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Transparent Tuesdays - A New Season of LIfe

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The Sandwich Generation I always heard this phrase growing up but never truly understood it until the last few years. I have 6 children living at home that I am still providing for. But I also have a mother and father who are dealing with major health issues and need my help more and more. I am helping them walk through the loss of siblings. Helping them navigate caretakers and doctors' appointments and repairing cars and house improvements. And yet still trying to launch my own children into their own lives. I never thought in a week that I would be helping children do school, helping plan two weddings, and still have to help my mom deal with some tough decisions about my dad's care. It can be a huge weight on my mind, if I let it. It can also be a wonderful blessing.  I have watched two of my children meet and get engaged to two of the loveliest young ladies. I could not imagine better helpers for them. I have watched another child find a job that he loves to do and is eager ...
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2025 - Presence and Prayer

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Words - They're kind of my thing.  Spoken and written. The joke in my family is that I have too many notebooks and pens. I keep telling them that when I go to be with Jesus that they are going to have to do something with the huge number of notebooks I've filled over the years. Because of my love of words, I try to pick a word of the year to focus on. I start praying around September and I just wait until the Lord leads me to a word. Sometimes it is easy to find my word and sometimes it is hard. Here are some of my past words.     2015 - JOY     2016 - JOY     2017 - JOY - retired as word of the year - became my LIFE WORD     2018 - Unrivaled     2019 - Abundance     2020 - Abide     2021 - Set     2022 - Pray without Ceasing     2023 - Radiant     2024 - Walk and Remember What a journey the last few years have been. Each word has a verse that I picked to go with the word. It became ...
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Hard Things and Memories

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            It has been a minute since I've written here. Life kind of gets in the way. It has been a hard few years. For all of us.  This year has been especially hard for the Smith side of my family. That is my mom and dad. At the beginning of the year, we got the tragic news that my dear Uncle Roger committed suicide. It was devastating for our whole family. It left us with many questions because he did not leave a note and did not have his affairs in order. My mom is the youngest of 7 siblings. My Uncle Johnny died when he was 16 years old. My mom was about 6 when he died. We lost my Uncle Jerry last year. My Aunt Othella, Aunt Betty and Uncle Jimmy are in declining health. My mom has had a hard time.  Carl and I drove my mom to West Virginia in March to go through my Uncle Roger's house. It was a bittersweet trip. He had been the one to take care of my grandparents before they died. He was the keeper of all the family heirlooms. There we...
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Transparent Tuesday - Weary and Worn

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I have started many drafts of this blog since the first weeks of 2021 and each time I have not finished. To be honest, I am weary and tired. The physical pain has been wearing on my mind and the spiritual battles I have been fighting recently have been even more draining.  My mother always used to tell me that the years spent changing diapers, disciplining and training children, and dealing with toddlers was a cake walk compared to parenting adults. Now that three of our boys are over 18 and Esther will be in a few months, I am learning the truth of her statement.  I have spent the last few years storming the gates of heaven on behalf of my older children (all my children, really). I have watched them make decisions that I know will only lead to pain. I have been grieved over those decisions. I have also seen them make wise decisions that brought tears to my eyes in gratefulness to God. For almost a year now I have been walking a tough road with one of those older children. He...
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Photo Friday - A Snapshot of Life These Days

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 This is what my kitchen table looks like during the day. Actually this is pretty good because there is usually more. Being a homeschool family, our kitchen table is where we live a lot of life. It is very rare to find the table empty or not full of books and other items. So here is snapshot into my life: 1. My coffee maker - I think this needs no explanation. 2. My fireplace heater from my mother - again, no explanation needed. 3. My computer - as a lover of words, my computer is out most of the time. My computer is normally surrounded by my journal and devotional books but I have to put them away to make room for school. They sit is a bag which you cannot see in this picture.  4. My water bottle - because if it not in front of me or easy to drink from I will go the entire day without drinking water. 5. School work - I am either helping a child do school or checking a child's completed school. This is what I do. 6. Books - we are constantly ordering new books or reading a boo...
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Thankful Thursday - His Goodness to Me

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 If I am being honest with myself I struggled yesterday.  I was hearing the news and getting upset about what I saw happening. Then I got on social media and began hearing a different story from friends who attended the rally. They said that they were on their way home and saw a crowd moving to riot. Some of my friends actually tried to stop them before they got to the building.  So frustrating to hear the differing stories. I eventually had to just get off the internet. I ended up snuggling with Caleb and watching cooking. Once he went to bed I stayed up and read a book.  I think I watched a couple minutes of the coverage throughout the whole day. I purposed in my heart to not put it in front of my eyes. This morning I woke up and was just weary. Weary from the pain I have been dealing with and weary from what has been going on in our country. The one thing I was looking forward to was getting up and spending time with the Lord. Now, I want you to know that I strugg...
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Word and Reading Wednesday - "Taken Up Too Much with These Things"

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 I have not done a very good job the past couple years studying my word of the year. I spend a lot of time praying and asking God what my word of the year will be. And every year I come to the end and think, "Oh, yeah I did pick that word. I forgot."  This year I am being more intentional to truly look at my word al least once a week. I wrote last week that this year my word is SET. It comes from two verses that God led me to. I want to write them here every week so I put them before my eyes. I hope to have them memorized by the end of the year. Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. SET your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth.  Colossians 3:1-2 SET a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who do iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delica...
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