Normal

Wow! It has decided to be December here in the heartland! Today the high is supposed to be 19. It is currently 15, with the windchill making it feel like -2. It is forecasted that the overnight temperature will be 5. It seems like the weather this year is about a month ahead of schedule. These are usual conditions for January.
This weather pattern started back in September, rainier and cooler. We had hoped to move home and work on the house in October, as they tend to be fairly mild here. Not this year, it was actually colder in October at times than November. So, we are behind where we had hoped to be on the house. (I know our WYO friends are going to read this and laugh, but remember-it's all about perspective!)
We have bought pvc pipe for the house, but we may be taking that back in exchange for pex pipe. We are to the point where we can put water in, but the pvc glue will not work in these temperatures. So, in order to move forward we will probably have to go with plan b. I think our contractor friend prefers it that way anyway :).
Yesterday, I was working with the children on schoolwork, and I realized we were having a routine day. This is huge for me. I never thought life would get "normal" again. What a blessing.
I deep cleaned the bathroom and dejunked under the sink yesterday. Today, I am going to do the same in the hallway/laundry area.
My arch nemesis in this house is the kitchen (the livingroom is a close second). It always seems cluttered, because it is. There is a lot of stuff that comes with cooking and feeding a family of 10. (I just feel so blessed as I write this, God has been so good to us. We have a houseful of wonderful children!)I guess I'll start working on that 15 minutes at a time, like flylady says.
I think my next post will be about how we handle Christmas at our house, in case anyone is interested.
Life is picking up for our family, on the ministry front. The church we are attending conducts an Upward basketball league. I was very skeptical about this for years, but after having Lionheart play last year, I'm convinced God is in it. God is really given the glory and the whole point of it is to reach people for Christ with testimonies and the love of Christ lived out by coaches, and support people. Anyway, most of our family will be involved in one way or another. So, our focus will be changing from house to ministry for a few months. That's okey, b/c a house is temporary but souls are eternal. God will make sure that house gets finished in His timing and His way.
Just praisng Jesus today and thanking Him for HIs faithfulness!
I just finished reading "Pathway to Christian Marriage" by John W. Thompson. This is an excellent booklet on Christian courtship and is available free from Chapel Library. Thier address is 2603 W. Wright Street, Pensacola, Fl 32505. Their web address is:www.mountzion.org. They are somewhat Calvinist (I think) in some of their materials (we are not),but a lot of their literature is good. We are using their "Catechism for Boys and Girls" by Erroll Hulse during Bible time in school. I have not come across anything yet that we do not agree with, but if I do, it will be a great time to deal with that from the scripture. No, catechisms are not necessarily catholic. It is simply a series of question regarding life( why did God create man, how many person does God exist as, how are we saved, etc) with scriptural proofs and answers. Basically, it's the teaching of doctrine in a systematic way. I hope that helps explain, if not, leave a comment and I'll try to answer.
Have a blessed day!

Psalm 1 I Need the Every Hour