Gratitude & Thanksgiving

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 11 - SURRENDER     Surrender is always an act of faith,  and letting go is never easy. When we try to hold on tight to anything,  we find ourselves grasping at air. When we struggle to possess  - a person, a time, a way of doing or being -  the very thing we seek slips away. This is one thing motherhood has taught me:  Living according to my values does not necessarily mean being rigid in my co...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 10 - ONE ON ONE TIME     We all know that children need some special one-on-one time with their parents. But sometimes we forget that we parents need this kind of time alone with our children too.  And unfortunately, when the pace of life speeds up, one-on-one time is often the first thing that gets squeezed out. Our schedules deprive us of each other. Yet when we do that bit of extra juggling required to make a...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 9 - STORIES     My children wanted stories . Not just gory anecdotes, but real stories they could taste, and feel and see. Stories that could challenge their imaginations, scare them silly, make them laugh. And yet, reassure them of the rightness and order of all creation. "Each of us has a storyteller inside, but we may need to find her, and gently wake her up." Locating that storyteller has proved to be  a pr...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 8 - PLAY       So much of the structure that we impose on our children's lives is really intended to make our own lives easier.  We don't want to give up our freedom, and so we fail to grant our children theirs.  As every mother knows, it's easier to sign up for sports camp than to carve out a week to allow your children to follow their own inclinations at home.  But children need time that is utte...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 7 - TV     t's been four years since my husband and I agreed that, instead of arguing with our kid about how much TV they were allowed to watch, we would simply turn the TV off together.  Since that time, we have rented an occasional video, and the boys have watched the odd TV show at Grandma's house or in the homes of relatives and friends.  But by and large, TV is simply not a part of our lives.  Our li...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 6 - SIMPLICITY     "Two weeks before Easter, I visit a friend whose children are the same age as mine.  when I arrive, she is just cleaning up after an afternoon of colouring eggs wtih her son and daughter.  Ther are Ukrainian masterpieces, painstakingly created with special tools, dyes, and wax.  In addition, they have made stenciled eggs, brilliant glitter eggs, and marbelised eggs, all from kits ord...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 5 - QUIET     When I clear a quiet space for my family, I make time for our souls to grow. How did our world get so noisy?  Have we grown so accustomed to the incessant background noise of our daily lives that we have forgotten the shape and feel and sound of silence? But there is intimacy in a whisper,  pools of meaning in the empty spaces between our words,  sustenance in quiet. If every wak...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 4 - PEACE     I like a broad margin to my life....the less packed into a day, the better. Sitting still , I am able to appreciate my life simply because I am taking the time to experience it. But, even a few moments of tranquility can be hard won.  It seems that idleness is suspect; we are supposed to be on the go. Perhaps that is why I am always so grateful for the small clearings that can suddenly ap...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 3 - SLOWING DOWN         What kind of example do we set for our children as we race from here to there, trying to accomplish more, have more, experience more, in the course of a day? Only by slowing down do we make time for one another.  Only by stopping long enough to observe our surroundings can we bring form and meaning to our lives  and make the small adjustments needed to stay on course....

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 2 - MORNING     First words of the morning are spoken .....who can ever remember, later, what they were? Perhaps it is a beginning we take for granted , or don't even recognise as such. Some mornings we all leap from the bed, already late, our thoughts rushing ahead to the world beyond our own front door. Our souls, returning from their mysterious sojourns of the night, must now become grounded once again in the...

I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.   I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me.  May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us! [*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]     Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God   PART 1 - RELATIONSHIPS     We know that our relationships - with ourselves and with each other - need time if they are to flourish.     Parents & children alike need time for solitude -  time to stretch & think and wonder, time to become aquainted with ourselves & with the world around us .     And parents and children need sacred time together -  time that...