‘Twil Soon Be Past

-
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Fkx2StHZGMUuucVkrGzVwTUmThAdBEK3

I got my black dress out of the closet this morning. We have a gathering today, a time to mark the homegoing of a beloved man in our church family. I also have been talking with family members this weekend as we anticipate one of our membership going to see his King very soon. Last week I had a hard conversation with a friend as we wrestled with the fragility of our days. 

This is hard. This season is hard. 

The Bible says our days are like a vapor. Like a flower in the field. There, and gone. 

Today as I prepare my heart for the hours ahead this verse is on my mind. 

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.”
Ecclesiastes 7:2

This is the end of all mankind. 

I’ve been listening to John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life. What a poignant reminder in times like these. What will I present to my King at the end of my days here under the sun? Will I give Him my seashell collection? My well-curated library of great books? My watchlist? 

Lord, cause me to lay it to heart. Teach us to grieve well, with hope that rests only in You, with peace that passes understanding. May we not waste our lives. 

Only one life
‘Twill soon be past 
Only what’s done 
For Christ will last. 
-C.T. Studd

Popular posts from this blog

What I wish people knew about our homeschool

-
Image
Many times when people comment to me that they could never do homeschooling, the comment is being made on the heels of an unexpected break from school (extreme cold snap, multiple snow days... a pandemic) when the students are sent home with packets of work to complete at home. I don't know how to fully explain how much  not  like homeschooling that is. I think there is a general misunderstanding of our homeschool life that I would love to clarify. And when I say "homeschool," I'm going to limit my comments to our  experience of homeschooling here at Stephens Academy. Every single family is different, kids are different, there are about a million different curriculum options and methods and variables. But here are some things I wish people knew about us. Homeschooling is not doing "school at home." We don't do worksheets. Ever. Math is the closest you will get to finding my kids working out of a textbook. If you had a live feed into our home, on ...
Read more

On education and setting the table.

-
Image
We are about ready for #StephensAcademy 2020-2021. Even though we’ve done this for over a decade now, every year is a bit different with different ages and challenges and opportunities. This year, we will gather around our “morning time” table with a high schooler, middle schooler, elementary schooler, and preschooler. How do we do that?, people ask. At the center of this room stands a table that NP and I bought used to furnish our first apartment. A lot of meals have been eaten around that table. It’s been a gathering place for years and years. It seems fitting to have our old kitchen table in the schoolroom now, because education is a lot less like an assembly line and a lot more like spreading a feast. No one asks me how we possibly provide food for a family of six. The bigger the family, the more prep might be involved, it might take more time, some might need things cut up smaller or dietary needs taken into consideration. Not everyone likes the same foods to the same extent. But ...
Read more