Homeschooling Days

Today was a normal "school day".  Quick carpool in the morning, stop by the grocery store and then the older two hit the books at home.  I love teaching the girls.  They love learning.  Today our science lesson opened the door to the wonderful world of the microscope!  We pulled out ,the incredible microscope I bought at a garage sale for $15.00.  We labeled the scope and had a quick lesson about taking good care of it.  We then all took turns looking at a torn leaf under the scope - quite fascinating!  I had a very difficult time taking turns.  The girls loved it!

Then it was off to India after of course we reviewed the map of Asia!  I am amazed at how much I am learning - I have no idea where I was when geography was taught.

Last night I got together with a group of home schooling women.  My heart broke as I heard a friend talk about how she has to go back to work and put her children in school because of financial difficulties.  God has really blessed her difficult place and opened a job that is PERFECT for her at a private school - where her children are able to attend.  She has entered back into the work force with such grace even though her heart really wants to be at home teaching her children.  Listening to her story made me so thankful to have this time with my girls.

March 1, 2007

Even though I walk throught the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.  Psalm 23:4

Storms

Yesterday at 12:00 p.m. I was reminded of a significant storm in our lives almost 1.5 years ago.  Every Saturday the bad weather warning sirens are tested across our city.  Whew, not a Saturday goes by that my heart doesn't  jump and I have to ask myself, are we in danger? or is it Saturday?  Yesterday my mind was bit challenged because I had been sick in bed for 24 hours from Friday 7:15 am until Saturday 8:00 am.  In my mind I thought it was Friday and the weather was stormy because of  tropical storm Fay.  I did have a moment of oh my gosh "let's go to the safe room" panic.

  

I do praise God for his continual healing of our hearts and minds.  I can see such a difference in the physical way our bodies react to the LOUD alarm on our NOAA weather radio which went off ALL night and the Saturday sirens!  Thank you Jesus for working on our hearts.  He casts down all fears!  He is the great healer and I am so thankful he continues to open my eyes to places he is working.

Today we went to Christ Community and heard an awesome missionary, Shane, talk about how he wanted less of himself so that there could be more God in him.  He wanted more of God's love to be able to flow thorough him for these precious orphaned children.  This man has given his life to orphaned children - all around the world.  I really believe I needed to hear just that this morning.  

My heart had been so heavy on the way to church.  I am ready to finish our adoption paperwork, I am really wanting to travel this fall to China. TODAY!  NOW!   But . . .  I have this wonderful new God given awareness that I am totality capable of opening doors or manipulating situations that can look "Godly" but in fact are all about what I want and when I want it.  This is how I create storms in my life!  I know God has given me a heart for the orphans in China.  I know he is calling us to adopt.  I believe he has a grand plan in place, however, in my flesh I want so badly to run ahead of him and finish the details.   He keeps quieting my heart and telling me to enjoy the journey and to wait on Him.  I am just so excited I can hardly wait!  It is the faith that lies in between here and there that is so difficult.  It is the faith I struggle with.  I do know to keep my eyes on him and although it will not make the yearning easier it will allow me to keep in sight the prize which is not the baby or the mission but Him.     

Shine your light and let the whole world see!

Faith

Today we heard our new youth pastor give his life story.  I am sure it was the condensed version but wow it was packed.  I was so moved by his willingness to have God lead his life.  His previous church was having financial difficulties and he knew this summer he would be out of a job (with a wife and three children to support!)  Anyway, he wanted to make it all about God so he said God I will not go out and pass my resume and look for a job.  You are going to have to open the doors because I am afraid that if I open the doors I will always wonder if the job I took was your will.  So he waited and waited  and finally God opened the door and our pastor called him and asked him if he wanted a job.  They all continued to pray and God kept confirming that he was where God wanted him. 

How awesome life here at the Perkins' home would be if I had the patience and faith to wait on God for all answers big and small!

It was truly encouraging to hear how God has worked in his life.  We are so blessed to have him leading our youth - Thank you God for such a big blessing!

Happy 5th Birthday Sweet Grace

What a precious girl.  Grace celebrated her 5th birthday with a princess tea party!  She was surrounded by 10 princesses that had the energy of 100!  We had a great time and I think turning 5 was everything Grace had hoped for.  She is thrilled to be a big girl now.

In my eyes she will always be my baby.

Happy Birthday Princess!  I love you Mama

Eleven Years Of Huge Blessings

It doesn't take much to wish we could all be back at the beach, where the biggest worry was what time we were going to take 5 children out to dinner or if everyone had been re-"scum screened" (Quinn's version of sunscreen says). 

Yesterday Skip and I realized our anniversary is tomorrow!  This week has been full of big school decisions!  We finally got one of our children's educational profiles back, sensing there was some sort of a reading issue topped off with a little distraction.  Well, we were right and the news was very difficult to take.  We do have a child with mild dyslexia and mild ADD.  She is brilliant, funny, fun, capable, courageous, strong  . . .  the list could go on and on.  My heart is breaking not for her but for the crazy idea I have deep in my heart.  I believe that everything in my children's lives needs to be perfect and I will make it that way if it isn't.  WHERE DID THIS WHOLE PERFECTIONISM THING COME FROM?  I do know who these children belong to!

This girl is one of the bravest people I have ever known.  What she has recovered from in the last year has been such a hurdle - God is amazing.  She was the most visibly effected by the terrible storm that took most of her tiny treasures and for 10 seconds what she thought would be her life.

I am tired thinking about what this year holds for her as far as continuing to run the race that has been set before her.  God led me to the sweetest passage in Psalm 118 -"The stone the builders rejected; I will make the capstone."  She is a beautiful capstone and oh I cannot wait to see God's great plan for her life.  She knows him at a level I struggle to get to.  She knows he will show up mightily.  When she calls on him it is with great expectation and unlike her mother she has the patience to wait upon his awesome answers no matter how long it takes.  It doesn't matter if the outcome doesn't come out how she expects because she doesn't put her own agenda on asking God to answer prayer.  I love being her mother because she continually shows me the faith of a child.  Now, if I can only go back to that precious place.  Perhaps that is why I have 5 children - I have 5 reminders of how my relationship with God should be.

Today we had the awesome opportunity to lunch with Chloe. Chloe is another tremendously brave girl who at five is fighting for her life against cancer.  She is beautiful, happy, carefree and enjoyed every minute of her time at the Castle playground.  She has been a celebrity at our house for a while now - I think the girls were star struck because they would not stop starring at her.  Once the games on the playground began, they realized she was one of them and they were the same and could be friends.  Isn't it so easy to put someone on a pedestal, but I forget, we really are all the same.  Some of us just do a better job of putting on the front that we have it all together.  I wear that mask a lot and then I am reminded of the time my underwear were strung all over the neighborhood and my friends were gathering and washing them only to return them  because I was such a mess I could hardly function.  I really do hate that mask and I am so grateful God has slowly allowed me to accept who he made me to be - there is a lot of freedom in knowing he is delighted in every aspect of me - he knit me to look and act this way.  So all the extra stuff I put on myself is just stuff without a purpose.  

I am so grateful to have a husband to celebrate 11 wonderful years with who I believe sees me through the eyes of Jesus.  What a tremendous blessing and honor it is to receive such unconditional love.  Skip, you are and will continue to be the most wonderful gift a bride could every imagine!  I love you forever!