News – Page 49

The True Meaning of Home

December 5, 2011 by Carey Jane Clark

It’s been a somewhat nomadic year. Which is okay, because we all know it’s just a season–one that is almost complete. We had a wonderful visit with my sister and an unforgettable trip to the Creation Museum, but it is ever so good to be home. Even if “home” is a somewhat relative term right now.

Recently, someone approached JavaMan and me at church with an encouragement from Psalm 90:1, the Message translation:
“God, it seems you’ve been our home forever” What a beautiful message! Wherever we are, we are truly home.

Today, I am thankful for the gift of home.

Advent

November 29, 2011 by Carey Jane Clark

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. To me, it always launched the second day of December, on my birthday. As part of my birthday celebrations, we would always put up the Christmas tree. That always seemed early to everyone around us, but for me, it was the perfect launch to the advent season.

When JavaMan and I got married, we began a new tradition–going out and cutting down our own tree at a Christmas tree farm. We carried that on when our kids were born, usually heading north from Toronto, where we lived, to find snow.

Traditions have had to flex as we’ve been a bit more nomadic, and definitely during the Christmases we’ve spent in China. But as the years have gone by, we’ve found ways to bring more and more meaning to the Christmas season, ways to make it more real to our children.

Each year, we’ve read one of the books from the Jotham’s Journey Trilogy, and tried to make a meaningful time out of advent.

This year, we’re adding something new. Since our curriculum is hands-on, and our kids are really enjoying that new focus, I think Truth in the Tinsel is the perfect fit. Rather than following the actual advent season, encompassing the four Sundays prior to Christmas, Truth in the Tinsel starts on December 1st, and counts down until Christmas Day.

There’s a fairly daunting supply list at the beginning, but once you page through the crafts for each day, it’s easy to see how you might improvise if your local craft store isn’t so well supplied.

Christmas is still my favorite time of year. And this year we have one more way to celebrate!

November Review and Reflection

November 28, 2011 by Carey Jane Clark

Ever have the urge to add something to your goals list, just so you can cross it off? I have that urge this month, because I actually accomplished quite a lot–just few of the things I set out to accomplish.

This month was more hectic than I anticipated. It seems I say this often. I’m not sure if I met my 3 in 30 goals, and I missed updating them twice, but something else happened: my novel is being published. And that was completely unexpected–at least so soon after I finished the last word.

And we found out we’re heading back to China. We now have an unofficial date (unofficial because flights aren’t booked quite yet) of February 7-ish.

I opened up two new blogs. I will continue to blog about homeschool here, but I’ll blog about our China adventures and begin our Mandarin lessons for children at www.holdthemsg.com and I made a website for After the Snow Falls as well as a Facebook page.

So it’s not like I haven’t been productive, I just didn’t quite achieve November’s goals. I’m definitely going to be moving one of those goals into December: work on my personal schedule. My days haven’t exactly been ordered this month. I want to work on getting up earlier, having my devotional time first and exercising.

Here were my goals:

Work on my personal schedule: I did fine on this goal for the first week, although I must confess I didn’t actually make it to the exercise portion. I’m trying to console myself in the fact that the Gluten-Free diet is making it easier to stay on top of my weight goals regardless of the lack of exercise.
Begin moving preparations: I didn’t do a lot on this, I must confess. Part of the slow-down was that we recognized we wouldn’t be able to leave in January because of the Chinese New Year. Since we’ve moved the move into February, there’s perhaps not as big of a rush as I’d originally thought. I did, however, make a lot of lists and start to buy the spices I’ll need. I also did a lot of weeding through homeschool books to start deciding what goes, what gets given away or sold and what gets packed away for the future.
Pull off a successful birthday celebration for Sweetpea and have a blast on our trip. Mission definitely accomplished! We have had a wonderful time. We head home tomorrow.

How was your November?

Doubly Thankful

November 24, 2011 by Carey Jane Clark

This year, we’re privileged to spend the American Thanksgiving with my sister’s family. I think it’s appropriate that we have two Thanksgivings this year, because we are doubly thankful.

We have seen so many blessings this year, it would be hard to even count them, but let me try:

we are finally talking about real dates for heading back to China, and our life-in-limbo is almost at an end
I just signed with Trestle Press for the publication of my first novel, After the Snow Falls

These are huge things, but there are many “smaller” blessings I don’t want to forget:

our health. We have all been kept healthy, and the issues I was experiencing which evidently caused our miscarriages are finally getting resolved.
We have survived a financially lean season, and have seen repeatedly God’s abundant provision.
We have been experienced a lot of travel and seen a lot of the U.S. and Canada over the last year, have learned a lot along the way, and have had many fascinating educational experiences to share with our children.
We have made many new friends along the way, and have had the opportunity to strengthen friendships with old ones.
Our kids have been able to spend time with their grandparents.

Getting our kids to join us in having a thankful heart can sometimes be a challenge. I really like this Overflowing Gratitude Box. I think it would be a great way to use up scrapbooking supplies that are collecting dust in “our” closet at my parents’ place and encouraging thankful hearts in the process.

It’s cliche, but thankfulness really is a state of mind. Even in the midst of some of the hardest moments we’ve faced in the last year, we would be ungrateful not to recognize God’s goodness.

I hope, regardless of whether there’s a Thanksgiving holiday where you are, that you find plenty to be thankful for.

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