31 Days of Drawing Closer as a Family

I am so excited to partake in The Nesters 31 Days Challenge!
I chose a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  

Disclaimer:  **I'm not an expert but I'd like to share what God has taught us and what we try to do to keep our family bond strong.**

I'm a Pastor's wife and a mom of 5 kids.  Our homeschool ranges from 9th grade down to 2nd grade while towing a toddler on my hip!  Some days can get crazy and it can be challenging to "feel close" when you feel like you need a break!  Put 7 sinners in one house, each with their own personality and there are challenges.  

Along with that comes a lot of vibrant noise, love, laughter, creativity and dreams.  There in lies the beauty of my Big Fat Homeschooling Family! Creatively we try to work together to turn those challenges into learning experiences and celebrate the fruits of our labor when God blesses us with rewards.  

I'll be blogging daily about the little things that can make a big difference in our family life.  I hope you join me on this journey and if you do, please comment. I'd love to hear how God is working in your family!


Come back to this post to keep up with all 31 days.

Day 1- Communicating Effectively
Day 2- Modeling Unity in Marriage
Day 3- Come Just as You Are
Day 4- Devoted to God
Day 5- Serving Joyfully
Day 6- Working Together
Day 7- Sabbath Rest
Day 8- Cooking Together
Day 9- Make Dinner a Special Event
Day 10-Go On a Picnic
Day 11-Family Night
Day 12-Fullness of Law and Grace
Day 13-Laugh Out Loud
Day 14-Read Aloud
Day 15-Story Telling
Day 16-Family Meetings
Day 17-Live with Conviction
Day 18-The Great Outdoors
Day 19-Learning Together
Day 20-One-on-One Time
Day 21-Break the Rules
Day 22-Create Tradition
Day 23-Serving As a Family
Day 24-Making Time to Play
Day 25-Cherish the Moments
Day 26-Encourage One Another
Day 27-Be Creative
Day 28-No Secrets From the Family
Day 29-Show You Are Committed
Day 30-Sacrifice For Each Other
Day 31-Be Who God Called You To Be 

The Road Less Traveled

Who doesn't love a good road trip?...
The adventure and excitement of a journey that's promised to be filled with experiences beyond the norm.

Road trips bring a sense of freedom, even if for a moment.  I think part of that feeling of freedom comes from traveling for miles and miles nonstop.

It's almost hypnotic.

Yet these same trips wouldn't have the same allure if we were bumper to bumper in a traffic jam.

As I write this post I'm on a road trip myself, somewhere between North Carolina and Virginia, traveling alongside cars that are headed in the same direction, but are on a different journey. Somewhere on this road that seems never ending we all have our exit that leads us to our own destination.

But sometimes we can forget the trip we started out on and begin following others on their journey.
We leave behind the road less traveled, forgo the adventure, and take the crowded highway. We abandon our gps customized for our personal trip and recalculate based on someone else's navigational system.

Eventually we get lost. Sometimes we forget where we were headed to begin with, but we continue on because most people seem to be headed in that direction.

We begin to fear the solitude of the road less traveled and follow the crowd for comforts sake because comfort feels good. It's familiar and feels safe.


But comfort robs us of reaching out beyond the norm, of attaining the plans God has for us specifically, and keeps us from taking risks that were intended to build our faith.

We all have an individual journey and how great it is when we follow it.

What road on you on today? The wide crowded road or the road less traveled?

Seasons of Life

 

There is a time for everything, 

and a season for every activity under the heavens:    

  a time to be born and a time to die

  a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

  a time to kill and a time to heal,

  a time to tear down and a time to build,

   a time to weep and a time to laugh,

   a time to mourn and a time to dance,

   a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,    

  a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

   a time to search and a time to give up,

   a time to keep and a time to throw away,

   a time to tear and a time to mend,

   a time to be silent and a time to speak,

   a time to love and a time to hate,

   a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Seasons change. Some are bright and warm while others are bleak and cold. The bright and warm seasons seem to rush by, don't they?  Who can get enough of them?  Then the bleak and cold months come along and although that period may be the same in time span, it drags by.  Its hard to see past overcast skies or have the same mobility in the cold.

Now that I live in South Florida, this is not a problem of course, but when I lived up north, what kept me going was the hope I had that one day spring would arrive. 

Hope.  It changes everything. Thank God for it.

Right now, my family is going through one of those difficult seasons of life. The season of mourning my beloved uncle who passed away this weekend.  He was dearly loved and will be sorely missed.  But because God is gracious he gives hope even in the coldest of seasons.  He brings us memories that bring about a smile and He reminds us of just how blessed we were to know and love him.

No, it doesn't ease the pain, but it does warm the soul just like the bright sun on a bitter cold day. 

In our mourning, Jesus meets us there and he comforts us.

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

So yes, we mourn... but we are comforted.

Comforted by hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

  

We mourn because we miss our loved one and on this side of heaven we no longer have that human connection. But, we have the hope, because of the resurrection, that one day all who are in Christ will be made alive. 

1 Corinthians 22-23

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 

In memory of my uncle, Rolando Lorenzo