3 Things - Mrs. Underdog Style

1. I spent the last 24 hours with extended family. We had a garage sale. I made money. Yea!!! I also watched my heart break over that 24 hour as I observed a 13 yod exist in a life where she is unloved and used by mom. This precious child has no father . He decided when she was 1 yod that he wanted nothing to do with her or mom. She has a mother. . .sort of. Mom has 3 other children with 2 different men. She hid TWO of these pregnancies from those around her and had all of them out of wedlock (until she got hitched with the men and then divorced shortly afterward.) She lost her baby sister in February when she died a crib death. Her other two sisters both have dads that want to be in their lives. Mom wants to be more of a friend that a mother. She doesn't even have the fore thought to buy her daughter deoderant or a razor to shave. This precious child is still so much of a child. . . a lost child. She needs a mother that will simply give her a hug. I remember as she grew up there were times I would see mom "discipline" her. It wasn't discipline. It was like watching an 8 yod tell a younger sibling what to do and then hitting the child when they didn't do it. No one else would call it abuse. I would. It just breaks my heart. I am praying for open doors to get to the know this young lady.

2. Why is it that so many of us are constantly seeking the new and better? I stayed with my 84 yod grandparents this weekend. Their house is full of ugly knick knacks and just some old yet simply everyday items. There are stories that hang on the walls in the form of pictures. Their furniture is old but functional. The kitchen is severely outdated in the since that there were no silicon scrapers to scrape the cookie dough out of the bowl. HA!!!! All the kitchen towels were mismatched and most of the pot holder were crocheted by my grandmother. But it was a home. That is what made it so different from other homes I have been in. It was loved. My grandmother crocheted those pot holders because she loved her home. Her towels were older and outdated but she folded them with intense love. It was comfortable to be in her home. Perhaps I am being a bit nostalgic by finding comfort in a home I loved to play in when I was little. Perhaps it's just simply that my grandmother knew how to be a keeper at home and she never really cared to have a Better Homes and Gardens home. (Oh, I didn't mention that there was plastic canvas decoration all over the place. Anyone that says those things are ugly might be right but with the right amount of love put into them, they make the perfect decorations.)

3. Why is that we always seem to seek out information from other people instead of seeking it ourselves? By that statement I mean that it seems that I am always looking to other people to give me the answers to the problems I am facing. My latest issue is dealing with school and our lifestyle of learning. What does that look like? I keep wanting to seek out new books for info. I am even looking at and considering a new curriculum when I have a perfectly good curriculum covering the same ideas as this new one. I find myself getting very tired these days as I search guidance from other people. And I always goes back to the idea of seeking out all this info by simply seeking out the Father. I so badly want to just rest in Him and trust that He will lead me and teach me. I think more people should do this. It's wonderful that we have so many people who have ministries and write books and that they offer encouragement to the reader (this is especially important as homeschool mom get NO encouragement from the society around us.) What if God wanted to build a ministry through us though? We're going to have to stop relying upon the words of others people and simply allow God to give us words. We can't do that when our noses are stuck in every other book BUT His Word. That is where I am at right now. I am desperate for a Word from the Lord. . .I have so many to look to. I better get started.