The Star Marks the Spot

For some reason, our Christmas experience this year has been totally different from any other. Granted the weather has been ridiculously warmer even for us in the South (there, I just jinked us!), I think it goes back to last Christmas when God gave me some advice and I took it.

It was this. "Search for Me and you will find Me."  Yup, in a nutshell be Mary, not her sister Martha. So last Christmas, I backed off SOME. Now though, with 12 months of gentle reminders in a way that only God can give, I can see the larger transformation and it is pretty wild! You see, last year I had my tree up the day after Halloween, more parties and obligations than I care to remember and I was miserable. So, I started searching for the star that would lead me to the manger. Like the wise men, I couldn't get there in a day, but I did stay the course and I can joyfully proclaim that I have found the baby Jesus exactly where I was lead. It is an exuberant place, but calm, quiet and peaceful. Do these words describe your Christmas season?

If you have a child, I am sure you can relate.

With baby numero uno, everything had to be P-E-R-F-E-C-T!  My father-in-law worked feverishly at my request to finish the beautiful wall mural identical to the crib bedding. Then thanks to my sister-in-law (no longer with us) who gave us a baby shower, all items were stocked. Now I was just waiting for the actual baby to put in the crib. Haven't we all become so busy that we forgot the most important part was the actual baby?

And guess what?

Ready or not, like all babies, He is coming. You can't do anything to prevent it, but you can do everything to prevent MISSING it. If He didn't need a fancy nursery with matching bedding to arrive THEN, He sure doesn't need our fancy bows, packages or even the family nativity set and advent wreath (yes, I said that), to arrive NOW. Time is up, that baby is crowning and speaking of crowns, Oh come let us adore Him! Let us stop what we are doing and follow the star to the manger. Allow yourself to take the pressure off to make this the "prettiest" Christmas, the "best- Christmas- gifts- ever" Christmas, the "tastiest" Christmas, the "most hospitable" or "generous" Christmas. You fill in the blank. Just let CHRISTmas come. The only "room" we honestly need ready is the room in our hearts, and instead of the newest, trendiest receiving blankets,  just being prepared to receive Him, amen?

I know the weather has been warm here in Alabama and doesn't feel like Christmas outside, but it sure feels warm and toasty in my heart. You see, following the star is what Martha's sister Mary, the shepherds and the three wise men had in common. They stopped their busy plans and came to worship our Lord. Different stories, but same book. Let us have that in common with them.

Hoping you have the Merriest Christmas ever,

~Clarissa

The "Holidaze"

Last night as I lay in bed saying my evening prayers, I thanked God for something I heard this week.  It was a comment about focus on the future instead of on the present, or even the past.

As humans, I believe we must get so caught up in walking forward (which is a good thing), that because we lack wings we don't soar upward and see the big picture below. I mean think about that for a moment. From the top of a building, you can see the route from the beginning, the present location and where it ends.

I think if most of us were honest, we would lay down our Martha Stewart masks and admit to ourselves and God our Father, that the holidays are difficult for many of us. For me, it is the Ghost of Christmas Past that haunts me. Such good memories of past holidays. People in my life as a child that are no longer with me. I grieve their presence. I grieve our shared laughter. I grieve childhood innocence.

On Thanksgiving Day my husband must have noticed my sense of loss I was feeling because he nonchalantly said, "There may only be 4 chairs at the Thanksgiving Table, but one day, we will not have enough room for all the chairs for our family. Our daughters will have husbands and they will have their own children and grandchildren and they will wheel you in your wheelchair to take your place at the head of the table and you won't even have to worry yourself with the cooking." Wow! Really? Me in a wheelchair? What a perspective and from my quiet husband, nonetheless!

That was a wonderful thought that my own house will praise me because THIS is MY garden where I sow every day. I sow love, patience, laughter and silliness. Why wouldn't I reap the rewards of family? Why wouldn't my home acquire more filled chairs and more shared laughter for the holidays? I had lost perspective. I was merely looking horizontally (forward and backward), thinking in terms of past OR present, not the journey as a whole from a vertical perspective. And you know what? It was a great Thanksgiving. We didn't stress. We didn't stress if we didn't have the traditional perfect Thanksgiving. Sure we had all the items on the list. Yet, we ate Turkey sandwiches instead of sitting around the bird and watching daddy carve it. We decided to save our dressing ingredients for another night later in the week and put the Cherry Pie in the freezer for a special later date to be determined.

Who says I have to have ALL my Happy Holiday Memories right now anyway? I don't want to stuff myself right now anyway because I am saving room for my second portion of happy memories later!

Sitting at the Master's Feet
~Clarissa

A Flower Named Brooklyn

Today, memorial services will be held for the youngest member of our church. She was born a week ago, and I had the pleasure to meet her Tuesday evening. Wow, was she pretty! She didn't appear sick. She was perfect. She had dark hair, pink skin and her mama and grandmother even joked about her long fingers that run in the family. I wasn't surprised when I bent over to see for myself. She seemed to want to show them to me, grasping them around my index finger. She made me chuckle. I think she knew we were all leaning over complimenting her!
However, like us all, she was just passing through here though. Her final destination was a much more impressive place where she will be making many observations of her own.

She will notice how she lacks for nothing and can claim her perfection. I just wonder if all that exposure to the SON will make her dark hair a lighter brown like it does here. Yeah, I'm inquisitive that way.

Pray for Mark, Jennifer & grandparents today and have a blessed weekend.

Sitting at the Masters Feet,
~Clarissa

Why was I even surprised?

Because my husband has to leave for work so early, sometimes I sneak out to another room after the lights are out to read, catch up on some emails, work on bills or return phone calls. Last night I ended up in my 7-yr-old's room. I must have fallen asleep while working because she startled me in the middle of the night screaming and crying. Without even raising my head (I was sleeping on her floor next to her bed), and with no real effort on my part, I raised my hand to hers and said, "It's okay baby, I'm here," while squeezing her hand. She IMMEDIATELY stopped screaming without even opening her eyes, (she knew my voice), and took a deep breath, (I could see her tummy rise slowly, then back down). At that point I woke up fully and pondered on how QUICKLY she calmed down to a peaceful state and was able to go on with what she was doing, sleeping in this instance.

I just felt the Lord tell me that this little event last night was a reflection of HIS dealings with us. Just like I as a mom was able to comfort my daughter completely, without effort, in a voice recognizable to her, and without her physically seeing me, God is able to do the same. He can and does comfort HIS children completely, with hardly any effort (He is so big!), without us physically seeing Him, already present, (Matthew 28:20b says, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age"), and in a recognizable voice. John 10:3-5 Jesus says His sheep, (His children) know His voice! So many similarities!

Furthermore, in addition to God reminding me of HIS character, He reminded me of MINE. Like my 7-yr-old, I'm not startled, but I am surprised when we call out for comfort and God says, "Here I am, I am here!" Psalm 139:7-10 says, "Where can I go from your Spirit, Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there: If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And your right hand shall hold me."


Let us not be surprised when He shows up in the middle of a dark night. He IS aware of our situations, even when they may seem small and trivial to us considering everything else that that is going on in the world right now. Thank you for the object lesson Lord! So I'll leave you with this youtube video that I think sums up God's late night lesson to me pretty well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDLfAx5IQ4k&feature=related Have a good day!
~Clarissa

My New Adventures in Couponing

I have been so excited by my newest adventure...couponing! You must know that I have tried to get my serious couponing off the ground for over a year. However, homeschooling, having a husband that worked out of town and being cramped into a 2 bedroom apartment, made my attempts to coupon not the most successful.

It's funny that when we moved into our new house eight weeks ago, my husband and I never thought we would be fighting over the same room in the house...the GARAGE! He wants to put "guy" stuff in there but, I have been using it for homeschooling, my office, and couponing! I tried to coupon at the kitchen table, the homeschool table, my desk, the living room floor, but no, I decided I needed a space dedicated JUST to couponing. So, I set up a rectangle fold out table that is out of the way in the garage, never has to be cleared off and is just for myself and my new barcoded friends.

However, since I get more than one newspaper every week, I needed a little something more. SO, I turned to a favorite organizer to help me out, the shoe organizer! I use these for everything EXCEPT organizing shoes. With more than one newspaper every seven days, I need to make sure I am on top of things. After all, a coupon isn't worth my time and trouble if it is expired now is it? But I am just now getting my coupon binder organized so I don't won't to go throwing coupons anywhere in there. My family which includes two kiddos aged 10 and seven, are now on board to help by using the shoe organizer because NO ONE is allowed to touch my coupon binder except me!

I hung the shoe organizer by my coupon table and when coupons are cut out they are placed in the corresponding pocket that I have labeled by category on the shoe organizer. The hubby and kiddos are now more willing to help me clip coupons if they know where to put them because I won't let them put them in my binder. The reason for that is simple, I re-write the expiration date on the coupon (don't write over anything!) so I can see it more clearly while in the store and I know if I have duplicates and I might file let's say coffee coupons with cereals (the breakfast aisle) whereas, my hubby might think beverages. So, you get my point.

A separate couponing space, a shoe organizer and a zip-up binder with baseball card plastic pages & some dividers are making this adventure a reality now. And yes, so far it is working. Last week I made my first serious grocery store trip with my coupons. My total was $260 and after the cashier scanned my coupons, my total was only $139. I don't think I will be featured on TLC' "Extreme Couponing" anytime soon, but its a good start and my small stockpile and being a good steward of the money is something that makes my heart beam with joy.  Who knew later in the week, my husband would finally get his job request of a year and a half honored and he would be able to work locally after over three years on the road! We were able to celebrate his unexpected homecoming for the joyous occasion that it was, rather than fretting over the pay-cut and having just purchased a new home, thanks to my coupons!
~Clarissa
P.S. If you aren't ready for full-time couponing, make sure you at least check out www.couponmom.com as a starting point. She also has tutorials on YouTube and a great book over at Amazon. Her system is hassle free for super busy people and very user friendly. Saving a little or a lot is always better than saving none!

Listening to the Whispers of "That Small Voice"

As you guys know, the United States has been experiencing major tornado outbreaks the last month. As a matter of fact, today marks the one month anniversary of the seasons first outbreak, April 27, 2011 in our state of Alabama. Looking back to four weeks ago, God's ability to know all things (omniscience), is what stands out the most to me today. I know there have to be a plethora of stories of God's omniscience out there from survivors, but this was ours on the unaffected side of things.

My family of four had spent the Sunday three days prior, which was Easter Sunday, with my husband's family at his home church, which is always a big tradition! This clan of approximately 20 folks are ALWAYS expected to be there from near or far, for the annual family Easter pic.  

My kids with Uncle D. at Easter


Their home church is located in one of Birmingham's western suburbs and is one of only two large churches in that particular community. We also lived in this neighborhood for seven years and it has, and always will be, sentimental as our first home as a married couple, the community where our children still call home, where my husband grew up, graduated high school, and his family still lives today. Despite that all, I thought it extremely odd when the Lord pressed it upon my heart, more like pounded it, to donate a particular amount of money specifically to the church's food pantry during our visit.

It seemed odd to me due to the back story leading up to Easter Sunday. My husband has worked for the same employer for 13 years or so, and he has NEVER had a delayed paycheck. Not only was the check delayed once when it accidentally went to the wrong state, but it got delayed in another when the plane had mechanical difficulties, and I don't even remember what the third issue was, but it was bizarre. My husband and I debated all week whether or not to head over for the traditional Easter Sunday with the family because gas money was surely an issue and we had not even been able to purchase our annual new Easter clothes and candy baskets and I wanted us to look perfect for that family photo! We decided to go and during the church service, I was literally arguing my case with the Lord about why I simply could not write this check, especially for this amount to this church's food pantry. I tell Him, "I will do it next week when surely we would have received it by then," No, this was not sufficient for Him. He spoke to me again.

"I will make it for even more than you are asking me, if I can just wait a week," No, He didn't settle for this either.

"I will do it at the church where our membership is located, it is a little closer to home which would allow me more time. The paycheck has been delayed three times already, I simply cannot do what you are asking me to do."

The Lord spoke to me with extreme urgency and said, "It cannot wait a week, it has to be THIS church, TODAY."

Well I finally decided to be in obedience and walk by faith, wrote out the check an hour later at the conclusion of the service and passed it along to the pastor's wife very casually mentioning that I had post-dated it a few days out, and to have a Happy Easter.

Thursday morning after tuning into the TV to see the first images drizzle in from around our Birmingham community and our state from the storms the evening before, I was stunned to see one the hardest hit areas was indeed part of this west Birmingham suburb where we had spent Easter Sunday.

My immediate feeling was that of shock, God was right! That check didn't need to wait a week and it did in fact need to be that community. No God doesn't want my money, He wants my obedience to do what He says and WHEN He says to do it and He was right on every account, this time it just happen to involve money. Immediately my husband's home church was able to utilize its resources taking bottled water to these neighbors and the gospel of Jesus Christ with it.

I don't know why I was shocked. However, I guess I always am in same way when it comes to our Lord. Shock that He can and wants to use US for His glory, lead us beside the still waters (Psalm 23), plans to prosper us, giving us a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11), and to be with us always, even until the end of the age (Matt. 28: 20), just lots of reasons to be amazed by Him and did I mention that He is more powerful than any storm? Yes, even the wind and the sea obey Him (Matt: 8: 27). Just as amazing though, his omniscience to know all that is past, present and future (Psalm 147:5 & Acts 15:18)

What is He telling YOU in His infinite wisdom today? I promise it will benefit you and maybe even those around you.
Have a great Friday,
~Clarissa

How we organize our Homeschool stuff

A lot of people ask me about my organization skills. To answer this honestly, I do not think it has been because I have been homeschooling since 2003, I think I am obsessive-compulsive, seriously! I just thought I was weird. Then one day I was reading an article a man wrote in a Lifeway publication about gifts that God gives people and I think mine must be one he listed, "the gift of administration," I was relieved because I had never heard that before mentioned as a gift, let alone how it could bless your family, so I wanted to share with you some things that work around my house as far as HOMESCHOOLING is concerned. I can write more about organizing other stuff later ( and a disclaimer here, I am SURE there are more that know a LOT more about options out there than I, I have just been asked repeatedly how I organize homeschool stuff at my house, granted we just moved a week or so ago, lol!)

I guess the first question is WHERE we homeschool in the house. Well, this is different has it has ever been before, and how it will be in the future, but we have been using the Bob Jones University Press dvds this school yr because we KNEW we were gonna have a crazy year, and my kids are 7 and 10. The kids just pop 'em in their dvd players in their room and I will sit in to help out or just see what they are learning and then record it in our planner. BUT we STILL DO LOTS OF UNSCHOOLING like watching documentaries and so on, but daddy likes the dvds but we will not be using them again. I feel too distant from the kids this year but it HAS helped get the work done this school year despite all the craziness elsewhere!



Now we have an old table that we put in the garage and we use that for when we have family homeschool time like lessons for everyone or crafts and we will homeschool here daily next year. The wall behind isn't painted yet, as we just moved here, but I am also going to hang their homeschool "cheat" posters over the table like, multiplication tables and of course our pledges, yes we does those daily to the Bible and the United States. On the table we also have the medium-sized three-drawer containers for different types of paper and then another one, although not pictured. One of the three drawers is for crayons, one for colored pencils and one for markers. (I told you I was obsessive) It just drives me crazy when the kids need colored pencils and can only find markers, ugh, so that is how that came about.

(I bought this table at a yard sale yesterday for $15 and it is larger than it looks so no more card table! Great for crafts too as it is kinda scuffed up on the top)

Here are some other pics of how we organize our homeschool stuff. 

(This is our container from walmart where the kids put their completed school work. Each kid has a drawer-until I can get to them to grade them and add them in their yearly notebooks. I ALWAYS call them in and go over it if there are any mistakes or even worse, sloppy work, lol! I will show a pic of their yearly notebooks in just a second.)

(These are their yearly notebooks. They have ALL their school work in them, divided by subject with subject dividers. I always try to get the notebooks with the clear plastic covers at least on the side so I can label and easily see from a bookshelf what's inside. I also, on the back clear sleeve keep one copy of proof of registration with their cover school that year and then another one in a fireproof place like a file cabinet or safe. The kids LOVE to show these to grandparents and just look at them alone and see how far they have improved, and yes, Art, has it's own divider tab too!)

Speaking of record-keeping so to speak, we just buy these individually priced Homeschool Report cards at our local Parent-Teacher Store. You could easily make one if you don't have one and even the cover school we have used this year provides their own which you bring with you twice a year at grade/record reconciliation days at their office. You can "grade" on anything you wish and I also "grade" based on attitude and other character traits. I would love to show you some transcripts for the kids, that I have kept over the years but they are still packed up right now, but I will try to come back another day and add a pic to edit this post.

This is the planner we have used this year and it has really helped keeping me accountable. It was hard finding one with as many spaces as I felt I needed, but each two-page layout is a week and my headers read each kid (I have 2) for their subjects that coincide with their curriculum this year. It has worked great, however, I will also show you what we did last school year. Oh by the way, this planner we used this year has been a big help in keeping track of attendance which is required to turn in.

Last school year I just bought a notebook and some notebook paper and kept a "diary" of the days we homeschooled and what each kid did. Nice, but I needed a little more accountability so I can't say ouch, missed three days last week..I NEED a CALENDAR layout!

Another notebook! This is for craft ideas and keep it with my homeschool resources. I subscribe to some fun magazines like "Family Fun" by Disney and "Instructor" by Scholastic. I don't necessarily wanna keep the whole mag, but am more likely to try out the crafts I think the kids would like or that even pertinent to what we are learning so I tear them out, stick em in a plastic page and keep 'em in here, see...

This reminds me of some things I would like to share as far as organizing, but I will have to do that in a part two!

Unit Studies! I LOVE unit studies! These bags can be bought at the Parent-Teacher Store but I think the heavy grade Ziplocs would work just as well. Here, I can put all our teaching materials pertaining to that unit in one place and if we are going to a picnic lunch we can with us! This is our China unit study that we work on for Chinese New Year. I am working on lots of other bags, like Black History month, etc., and keep all these bags in a bin. I got this idea from the Hoover Library!

Last thing for tonight..now you are seeing JUST how O.C. I am! Hey, when you  move 5 times in 4 years, you learn to be organized! This is an idea that I got just this last week. Many friends send me great links for homeschooling certain subjects, even games! SO, instead of bookmarking them into my computer NEVER to be seen again, I have started printing them out and putting them in this notebook, of course divided by subject. There is even one for Music History, how cool! And just in case you didn't, because I didn't until just this year, notebooks are EXPENSIVE and can be purchased all day long at the local thrifts stores, anywhere from 10 cents to 39 cents!!!! Okay, well I hope this has helped SOMEONE. This is just how I do it, do whatever works for YOU. IT's your HOME, your KIDS, do what works for YOU!
Love,
Clarissa

  

My New Haircut

My New Haircut

I have been feeling so bogged down lately. I mean, for like six months worrying obsessively about NUMEROUS things that I cannot control. Everything has felt heavy. My body, my mind and yes, even my hair.

My husband likes long hair, although what busy mom doesn't like a short "do"? It was getting wrapped around my neck at night, choking me and keeping me hot and sweaty when I would work around the house. Even in a bun or ponytail, it was just piled somewhere else, if not my neck, then atop my head! Oh sure, it looked great when I would condition, color, straighten it and slap some expensive waxy pal made on it. And although my hair seemed just so relaxed and "natural" to people sitting next to me at a dress-up event such as church, I knew the struggle and STRAIN it was on me to up-keep that style! My hair seemed so symbolic to me that day last week of my spiritual condition. Bogged down, splitting and dry, and all my work to make it look anything different was done so in my own ability and still falling short. I needed a professional stylist to repair my mess and quickly I explained to her when I showed up at the salon!

So my question to you today is this: Do you need an un-scheduled, walk-in appointment at the Master's feet to repair all the mess that's got you so bogged down right now? I know I did! Do you really want to hang on to what's choking you, keeping you hot and bothered or do you want to be set free of it? Are you going to move it somewhere else only to feel it later, or are you REALLY going to man up and let it go and give it to Jesus to decide what style works best for you?

Matthew 11: 28-30 of  "The Message" translation of the Bible translates Jesus' words this way : "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Pretty amazing isn't it? No office hours, no appointments needed, just show up, He'll be there waiting to repair your frazzled, dry, splitting mess!

To see all that hair on the floor was bittersweet. It had been with me a long while now, but it was time to cut it loose and wear a new style. A style that really was natural for me, wash and go! That's how I like things to be, move on, move on, but somehow, somewhere, I got tangled up in my self-sufficiency again. You see the Lord and I have had this talk before, seven years ago. But ladies, watch out, because just like hair, those superwoman tendencies WILL try to return, so make sure to keep your best salon scissors, and your Bible handy. You will likely need them!

Resting at the Masters Feet,

~Clarissa