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"Let's be cheerful"! We have no more right to steal the brightness out of the day for our own family than we have to steal the purse of a stranger. Let us be as careful that our homes are furnished with pleasant & happy thoughts as we are that the rugs are the right color and texture & the furniture comfortable and beautiful"! Laura Ingalls Wilder

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

the quest for wisdom



Today I am just having some simple thoughts and wanted to share them with all of you who have made my life richer in ways I couldn't have imagined...  you who are friends abroad...  friends I never would have met if I hadn't found this place to play.  And it is a fun and interesting place to play is it not?  

As we begin our school year I know that I will have to do a bit of schedule rearranging to be on task.  Though my kids are at an age where there is much they can do on their own, we still embrace this gift of time we've been given.  We enjoy being together, learning together.  I for one am unwilling to give this time up, knowing how fleeting it is.  I look back over the years and know that the one thing I will never regret is the time purposed to our children.  Especially the time spent right here at home, quietly (or wildly) pursuing our own interests, sharing them with one another.  Time just playing and be-ing right here where we know love.

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup,
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places,
surely I have a delightful inheritance.  Psalm 16:5-6




Our school schedule this year does have a few constants already.  We will be going to art and ballet once a week.  Our Keepers at Home group will meet twice a month.  There are the group activities for the teens and field trips, and of course the pottery class that I have promised to the girls and myself.  That's more than plenty, though I'm sure more will work it's way onto the calendar when I allow myself to be distracted from wisdom.  No.  I will be trying hard to exercise wisdom...

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me,
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, 
I will not be shaken.  Psalm 16:7-8




As I prepare to sit with my girls next week, my prayer is that I will help guide them in their desire for wisdom.  That I will be able to teach them to seek His will, to search for it, and to accept and embrace it. Because only in Him do we fulfill our life's purpose.  Only by wisdom do we even comprehend that our life's purpose is hidden in Him.  And it's only 'hidden' when we try to figure it out ourselves.  If we yield ourselves and seek His Word, we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our steps.  Then we are walking the mystery.  The revealing of the hidden, by way of submission...

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, 
the man who gains understanding, 
for she is more profitable than sliver and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand'
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways, 
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her'
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.  Proverbs 3:13-18




So, here's to another school year... another year of learning the 3 R's plus!  I'm reminding myself right here, right now, that the emphasis will not be on book smarts but on the Knowledge which leads to Wisdom.

all photos were taken by Erin, thanks Erin!
Blessings, Debbie


30 comments:

  1. Sounds you already have much wisdom! I hope you enjoy your trip and that this will be a great school year for you!

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  2. Beautiful words and equally lovely photos.

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  3. Lovely sentiments and words, and true wisdom. I am in the final year of home educating my youngest child of four and at the moment we are in the depths of physics and higher maths revision........sometimes it has been a difficult journey, but the difficulties are far outweighed by the pure joy, the learning together, and the wonder of seeing a young person embrace the endless possibilities that are open to them through gaining a good education and enjoying a lifelong love of learning which can only continue to enrich their life in the years ahead.

    Enjoy your next chapter of home education.......it passes by much too quickly, but the memories will last a lifetime. x

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  4. I always love Proverbs - no matter what, there seems to be an answer there. i am at the beginning with my 4 year old, but it is such a joy to see where his interests take us. Enjoy the next stage of your journey together - and thank Erin for her beautiful photos. xx

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  5. Beautiful Debbie and Erin for a post that speaks to my heart as I walk this homeschooling path with my last child. Your year sounds like it is going to be great. And I really,really want to join you for pottery class! xx

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  6. Amen.

    And it *IS* a fun and interesting to play. TOTALLY!

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  7. I predict this will be the best school year ever!

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  8. Beautiful photos - I especially love the first one.

    I also love this "my prayer is that I will help guide them in their desire for wisdom."

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  9. You are a very wise teacher, Debbie. Your girls are blessed.

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  10. Praying that you'll have a fruitful and fun school year. Homeschooling sounds like so much fun. I would have much preferred to take ballet classes than to have gym classes.

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  11. Debbie - Such glorious sentiments and restful photos - thanks, Erin - to start my day, today. I'm back at school in a public setting and go from room to room in mourning of education. What you have happening in your home - what I once had so joyfully, is lost on the public mind. I have so much to share, to give, but no freedom to give it and release others in it. Those of us who have known the joys of homeschooling and a Christian education are so very blessed no matter the trials therein on occasion. May you revel in this new school year - be bless because you are a blessing!
    Joy!
    Kathy

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  12. These would definitely fall under the heading of words aptly spoken. (Which, literally is "words upon wheels", by the way...) But I digress.

    I love the photos that went with them, and I love the way you weave the scripture into your mission.

    Well done!

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  13. Ah! Feeling it both from the photos and your words of wisdom...thanks for sharing! There is always something special about the beginning of a new year of learning. We determined that this year we'd be doing those things that will serve to strengthen the foundation that we've been laying. Whether spiritual or academic, it's all got to be centered on God's glory and plan for our lives or it's wood, hay, and stubble.

    Hope you enjoyed your time away! ~Lisa

    PS: Muffins are up; I dare you to try them. :)

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  14. Oh Debbie...this may be one of my favorite posts that I have ever read here at no spring chicken. (And I have loved many...)
    What wisdom there is in what you say! I am going to join you in that quest for wisdom. By His grace...

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  15. Debbie,

    That was beautifully said. What a wise woman you are!

    Enjoy this year, this gift to you all from the Lord.

    Deanna

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  16. You are a very wise woman! Erin's photos are wonderful. I needed to read this today! xo,

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  17. Thank you for sharing this post. (((HUGS))) I love the pictures, verses, and wisdom, and heart felt emotions and all that you put into writing this. I felt reminded and refocused on my hearts desires for this year. There is a bit more tweaking and thinking of what the boys will be doing. And then there is the day coming very soon, a couple of weeks as a matter of fact that my first born is moving away with his bride to the coast. Wow things change if we want them to or not. I want to savor the time that I have left with my other three! I pray many blessings on your year and may it be and more than you prayed and hoped.

    Blessings and ((HUGS))
    -Mary

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  18. You ARE wise. This is my first year in 20+ that I have not planned a homeschool year. It's bittersweet, but I have the amazing memories and the cache of treasures that we built together as a family. The days, they are fleeting. Enjoy each moment with your kids. (I know you do)

    God bless your homeschool journey.
    Jody

    P.S. Lovely photos, Erin.

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  19. Your posts are always peaceful. You are sowing and you will reap! love,andrea

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  20. I know as mothers we are always praying for wisdom for our children to follow - no matter how old they are. Mine are 36 and 33 and still I pray for that. So yours too!

    I see now where Debbie got her name - words on wheels - I will have to remember to mention that to her.

    sandie

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  21. Lovely post it really makes you know and appreciate what is important. Beautiful pics. B

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  22. Beautiful post, Debbie. You are a very wise woman. Your children are blessed to have you as their mom.

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  23. Beautifully written thoughts from a beautiful heart, Debbie, I read some of your previous post and was so blessed by them. So refreshing to see a woman after God's own heart who seeks to please him by loving her family and others.
    Blessings,
    Sue

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  24. Wonderful post...thanks for the precious reminder...as I start with number 6...all the energy it takes to do K...we go none stop, but it goes by so fast and I too don't want to miss any of it.

    Enjoy your school year...you are a busy lady and look at how many come to visit you here...a precious jewel you are

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  25. Beautifully said. You and I are so on the same page xoxo Clarice

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  26. The seeking for wisdom is the fabric of life. I guess every person spends her life pursuing something - some follow hard, hunting for love, some for money, some for notoriety or power. These all seem to me to be the wrong huntings. When it is truth and wisdom we seek, we can find love in compassion and service and connection - we can find money because we realize the value of work and work well done - we can find notoriety of the right sort - the respect of those around us - and the power? The power to change the world for everyone we can serve.

    It sounds like your plan is solid, my dear. No surprise.

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  27. Of course I could not let this one get by without a comment. You and I share the very same heart. Rather reminds me of the work of the Holy Spirit across the miles. He dwells within us, guiding us to seek His Word for wisdom.

    You spoke your heart so well here. Blessings to you!

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