tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816611896850903042023-12-13T12:17:05.631-06:00 Kathleen T. JaegerKathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-51884971321337842512020-03-20T12:21:00.000-05:002020-03-29T02:25:31.108-05:00Spring dared to return even when everything else was canceled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">Many of the blossoms of the tree have blown off and settled just beneath it. The white petals lie on the green grass yet some still cling to the branches. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">The wind is blowing and pink and purple flowers wave to gray skies.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">Even though there have been cancellations, isolations, and empty store shelves, Spring has returned.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">Cancelled plans scattered on the lawn, making its own temporary beauty out of deep disappointments. Clinging to the branch of hope that lives will be spared due to the cancellations. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">While we hunker down and wait for the oncoming storm, there are flowers waving in the wind like Italians singing from their balconies with tambourines and accordions.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">Unlike tornadoes that come quickly, this storm is taking a long time to arrive. We wait and wait. How can time seem slow and ever-changing at the same time?</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">The storm is coming. Another burst of wind, another batch of cancellations. Soon it will be people we know with the virus, maybe even us. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">In a time when nothing seems certain and everything is changing daily, Spring arrives.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">A reminder that there are a few things that remain constant: the seasons, the sun’s rising and setting, and a God who never changes.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-size: 14.6667px;">May we cling to the hope that doesn’t disappoint: In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade - kept in heaven for you. I Peter 1:3-4</span></span>Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-10581751546384054062019-12-08T08:05:00.000-06:002019-12-08T08:05:47.088-06:00Six Things I've Learned This Fall <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Six Things I've Learned This Fall </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After a three and a half year hiatus, I'm dusting my blog off by joining <a href="https://emilypfreeman.com/learned-fall-2019/" target="_blank">Emily P. Freeman's Quarterly Link-</a>up about 'Things I've Learned.' The encouragement is to reflect and observe one's life as to gain the most from our experiences. Perhaps these musings will prompt reflections and observations you've gained in your own life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1) Mushrooms are key.</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Apparently mushrooms are what make the omelette for me. I'd forgotten mushrooms at the store for several weeks; I also had not been motivated to make my morning omelette for weeks. Then one day, I remembered the mushrooms, the next morning I made an omelette. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Note to self</i>: Keep mushrooms on hand to motivate me to make my high protein breakfast. For a long while I have loved my omelette and coffee with half & half breakfast, knowing I've started my day right. I've enjoyed the ritual of making it and eating it but it lost its luster. Now I know that I'd just lost my mushrooms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2) It's easier to cook for three than for six. </b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It really cracks me up that this came as a surprise for me! I must admit that I like that the house stays more orderly, that we're staying on top of the laundry, and that we have leftovers in our fridge frequently now that there are only three of us that live here full time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3) Six people go through more soap and shampoo; not just food.</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In other transitional news, apparently six of us go through a lot more soap and shampoo than four or three of us do. This was more difficult for me to adjust to this past summer than the feeding more people part of the summer. Weird, I know. I have no idea why this bothered me so much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>4) Sometimes transitions and change are okay.</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am a pre-griever. </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As I spend time thinking about upcoming changes, I get sad. So for the two to three weeks before the older three went off to and back to college this fall, I was really sad. During the actual drop-offs, I hugged, prayed and waved. I don't typically cry at good-byes and this was no exception. I felt all the feels for a day or two when we got back. And then I was good. I've been peaceful. I haven't ached or longed for the hustle and bustle of a full house or for the individuals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>5) </b></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>A six of us camping trip did put the ache and longing into missing them.</b> </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Missing us. It was so good to be just the six of us. Camping in the cold. We cut wood. Built a fire. Cooked over a camp stove. Hiked. Tossed a frisbee. We reminisced. We talked about current events in our own lives. We connected better than we would have if we'd stayed at home together. This is when I felt the ache and the longing, not during our new day-to-day normal of just three of us. It was so wonderful that I came home and started planning a summer vacation for just the six of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>6) Be open to learning.</b> </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The idea for the camping trip came as a result of the parent session at the college drop-off for child number three. The one where the colleges help parents cut the umbilical cord. I had thought to myself, 'Do I really need to go to this?' The answer to that question is yes. Yes, I did. After years of college visits, I was pretty burnt on another academic speech (which are only moderately inspiring or informative at this stage). But it was at this session -- where I thought I had nothing to learn -- that I gained a vision for my role as a mom to college-aged kids: one of my roles is to help us -- the six of us -- stay connected as a family in our adult lives. Hence, the inspiration to make a two day camping trip happen for the two days that their fall breaks overlapped. Note to self: You always have things to learn; be open even when I think that 'I know it all' already. </span><br />
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">What observations and reflections do you have from your own life lately? </span>Share in the comments.</h4>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-72538717846747968512016-02-12T00:11:00.001-06:002016-02-12T00:11:49.321-06:00Kindness matters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Friday night, our family participated in a contra dance -- or square dancing in a line. It's fun because it involves everyone: young and old, experienced and newbie. <br />
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When the dance is about to begin, the caller calls out to find a partner. My husband grabbed my hand for most of the night. Near the end of the evening, my husband noticed that there was a little girl crying because she had wanted to dance but didn't have a partner.<br />
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We'd already begun to dance and swung to the steps being called out, but he was distracted because he kept noticing the crying girl. He tried more than once to get the attention of the caller to help her find a partner. But the dance danced on without her.<br />
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However, at the end of this particular dance the caller put herself into the circle and begun to lead us all around the room. As we passed by the little girl who had dried her tears, my husband grabbed her hand to include her in this part of the dance that didn't require a partner.<br />
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After that song, the next dance was a waltz. One of my daughters wanted to dance with her daddy but I stood my claim as his partner. I wasn't going to miss out on dancing with my husband, but shortly into the dance, a little girl cut right in on our dance.<br />
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It was the girl who had been crying because she'd been left out. She began to dance with my husband. <br />
I let her cut in.<br />
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I understood. She had been drawn to his kindness.<br />
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He had seen her need and reached out in a small, seemingly insignificant way. But it touched her.<br />
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Kindness drew her. <br />
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Kindness matters even in the smallest ways.Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-36773682284273053532015-11-08T00:27:00.000-06:002015-11-08T00:30:33.886-06:00When memories stir the deep placesOn Tuesday night, I walked the halls of an ICU for the first time in a couple of years. It was a different hospital, but the sights, the sounds, the smells and the somberness of the situation were the same. In the beeps and the attentiveness of one-on-one nursing, hope clung tight in spite of the raw thin battle line between life and death.<br />
<br />
It stirred the deep places in me. My youngest daughter could sense it as my husband and I headed off to visit a friend this time, instead of my father-in-law. As we dashed off with no real dinner plans for anyone, the children asked, "How long do you think you will be gone?" We replied, "We don't know." My youngest daughter said, "Mommy...your emotions..." I didn't let her finish. <br />
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There were so many unknowns. We didn't know what we were eating for dinner; we didn't know if we'd be able to see her; we didn't know how she was doing, we didn't know when we'd be home, and I didn't know what my emotions were doing. It was the familiar, but uncomfortable dance of the unknown. Familiar. Accepted. But still uncomfortable. <br />
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And so we waited in the halls of the hospital for news, for change, for an update, for good news. Medical crisis teach the good lesson of living with the 'I-don't-knows'. They are also good for bringing friends and family together. Even while life hovers between suffering, hope, and breathing machines, there is laughter, hugs, stories, and reminiscing. The waiting room camaraderie is good for the soul. It is good not to be alone. <br />
<br />
On Tuesday night, not only were we reminded of the somberness of ICU journey from a couple of years ago, we were also reminded of the goodness of the Lord, particularly in the waiting room vigil that was filled with hugs, reunions, laughter, catching-up, and waiting for an opportunity to see our friend. I remembered how God touched us many times by sweet friends showing up at just the right time being His hands and feet.<br />
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I remembered how He is good even when it's hard.Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-8693043094643715792015-06-11T19:38:00.000-05:002015-06-11T19:38:06.330-05:00Twenty three years ago todayTwenty-three years ago today I arrived in Tennessee in my shiny, bright, blue Toyota Tercel, loaded with most of my worldly goods.<br />
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I drove up a big hill and unpacked my belongings into Jill & Jane's place, where I lived for my first month in Tennessee. I secured an apartment for Tammy & I; we had mutual friends and had spoken on the phone. Our mutual friends said we had met at a retreat during college, but on that July summer day when Tammy opened the door to our apartment, we both agreed that we had never seen each other before that moment. A month later, Suzanne would join our apartment, making it a trio.<br />
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A year after I arrived in Tennessee, both Tammy & Suzanne had moved back to the Upper Midwest and I would be married to 'my friend, Kip.' When I think of those early days of Tennessee, many, if not most, of those friends have moved away. <br />
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Growing up in Minnesota, I had always wanted to move South, where it was warmer. I had wanted adventures, to see places, to live overseas. After college I began my quest for adventure by applying for jobs outside of my home state. I interviewed in California and Michigan. I landed the Michigan job, where I spent my first year out of college. It was a trying, difficult year, but it honed my desires, specifically I realized that I didn't care as much what I would do for a career or what kind of adventures that I would have or where I would live but I definitely knew who I wanted to be with: Kip. <br />
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So I swallowed my feminine pride that wanted him to chase me, took a risk, and moved across the country to see if this friendship with Kip Jaeger might work out. And work out it did! We'll be celebrating our 22nd anniversary next month. <br />
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I needed to fly away from the home and family that I love dearly to find my own wings and to become my own person. I had no idea all that the journey would entail. Of course, none of us know that when we begin any journey or adventure. The unknown is part of the thrill & the excitement.<br />
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During these twenty three years, I have grown roots here in Tennessee and call it home. I have two homes now: Minnesota and Tennessee. Although the picture book <i>Grandfather's Journey</i> by Allen Say depicts a man torn between his two homes of Japan and the U.S.A, it accurately describes the emotional part of my story: both places are home, yet neither place is fully home.<br />
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Yet, perhaps that is as it should be. I am an alien and stranger on this earth waiting for my heavenly home, my true home. Although I have never been there, it is more home than any place I have ever been.<br />
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Twenty-three years ago today, this Minnesota lake girl landed in Music City to be near the love of my life. My journey here has been so much more but that's how it began and I'm celebrating that beginning today. <br />
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-52017589711930385972015-05-29T23:25:00.001-05:002015-05-29T23:34:42.149-05:00The words I think<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A million words run through my brain<br />
Some of them I think<br />
Will make it to the blog<br />
But mostly they stay in my brain.<br />
It seems the thinking is stronger than the writing<br />
<br />
The words do not come to the blog.<br />
Instead they run havoc inside my thinker ,<br />
rarely shutting down.<br />
I may not write them, but I surely do think them:<br />
<br />
I think about writing these things:<br />
* teaching math to children <br />
* the year that I was glad to leave and how it showed that I made no
worthwhile connections,<br />
* how we can be certain whether or not
we are going to heaven <br />
* my heart as a mom with one child home catching a snapping turtle in my backyard while one was on a college exploration trip<br />
* the lesson I am learning about the gift of now due to two dear people that are
now engaged in battle against cancer, and<br />
* how our lives are
significant whether or not we ever write a book, or a musical, or give a
speech but that there is great value in being faithful in the everyday
ordinary things,<br />
* how I have three homes: my hometown, my current
town and my future town in heaven,<br />
* how God transformed the
most difficult thing in my life into a love letter,<br />
* how He sees me. Really sees me. <br />
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Oh, how many thoughts I think.<br />
Oh, how often I think of writing them.<br />
But writing and thinking them are not the same thing.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://arabahjoy.com/miss-cored-pineapple-with-link-up/" target="_blank"><b>*** Joining the Grace & Truth link-up *** </b></a></div>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-63326296275652707502015-05-01T00:29:00.003-05:002015-05-01T00:29:13.550-05:007 Tips for Buying Homeschool Curriculum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4jLT1EKV9uS52_CSonH7LXHCQ5M7cxpTIQcln_QfW9jBxdrZVLeujLNtN-nymmd_XFrvZDAnZfhcJ1fOQvgkowICaRAF03JqWwvssRfosZlhuUareyrwJneLUFvGzcnSkru8r9gYuwE/s1600/pink+azalea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4jLT1EKV9uS52_CSonH7LXHCQ5M7cxpTIQcln_QfW9jBxdrZVLeujLNtN-nymmd_XFrvZDAnZfhcJ1fOQvgkowICaRAF03JqWwvssRfosZlhuUareyrwJneLUFvGzcnSkru8r9gYuwE/s1600/pink+azalea.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
It is spring and the end of school is near; the planning of the next year has begun. Auditions, registration deadlines, and curriculum fairs abound along with the sunshine, rain, and flowers.<br />
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On the one hand, it is hard for me to plan for next year because I am so focused on finishing this one; it takes most of my energy just to <i>do </i>school daily because my attention is divided by the many year-end events, the need to finish high school credits, and the sunshine begging us to come out and play.<br />
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Yet, on the other hand, I am still in 'school mode' which makes it easier to know where we're at in our different subjects. I have a much better idea than I will during summer about what needs to get done: whether it is just simply ordering the next level or that some area has been unduly neglected and is need of serious attention. <br />
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Another benefit of having the coming school year planned before this one lets out means my books are either here, or will be soon, and then I don't get stuck in the back-orders of August, and we can begin school right away in the fall. With that reward in mind, it is worth the effort to do a little planning now. <br />
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This is my list of 7 tips for buying homeschool curriculum, or some thoughts on buying school books. My background is this: a homeschool mom who is finishing her eleventh year, who loves a Carole Joy Seid approach, and who is eclectic and literature based. <br />
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<b>1) Embrace that there is always something new, no matter how long you have home-schooled.</b><br />
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Every year that you homeschool, you will need to buy books for the next
school year. There is always something new because, until you've graduated a student that you have home-schooled from birth to graduation, you are <i>at least</i> teaching one new grade each year. There is always something new because you're children's needs change as they grow, silly little creatures that they are. <br />
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However, after a few years of schooling, you will begin to gain confidence in how to pick books that work for your family's schooling style, even if it is new to you at that moment at the curriculum fair when you pick that book up. You've never seen it before. You haven't spent hours researching that curriculum on-line and then asking your friends if they have used it. Instead, you pick it up, look at it, buy it, bring it home, and it works. Wow! What an amazing sense of accomplishment and a gratifying feeling of success. If this hasn't happened yet, it will come after an unknown amount of failed decisions. They won't all be great but you'll eventually find your groove. <br />
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Although if you're on a roll, beware because you might be just like me. I was feeling confident in my homeschooling, having found a groove that was working for us. Then, BAM. I came up against something new that caused angst again. It was called high school. It came a bit as a surprise how much angst I had as we began high school and how uncertain and new I felt. It was uncharted territory and I did not like feeling like a new-comer all over again. However, I found relief in trusting the Lord anew, embracing the uncertainty, and then just doing it. It's a good reminder that there can always be something new enough to keep me humble.<br />
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<b>2) If it's working, don't change it.</b><br />
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Now, I just said to embrace that there is always something new because it is always changing and now I am saying, "If it's working, don't change it." There is a difference between the changes that come due to children changing grades and having new needs, which is different than changing for change sake. Or changing because we are wondering if it is working, or if we could do it better, or if we're missing out on the latest and greatest new curriculum choices that have created a stir in our homeschool circles.<br />
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There are many voices out there saying this is the best curriculum. This can feed my insecurities or my desire for creative change, depending on the day. However, in these 11 years I have come to respect that it has taken a lot of time and energy to find a good homeschooling groove.<br />
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If it's working, don't change it.<br />
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I learned this the hard way by changing several subjects all in one year. I couldn't do all of them. It felt like starting all over. We didn't accomplish a lot but I did learn not to do that again. I have found in general that I only have the energy to take on one or two changes in a school year. So instead of trying to change everything or a lot of things, <br />
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<b>3) Only change the part that isn't working</b>. <br />
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Keep the parts that are working. For instance, if you buy a full curriculum set, and nothing works but the read alouds, keep the read alouds. Or on the other hand, if everything is working in the set, except the read alouds, skip that part and find some other great books to read.<br />
<br />This leads to the next point:<br />
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<b>4) Make the curriculum work for you</b>.<br />
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It is only a starting point. It is a guide. It is not the law; it is a help. I have found in the subjects that I am more comfortable such as language arts and history, I can be much more free-flowing in the curriculum. Whereas, it has taken me a lot longer to feel comfortable and find a direction in the math and science department.<br />
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My sister-in-law is just the opposite of me. She found math and science curriculum that worked for her and has hardly changed her course in that. But that is because she can adapt the curriculum to make it work for her. Whereas, it has taken her much longer to find language arts curriculum because she feels weaker in that.<br />
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Making the curriculum work for you leads me to my next point that: <br />
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<b>5) In the world of student-learning styles, you must remember that teacher preferences count.</b><br />
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Being able to individualize education to each student is a wonderful benefit to homeschooling. And exhausting. Remember: you are the teacher; you are one person; and how you are made is an important consideration when it comes to curriculum decisions. <br />
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You, the teacher, are the driving force. The curriculum that has you passionate and fired up, or that simply works for you, is the <i>very best choice</i> for you and your family. Even if no one else you know uses it. Even if everyone else is using a different curriculum. Especially if it is the newest, and latest, and greatest, and you just heard about it. But remember, if what you are doing works, keep doing it. Don't change it. The teacher's enthusiasm and interest count for much more than the individual students preferred learning styles.<br />
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You need to do what works for you so that you can get the schooling done.<br />
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In time, any teacher can learn to adapt the curriculum to the student. Remember it is a guide, and a help and should work for you. <br />
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The teacher makes the curriculum work...not the other way around. So, you need to also remember that:<br />
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<b>6) It's okay to hate the curriculum you bought, discard it, and start fresh at any point in the school year. </b><br />
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It is okay to try it and hate it. Eventually you'll be okay with that. The more expensive the purchase, the harder it is to admit that it is not working and that you need to just embrace it as part of your learning curve. Sometimes I have found that I need to just try that bell and whistle. And I do. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it flops. Even now, we have four sets of empty work books on my shelf reminding of just such a decision. I just need to sell it and move on, or give it away and move on so that it can stop making me feel guilty. The sooner you can get it off your shelf, the sooner you can stop feeling guilty for that decision.<br />
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Yes, you need to stop feeling guilty and remember that:<br />
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<b>7) You'll never have the perfect curriculum </b>but if you keep pursuing the calling that God has given your family, you will have great memories with your children. What an honor and a privilege. That's what we will really remember anyways: all this wonderful time with our children. This curriculum buying headache: it's worth it because it means time with our kids.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What tips and insights do you have to share about buying homeschool curriculum? </b></span></div>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-23543498742939214242015-04-16T22:44:00.001-05:002015-04-16T22:45:04.456-05:00Happenings Around These Parts Lately<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here is a little bit of what is happening in the small moments of my life lately. I sorted my bags of beans and rice into clean jars. Then I got inspired and taped the bag labels on the jars. Just a small piece of organization in my home that all the cupboards and shelves wish that they had.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunHt18NZmocTlRzuq1jh7b6bkbKcsTJzDGx5ilCWc5tflgmeu-i9qnfJZWi0w_d3-MPhGqGOSJD8RYy1JfMHnLZGawrUtjm9vVqzzaEyY3ktknyBVK-ux9NbPpxvh6PdWfbTfP7P8hDE/s1600/IMG_5889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunHt18NZmocTlRzuq1jh7b6bkbKcsTJzDGx5ilCWc5tflgmeu-i9qnfJZWi0w_d3-MPhGqGOSJD8RYy1JfMHnLZGawrUtjm9vVqzzaEyY3ktknyBVK-ux9NbPpxvh6PdWfbTfP7P8hDE/s1600/IMG_5889.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
This is a snapping turtle caught by my nine-year-old son with the help of his older sister. This turtle was caught in our 'creek'. It's not really a creek. It is the drainage water from the neighborhood and yet a snapping turtle lives in it and so do crawdads. We love our creek and it has provided hours of entertainment for these suburb-bound kids. <br />
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While my nine-year-old was catching snapping turtles, my 16-year-old was off for the weekend checking out a college. Eeek! How has this happened? How have they grown up? Because the oldest was off checking out a college, I can't even believe how much joy the catching of this snapping turtle in our yard brought me.<br />
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I am finally getting brave enough to venture out on my own and purchase flowers and plant them. I think of my flower friends and gardening in-laws who have come alongside me to help me learn how to plant things. I've learned a few things, especially how important water is to growing things. As in, you must remember to water your plants.<br />
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I can't even believe how happy it makes me to have planted flowers in my yard. I'm not very good at gardening because I am not too good at paying attention to when it is time to plant and taking advantage of good weather. So, I love my perennial bushes and trees that provide most of the color in our yard. But I am so excited about this small amount of flowers in my yard. It is a huge accomplishment for me.<br />
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This pictures is simply because it happened to be green shirt day for us and it wasn't even St. Patrick's Day! Three of the kids randomly selected green shirts so my oldest son put on a green shirt and told me that it was green shirt day. He even got wet mowing the lawn and changed into a second green t-shirt. The best surprise of the day was that Daddy was wearing a green shirt. He leaves for work before any of us are awake and so we never know what he is wearing. So it was a fun surprise that he, too, was wearing a green shirt. So we had to take a selfie to commenorate this very important moment.<br />
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<b>What's happening in your world?</b>Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-66932774186807688892015-04-14T00:30:00.000-05:002015-04-14T00:30:02.218-05:00Books to help grow deeper with God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been pondering for quite some time a post about my top favorite books. My top favorite fiction books are quite hard to narrow into a neat & tidy finite number that can be easily scribbled about on these pages.<br />
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However, as I have been thinking and writing and sharing some of what I am learning recently, I've realized that I am drawn again and again to the same books that help me in my walk with God.<br />
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These are the books that I read again and again. In some of them, I have taken to writing in the margins the date next to something that spoke to me and maybe something of the current circumstances that go with that date. As I reread the books, it is encouraging to read the longings in my heart that I prayed about that have been answered and to re-read the words that encouraged me during a particular season or challenge in my life.<br />
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The books I have found myself in repeatedly are the Read Through the Bible in a Year checklist from <i>Discipleship Journal</i>,<i> Abide in Christ</i> by Andrew Murray, <i>Jesus Calling</i> by Sarah Young, <i>Keep a Quiet Heart</i> by Elisabeth Elliot, and <i>My Utmost for His Highest</i> by Oswald Chambers.<br />
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I have recently added two books to the rotation that I can see becoming regulars. They are <i>31 Days of Praise</i> and <i>31 Days of Prayer</i>, both of which are by Ruth Meyer. Another book on the honorable mention list is <i>Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret </i>by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor. <br />
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Even as I write these few books down, I feel compelled to begin to mention the many other books that have helped influence and shape me. <span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, truly the biggest impact has been the encouragement to read the Bible directly for myself.</span><br />
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I read a passage of Scripture and then try to write the verse or verses that have stood out to me for that day. I say try because the writing doesn't happen every day. Yet, I like those days best. So that even when I am using a devotional such as <i>Jesus Calling</i>, I usually read the bible verses first, write the two or three verses down that are referenced and then read the devotional. Sometimes when I do this, I find that I spend more time -- or feel more spoken to -- in the verses referenced than in the devotional. Sometimes it is the other way around.<br />
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Before I began using devotionals more regularly, I read through books of the Bible, instead of the jumping around that occurs in the devotionals.<i> I highly encourage this reading straight through of books of the Bible, and to reading all of it for yourself.</i> It is good to understand the big picture, the whole word of God. Just keep reading bit by bit, day by day, year by year, for yourself. Read verses here and there due to devotional direction. Read verses in a book by book plan through the Bible. Read the passages that your pastor is teaching about. Read your Bible. <br />
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Though I find myself in the morning, reading devotionals, I still read through the Bible. I often use the read through the Bible in a Year List and check off the books.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If I am doing a Bible study or a devotional that day, I do that, but then, when I don't know what to do, I go back to my checklist of reading through the Bible in a year and just pick up where I have left off.</span><br />
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It helps prevent me not reading my Bible just because I don't know what to read. So sometimes it has taken my three to five years to actually 'read through the whole Bible' due to my diversions. There have been other seasons when I have been determined to finish it in a year. For my son, who reads very fast, he finds a year is too long in which to read the whole Bible. He reads it much faster than that. I'm pretty sure that I have never done that.<br />
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However, my point is to find a pace that works for you and read through the entire Bible. And when you finish, begin again: either to read it in a year, or 3 months, or on the diversion trail that I have described. Do whatever pace works for you, especially for whatever season of life that you are in. Be encouraged that His word does not go back to Him void. He is faithful to bring forth fruit in your life due to the faithful reading of His Word.<br />
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In my reading times, I read a passage of Scripture, copy a verse or two that I really liked, and then I write some thoughts about what I read. Sometimes as I go through a particular book or passage, I will answer a few questions, selecting one or more from this list:<br />
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* What did I learn about God?<br />
* What did I learn about Jesus?<br />
* What I did learn about the Holy Spirit?<br />
* What did I learn about man?<br />
* What did I learn about believers?<br />
* What did I learn about non-believers?<br />
* Is there a promise to claim?<br />
* Is there a command to follow?<br />
* How can I apply this Scripture to my life? <br />
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Sometimes I will write down my prayer requests. Sometimes I will write down questions about the passage that don't make sense.<br />
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Also, <b><i>when </i></b>I read the Word has changed throughout the years. For many years, I read just before bed. Then, when I got married and started a full-time job, I found it hard to read at bedtime so instead I read in the nooks and crannies of my time. When I was a mother with young children, I often read during nap time, <i>if </i>I could stay awake. Now, with older children, I find that I can take a leisurely time reading the Word in the morning again. It sure seems luxurious; I am trying to enjoy it because life has proven that it changes. There have been seasons when I have been able to read a lot and study the Word for hours several days a week. There have been seasons when I read the verse taped to my mirror each morning and dashed off to my responsibilities for the day. And everywhere in-between (including days, seasons of laziness).<br />
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Just keep reading the Word for yourself. No matter how long it has been since you last picked it up, just keep reading: Day by Day, Week by Week, Year by Year. I hope this encourages you to do that. <i>If I can do it, so can you.</i> Really you can!<br />
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<b>How about you? </b></div>
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<b>What tips do you have about how to spend time in God's Word in order to grow deeper in your walk with Him?</b></div>
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Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-26146499602435310732015-04-07T12:12:00.003-05:002015-04-07T12:12:48.738-05:00Some thoughts on teaching writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I've been thinking about how to teach writing, I've scribbled a couple of thoughts about it here. I'm no expert on how to teach writing; I love to write, I love to teach., and I am teaching my four children how to write and so I thought I would share a part of my journey with you.<br />
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<b>Content of writing versus form of writing</b><br />
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There are two basic layers to teaching writing: content and form. There is the WHAT of what you want to say, or the content, and then there is the HOW of what you want to say, or the form. One of the difficulties of teaching how to write is just this: learning <i>how </i>to write while trying to figure out <i>what </i>to write.<br />
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In one sense the form or rules of writing can appear easier to teach than the content of writing. Somehow the rules of writing: grammar, spelling, capitalization, and commas seem easier to correct than content but they are closely related to content because <i>WHAT </i>you want to say influences <i>HOW </i>to say it. <br />
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Yet, I do agree that Content is more difficult to teach because how can you teach someone to think and to articulate ideas if they haven't already been thinking for themselves. As I pondered this difficulty of the tension between how to write and what to write, I asked another homeschool mom in passing how she taught her children to write. She said, "They write every day" and then she had to dash off.<br />
<br />I wasn't sure how that helped me. But I took that little nugget and came up with a method for them to write every school day. Now,
after a few years, I see the beauty in this. The way to learn how to do
something, is to do it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So it is in writing that one can learn to write. </span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Learn how to generate ideas</b></span><br />
So how do we write to learn how to write? A simple form is a 10 minute journal. Find a notebook and a pen. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Find a prompt: such as a word or a question. Start the timer. Begin writing and don't stop writing while the timer is timing, even if it means that you write: "I don't know what to write but I have to write for 10 minutes: over and over again. There is no worrying about spelling, grammar, handwriting. Just write without stopping for ten minutes.<br />
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This simple exercise teaches you how to get ideas out of your head and onto page or screen. You can use a pen and paper or a computer. This exercise is somewhat like playing scales on the piano. It gives muscle memory about how to write.<br />
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Getting to the ideas in our minds is one skill set while organizing and editing those ideas is another skill set. When I began this idea, I was surprised how much my children enjoyed doing this and asked to do this and often write longer than the prescribed time.<br />
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Later on in our schooling, the students have had writing assignments when they simply stared at me with no idea how to begin. Then I told them to set a timer and write on the topic for 10 minutes without stopping -- idea generation! Immediately they got unstuck.<br />
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I also have them edit journal entries once a week. They take one of the free-writing sessions and give it form and structure, proper spelling and punctuation along with other editing as needed, so that it can become a piece of writing that they are proud of. <br />
<br />The next part of learning how to write is to read. It is important to
read great books, great fiction books. It will introduce the children to
books that have something worth reading both because of its content and its form. It therefore becomes important to:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Find great books. Read great books. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Read them aloud; read them quietly. Read great books.</span></b><br />
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Finding great books does not necessarily mean the top 100 classic books that every child should read before going off to college. There may be some books on that list that are great, however, not all books are great just because they are on that list.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You need to learn how to find great books that are worth reading again and again</span>.<br />
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It starts by finding the books that impact your heart, mind, and emotions, leaving you a changed person. Now, there are those books that many love. Those are good places to start but don't worry if that book isn't for you. You will find your way in time. Although I do need to caution you that a lot of the great books were written in a time and an age where time was slower-paced than our world is so some of the great books need to be given time to warm up -- maybe even halfway through the book. Yet, even after giving it some time, you may find that the book still doesn't
resonate with you. That's fine. Set it down and keep looking.You'll need to learn some discernment and learn which books are great books by reading them.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is hard work finding great books. It is hard work to find the type of book that impacts you both with its message and with the way it is said, but keep looking because it's worth it!</span><br />
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When you find the great books, read them aloud and give them to your children to read them to themselves and read them yourself and don't get in the way. Enjoy the story for the story sake. Do NOT make your student write a book report.<br />
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Do take time to discuss favorite treasured parts of the book, as long as it's not
forced. Keep a quote book of favorite pages. Keep a book journal, making a list of the books you've read and what you do or do not like about them. Read what your children are reading. Ask them what they
like about it. Let them enjoy the story for the story sake -- just like you would enjoy a movie without dissecting it. Read it. Enjoy it.<br />
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Remember that every great book you love or that your favorite English teacher loves or your aunt that is always reading loves just MAY not be the book that you love. But find the fiction books that craft a story that draws you in. But is imperative for you to find really great books and have your children read really great books. Writers read.<br />
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And it is in the reading great books with great ideas that it will stir and generate ideas in your students. Childhood is a time to instill in children what is beautiful, awe-inspiring, and true. Children are curious quite naturally. They are fascinated with dandelions and bring them to their mothers. Fan the flame of their interests. Talk with them. Answer their questions and ask them questions. Spend time together and these activities will build experiences, thoughts, observations, and perceptions that they can then begin to put on paper.<br />
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There are many more aspects to writing but these two are great places to start. <i>The Read Aloud Handbook</i> by Jim Trelease is a great book to read to be inspired to read aloud to your children and includes a book list in the back. I have found some treasures in his book and at least one of his books that he went on & on about, I didn't like. I didn't read it aloud. BUT, the rest of the book inspired me and made me want to change the world by reading stories aloud to children, adults, to all the people of the world. It gave me a great perspective.<br />
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As far as editing writing, I use Strunk & White's <i>Elements of Style</i>. It is not a complete how-to manual but it is concise and helpful. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Any other thoughts that you may have about teaching writing? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Did you have an inspirational writing teacher that taught you?</b></div>
<br />Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-29829497232819331182015-02-28T14:10:00.000-06:002015-03-02T17:51:04.203-06:00One of the ways to find joy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWHXk29ps_GrTcE_WweFMER0Geq3F7oYnPiryTJr1yn5-x3bVAM7BEJtQ_ILooF1UNS-cDs_FNYZq5iSkdKzV3O_aEwy7QcOBjfTYMBaSF73XR7VHXINLhi6Ic9y3HLRfjCewS787Lb0/s1600/IMG_6981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWHXk29ps_GrTcE_WweFMER0Geq3F7oYnPiryTJr1yn5-x3bVAM7BEJtQ_ILooF1UNS-cDs_FNYZq5iSkdKzV3O_aEwy7QcOBjfTYMBaSF73XR7VHXINLhi6Ic9y3HLRfjCewS787Lb0/s1600/IMG_6981.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu_4_CuDteYoAVfCaFftNJ5B0vmGRnnm5pJm3WHMydf7c-b3rCxp4vJIbdOPjt48imZupCDNaK0zaD09fpnpRlnSfWwYcEvuvT0U9Ot5MP98CShqFOCB2Sdvci_N4BrezCvI8UYKFk_o/s1600/IMG_5667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu_4_CuDteYoAVfCaFftNJ5B0vmGRnnm5pJm3WHMydf7c-b3rCxp4vJIbdOPjt48imZupCDNaK0zaD09fpnpRlnSfWwYcEvuvT0U9Ot5MP98CShqFOCB2Sdvci_N4BrezCvI8UYKFk_o/s1600/IMG_5667.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A snow concoction made by Jack</i>.</td></tr>
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In my last post I wrote about how savoring memories is my pathway to joy. Then, I read<a href="http://www.chattingatthesky.com/2015/02/13/keep-track-im-learning/" target="_blank"> another blogger's post about tracking what she learns each month</a>. She mentioned a tip about how she looks back over her pictures from the month to help her remember what she has learned.<br />
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As I read that and thought again about my <i>recent </i>post about Christmas <i>in February</i> (yes, you read that correctly, I was writing about Christmas in February and the post wasn't even inspired by the snow and ice), it occurred to me that this is a very good place for me to start: reflect on the photos from the month. This practice will keep me on the path of gratitude which then leads to joy. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGjgn9CtXQ_hha2NPFto5A3eVIOSGy4fRERo4dI9XxHHy5N0YQZyxxGXTabohaOuICygdiF5Pb2hE_t7We7Py6xegoZ5BJuIVss1GInJ732H207cXrxGFAbgBxrQeLRRiXYDwTfoBnCo/s1600/IMG_5705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGjgn9CtXQ_hha2NPFto5A3eVIOSGy4fRERo4dI9XxHHy5N0YQZyxxGXTabohaOuICygdiF5Pb2hE_t7We7Py6xegoZ5BJuIVss1GInJ732H207cXrxGFAbgBxrQeLRRiXYDwTfoBnCo/s1600/IMG_5705.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sophie & Jack built a snowman.</i></td></tr>
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I need to spend time remembering. I need to remember the fun, the delightful, the special occasion moments, and the ordinary moments.<br />
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Many times Scriptures urges us to remember. Isaiah
46:9 says, "<b><i>Remember the former things, those of long ago;</i></b> I am God, and
there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.<span class="p">"</span><br />
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It is so easy to forget! This makes sense doesn't it? Our lives are full, right? Full to the overflowing cup, aren't they? Usually they are so full that I <strike>can't</strike> ...er...rather, more like... I don't <i>make </i>the time to remember. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfQMfpb-sDDiwP7yzbKy-nyBqAv2AyCjY1x8fVV99Y_tL0gN9zd_eP70v4sdxfMhTjRwSd0vQrVp-pRbmO9lFTPiDzMmGU-G6P11ChU8rnPrfyl457fH09yLGWVN9dlwBEwoTAWWdTgI/s1600/IMG_6683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfQMfpb-sDDiwP7yzbKy-nyBqAv2AyCjY1x8fVV99Y_tL0gN9zd_eP70v4sdxfMhTjRwSd0vQrVp-pRbmO9lFTPiDzMmGU-G6P11ChU8rnPrfyl457fH09yLGWVN9dlwBEwoTAWWdTgI/s1600/IMG_6683.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Look! I can help decorate a table!</i></td></tr>
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We run this way and that way. Recently our family has been running this way for a debate tournament and that way for a choir concert. Then while they are practicing I run to the grocery store for food and then to Target to get shampoo and dog food while my husband takes the recycling and works extra hours. Then, we race back to the tournament for the awards ceremony. Then after church on Sunday, we race to the choir concert. Whew! No wonder I am exhausted.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAStbvChAM8-3IvEGjn8M0phsKsSAGybi-liR2L7hFZj92uhPEpFfj99ZCaEu_r-JHzvYtvMj1CBNatp5yIM3jizXR7ciqs44weQh4y98QDdeLenWQ-HlJUkhLQXOxzSuCmk2MUUIGSZY/s1600/IMG_6796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAStbvChAM8-3IvEGjn8M0phsKsSAGybi-liR2L7hFZj92uhPEpFfj99ZCaEu_r-JHzvYtvMj1CBNatp5yIM3jizXR7ciqs44weQh4y98QDdeLenWQ-HlJUkhLQXOxzSuCmk2MUUIGSZY/s1600/IMG_6796.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gifts of love.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NgHh6bVu45DIIWtAxFlLzDSGNXbWNWykwfW9K7_fkzY8u1wo3sx6PQYQaTtUSZPXt3fFtTgEB5dk8iliRrivBpnIEWfC-lIwC64YnilKeclolLPH_BUEIsFqpVaet0mL1jVYrXJ7keQ/s1600/IMG_5784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NgHh6bVu45DIIWtAxFlLzDSGNXbWNWykwfW9K7_fkzY8u1wo3sx6PQYQaTtUSZPXt3fFtTgEB5dk8iliRrivBpnIEWfC-lIwC64YnilKeclolLPH_BUEIsFqpVaet0mL1jVYrXJ7keQ/s1600/IMG_5784.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>K&K Weekend Away</i></td></tr>
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So, it is a given that when we're iced in for a week and all events are cancelled, I collapse. I'm thankful from the break of running around. Thankful to rest. However, when I arise from my sleepy stupor, I see the clutter, the walls that need painting, the light fixtures that need fixing...and many more 'things' that call my name and soon I begin to feel a different kind of exhaustion. This weather-imposed rest exposes how I live. I enjoy the time off but it is not <i>enough </i>time off of the hamster-wheel for me to tackle the clutter and the projects that will make my house more of the home that I would like it to be.<br />
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It is in this context of a running this way and that way life that I am finding that it restores my soul to look at my life that has recently flew past me. To stop, pause, and remember. I need to remember, lest I forget just as it says in Deuteronomy 6:11b-12a: "...then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord..."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCS2SKn1TnLU8q9HXRHghq_LTFIfVQp6nuVboCdEkunNO0OWx-rpt2qsHy09j_wKj6lcbS235wTxWglHQ5FBr0Z_i-_sw7eL9YsYNMfOm3hWG10BhNwlS7YzpKqM7adrJMxl3uzCBlBd4/s1600/IMG_6643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCS2SKn1TnLU8q9HXRHghq_LTFIfVQp6nuVboCdEkunNO0OWx-rpt2qsHy09j_wKj6lcbS235wTxWglHQ5FBr0Z_i-_sw7eL9YsYNMfOm3hWG10BhNwlS7YzpKqM7adrJMxl3uzCBlBd4/s1600/IMG_6643.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVS55NHr5rti0SocolrfF_pmbDQxtLKGtX0dkl9J8U6X1yfKwt6nJ5P5uNtZ1sdiTaNKSTeyjDONX7iw-8atz5-WP6axMwyLQmg6NSHd0Shxa24ifyAzoOeEtPNo_xiTr9DacYJZBjGc/s1600/IMG_6627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVS55NHr5rti0SocolrfF_pmbDQxtLKGtX0dkl9J8U6X1yfKwt6nJ5P5uNtZ1sdiTaNKSTeyjDONX7iw-8atz5-WP6axMwyLQmg6NSHd0Shxa24ifyAzoOeEtPNo_xiTr9DacYJZBjGc/s1600/IMG_6627.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've been watching a love of reading burst into full flame with this one this year! As a primary goal of my homeschooling, this brings me such joy and is worth of much noticing!</td></tr>
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For me I have found this pondering of photo moments so helpful. Remember it is my path, not all take pictures to remember. I can think of several joyful friends who don't take pictures and don't scrapbook yet they are joyful people. We each need to remember what the Lord has done for us; we are given much latitude in how we do that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjose-D23QszWI1bc1Tmvz_3_NTugOz3gf7clp1IyfEyESwNao2wLNBC5vFZ0ClJiwZ1crex9dd5KYtU5-G__OzI1RPD-X94ghBwM5lG7HkEE-KLBZ1U9uL6FqhlkOakanvgp9wcZwGrkc/s1600/IMG_5684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjose-D23QszWI1bc1Tmvz_3_NTugOz3gf7clp1IyfEyESwNao2wLNBC5vFZ0ClJiwZ1crex9dd5KYtU5-G__OzI1RPD-X94ghBwM5lG7HkEE-KLBZ1U9uL6FqhlkOakanvgp9wcZwGrkc/s1600/IMG_5684.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hosting a friend of a friend at our house. She played games with the kids.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqT5pGwBc4d1xbXkIpWLmflmtoT7wbTTdjAPwD4C91WHZ-u9EwT72JF3lqeMqTsTO4QkSZ22hI7FmfXcRfW4uRJAkHpetpS6uyYFcR89APH_a1jnNoLFDClPrTmz_q3GFksySN-k1IsIo/s1600/IMG_7022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqT5pGwBc4d1xbXkIpWLmflmtoT7wbTTdjAPwD4C91WHZ-u9EwT72JF3lqeMqTsTO4QkSZ22hI7FmfXcRfW4uRJAkHpetpS6uyYFcR89APH_a1jnNoLFDClPrTmz_q3GFksySN-k1IsIo/s1600/IMG_7022.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Barking & jumping to catch the tree.</i></td></tr>
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This posting of pictures to highlight joy, thankfulness, and pursuing contentment is a tribute to the many bloggers who do a similar thing. It is not a new idea.<br />
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* <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/ann-voskamp/" target="_blank">Ann Voskamp's blog and her book 1,000 gifts</a>. She writes about gratitude and offers many practical ways to make gratitude a practice.<br />
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* The<a href="http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2015/02/lenten-cookies-edition-pretty-happy-funny-real/" target="_blank"> Like Mother, Like Daughter blog hosts { happy, pretty, funny, real </a>}about pursuing contentment. She also has practical posts about managing a household of lots of children.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDIrQO9KxdIuYWk7h9UgpeA8evFArTewIYJGaITOOR8gaKUWEmoIdfZJNpcj5ewBVq-UlayjHRe4ipdpaewis74ImrXPC3j1th_EqEWbmsqhfWIx0RwLkChlbMi98aWweuYKvH2vvS6g/s1600/IMG_5691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDIrQO9KxdIuYWk7h9UgpeA8evFArTewIYJGaITOOR8gaKUWEmoIdfZJNpcj5ewBVq-UlayjHRe4ipdpaewis74ImrXPC3j1th_EqEWbmsqhfWIx0RwLkChlbMi98aWweuYKvH2vvS6g/s1600/IMG_5691.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Our crazy dog can be sweet at times.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLqpxVEaVOeHK9evUAiwGC1vhYM7N79Fge8hOceQxjGF4lltR12i5nM1D6Dum9PDRmR6vU4PNWBqxY4R2YkDSaLn6X2zkWp_EfvBqw2vv-4FTr82v3HKaPSvTYDyArv5CoIPaBhCZmfc/s1600/IMG_6628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLqpxVEaVOeHK9evUAiwGC1vhYM7N79Fge8hOceQxjGF4lltR12i5nM1D6Dum9PDRmR6vU4PNWBqxY4R2YkDSaLn6X2zkWp_EfvBqw2vv-4FTr82v3HKaPSvTYDyArv5CoIPaBhCZmfc/s1600/IMG_6628.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Debate partners.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Making cabbage bundles.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fun taking pictures of the ice.</i></td></tr>
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A closing thought about the pursuit of joy is that joy comes and goes. It comes as a byproduct. Let me close with these thoughts by Brene Brown in <i>The Gifts of Imperfection:Let Go of Who You Think You're Suppose to be and Embrace Who You Are</i>. This is what she says about joy:<br />
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<i>Twinkle lights are the perfect metaphor for joy. Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments--often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we're too busy chasing down extraordinary moments. Sometimes we're so afraid of the dark that we don't let ourselves enjoy the light.</i></blockquote>
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<i>A joyful life is not a floodlight of joy.That would eventually become unbearable. </i></blockquote>
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<i>I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith. </i></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh, how she glows after she's done singing!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>God's gift to us. These couples that represent life to me. We were hand-picked to be together. So many times in my life, I am lamenting the friends with whom I can not be with and miss the beauty of the new friends he has given me in my life. Life moves on. People move to different cities, or across town, or to different churches. The friendships can stay alive but they are not there in your day-to-day life anymore. I am so loyal that this aspect of friendship is hard for me. The bummer is that I allow it the lament to skew my focus and I miss the people he has given me. This photos is from a couple's night on Valentine's Day and what a great time we had. So good to be thankful for those here with me now.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In Nashville, when the snow and ice arrive you must play and picture quickly. </i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This one is after her mother's heart: taking pictures of the ice!</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This post of pictures and thoughts is my attempt at being thankful for these moments that have been strung together gracefully for me in the month of February. One simple way of putting myself into the pathway of joy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><b><i> </i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>How about you? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>How are you intentional about finding joy?</i></b></span></div>
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<br />Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-80840598856898042012015-02-16T23:18:00.000-06:002015-02-16T23:18:00.019-06:00Savoring the memories, captures the joy<br />
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Yep. It's true. You are seeing Christmas photos in February. In a culture that speeds ever forward, I am tempted <i>not </i>to post these pictures. The voices in my head say: 'This is not current. This is not what we are doing today. Social media is about the ever-present now.Who is interested in this?'<br />
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As it turns out, I am. I'm posting these pictures of our recent Christmas celebrations to capture joy. It brings me great joy, not just now but long into the future, to reminisce about special celebrations. Not only is it easy to move on in the technological world and not post pictures of something that seems like old news, it is easy to speed on in life. The next item on the agenda comes so quickly, begging to be checked off the list. It makes it hard to savor the good times.<br />
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Since it will be awhile before I put them in a book, I will savor these memories in a blog post. It was a special time. I live 1,000 miles from my family. I used to take for granted that I could get to see them whenever we had planned. Then, my husband lost his job. Our situation changed. The first Christmas that I didn't make it to Minnesota to see them I cried hard.<br />
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But it taught me a great lesson. Don't take it for granted. So in the that spirit. Posting these Christmas pictures is also about being thankful and grateful that we were able to go. <br />
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I asked my kids what they liked best about our Christmas trip. We saw our cousins and went to a basketball game, pizza party, went ice skating, and snow tubing. I assumed that those would be at the top of the list. But they really enjoyed the time being able to read at Grandma and Grandpa's house and play games with them. They liked the events, too. But they also liked time to just hang out all together. <br />
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So enjoy the trip of getting to know us a little better and the highlights of our Christmas. Perhaps you can also think of ways to remember and be thankful for the good and perfect gifts that you have been given.<br />
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I met two new members of our family: our great nephew (yep, it's true: I'm a great aunt!) and our newest nephew. What joy it is to welcome new members of our family and also play with younger members of the family.<br />
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We enjoyed some winter activities: snowman building, snow shoveling, ice skating, and tubing!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbLLeCC3DMS9LiBxGz59PASBZl0c2uZiCHmltFNmiLi10h2UsmBjuPZAdybLo5LkS9r7ZkNim790Qx4Xoc9qxiWdb9kU4ZBtnxwc5jrK2vTQQPNLdw2Jo6cB5dIPjIj0lOQ_i1hlTDP8/s1600/IMG_5237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbLLeCC3DMS9LiBxGz59PASBZl0c2uZiCHmltFNmiLi10h2UsmBjuPZAdybLo5LkS9r7ZkNim790Qx4Xoc9qxiWdb9kU4ZBtnxwc5jrK2vTQQPNLdw2Jo6cB5dIPjIj0lOQ_i1hlTDP8/s1600/IMG_5237.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>We enjoyed extra family time: we watched my nephew's basketball game with a pizza party at my brother & his family's house, and a sleep-over at my sister's house. We played board games with Grandma and Grandpa.<br />
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We enjoyed traditional Christmas celebrations: looking at a Christmas photo album of my mom's that highlights 50 years of Christmas, eating our traditional polish sausage & poppyseed bread for Christmas eve dinner, conversations, and gift exchanges.<br />
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We enjoyed time with my extended family. We had a chance to join the annual Christmas party so I was able to see aunts, uncles, and cousins that I hadn't seen in 6 years. My children hardly remember meeting any of them so for them it could count as meeting my relatives. Santa even makes a special appearance every year for my relatives. See how special they are? <br />
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We had time to enjoy sleeping in, reading, playing games with my folks, and I even slipped away to see just a couple of girlfriends. So good to have down time to breathe.<br />
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Upon our return, we celebrated our Christmas here back at home. The glow sticks were one of the biggest hits of the night. Truly it is the little things that turn out to be our favorite thing of all. It is so good to take pictures. It is so good to stop and savor the memories. It is so good to be grateful. I am thankful that pictures help me remember the good things in my life. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Here's to the joy of creating and the joy of remembering!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>What have you created or remembered lately?</b></i></span></div>
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Chicken salad is my new favorite quick & easy meal. I am always looking for these kind of recipes due to life always seeming more and more busy. Isn't it that way for everyone? How can it be that life continually gets busier and busier even with efforts to slow down? Well, I don't know that answer to that but I do know that lately it has been even more tornado-like than usual. I suspect it has to do with the holiday season.<br />
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When life gets busy, I'll buy more convenience items from the store, such as frozen pizza, to save money on ordering in pizza or going out for fast-food. Life may get busy, but my people still need to eat. So I love it when I come up with quick & easy recipes. This one has green stuff in it, which is always on low supply when life is busy, so it already had that going for it and then it was also a big hit with the family. It actually surprised me how much they liked it!<br />
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But because they liked it so much, we've had it several times in the last month. It is also super easy to prepare right when I get home from the grocery store. It helps to have an easy meal after a trip to the grocery store; it's kind of like a reward. This recipe took 15 to 20 minutes from in my door to sitting down and eating. Amazing!<br />
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So this is it:<br />
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<b>Chicken Salad</b><br />
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<b>1 package frozen, precooked chicken</b>, 22 o.z. Servings said about 7. Cook according to package directions. This package said bake @ 400 for 8 minutes.<br />
<b>1 bag of romaine, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces.</b> Our package had three stalks.<br />
<b>fresh veggies,</b> whatever I have on hand, cut into bite size pieces; last night it was carrots, cucumbers <br />
<b>croutons</b>, if available<br />
<b>peanuts,</b> if available<br />
<b>salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese</b><br />
<b>salad dressing,</b> most of us prefer a creamy kind, such as ranch<br />
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This fed my family of six. We also ate pears and Christmas cookies and we were satisfied. There was certainly requests for seconds so it definitely could be doubled, especially if we wanted a second meal out of it. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>I love filling my recipe box with quick, easy, delicious, and nutritious meals. </b></i><br />
<i><b>And I need to be careful that I don't wear them out on this one. </b></i><br />
<i><b>So w</b></i><i><b>hat meals do you have that are super quick & easy? </b></i></div>
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<br />Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-67156891118853069922014-12-16T20:45:00.004-06:002014-12-16T20:45:46.839-06:00Christmas cheer: It's worth it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My nine-year-old son has been initiating Christmas cheer around here. Not the teenagers. Not the parents. It has been the joy and wonder of the youngest that has motivated us to put up our tree, to read our Advent calendar, to decorate our house, to bake Christmas cookies.<br />
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I am thankful for this encouragement to find Christmas joy in the nooks and crannies of our home and our busy lives. <br />
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I get stressed at this time of year -- what mother doesn't? Yet, I don't always realize how much my children <i>know </i>that <i>and </i>dislike a stressed out momma.<br />
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During the past few years when life got a bit more topsy-turvy than usual (read about that <a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2012/05/when-god-calls-god-provides.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-30-day-prayer.html" target="_blank">here</a>), I haven't had the drive to create all of our usual Christmas traditions. This year the kids were asking to bake cookies again since we hadn't done it in a few years. My oldest noticed the look on my face; he said that he would rather not do the cookies if it was going to stress me out.<br />
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His comment caused me to pause.<br />
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I know that the look on my face was partly due to the sigh in my heart at letting traditions, such as the cookie decorating, fall to the wayside. I love the rituals and the traditions. I want to be able to say that we decorated Christmas cookies: Every. Single. Year. But... I can't.<br />
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So part of my look was that disappointment and part of it was wondering: 'How can we fit it all in?' My oldest took the look to mean: Mom is stressed by this request. <br />
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I'm glad he spoke. It got me thinking.<br />
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First, I realized this: Life is stressful.There is a lot to do in this season, a lot of which hinges on the momma.
But taking out the meaningful or fun parts will never reduce my life to being
completely stress-free. Therefore, I must make time for joy. We <i>must </i>do I the activities that give our lives meaning.<br />
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However, this is where discernment is needed. These 'must-do' activities are not to be confused with pressure, or the obligations or the images I have of 'just how things are suppose to be.' They need to be the essential ones we really love.<br />
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I need to examine in order to reduce how much I need to do; having less to do also helps to reduce my stress level. Keep it simple. Keep the list short. Then, I need to be sure to keep the activities that give meaning and energy to our lives do not fall by the wayside because I am too stressed.<br />
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Secondly, I realized this: not only do I need to do those important, meaningful life giving activities, such as decorating Christmas cookies. I also need to participate in them with a non-stressed look on my face. It would be best if I would be light and free spirit and truly enjoy the moment. <br />
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It helps if I remember I have chosen this moment and it's worth it. I can do this by remembering that the fun, the memories, the traditions, they are not what add stress to my life. Life is just stressful.<br />
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So instead of throwing out all of the fun we're making time for <i>a few</i> of our favorite traditions this year: Christmas cards, birthday parties, and cookie decorating. We are filling our lives this season with opportunities for joy, laughter, and memories due to a momma listening to the desires of a nine-year-old boy and letting it inspire her to keep on, keeping on the very best things in her world.<br />
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<i><b>How is this season going for you? </b></i></div>
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<i><b>In this busy -- often stressful -- season: </b></i></div>
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<i><b>Which activities bring you and your loved ones energy & joy?</b></i> </div>
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<i><b>Could you reduce your list to a small core of the 'most meaningful'?</b></i></div>
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<i><b>What activities are the most important to keep doing for you and your family?</b> </i></div>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-33287603600726079112014-12-05T00:18:00.000-06:002014-12-05T00:18:17.198-06:00Thanksgiving memories, grief and gratefulness<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The surgical glove turkey bouquet that inspired my daughter's writing.</td></tr>
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My daughter had her hands in soapy dish suds when I asked her for inspiration for a blog post. She had lots of ideas. One of them was to write a Thanksgiving memory. Before I could apply myself to write, she had finished a memory that she wanted to share with me.<br />
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She was so inspired by her own suggestion that wrote in-between washing the dinner dishes. She'd wash some dishes. Stop, dry her hands, and write a little bit. Then stop writing and wash some more dishes. Then, stop, dry her hands, then write some more. By the time she was done with the dishes she had composed a Thanksgiving tribute.<br />
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She read her narrative to her father, sister, and me. (Her brothers happened to be off somewhere.) <br />
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Her memories undid me.<br />
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I had started to type a Thanksgiving post while she was doing those dishes but I didn't get very far. The draft is still sitting in my stack of unfinished posts. I even went back to it after she had read hers to me. But I had been undone.<br />
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I had asked for an idea and received some therapy instead. Somehow whatever it was that I was going to write dimmed in my mind. Instead, I cried. But instead of alone tears, we cried together the four of us that night.<br />
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We cried quiet, silent tears. For just a little while. It didn't take long and we all hugged together on the couch as we cried together. Those tears sure felt better than the Alone Tears we cry. Better than the sadness we carry in our hearts all alone. At least that's part of what I learned that night. That I wasn't the only one still feeling sad, still grieving. <br />
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Still grieving the death of Papa, my husband's father. And perhaps we are still grieving the many days up to his death. Perhaps we are still crying the tears that we didn't have time to cry while up close we watched him suffer. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa on the left with his brother that same Thanksgiving of the turkey bouquet.</td></tr>
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I often hover alone in my sadness wondering why my friends don't
understand why I might still be sad. They seem surprised: "He was your father-in-law. Were you that close?" They look at me quizzically, especially if their own father-in-law has passed and they can see they haven't experienced what I am experiencing. But...that isn't the point.<br />
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Or maybe it is.<br />
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We all walk different paths. We have different journeys. While I'm part of the human race, therefore I do experience emotions that others experience. It's just that sometimes the people I'm rubbing shoulders with haven't had a similar enough of a journey to understand me at that moment in time. Especially without words volunteered from me about the path that I've been walking on. But sometimes it is hard to volunteer words when the path of crisis didn't allow time for feeling, for processing, for figuring out. And somehow it goes numb, or at least it's all so mixed up you don't know what to feel and all you really want is a nap.<br />
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Until two years later when my daughter writes and reads about Thanksgiving memories, putting into words what we were feeling, even if we didn't know it before she read her words.<br />
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There it was: an epiphany! It is right here in this house that I need to look for comfort. Right here with my own people: my husband, my daughters, my sons. These my closest of friends. We have traveled the paths together. The uncomfortable changes. The front row seat to suffering. The amazing provisions. The answered prayers. And... the lingering sadness.<br />
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Here is a source of comfort that I had overlooked.<br />
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I was cheered that night of the tears and the group hug on the couch. Perhaps it is why it was easy to speak of Papa over the Thanksgiving table.<br />
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We shared memories and laughed. We ate and talked and reminisced and sat in the hot tub he kept running. We slept peacefully in the house that he and Grandma lived for more than twenty years.<br />
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It was a peaceful Thanksgiving and I'm giving quite a bit of credit to a reading shared, a group cry and a group hug before we headed off to Grandma's house. We added to that long conversations, long naps, and easy laughter.<br />
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<i><b>A peaceful Thanksgiving for which I am grateful. Amen.</b></i></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
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<i><b>"Give thanks in all circumstances. " I Thessalonians 5:18</b></i></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
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<i><b>Some circumstances are just easier to give thanks in than others. Wouldn't you agree?</b></i></div>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-1252420719611319912014-11-21T16:54:00.001-06:002014-11-22T00:53:01.274-06:00What To Do With Day Old Bread or How We Make a Great Team<br />
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My husband & I make a good team. Just a day or two ago, I prepped our breakfast of French Toast the night before using our day old French bread. He cooked it in the morning.<br />
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This works for us because I am the night owl and he is the morning guy. He sets the alarm and makes sure that I get up to eat breakfast with him about once/week. Usually he wakes and leaves for work while the rest of us are still snoozing. But one day a week, we make an effort to eat breakfast together. This started a little over a year ago.<br />
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He preps a nice breakfast, such as the French Toast I mentioned or perhaps an omelet with fresh fruit as pictured here. We have coffee and breakfast under our twinkle lights that light up our dining room year round. Much of the time I just sit there without much to say. I am amazed at how much staring at him with my morning hair makes him happy. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Can you see the lights behind him and his big smile?</b></i></td></tr>
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We do make a great team. However, like all great teams we have to keep working at the fundamentals to keep being a winning team. This idea of once/week morning breakfast came after a long season of unusual circumstances in our lives. Hubby & I were struggling to stay connected beyond the communication it took to handle the logistics of caring for others (which included emergency foster care and his dad in the hospital for five months in addition to caring for and homeschooling our four children).<br />
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This effort to connect in a new way for this new season has reaped much more than the effort it takes to get myself out of bed. We only get about 10-20 minutes before he dashes off to work at 6:30 a.m. but we both look forward to this time.<br />
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Something fresh. Something that has a cost. An effort at connecting. These elements contribute to our winning marital team strategy. We both win.<br />
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Another bonus has been using up day old French bread; it makes fantastic French Toast. I don't think that I can ever go back.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>How about you? </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>How could you connect in fresh, meaningful way with someone in your life this week? </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Or perhaps you have a great way to use old bread?</b></i></div>
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And for those so inclined, the recipe, straight from Betty Crocker, follows:<br />
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<b>Custardy Overnight French Toast,</b><br />
per Betty Crocker's 40th Anniversary Edition<br />
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1/2 cup all-purpose flour<br />
1 1/2 cups milk<br />
1 Tablespoon sugar<br />
1/2 teaspoon vanilla<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
6 eggs<br />
18 slices French bread, each about 1" thick<br />
<br />
Beat flour, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and eggs with hand beater until smooth. Arrange bread slices just to fit in single layer in glass baking dishes. Pour egg mixture over bread slices. Turn to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. Cook about 6-8 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-38801594480984605142014-11-06T23:36:00.003-06:002014-11-06T23:36:27.589-06:0010 Lessons of October 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">10 Things I Learned in October 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQ4T6x_-LfZR3M02DBiwW53-z9ioNxriVFJWVEWVx5BRZEW_vFmDfduQ7VA2jDhmosiNQsGWCLGXr4qsMwQ0XvXnqFxTaP56SXuYEkJQahNyfzG6fy2YMeXRk9ZP_uXXpJyiSV6yvZz8/s1600/IMG_4517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQ4T6x_-LfZR3M02DBiwW53-z9ioNxriVFJWVEWVx5BRZEW_vFmDfduQ7VA2jDhmosiNQsGWCLGXr4qsMwQ0XvXnqFxTaP56SXuYEkJQahNyfzG6fy2YMeXRk9ZP_uXXpJyiSV6yvZz8/s1600/IMG_4517.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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1) I miss my family more than I realize. While hanging out with my mom, my sister, & my niece during their October visit, I realized afresh how much I miss all of my family. Just because I've adapted to the gap, does not mean the gap isn't there.<br />
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2) Huge beach balls, bubbles, and confetti all contribute to the art of celebration. Thanks to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbdJXKqVgtg" target="_blank">the Rend Collective concert</a> and the reminder that we need to be intentional about celebration in our lives. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsmTuQLkbneZspPwUvXdhYQ57pjVmLbr58NlNy61tNWmOjBTyFLXl7mym2ClcB8wOMr36BNzYKzVyaNc5sMg83kTwG0lJ2VrbOEufUQkulD4-RTJgqHyeo8A2ylWMuiifBXdSPaN7tQk/s1600/IMG_5135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsmTuQLkbneZspPwUvXdhYQ57pjVmLbr58NlNy61tNWmOjBTyFLXl7mym2ClcB8wOMr36BNzYKzVyaNc5sMg83kTwG0lJ2VrbOEufUQkulD4-RTJgqHyeo8A2ylWMuiifBXdSPaN7tQk/s1600/IMG_5135.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
3) Trick or treating for teenagers is much more fun with friends. <br />
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4) I am inspired by high school debaters. They give me great hope for the next generation.<br />
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5) Sometimes when I am compelled to lead a Bible study, it isn't about some great work that God will do through me. Instead it is about a message that God has for me, the Bible study leader. Right here. Right now. The study is <i>Stronger: Finding Hope in Fragile Places</i> by Angela Thomas.<br />
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6) I have thoroughly underlined the book <i>Gifts of Imperfection: </i><span class="st"><i>Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You</i> <i>Are </i>by Brene Brown. One among many insights gleaned and embraced is the fact that </span>it is okay if I need to grieve differently than other people. I don't need to wait until everyone feels the same as me. I can do what I need to grieve even if it means this extrovert needs to do some of it alone. <br />
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7) As my sister shared some of her struggles as a single mom due to the death of her husband four years ago, I realized afresh we never know someone else's story and how they got where they are. I know her story; I have great admiration for how she lives out her path. However, when she shared some of her story, I realized that I needed to have more compassion on people when I don't know their story. It is a reminder that it is easy to judge by appearances.<br />
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8) I am learning afresh how much that I like to write. My Wednesday evenings have changed and I am taking the opportunity to write. I love it.<br />
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9) After one year on Facebook, I realize that more of my on-line time has gone to Facebook instead of reading and writing blog posts. Is this good or bad? Or the way that I want it to be? Not sure. But it is the reason why I have posted even less over the past year.<br />
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10) I am learning right now that I would really like lists to have 10 items even when I can't think of things that I have learned.<br />
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Linking with friends at <a href="http://www.chattingatthesky.com/2014/11/03/lets-share-learned-october/" target="_blank">Chatting at the Sky</a>.<br />
The End.Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-75299013402921083622014-10-21T22:35:00.002-05:002014-10-21T22:35:19.249-05:00Celebrating a man deeply admired<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span><br />
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Happy
Birthday to my Father-in-law, Clarence. October 22, 2014, would have
been his 81st birthday. He was a man who worked hard, played hard, and
loved deep. He had a twinkle in his eye, an easy laugh, and a hankering
for sweets. <br /> <br /> For a little over twenty-one years, I have lived near my father-in-law. Yet, I learned more about the depth of his
character during the last 13 months of his life than all <span class="text_exposed_show">the
years before. Oh, his character was there all along but the depth of
it was revealed through a long trial of watching him struggle to breathe
in the hospital for months. It is hard to remember those days of
suffering – it was equally hard to see his wife so distraught at his
distress. And yet, it was in the suffering, that I saw a man worthy of
my deep admiration.<br /> <br /> He left a strong legacy in his daughter and five sons. This year he celebrates his birthday with Jesus.<br /> <br />
In a few days from now, we will remember the last day we saw him alive.
Then, a few more days and we will remember the day he went to be with
Jesus. We miss you Clarence!</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"> </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"> </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show">Some links to the other part of the story:</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2013/10/god-answered-prayer-just-for-her-day-9.html" target="_blank">An answered prayer just for her</a> </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-cheerful-heart-is-good-medicine-day-8.html" target="_blank"><span class="text_exposed_show">A cheerful heart is good medicine</span></a></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2013/12/day-18-walking-in-shadow-of-death.html" target="_blank">Walking in the shadow of death </a></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2012/11/when-coca-cola-made-me-cry.html" target="_blank"><span class="text_exposed_show">When Coca-cola made me cry</span></a></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<span class="text_exposed_show">and one of my favorites from this season:</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2013/03/remembering-right-things.html" target="_blank">Remembering Right Things </a></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span class="text_exposed_show">We grieve with hope, as it says in I Thessalonians 4:13-14:</span></div>
</span></span><br /><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<span class="text_exposed_show"></span></div>
</span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_54471de9ecfa69187630896">
<span class="reftext"></span>"But
we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are
asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. <span class="reftext"></span><span class="highl">For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus."</span> </div>
</span></span></blockquote>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-53029800063517132202014-09-20T23:49:00.000-05:002014-09-20T23:49:40.101-05:00How to Change Frustration to Thankfulness<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</style>
<![endif]-->Let’s play a game. What do a rock, a magnetic letter “R”,
and a fruit snack wrapper have in common?
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can you guess their commonality?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aww, it may be a trick question since their connecting point
is simply that they have all been found in my purse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yep, you got it. A rock, an R, and a wrapper lived in my
purse for a time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes when I notice such things, I get a ‘burst of love’
and I delight in the children that put them there. But, unfortunately, there
are the many other times that I just get frustrated. Often, I sigh, “Why is
this in here? Who put a rock in my purse? Why do they think my purse is a
garbage can?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On those days, all I can see is work, inconvenience, and
thoughtlessness. Rocks need to go outside. Toys need to be put away. Wrappers
need to go in the garbage can. Why am I the only one who cares about such
things? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I first became a mom, it was easier for me to be
thankful because there was a time when I thought that I couldn’t have children.
Sadly as the years sail on by, I easily forget these words that I penned long
ago:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“There are so many hopes and dreams
tied up into having a baby that I never fully realized were there. Until now. When
we are really trying. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s not
happening. I can’t believe how much it is a daily ache within me. Yet, I am
still hopeful and know that it’s the Lord who opens and closes the womb. And He
can choose to do that for us.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Eventually, </span>God granted our hope
and dream of children.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About nine months after my firstborn son arrived, I said, “The
hardest of days with my child are better than the best of days when the longing
was so great.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wish I could hang onto those feelings of overwhelming
gratitude.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, to be honest the day-to-day grind takes its toll. I often
do not stop to ponder and delight in my children. Nor am I thankful for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> things at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> times.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, I recently discovered how <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to change my frustrated thinking
into thankfulness</i></b>. Angela Thomas, in her book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tender Mercy for the Mother’s Soul, </i>says:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
The blessings of motherhood have
been honored through the ages. Somewhere inside of us, God has told us that
this assignment and these relationships surpass any calling on earth. Somewhere
in your soul, you know that to hold your own baby and kiss the back of his neck
is a holy privilege. The blessings of motherhood are the kinds of things that
take our breath away—the moments you hold in your heart forever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One
day someone asked me, “What are the three hardest things about having four
small children?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
quickly responded, “No sleep, the never-all-folded laundry and talking to
little people all day.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then
he asked, “What are three of the best things?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
immediately realized that the blessings came attached to the frustrations.</i></b>
“The best things are having my three-year-old crawl into the middle of our bed
around 2 a.m. and hold my hand the rest of the night … clean-footed pajamas on
freshly bathed toddlers, scooting around the house until bedtime…and the tender
words that come from the pure heart of a child.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Blessings come
attached to the frustrations.’ To learn how to see the blessing that is tied to
the frustrations of life is the key to learn how to give thanks for all things
at all times. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, here, I’ll go first.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What can I be thankful for with this rock? Well, when I ask
my children who made the rocks, they gladly shout, “God did.” I am thankful for
their tender hearts that so easily claim the truths of Jesus. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What about the letter “R”? When I think of this letter R, I can
see my two-year-old handing it to me and saying, “Here go, Mommy.” It is a gift
from the hand of a two-year-old just because she loves me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What about the fruit snack wrapper? I can remember the
delighted whoops in the grocery store when I finally said “yes” to one of their
repeated demands of ‘Mommy can I have this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span> Truly, it takes so little to please
them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am deeply thankful to have children. Therefore, I am glad
that I have a rock, a letter R, and a fruit snack wrapper in my purse. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They
are reminders that God has fulfilled a deep longing in my heart.</i></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so you just might find a rock in my purse and wonder why
it’s there. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Well, I left it there to remind me to be thankful for the frustrations in life
because they are really just reminders of how God has fulfilled a deep longing
of my heart.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>How about you? </b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Can you think of the blessing that is tied to
a frustration in your life? </b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Please share in the <a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-to-change-frustration-to.html" target="_blank">comments</a>.</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-16838693110416009172014-09-10T01:02:00.001-05:002014-09-10T01:02:23.972-05:00Endurance takes a long time to learn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_73cETaRJeI9BVv6rJVoZs0nsJJRZyXvT227pIRvfD0Zj3PyN7hQywT5w6S-9AgpCWr7l_Hp8xWyI90E7vG7MNRPWptfsus4QANzv-xwX6PC6mokOEQ1QOQDpSEKo1W53oChBEM15vSo/s1600/.Sophie+half+2014+from+marathon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_73cETaRJeI9BVv6rJVoZs0nsJJRZyXvT227pIRvfD0Zj3PyN7hQywT5w6S-9AgpCWr7l_Hp8xWyI90E7vG7MNRPWptfsus4QANzv-xwX6PC6mokOEQ1QOQDpSEKo1W53oChBEM15vSo/s1600/.Sophie+half+2014+from+marathon.jpg" height="400" width="263" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
You would think that as a distance runner I would have understood better the need for time in building endurance. I have run a full 26.2 marathon and will soon run my fourth half-marthon.<br />
<br />
I know that endurance is not gained quickly. My daughter and I started training months ago in preparation for our event. Slowly but surely we have increased our runs from two miles to twelve miles. Even though I ran this same half-marathon event a year ago. I must still keep training or I will not be able to do it. <br />
<br />
So why did I expect anything different in my spiritual life? Quick endurance does not exist. So, why am I surprised to still need the spiritual pluck to keep moving on in this season of non-crisis?<br />
<br />
James 1:2-4 says<span class="versetext" id="jas1-2" style="display: inline;"><span class="versenum">, "</span> Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1"></a> </span><span class="versetext" id="jas1-3" style="display: inline;"><span class="versenum"></span>
because you know that the testing of your faith<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2"></a> develops perseverance.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3"></a> </span><span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;"><span class="versenum"></span>Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4"></a> and complete, not lacking anything."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">When we had bonus children come and stay with us for 9 weeks back in the spring of 2012, I recited these verses as often as I could in the few isolated moments that I could find. I focused on considering it pure joy by saying the phrase over and over. "Consider it pure joy...."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">A few months later, after the kids returned to their families, my father-in-law went into the hospital and stayed for almost 5 months. </span><span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;"></span><span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">My husband and I lived close so we were part of the hands-on care. While it was a privelege to serve family, care-taking is exhausting. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">During this season, I began to recite James 1:2-4 again. This time the focus was on the perservance. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">It has been two years since I first clung to these verses and, honestly, I am tired of clinging. I would like the lesson to be learned so that I can check it off my list. Perhaps even sing of the joy of the lesson learned. Instead, I am still here putting one step in front of the other, wishing that the feelings of joy came more often. </span><br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;"><br /></span>
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">And today, just a few moments ago, I realized that endurance is not quickly learned. </span><br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;"><br /></span>
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">"Stop being surprised, Kathleen, that endurance takes time!" I almost laughed out loud at this revelation. </span><span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">I need to keep on, keeping on in my considerations of joy. </span><br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;"><br /></span>
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">I need to <b>consider even these days of non-crisis</b> but full of chaotic life-that-I-can-hardly-keep-up-with-three-teenagers<b> all joy</b>.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;">If one can only learn to run for hours by running for hours, it should come as no surprise that endurance in the spiritual life can only come through enduring trials for a long time.</span><br />
<span class="versetext" id="jas1-4" style="display: inline;"><br /></span>Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-66470251191591022162014-07-18T17:30:00.001-05:002014-07-21T12:04:29.012-05:00When good enough IS special<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwOYfeRRnciOVsiehr6OVSlsIicSHf2QnRu45xFLArlR9tO-wUaqO1CgBehyS_SGHkspP7ZXqoxdAdRJwyV1nxm6mVrEfnT9iGHzSKkkaKA30pkQV2SbpO8aJkIN_kOd7W5oOCyxAnS4/s1600/blonde+brownies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwOYfeRRnciOVsiehr6OVSlsIicSHf2QnRu45xFLArlR9tO-wUaqO1CgBehyS_SGHkspP7ZXqoxdAdRJwyV1nxm6mVrEfnT9iGHzSKkkaKA30pkQV2SbpO8aJkIN_kOd7W5oOCyxAnS4/s1600/blonde+brownies.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></a></div>
Why is it that when I am asked to bring a dish to share that I want
to try something new? Something fancy? Something 'company worthy'? I definitely want to bring something more special than my everyday offerings. This <i>is </i>for company
after all.<br />
<br />
This realization of my compulsion came one night as several
couples were meeting at a home with each of us bringing something for
dinner: either the main dish, the salad or the dessert. As I walked in
with my side dish, I was interrogated about whether or not this was a
new dish or a tried-and-true dish.<br />
<br />
It was new. Never before been tried.<br />
<br />
Just like the other women. We each brought a new offering. Not our tried-and-true everyday offering.<br />
<br />
I
dismissed the gentleman who had asked me as he shook his head. He said
the men always prepare what they know will get rave reviews -- not
something new. Not something untried.<br />
<br />
I dismissed him.
<i> I understood the women</i>. There are always new recipes that I want to try
and use these sorts of occasions to try them out. Otherwise I just
don't have the time to try something new.<br />
<br />
This question about new versus known stuck in my brain. The years raced by and we got a spontaneous Superbowl party invitation with just
one other family. I have even less time than I did years ago to prepare new and special. I am
craving chocolate. I don't even <i>have </i>to bring anything to this event.<br />
<br />
But
I'm craving chocolate so I quickly whip up my home-made blonde
brownies. It's quick. It's cheap. It's chocolate. And if I share with
others I won't eat too many.<br />
<br />
I bring them. This is no
big deal. This is my everyday offerings to my family, who get bored with
them because I make them so often.<br />
<br />
The family raved
about these brownies. Well, I should say the dad of the other family
raved about the brownies and ate and ate and ate them. I wondered if
anyone else was going to be able to get any. I surely grabbed one or two
because I made them for my chocolate craving after all.<br />
<br />
Honestly,
I had no idea they would be raved about. I didn't think they were that
good. They are just what I make on ordinary days and serve to my
ordinary, lovely family, who sometimes wishes I would make new things.<br />
<br />
The
incident, though, got me to thinking about that dinner at that couple's
house years ago with that man shaking his head. "Why not bring your
tried-and-true recipe that you know everyone will rave about?"<br />
<br />
Again, I thought of that couple's dinner and realized that I didn't offer my everyday items <i>precisely because I thought that they were ordinary.</i> I don't want to offer ordinary. I want to offer special. Spectacular. Especially to company.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>But, here was the great surprise. My day-in and day-out offering to my family was special. It IS special. I am offering special things all the time. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sometimes it just takes offering them to company to notice.</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Home made Blonde Brownies</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
from my mother's kitchen, tweaked by how I make them</div>
<br />
2 cups brown sugar, packed<br />
2/3 cup butter, melted<br />
2 eggs, beaten<br />
2 tsps vanilla<br />
2 cups flour<br />
1/2 tsp baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />
<br />
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and mix with brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar, butter, and vanilla mixture. When completely mixed but not overly, pour into 13x9 pan and spread out. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-14910765629925708952014-05-20T23:53:00.001-05:002014-05-20T23:58:15.799-05:00One sign that time has been well-spentWhen time is well spent, it breaks your heart to say goodbye. Even though you know it will only be for a little while and that you'll not always be apart, it can still rip your heart in two.<br />
<br />
When time is well spent, miles and years can never really separate what has been deeply intertwined in your heart. Because being together has changed who you are. Not because they changed you but because they gave you the courage to be who you really are. To be vulnerable. You were you. And they were they. And you loved each other. Kindred spirits.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzueDxUZWiNii4QcjVNiqAbFObM8cQkmGUrqvNxUziF3T8S3XdCtVYyhNeNdxxy-cCOyprxo6lYJpWkWXXMy2rjTAW4e14OgIcBOv2xWB17NrbXnjF_Y_ry1eEtex9gdX0cp8gOixKA0/s1600/IMG_3858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzueDxUZWiNii4QcjVNiqAbFObM8cQkmGUrqvNxUziF3T8S3XdCtVYyhNeNdxxy-cCOyprxo6lYJpWkWXXMy2rjTAW4e14OgIcBOv2xWB17NrbXnjF_Y_ry1eEtex9gdX0cp8gOixKA0/s1600/IMG_3858.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
And now it is time to say goodbye. For awhile.<br />
<br />
I think sometimes the 'for awhile part' makes people think that the goodbye doesn't hurt as much. But that is not true. The only time goodbye doesn't hurt is when it was time NOT well-spent.<br />
<br />
There was a vivid time in my life when goodbye didn't hurt. I was glad to be leaving. I look back on that very difficult year of my life and there is not much redeemable from that time, certainly no relationship or connection from that time.<br />
<br />
God profoundly used that time in my life in other ways. But at the end of that school year, goodbye didn't hurt. It was a relief.<br />
<br />
It was one of the few times in my life when goodbye didn't hurt. Maybe the only time.<br />
<br />
So now I know that I don't really want to feel only relief and gladness to be getting away. Even though I don't want to be feeling this. This heart-wrenching good-bye. Even though I don't want to say goodbye right now, even though I don't want to hurt this way.....<b>it is good.</b><br />
<br />
It is good. Time has been well-spent.<br />
<br />
I have been given an amazing gift. As a friend reminded me last night, sometimes we don't know how much the Lord has given until He takes it away.<br />
<br />
I knew they were special. I knew that I loved them. But I don't know if I knew what a great, grand gift I had been given in their special friendship throughout the years.<br />
<br />
We have stories of rattlesnakes, flat tires, wet camping trips, and shivering trips tubing down a river. We've been at each others weddings and graduations and baby births. We've held each others hands as we've said goodbye to a mom and a dad. We talked and laughed and camped and cried. We've jumped off cliffs. Played cards til the wee hours of the night. Brewed coffee, run races. Watched chickens and flowers grow. We've spun our lives together for more than twenty years. What a gift.<br />
<br />
Soon these kindred spirit friends are moving far away -- four thousand miles far away -- for at least three years. I love their courage, their pluck to live their calling.<br />
<br />
I am inspired.<br />
<br />
And sad.<br />
<br />
My heart is breaking. It feels like it may never recover.<br />
<br />
Time has been well-spent. Thank you. Amen.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>* * *</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>How about you? Any painful goodbyes recently?</b></i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Click <a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2014/05/one-sign-that-time-has-been-well-spent.html" target="_blank">HERE </a>if you would like to comment from email or a facebook link.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Linking with <a href="http://www.findingheaventoday.com/2014/05/until-we-meet-again-and-last-soli-deo.html" target="_blank">Jen at the Last SDG party. </a></div>
<br />
<br />Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-62844122339963062302014-05-06T11:53:00.001-05:002014-05-06T12:17:00.776-05:00How less can cultivate gratitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63V251smKjlXYt_Ovl7Ju_pcJxd42FiZF0-f_3vHvZgmBzlTlsKbr6zDGo0She7RugF8pP43E01jX3eNy-Lu-0vz3-lChYXN8Rjmhyphenhyphenhq6pWTClIKjBYZxuae88A0_pxjQRauqDIOJWEQ/s1600/Kath+Soph+DD+selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63V251smKjlXYt_Ovl7Ju_pcJxd42FiZF0-f_3vHvZgmBzlTlsKbr6zDGo0She7RugF8pP43E01jX3eNy-Lu-0vz3-lChYXN8Rjmhyphenhyphenhq6pWTClIKjBYZxuae88A0_pxjQRauqDIOJWEQ/s1600/Kath+Soph+DD+selfie.jpg" height="330" width="400" /></a></div>
One sweltering afternoon my oldest son played a baseball game. His five family members cheered him in the stands and melted in the fresh hot of summer. One player even fainted from the heat. <br />
<br />
After the game, my husband went to the concession stand and purchased cold ICEE drinks for all four children. Inwardly, I groaned.<br />
<br />
I braced myself for the moans and laments that would <i>surely </i>come. I was ready for a snotty toned "Well, it's about time" since it was the first slushy of the season <i>and </i>the season was done.<br />
<br />
I expected an immediate return to the attitude of last season. The one where they asked for an ICEE as soon as we drove into the ball park and continued pestering until it was obtained.<br />
<br />
My husband and I would delay the purchase as long as possible. We wanted them to wait a few innings because the games were long. Yet, we did want them to have a treat because we felt sorry that they had to watch those long games.<br />
<br />
It also seemed fair to buy the watchers a treat since the ball players received one after the game. Thus began our toleration for their pestering demands that in a different situation I don't think we would have tolerated. <br />
<br />
Besides, it was <i>only </i>a dollar. So we bought the cool drinks.<br />
<br />
We didn't set out to buy those slushies all season long. But that's what happened.<br />
<br />
They nagged. We bought. At Every. Single. Game. We had set up quite a system. We thought <i>we were</i> directing the buying of the ICEE treats.<br />
<br />
<b>After awhile, though, something bothered us. But it was just easier to keep walking up and buying the cold
ICEE drinks instead of evaluating the problem. </b><br />
<br />
We just wanted to watch our oldest son play baseball and keep the others happy. It didn't cross our minds to evaluate what was annoying us. <b> </b>Thankfully, during next year's ball season it would work itself out naturally.<br />
<br />
But I didn't know that yet.<br />
<br />
Instead, I was braced for complaints the day those purchases were made on that hot sweltering day. <br />
<br />
The flavors were selected. The sips were taken.
And the children came running to their dad, saying, "Oh, thank you Daddy!" They were
thrilled and thankful for what they had.<br />
<br />
I was surprised! Shocked!<br />
<br />
What did they say?<br />
<br />
Thank
you?!?<br />
<br />
For this one ICEE on the very last day that the concession stand
was open? It was the only one that they got all season long. Could these be the same children who the season before had complained, whined, and even demanded ICEEs?<br />
<br />
How could this be?<br />
<br />
****<br />
<b> </b><br />
<br />
It didn't begin as a noble effort to reduce whining, complaining, or children driving demands. Instead, we simply stopped buying ICEES due to the budget. They were only a dollar. But we had four children and more than one was playing ball that season.<br />
<br />
We saved money. Instead of us buying treats, they spent their own quarters and dimes on ring pops
and nerds. It was a bargain. One season we bought an ICEE for
every child at every game.<br />
<br />
The next season we stopped. Just like that.<br />
<br />
Yet, we had done something to cultivate gratitude without knowing it. We gave them less. They became more grateful.<br />
<br />
It was eye-opening. It was shocking how much MORE grateful they were with LESS.<br />
<br />
Less demand. Less expectation. More gratitude.<br />
<br />
And so less really can cultivate an attitude of thankfulness.<br />
<br />
When they expected to get a treat, they began to demand to get a treat. And when it became special, they were thankful. <br />
<br />
The
lesson of an Icee. When we are given less, we expect less. When we
expect less, we are thankfully surprised when something is given to us.
And we are grateful.<br />
<br />
It was an amazing process. It shocked me at the time and taught me a wonderful principle about how <br />
less can cultivate an attitude of gratefulness.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>* * *</b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Philippians 4: 12</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>How about you? When have you been surprised lately?</b></i> Join us <a href="http://kathink.blogspot.com/2014/05/how-less-can-cultivate-gratitude.html" target="_blank">HERE to comment on the blog</a>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You can also join the <a href="http://www.findingheaventoday.com/2014/05/a-birthday-month-giveaway-playing-pick.html" target="_blank">SDG sisterhood with Jen HERE</a>.</div>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-76005136753267151842014-04-29T10:01:00.002-05:002014-04-29T10:01:12.763-05:00How a song reminded me of the beauty in releaseOn Saturday, my oldest daughter's choir sang a haunting melody about giving a loved one the freedom to fly away from you and to trust that they will, in the end, come home to you somehow.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqWBhda-S3R0nS38dSuv-Bj-71WVG957RpypIEziMsEpsPIn83wYi58bCbJP3JPUbgUhSEfwXwVfZ-jI5_9luLD1WZQ0nUjYpUXv1vc6qhR-s4-fVCkkeWaIcgpGbuQTCuPG4WBRRCAk/s1600/IMG_1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqWBhda-S3R0nS38dSuv-Bj-71WVG957RpypIEziMsEpsPIn83wYi58bCbJP3JPUbgUhSEfwXwVfZ-jI5_9luLD1WZQ0nUjYpUXv1vc6qhR-s4-fVCkkeWaIcgpGbuQTCuPG4WBRRCAk/s1600/IMG_1119.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It seems that just yesterday <i>I</i> was the eighth grader struggling against the cocoon to become my own person. Now, I am part of the cocoon that my young adults must struggle against to become who they are.<br />
<br />
Some days I just want to close my eyes and wake up in the middle of their adult lives and breathe a sigh of "Whew! We made it"<br />
<br />
But, before I can even finish that thought I practically hyperventilate at the thought of my children gone from home. How can this be happening already? Gone from home? Not yet!<br />
<br />
As they sang their choir song, a memory came to me.<br />
<br />
Once upon a time in college, I was broken-hearted, lonely, and sad. I had friends but our schedules no longer easily overlapped. It was tough to even make them touch occasionally. I was quite lonely. Then, I met a kind boy. He befriended me. He pursued me. His friendship brought healing to my heart.<br />
<br />
Over time, I began to flourish. I wasn't needy in the same overt ways.<br />
<br />
I had changed but he didn't know what to do.<br />
<br />
He began to smother me. He put me in a box. He wanted me to be the person he'd first met: needy and overly dependent. He couldn't let me be the true me because it wasn't the me he'd known. I no longer fit in the box of who he thought I was.<br />
<br />
The weight of this box stifled me. I couldn't breathe. Something had to break: the box, the relationship, or me.<br />
<br />
I didn't want the relationship to break because I was quite grateful for his friendship that had given my lonely heart hope. But eventually, though, the relationship broke.<br />
<br />
That experience created a strong resolve within me to never confine or stifle anyone like that. It is better to let them be who they are even if it means they can't be with me.<br />
<br />
The beautiful, haunting melody of Saturday filled my ears and my heart. As the choir sang, I thought of stifling, confining boxes. I thought of how much I hated them. <br />
<br />
Then, I thought of emerging butterflies and the beauty of watching them fly. <br />
<br />
I need to let my children become the people that they are even if they are not the people I knew before or who I think they are. <br />
<br />
This is the way of letting my children unfold before me even though it means they will fly away from me someday soon. <br />
<br />
It would be much better to merely watch the beauty of the butterfly flit around me for a few moments on its journey rather than to crush it in my hands because I so desperately want to keep it for myself.<br />
<br />
It means there is struggle in the cocoon of home as they discover who they are. There is struggle as I discover my different role as I begin to release them to the world, careful not to crush their emerging wings, careful not to keep them to myself.<br />
<br />Their beauty is to be shared.<br />
<br />
A quiet wave of peace settled over me as I thought of my young adults that need to fly from me. I became transformed from either holding my breath or hyper-ventilating to being able to delight in these remaining flitting moments of these butterflies as they practice their nearby soaring before they take off on their own.<br />
<br />
And I can trust that they will find their way back to me somehow.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Have you ever had a similar experience either being stifled, or being released to become your beautiful self or been inspired through a beautiful song? Music inspires writing for me, how about you?<span style="color: purple;"> Click here if you would like to comment in the blog community.</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Linking with <a href="http://www.findingheaventoday.com/2014/04/when-you-have-no-words-and-soli-deo.html" target="_blank">Jen at SDG.</a> </strong></div>
<br />Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181661189685090304.post-38887070056904314212014-04-22T00:30:00.000-05:002014-04-22T08:54:18.897-05:00A lesson learned walking in the shadows of post-crisis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiaOUHwfygNuEWFKBSFMd64X8BD3Pdfyy2knqMrMlet4uANQVm55-jxdHAUHfPAQngjqvj3ikrddRwow4mg901TQsu66hp9ArRQ0I3zcrNaCPTW4iYVjSqGhMiyTuAlw9viH5kDDJWRY/s1600/though+i+walk+thru+the+valley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiaOUHwfygNuEWFKBSFMd64X8BD3Pdfyy2knqMrMlet4uANQVm55-jxdHAUHfPAQngjqvj3ikrddRwow4mg901TQsu66hp9ArRQ0I3zcrNaCPTW4iYVjSqGhMiyTuAlw9viH5kDDJWRY/s640/though+i+walk+thru+the+valley.jpg" height="348" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Although I've been heard saying 2012 was
one of -- if not <i>the --</i> hardest year of my life, now
that I have endured 2013, I change my answer. 2013 was harder. It was a year of living in the gray shadows of
the drama of 2012.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In 2012, I felt pulled and tugged in
many different directions. The two major events were four bonus kids for nine weeks
and Kip's dad being in the hospital for 5 months. During these times,
I have never felt more exhausted in my life. Physically. Spiritually.
Emotionally. Responsibility-wise.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yet during this time, people surrounded
us. People noticed us. Hauling eight children around is quite
noticeable. Having four children in hospital waiting rooms is
also quite noticeable. In addition, the family of God surrounded us with
prayers, cards, gifts, and hands-on-support. It was beautiful.<br />
<br />
<b>Many
memorable moments of deliverance were woven into our lives.
</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then in 2013, things quieted down. Quite thankfully! I no longer wrote daily on the Caring Bridge
website. I no longer texted desperate pleas for immediate prayer. I had
time to sleep. I had time to cry. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
Yet, it felt harder than it had
before. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
That was so strange to me.<br />
<br />
Was it because I like being center
stage? Was it that people prayed more during that time? Was I
more spiritual then? Did I have my focus in a better place?<br />
<br />
Or perhaps it was something else.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
Not that I had sinned. Not that I had fallen from grace. Not that I needed attention. <b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Instead I am re-learning to walk by faith after a long season of flying on eagle's wings.</b><br />
<br />
Isaiah 40:31 says, "Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength. They will mount
up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will
walk and not become weary."<br />
<br />
It feels strange. As though I am walking on land after riding on a boat or a roller coaster for a long time. Familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. I have walked on land most of my life. As most of my life has also been non-crisis. <br />
<br />
But what is truly different is that I haven't walked in daily life after crisis before. I am walking in the land of shadows, both in the shadow of the drama of 2012 and in the shadow of the valley of death. <br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It has felt strange this walking in the
strange, gray shadows. He is still sustaining. Still giving grace.
Still making me aware of how much I need him.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
But now I am learning to walk in this
new place. Not a place of grieving from far away, as it was with my
brother-in-law's death. But this time a place of grieving from nearby
and up-close and personal. And from a responsible human being
perspective.
</div>
<br />
He is still sustaining. But I don't
need wings anymore so I'm relearning the walk of faith from here on
this side of the strange, gray shadow lands. A needed walk,
step-by-step.
<br />
<br />
Walking in the land of gray shadows.
Learning what it means to walk by faith after having been mounted on
eagle's wings. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em>What lessons have you learned walking in the shadows of difficult seasons?</em> </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Also linking with <a href="http://www.findingheaventoday.com/2014/04/love-idol-book-giveaway-and-soli-deo.html" target="_blank">Jen at SDG</a>.</strong>
</div>
<br /></div>
Kathleen T. Jaegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03021119386207509180noreply@blogger.com1