All Tied Up

Every time I sit at my computer to pen anything longer than a status update on Facebook, there is one image that comes to mind: the pull cords to my sons' window blinds.

Odd, I know. Why?

Well it seems that no matter how many attempts I make to separate those strings, so that light can be given to the insides of our walls and our own vision expanded beyond what is immediatly before us, those things are always quick to find eachother again.

Not unlike the jumbledness in my head; each thought its unique strand but knotted together so convincingly that it is difficult to know where to begin tugging; the result being that no one is permitted to see in and no one is able to see out.

When this occurs, I know that nothing is going to happen if I don't start somewhere.

So, here I go.

I am just going to start pulling here-and-there to see where that gets us, okay?

Cause, well... it is dark in here.


Summer:
Many areas of my life this summer simply could not be improved upon. I have no regrets about how much living our family was able to squeeze out of June, July, and August.

There was lots of swimming and jumping and running and biking and just a lot of all-around-having-a-good-time-ing going on. The absolute highlight, by far though, was this special place (that won't link-for me) called Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch. I am not even exactly sure how our family ended up there, but God got us there somehow and from the moment I set foot onto their property I knew we were there because God knows every detail about us and knew exactly what our family needed.

This is not the last time you will here about it from me, for sure.

My Blog:
I am mix'n things up around here and though I can't manage to write on even one blog, I have decided to break things up into two blogs. Eventually 'Lollygag' will be my homeschool blog and 'Duct Tape Chronicles' will be more about what God is doing in my own heart.

So if you started out as my homeschool friend and your link has suddenly disappeared from this site, rest assured that I am just rearranging the furniture and you are seated comfortably elsewhere.

Employment & Such:
This is a doozey. Even the knots have knots on this strand.

Knot One:
Steve and I are still really enjoying working at the same place. We probably both have the best full-time work schedules in the world with him working Thursday nights and Saturday/Sunday days (each shift being at least 12 hours) and me working all night shifts Friday through Sunday. It may mean that we don't see each other at all on the weekend but then our entire family gets to spend our days together Monday through Friday. On top of the amazing schedule, The Boy gets to do things like mountain biking, or hiking, or building model rockets with some cool young adult and he gets paid for it.

Sp (oi) led.

Knot Two:
The hope for such a nice schedule is that this will allow him to begin pursuing what he is really passionate about, and that is photography.

He likes the outdoorsy stuff, but has become a big fan of a man who does humanitarian photography and (who we just found out) has also taught for YWAM's School of Photography. This gets me all goose-bumpy (and a little nervous) because before I married my feller God had me at working with YWAM  and I had always hoped that my family would someday be involved in serving together somehow.
In recent years I have almost abandoned this dream.

I don't know what any of this might look like, but God is reminding me that He always finishes what He starts. 


Knot Three:
While many aspects of Steve's new job have been WONDERFUL there have also been some new realities that we are struggling to adjust to. The fact is, even though we are thanking God for the job, Steve took the position knowing that he would be making less than he did even on unemployment and about half of what he once earned in his old profession. We did this believing that work is honorable, and that God would be faithful to make up the difference. There were some other decisions made that followed this thinking too (that I may share at another time) but in the mean time we knew that we would need to do our part in further reducing our expenses, so we gave notice and 'found' something more affordable.

Believe me, that sounded a lot more effortless than it actually was.

We are moved in now and are working out the kinks. I think the place will suit us well while we are here. We have a lot of healing and growing and trusting to do yet, and I get the impression that it is not going to be all smooth-sailing, but for now I am practicing gratitude and I am so thankful that God has no problems making sense of the knots.