywhere we’ve never met!   We get to practice now, building relationships, being present in people’s lives, breaking bread,  serving on another, growing together, suffering together, celebrating together.

It is always a delight and a joy to share meals with others, and as they say in Texas “Y’all come back now, ya hear?”

Last night I dreamt had a nightmare we were living on a tiny boat on a big river! A fire was barreling down the canyon toward us. We were ordered to evacuate.  I kept looking everywhere for our school books.  I know they are replaceable, but that takes time. My kids would need some routine, an ordinary pace.

I always try to figure out what my dreams mean.  Sometimes they represent something great.  Most of the time it just means I had pizza
a too late.  HA! I think this one means I’m owning more of my homeschool mom status!  

My oldest has just started her last year of elementary! Wait? WHA??? I.JUST.CAN’T!!! Before this year started, I had to revisit what in the world I was doing and why.  I thought I’d share a bit of my process for those of you who believe you might want to homeschool, annnnd, you don’t know where to start.  I get his question from time to time.

WHERE DO I START?

Your heart, that, THAT is the best place to start.  It will drive you on long hard days; it will be your fresh cup of hot coffee when you are dragging.  It will be your breath of fresh air in a paper bag when you are overwhelmed by “mom guilt.” (Not that I know anything about that!)   It will also help make all of the of the decisions easier. It eliminates many of your options, and there are sooooo many options!

What does it mean to start with your heart?  Concisely said, “what is your vision for your children’s childhood and their education?”  Now, this cannot be to get away from something.  Vision is not what you are trying to avoid or escape.  Wanting to avoid something (like a crazy cafeteria lady) can be and often is the impetus, which is fine.  It won’t carry you through in the long haul. Running away from something is not sustainable long term. You have to determine why you would homeschool. What you hope to gain from it.  What you want out of it. These should be positive things. Not negative. (Example: I want to have close interactions with my children. Not: I want to keep my kids away from crazy cafeteria ladies.) Write down your vision, add to it, revisit it, change it from year to year, allow it to grow over time, just as your family grows.  Always keep the vision something that pulls you forward.  Avoiding, running, and escaping, will not sustain you in joy and perseverance.  It will load you with fear and feed negativity.  It will keep you from being able to decide on curriculums and programs, and it will be a thief to focus. There will be tough uphill days, but what drives you will be your vision.  Now, go start visioning and chase HARD after it with all your heart!  ~T

Look closely at this photo…do you see it? The larger area that is a neutral off white?Take a closer look…That texture!!! That’s the stuff sweet dreams are made off! It is also what separates any ole blanket from a quilt.  Oh YEAH!

It is there in spirit when the quilt is finished, but the first wash, that’s the magic.  I live for that magic! So every quilt I make, gets the first wash…in baby laundry detergent. Because, HELLO, babies are also pure magic!