Blog Comments and Flowers

I don't know what kind of flower this is, but here is its story. 

Last year I chose this flower from Lowe's to plant in this pot because it was red and tall. It had only one bloom on it when I bought it, but I guessed it would grow taller and bloom more throughout the summer. The lady at the check-out counter told me that this was such an easy and pretty flowering plant. She said that at the end of the summer I could dig up the remaining plant and keep it inside for the winter....and that next spring it would bloom again. I told her thank you, but knew that I would never do that! When it died over the winter, I would just dig up what was left and plant something new this spring. 

Well. After about two weeks last spring this plant's red flowers fell off, and the plant just sat there all summer. It never grew any taller, and it never bloomed again. I was so disappointed. It turned out to be just a medium-tall green plant in my pot. (I actually have two pots, planted with identical plants--both of them acted the same way last summer.) My plan was to dig them up this spring, throw them away, and choose something different.

I was pleasantly surprised a couple of weeks ago to discover that the red flowers were alive! They  both grew taller, and they multiplied. Look at all those red blooms! There was one flower last year. One! And now already there are multiple flowers on multiple stems in both pots. I have no idea what happened last summer or what happened over the winter (I left them outside in the pots all winter), but I am so happy with the result.

Blogger Comments

I love blogger comments! I read every one of them, and I like to respond to them, but.....something is up with the comment platform. A couple of people have told me they have had some problems commenting on my blog. Leanna says that when she types a comment, it disappears when she clicks publish. Trey says that while he can comment, it always labels him as "unknown" even though he is signed in to Google. When I try to reply to a comment on my own blog, it simply disappears when I click publish. However, I commented on my sister-in-law's (Megan) blog yesterday, and she uses Blogger, and it published just fine!

I did thirty seconds of Google research and found that (1) Blogger is outdated (that's what it said!) and (2) Many people who are trying to comment on Apple devices or using Safari are having the same "disappearing comments" problem. It's apparently because Apple, by default, has enabled "prevent cross-site tracking" from all websites, and Blogger needs this feature to publish your comment. So I looked up "what is cross-site tracking" and from what I can tell from my thirty more seconds of research is this tracking is what advertisers and maybe other entities use to gather data about the users???

So I don't think I want cross-site tracking, right? (I don't use Siri, or Alexa, or even the iCloud!) But I want to reply to comments on my own blog! And it's a mystery to me why I could comment on Megan's blog. (Leanna, will you try to comment on Megan's blog and see what happens?)

All that to say, I will work on this commenting thing! Those of you who can still comment, please continue! I am reading them. I enjoy them, and I want to respond. I just need to figure it all out. I have considered switching to Wordpress, but I have used Blogger since 2008, and I don't know if I have the brain cells to learn a new platform. I barely remember how Blogger works! Plus, what would happen to this blog content if I switched. One more note for you techie readers, I do own my domain, www.joyfuljohnsons.com. I just have it redirected to Blogger. (No idea how that works. I set it up years ago.)

Anyone have any advice? Comment please (if you can!)

I Think I Might Begin Blogging Again

It has taken me 30 minutes to remember (and relearn) how to sign in to blogger, update the "About Me" section, and make a few updates to the colors and design on my site. Whew!

I have thought a lot about blogging these last 49 days. (Who else is counting how long you have been "sheltering in place"?)  I have many thoughts swirling around inside my head--concerns, confusions, hopes, expectations, distresses, blessings, anxieties, and much much more.

Since I have not shared on this blog in over a year, I will begin by catching you up with my family.

• Jimmy is still practicing cardiology. He will celebrate 20 years in his practice here in Tupelo in October. 
• I am still homeschooling my last two children who live at home full-time. Leah is finishing up 10th grade, and Sam, 8th grade. Our last day of school this year will be around May 18-20. They each have 11 days of work left to complete.
• Olivia and her husband Brian still live in Indiana. Olivia works at an elementary school about 1 mile from her house, and Brian works at Walmart. I try see Olivia at least once every three months. We visited them in Indiana at the end of February, and Olivia is scheduled to fly here in early June.
• Julie and her husband Big Sam live about 15 minutes from us. Julie is a full-time mother to Mae, age 20 months, and she is expecting another baby in August. The gender will be a surprise! Big Sam preaches full time at a small congregation in Rienzi, and he also works part time for Relias Healthcare. 
• Clay finished up his junior year at Florida College here at home, online (coronavirus). He has been accepted to pharmacy school at the University of Tennessee, and he will begin his studies there in August. 
• Leah and Sam's homeschool has not changed any due to the coronavirus, however, they have missed participating in their outside activities including track, CrossFit, piano lessons, and teen Bible studies. 
• I am just carrying on like always---cooking, cleaning, teaching, doing laundry, etc. Jimmy and I will celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary next month, and I am still so happy being a wife and mother and now a grandmother too!

My hope is to write a little about how confinement at home has been for me. What has encouraged me, what has depressed me, and how I am trying to look on the bright side and make the best of a strange situation.

I'll try to catch up on changes in my life regarding exercise, homeschooling, Bible study, and much more. And I'll try to update family photos soon too.

I May Be Back

Well. It's been a long, long time since I blogged.

I have heard on social media more than once that blogging is dead. That podcasts are the new thing now, and many people just don't read blogs anymore. True. I listen to a few podcasts myself, and I don't read blogs like I used to. However part of that is because of the stage of life I am in, and part of that is because many of the bloggers I used to follow are no longer blogging!

But I miss my blogging community, and I miss writing. I like getting my thoughts down on "paper", and I like sharing a little bit of my life and hopefully some encouragement to my readers.

So here goes. Again. I am going to try to jump back in.

Here is some of what has been going on in my life:

• Julie and Big Sam moved back to Mississippi (from Romania).
• Julie and Big Sam had a baby in August!  A precious baby girl named Mae.
• I am a grandmother! I love being a grandmother so much!
• It is difficult being a grandmother, a mother to a married daughter 9.5 hours away, a mother to a college sophomore 12 hours away, and a homeschooling mother to a 12 and 14 year old. (Plus Julie who now lives only 15 minutes away! :) All of those roles together have been quite the task. But I love being a wife/mother/grandmother most of all. Even when it's hard.
• Olivia and Brian have visited us twice--once in July and once over Labor Day weekend. I love having my children come home.
• I hosted Clay's college cross county team for an overnight stay last week. All 18 of them. It was delightful!
• Jimmy and I were able to travel and watch Clay's college end of season conference meet and also Leah and Sam's national meet over the last several days.
• I have basically quit running. :( I sometimes meet Leanna once a week or so for a 4-6 mile run, but that's it. I am not sure how or why I lost my motivation to run, but it's gone. And I am working on getting my motivation back. I ran/walked 1.5 miles this morning. I have set a goal of 10 miles this week.  For the first time in probably 10 years, I am not running the St. Jude Half Marathon (I ran the full marathon back in 2011, and I skipped 2014 to run a full marathon the next weekend). I signed up for the 10K instead. Now I am sad that I will be getting in the line to pick up the 10K bib instead of the half or full marathon bib! That may motivate me to get back into running! (Not that there is any shame in running the 5K or 10K, it's just that for so long I was running 2-3 half marathons a year, and now.......nothing.)
• I am still doing CrossFit once or twice a week. Our class meets three times a week, but going twice is always my weekly goal. 
• I am beginning to work on my Christmas Holidays plans. That makes me happy! This is the topic I will probably blog about first.....as I get my thoughts and plans together I will share them.
• I have read several good books over the last several months.
• I stated an inductive Bible study. I have found a new groove in my personal Bible study that is working well in my life right now.
• I love my church family. 
• I love my best friends, Lynn and Leanna.
• I love my family. 
• I am so thankful for all of my blessings. 

Happy Ten Year Blogging Anniversary!

1416 posts.

That's how many posts I have written in the past ten years. Some of those years I wrote prolifically, and others I barely averaged 2-3 posts per month. Overall, I have loved writing this blog! I have made numerous internet friends and also reconnected with "real life" friends as well. I learned a little bit (very, very little) about the technical side of blogging, but most of all I learned that while I don't do it as much I did nine or ten years ago, I really do love to write.

Here is a link to my very first blog post: Preserving Memories.

When I was reading through the first year's blog post titles, I discovered that we have had our sandbox and paved driveway for ten years. I had been running regularly for one year, ten years ago, and I was already calling my five children by the wrong names back in 2008. Also, interestingly, it was ten years ago this month when I moved Sam from our bedroom (where he had been since his birth in January 2006) upstairs to the room that is his now! At first, Clay shared this room with him, but at some point, Clay moved back into a room by himself. (I'll have to check my blog to see what year that was!)

Strolling down my own memory lane via my blog has really, really inspired me to get back to blogging in a regular basis.

(I'm writing this from the airport in Toronto, Canada.)

Happy Holidays

I'm going to just jump right in and try reviving my blog.

The last several days have been WONDERFUL. First of all, Clay came home from college on December 14. Secondly, Julie and Big Sam arrived at 9:30 AM December 18 after driving all night long from Chicago (where they flew to from Romania). Thirdly, Olivia and Brian arrived on December 20. FUN TIMES.

Julie and Big Sam have to fly home on January 2. They are leaving our houses around 6:00 AM that morning.
Olivia and Brian are leaving January 4.
Clay will leave for college on January 8.

While I am super sad that everyone has to leave, I am overjoyed that they were all here at the same time for so long! The best Christmas present ever! My days have been full of cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, and trying to keep on top of the stuff every where....but it has been my joy to do so. I am so happy!

Jimmy gave me a Roomba for Christmas, and I love that thing! I am running it every day. I am amazed at the dirt, pet hair, and dust that it picks up. I hope I don't break it with overuse!

I plan to leave my Christmas decorations up until after Olivia and Julie leave. We have had our live tree in our den since Thanksgiving weekend! I normally have everything down and packed up by this time, but I am letting the girls enjoy it all while they are here. I do plan to take down the Christmas stuff before Clay leaves because I need his help! Plus we are beginning school again as soon as he leaves, and I need a clean, holiday-free house to get in the school frame of mind.

I have been working on my 2018 Erin Condren planner. The planners are actually on sale for 20% off right now if you are interested. I love my EC planner! This is my 4th year to have one. I ordered mine for 2018 back in September when they were on sale then, and Lynn ordered hers at the same time too. Guess what? We got the same exact planner! With all the choices and color combinations, what are the odds of us choosing the very same one? Last year we got the same design, but in different colors. I guess great minds think alike!

I have been making lists of many areas in which I want to improve myself in 2018. I love to make goals, resolutions, lists, etc. I have also spent some time reading a few blogs with ideas for simplifying life, meal planning, homemaking, etc. I am always trying to grow.
I have also been prayerfully considering my spiritual goals for 2018. I haven't pondered or chosen a key word for 2018, but I think I have decided what my focus during my Bible reading and study will be for 2018----worry/fear/anxiety. Now that my two girls are married and live far, far away, and Clay is at college, I struggle with those things. I plan (with the Lord's help) to get a grip in this area this year.  Or at least to make some positive progress.

One goal I am setting is to blog more regularly. I haven't set a specific goal in this area, but I am purposing to get back into writing more.

I'll be back soon with all kinds of goals, lists, and hopefully some motivation!

To Blog Or Not To Blog

I first began blogging in May of 2008.  I don't even remember the original purpose except that it was a fairly new (to me) thing, and it sounded like something I would enjoy. I spent some time trying to decide if I wanted a homeschool-related blog only (and I looked at some homeschool blogging platforms) or a general blog (and I considered Blogspot, the only platform I saw that others were using).  In the end I went with Google's Blogspot and writing a blog of a general nature.

I have never had any rhyme or reason to my blog. I have just shared my life over the last 9 years in a less than consistent manner. My topics have included homemaking, homeschooling, parenting, sickness, grief, vacations, random fun, Scripture, how-to, holidays, running, exercise, and most recently weddings. I have also never had any specific goals for my blog--just sharing information that was relevant to me in hopes that it may bring joy or offer help or encouragement to someone else too.

I have been trying to decide what to do with this blog for several months now. Part of me wants to create a routine where I blog on a regular basis (5 days a week? once a week? twice a week?). Part of me wants to stop altogether. Part of me wants to completely delete the blog off the internet.

Do people even read blogs anymore?

Is there anything else to say that has not been said?

Does anyone even care that my family ran yet another race or that I dropped off yet another child at college, or that we have started yet another year of homeschooling (the 16th!) or that I have found the best way to clean my shower door or that my heart is broken because my three oldest children are grown and gone and it happened too fast and I am trying to find the positive in all my situations.

I am not sure what I am going to do.

If I continue blogging, what topics are you, my readers, most interested in?

• random family life
• homemaking tips and ideas
• homeschooling tips and ideas
• exercise
• recipes and meal planning
• home organization, cleaning, etc.
• personal Bible study-thoughts/ideas/applications
• products and books that I like
• wedding planning ideas and specifics

I hope to begin our fall routine with what will be our new normal family life on Monday. We did begin school last Monday, but we left last Thursday to bring Clay to college. We have done a couple of days of hotel school, but we have yet to settle into a routine of school, piano, XC and art classes. Most of that will begin for us next week. 

Julie and Sam Have a Blog!

Julie and Big Sam have started a blog. I am so excited, and I know you will be too! We can all keep up with them on their Romanian adventure.

Here is the link:
The Peters Progress

Happy Reading!

15 Minutes

So I haven't blogged in almost a month.  In fact, blogger had signed me out.

I have struggled with time management for quite some time now.  Homeschooling, homemaking, housework, parenting, marriage, family, friends, service, outside the home obligations, etc., The same things most other women are trying to balance.  Most days I succumb to the tyranny of the urgent, and I am tired. of. doing. that.

This morning while I was running and listening to Gretchen Rubin on her podcast (love her podcast, by the way), I was reminded of a couple of things that have been game changers in my day today.

1. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.  That has been one of my problems. I have slipped into all or nothing mode in a few key areas of my life, and so since the urgent shouts so loudly most days, the all has mostly become nothing. Now I am still cooking, schooling, and keeping up with the laundry, but house cleaning, lesson planning, wedding planning, extended Bible reading, letter writing, blogging, making phone calls, visiting others, hosting people for meals, and such have been neglected because I have been waiting for the perfect big block of time to work on or do those things.

2. Something that can be done "anytime" ends up being done at "no time". This really goes along with point #1 (that's the number sign, not a hash tag!) I find myself putting the same things over and over on my daily to do lists.

So. What to do? Well, today I chose to not let perfect be the enemy of good and do some things that can be done at anytime today. I also relied on my old stand-by, my timer. I can accomplish so much in 15 minutes if I know that timer is ticking.

In my perfect world, my entire house would be clean from top to bottom in one day. Once a week. And it would not get too dirty in between.

Today, instead of aiming for perfection, I chose to clean part of my house while my children were doing their chores. I ended up having about 30 minutes, and I scrubbed my shower door (Bar Keeper's Friend mixed with water to make a paste and scrubbed on with a kitchen scrubbing pad does the trick!), cleaned the rest of my bathroom, vacuumed, and mopped the floor.   While they ran, I cleaned my bedroom (dusted, vacuumed, mopped). Yay!  Part of my house clean.

I won't have this block of time to clean every morning, but today I did so I chose to take advantage of it. I found some time to blog tonight. It's almost time for me to read to the kids before bedtime, but I knew I had about 45 minutes. The laundry is all folded and put away. The kitchen is clean. The coffee pot is set up for tomorrow morning. I set my timer for 15 minutes and connected to the internet.....The timer actually chimed about 3 paragraphs ago, but I am about to wrap this up.

I am now going to read Pride and Prejudice (for the English class I teach) in the remaining minutes until the kids' bedtime.

Redeeming the time.  One day at a time.  I hope to have another spare moment to blog again tomorrow. I will try not to wait for the perfect time but strive to take advantage of a small window of time.

Happy Holidays!

Well, hello there and Happy Holidays!  Let the holiday season begin.
I tried to make my blog look a little "Christmasy".  I may tweak it a little bit.

Ok.  So since I have not blogged in forever, let me reintroduce myself.

My name is Roan Johnson.  I am happily married to the love of my life, Jimmy. We celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary back in June. We have five children:  Olivia--20, Julie--18, Clay--16, Leah--11, and Sam--9.  I am a full time homemaker and homeschooling mama.  This is my 15th year of homeschooling, and with two girls in college, I am down to teaching only three children.

I enjoy planning and organizing, reading, running, sewing and scrapbooking, although I never seem to have (make) time for sewing or scrapbooking. Sometimes I enjoy cooking.  I am a faithful weekly menu planner. I like routine in my days, and clutter and chaos stress me.

I am a Christian. I love my church family. I aspire to learn more and more from God's Word, so I always have some sort of Bible study plan going on.  Over the years I have completed the Read The Bible in 90 Days Challenge I think 3 times.  I am planning on doing this challenge again beginning in January.  I cannot recommend that challenge (and it is a challenge) enough.  To read the entire Bible from cover to cover in such a short period of time really impacts your life.  It helps to get the big picture of God's plan for His creation.  Currently I am reading High Voltage Prayer (the workbook) by Edwin Crozier, and I am also studying Acts for our weekly Bible class.

I began blogging in May of 2008, and I blogged diligently and regularly until the beginning of 2015.  I explained about why I took a hiatus in this post.   Then I announced that I would blog for 100 days straight, beginning on my birthday, September 16 (which is 100 days until Christmas).  But then I failed at that.  When you get out of the habit of doing something, it is really hard to begin again.  We just read about that in our book club book Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  Beginning a new habit is fun and exciting (most of the time), and your motivation to succeed is high.  When you experience a disruption in your habit and you desire to begin again, it is much harder the second time to be successful.  I have experienced that difficulty recently in both my running and my blogging.  Both are activities which I enjoy very much, but for some reason have struggled with actually doing them.

So. Hello again.  I am not making any promises this time, but I do plan to share some thoughts, encouragement, holiday planning tips, and just the mundane happenings of my life on somewhat of a regular basis.

This afternoon I am taking down my fall decorations to prepare for Christmas decorating tomorrow!

This and That

• We are still watching the MSU game.  So far, it has not been too much fun to watch.  It's not over yet, so I am still hopeful.
• My girls are coming home for fall break in less than two weeks!  Yay!
• What did we do before Google?  How did we find the answer to random questions? 
• Do you ever look at your Pinterest pins?  Or do you just pin things and never look at them again? I recently looked at all my pins, and I was so inspired by the things I had pinned!
• Megan introduce me to Bitmoji, which I immediately shared with Lynn and Leanna. Our texts will never be the same!  :)
• The game is almost over. It's not looking too good for the Bulldogs.  :(
• M&Ms are my favorite.
• If I run 3 miles in the morning, I will have all my miles for the week.
• That's all.

My Laptop Was in Tallahassee

Last night when I got ready to blog, I realized that my laptop was in the car with Jimmy…in Tallahassee! He went yesterday to Tallahassee to watch the older girls run a cross country meet at Florida State University.  It was another huge meet for them. I am so proud of them, and I am so happy that Jimmy has now seen 3 of their meets this year!

Tomorrow we are grilling out and watching the Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M with Kelly and Lynn.  Go State!

I haven't gotten out my fall decorations yet.  I went to Megan's house Thursday, and it looks so cute and fallish.  So cute!  I am hosting two bridal showers in November, so I really have to get out the fall decor!  I did plug in some leaves wallflowers last week, so at least my house smells like fall.

It's time to think about Christmas.  As soon as I see that Hobby Lobby has their Christmas gift wrap out, I'll let you know.  They will have it 40% off I'm sure.  They will put it 50% off later, but by that time most of the cuter prints are sold out. They actually had a few rolls of Christmas wrapping paper the last time I was there, but very, very few.  I can't wait until it's all out on display!

Well, it's almost midnight, so I better click on "publish" or this post will not make it today.

This Time I Did Forget!

Last week, one night I almost forgot to blog, but yesterday, I completely forgot!  I realized early this morning that I failed to blog yesterday.  Sunday morning I actually planned the hymn I wanted to share (we sang it at our worship service), but I got so busy yesterday, that I never even turned on my computer.

So……now I've broken the 100 days of blogging streak that I wanted to do.  :(
But, I am not giving up.  I will begin again today, and hopefully yesterday will be my only slip-up.  Keeping goals is like that…..If you make a mistake, just pick yourself up and get right back to it.

Here is the hymn.  What wonderful words to ponder.
The notes in my hymnbook state "C.E. Couchman (1986); based on Psalm 119:11, 18, 28, 50, 55"

Thy Word Is a Treasure

Thy word is a treasure, more precious than earth's fine gold.

How my heart grows richer each time the story is told.

Each page holds a promise:  peace, mercy, redeeming love.

Each promise exalts my hope to sing praises above.

Thy word is all wisdom; thy counsel I gladly seek.

Guide my understanding; open my eyes, Lord, to see.

Thy word gives me comfort when sorrows seem hard to bear,

A song for my journey, strength when my soul would despair.

Thy word is eternal, though heaven and earth must end.

Thy truth shall endure forever and ever. Amen.

Just Jumping Back In

Well. I am back after another hiatus. 

Between having to use my cellphone as a hotspot for internet, Olivia being home for a week for spring break, watching my mother redecorate Leah's room, enjoying another spell of ice, and spending time with my father-in-law, I have not really thought much about my blog.  Except that people periodically ask Jimmy about it.  And I ran into a blog reader at Kroger yesterday……I miss sharing with y'all!  (If anyone out there is still reading!)

While Olivia was home for spring break it was about zero degrees (I exaggerate, of course), and we had an ice storm.  Our whole town shut down for the second time in one week.  We spent a good bit of time outside in the frigid temperature and did some sledding.  On the ice!  It really was a lot of fun, and we took about thirty short videos of all of us slipping and sliding down our hills.  

 The Mama and the Daddy

 Julie, Leah, and Olivia

 Clay, Leah, and Olivia

The woods didn't look as pretty as they did the week before with all the snow, but it was still beautiful. And fun.  And cold!

Clay made a new welded metal tree for me last week.  This one replaces the one he made me last year for Mother's Day.  It is shorter and a little bit narrower, so it fits on our kitchen table better.  He really is an artist, if I say so myself.  :)  He also made a bird for his aunt Jenny for her birthday--he and Jenny share a birthday at the end of this month, and he made a couple of other things during his spring break too.  A sort of robot thing and a dinosaur looking creature.  Like I said.  Metal art.  Unique.

If you look closely at this picture of my kitchen table, you can tell that it is shiny and has a map on it…..When my mother decorated for Leah's birthday party in January, she used clear vinyl to cover the cute fabric for the tablecloth.  I kept the clear vinyl and place several different maps underneath.  I had heard of doing this before, but I had never tried it myself.  We love it!  I have changed what's underneath the clear covering a few times since January.  Currently we have a large U.S. map with all the major interstates marked, a Mississippi map, and lots of president facts and information cards. We have also enjoyed looking at a U.S. map marking all the national parks and a simple world map.  Sam requested a map of Italy, and I bought one on Friday. I will put it at his place once he has learned about some of the presidents.  :)  These maps and cards are definitely conversation starters, and we are all learning so much in a fun way.

Until next time….(and I hope it won't be too long)

Fitness Goals 2015

First of all, I forgot to list sewing as one my categories of goal setting yesterday.  I definitely want to set some sewing goals for 2015.  I have been pinning lots of cute sewing ideas, and I have a few unfinished projects that I plan to complete.

Running:
According to Daily Mile.com, where I log my running miles, I ran a total of 1085 miles last year.  That is not my greatest number of miles run in one year, but a number that I am happy with.  Before I knew what last year's miles were, I thought that I would set a goal of 1200 miles.  That would be an average of 25 miles a week for 48 weeks (knowing that we have weeks where we are out of town on vacation, the week of Christmas, the week of camp, etc. and I would not get 25 miles during those weeks).  But after seeing 2014's mileage, I think I better set my goal at 1000.  I do not plan on running a marathon on 2015, so I think 1000 miles is a challenging, yet doable goal.

My overall all weekly running plan is to run 4-6 days a week with one of the runs being 10 miles, another being 5, and the others whatever I feel like to reach at least 25 miles each week.  I plan to meet Leanna or Lynn for this 10 mile run each week.  The other runs will be on my treadmill, in my driveway, or with Leah and Sam this spring as they train for the Coke 10K in May.

Blogging:
I had not intended to set many blogging goals…..but I read with interest yesterday on my college friend, Patti's blog about her blogging goal for 2015:  to blog every. single. day. Hmmmm.  That would definitely be a challenge.  Do I even have anything to say every single day?  What about when I am out of town?  I know that blogging by definition is an online journal, so I guess I can just record what is happening here with the Joyful Johnsons each day! Plus I have not shared much of our December fun yet either.  I have not decided if this is a goal I want to pursue.  I guess if you see posts on here every day, then you will know that I am trying!  :)

Really Going To Start Blogging Again

Hello.

I have a friend on Facebook (an internet, email group friend, not an "in real life friend", although I know that we would be friends in real life if we lived in the same town) who recently shared a link to this blog post.

While reading her post, I found myself agreeing with some of her points.  I have definitely gotten out of the habit of blogging for a variety of reasons.  I began this blog over six years ago, and until this summer, I have posted fairly regularly.  But this summer I got writer's block. What do I have left to say that I already have not already said? Why I am even blogging?  That, along with the fact that I feel my life getting more and more complicated rather than simpler, which is what I crave, has kept me from blogging.

From the beginning of my blog, I have purposed to keep it upbeat and positive.  Not that I don't have my share of problems or that my life is perfect, but I want to be encouraging, not depressing.  But there is always that balance.  I don't want to appear as someone who has it all together, because I certainly don't. I strive to serve a perfect God, one who created me in His image, and I try follow his commands daily.  I also fail daily.

So that's the struggle.  How to blog in a realistic, encouraging way without painting a false picture of total success.  Since I have not been able to figure that out over the last couple of months, I have just stopped writing altogether.  Now I don't want y'all to think that I am having some kind of mid-life crisis or that I am in the middle of a major personal or family catastrophe, because it's nothing like that, but I have been overwhelmed for a few months.

Parenting older teens and youngish children is challenging.  Logistically, emotionally, and even physically--even though I though parenting the newborn, toddler, and preschooler combination was physically exhausting too.  Older children require more brain cells to parent--papers to edit, relationship troubles, teams, meetings, music lessons, and practices, to coordinate, and so on.  I have repeatedly told my close friends that taking care of older children is so much harder in some ways than when they were small and my biggest tasks were changing diapers, fixing sippee cups, cleaning up endless messes, and buying groceries with small children in tow without losing my sanity.

I am so thankful that my older children are all Christians.  All of my children are precious gifts from God, and I treasure them.  Somewhere along the way I have become a slave to the tyranny of the urgent.  I am looking for ways to slow down and simplify.

I truly hope to get back to blogging on a regular basis.  I hope I have something that you want to read, and maybe getting my thoughts down on paper (or on the screen) will help me as well.

Please comment with any topics you would like me to write about.  :)

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:16-18