Summer Reading

This summer my son, David, was given a summer reading list from his school. We were so excited to receive the list and purchase the books! He took ALL of them on vacation with us for the month of June. He read as we traveled the South East of the US visiting our families and friends. He aslo kept a journal of the books that he read. At the top of the journal page he drew a picture of a scene from the book. At the bottom of the page he wrote a description of the book in a few sentences. It has been a true joy to see him complete this work. It was an adventure for our entire family. :)

One of the books he read, The Wind in the Willows, was particularly interesting. He read all of his other books on the list and then I handed him the Willows book. It was a daunting 300 plus pages. And remember, he is only seven years old.

he took the book and we encouraged him to read 10 pages in the morning and 10 pages at night before bed. He was on page 200 when Ryan my husband received his assignment for teaching a 7th grade online Literature class through Memoria Press. The list included The Wind in the Willows. We were a bit shocked and puzzled but David kept on reading.

When Ryan mentioned to the Headmistress that David had almost completed the book she was shocked! Ryan came home from work and asked David many questions about the book. I found a comprehension test online and gave it to David and he was able to answer every question correctly! He read a 7th grade book and comprehended it!

So thankful for his mind and ability! We love David and we have pushed him academically but we had no idea that he would be able to read this far in advance. Thankful that he took it and read it and did not complain. Thankful that we are able to help him along with all the things that he is learning and pursing! What a great time for us. And what a reminder that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and MIND, something I am afraid I can't say that I do well. So, I pray that I am diligent with my children to push them gently toward learning and loving the Lord with their MINDS.

Our House, Their Son, and His Job

Our house, their son and his job... what in the world could these three topics possibly have in common? I think that more than anything they are teaching us to trust the Lord for all that He has for us.

The home that we still own in Georgia has been rented and we just found out yesterday that the girls that are renting it will be moving out in February. We have used all of our cash to own and rent 2 houses.

They found out that the tests that were done on their son had less than desirable results. How in the world will they handle a son that has been this sick for this long and now a new diagnosis?

And his job, or lack of job that he is qualified for, has been a stress on their family for almost 2 years.

We have all been friends since the early days of college. We all have children and jobs and homes and parents. But I don't think that we ever thought that we would be dealing with these hardships. What will we do and how will we react? Will we trust the Lord for our daily bread? Will we trust him that while He may not heal our physical bodies in this world? Or if the healing causes us just as much hardship as it does the child? Will we trust Him in the decisions for his future?

Oh, Lord. We trust you. We pray that you will cause us to persevere until the end. We pray that you will provide our daily bread and that if you choose not to provide the way that we think is best then you are still providing for us. We pray for healing. We pray for provision for a job that is fulfilling and a calling that is sure. Oh, Lord, we trust you.