The Days Before

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I had a whole slew of things planned for the last week before Christmas. None of them actually happened. Instead, there was sickness and rain. So much rain. The kind of rain that even we Washington-hardened individuals look at and say, “Nah. We’ll stay inside, thanks.”

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Simple Gifts

One of my favorite hymns is a Shaker melody called Simple Gifts. The day Birdie learned it on violin was an especially sweet one for me; I’m actually dreaming of the evening I sit in an audience and hear her perform a duet with John Mark on cello. There will be tears. You’ve been warned.

The message of the hymn is one that resonates with my soul: it’s a gift to be simple… and when you finally get there, the freedom and lightness you feel is a kind of contented peace that allows you to delight in the smallest of blessings. Who doesn’t want that, especially as we journey through Advent and toward Christmas?

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In Season

Links may direct to affiliate sites. Purchases made through these links support our family’s work in spreading the Gospel to unreached areas.

Advent has descended on our home, bringing with it waves of joy, baking, reflection, fellowship, crafting, singing, and celebrating. I’d wanted something of a slow Christmas, which hasn’t quite materialized to date. What has happened is a full season, one awash in so much goodness that really, I’m not missing the quieter pace. Not yet. The flurry of making and friends and events has been welcome. I am, however, looking forward to the next three weeks, and their promise of relative still. No co-op for us. A break from music lessons. No teaching for Christopher or Mary Hannah. Mathaus at home. I’m giddy just thinking about it.

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Things You Don’t Know About (Some) Moms of Large Families

Stereotypes. Every niche has one. The Working Mom. The Homeschooling Mom. The Sports Dad. The Social Justice Warrior. The Pastor’s Wife. We all fit under one umbrella some way or another, and while we know that we don’t fit the label others might slap on us, we can still buy into the ones we see sticking to others.

I’m a mom of a large family. You probably have a picture of what that looks like. But here are my takes on the mold:

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Who Will Go Next?

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. —Jim Elliot

I’ve been surprised by the ongoing dialogue regarding John Chau’s brutal death at the hands of the North Sentinelese, a small tribe living isolated on the Andaman Islands off the coast of India. 

I’m not interested in the non-Christian perspective, as they will never understand a believer’s call to share the Gospel at all costs. But more surprising to me has been the debate among Christians as to whether this man was called by Christ or whether he should have at least followed some other method for sharing the Gospel.  Continue reading

Thanksgiving

It’s 6:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. I’ve got a 23 lb. turkey stuffed to the gills with celery tops, apples, onions, carrots and parsley roasting, and the first stages of a veganized version of Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls cooling on my stove top. The house is quiet, save the incessant peeps and chirps of the latest batch of chicks that have been living in a ginormous moving box in my laundry room thanks to the too-cold nights.

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