Summer rhythm

Summer has a much slower rhythm than other seasons.  It's a time to relax and refresh before the busyness of fall comes back.  Sometimes I can still pack our summer so full that it whizzes by, but this year I've purposefully kept it as empty as possible.  It's been so nice to settle into a slower pace.

I'm a night owl.  My mom says I've been that way since I was born.  So summer is my time to stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning and sleep in as late as I want.  I love not waking up to an alarm.  My day starts off so much nicer when I can wake up on my own.

After I wake up, I get the kids their breakfast and I spend some time catching up on emails and Facebook.  I go get ready for the day and maybe do a few chores.  Then it's lunch time.  After lunch the kids have to turn off the television.  Then my kids do their workbooks.

Yes - I give my kids homework for the summer.  I can't help it.  My degree is in elementary education.  I want my kids to stay actively involved in learning.  So I get them workbooks that are for the grade they're going into.  This year is the first year that my youngest is working on a preschool workbook.  We all sit down at the table together.  My two older ones usually don't need my help except when they need some clarification, but my youngest needs my guidance through each page.  I've told people about this tradition of ours before and they usually tell my kids that they can come live with them since I'm so mean and make them do school work in the summer.  My kids always tell them the same thing - "Actually, we like it."

After we do the workbooks it's chore time.  Then they can play or read for a while.  I always hope I've finished my own chores by this time so that I can work on my writing.  Soon it's dinner time and my husband comes home.  We spend some time as a family - watching movies, playing board games.  Then I read to them (right now we're reading through the Chronicles of Narnia) and it's time for bed.

I love this rhythm.  I love the time we spend together.  I love the slowness.  I love the routine.  I love the rest.  I keep so busy all the time that it's nice to slow down for a change.

It's not that we never do anything else.  We'll go to the zoo or on a play date.  We'll go swimming sometimes or go to a movie.  Once a week I try to bake with the kids.  We've made cookies and batter breads so far.  But that's part of the beauty of it, too.  We have the ability to be pretty flexible.  I love summer!

Vacation Bible School

I've always loved Vacation Bible School!  As a kid I loved the themes, the music, the crafts, the corny skits, playing with my friends and the Bible lessons.  I actually liked to see how the lessons fit with the theme.  Sometimes it was a stretch, but sometimes they fit well.  I looked forward to it every year.

Actually, I'm still a kid at heart and I still look forward to VBS every year.  Since middle school I've helped in various ways in VBS.  I've helped or taught in almost every age group from 2 & 3 year olds to 4th-6th grade.  I've helped in crafts.  I've led the music.  I've helped in puppets.  Honestly, I've enjoyed each and every task I've had the blessing to undertake.  One of my favorite things to do was when my friends and I would make large posters to decorate the church.  We used to make way more than we needed, because I was a firm believer in "too much is just enough".  It was a time for me and my friends to hang out all day long while we worked on the posters.  It was such a fun time!

This year I had the opportunity to participate in VBS in a way that I never had before.  My sister and I co-directed our church's VBS.  It was so much fun to see all the "behind the scenes" work that goes into VBS and I have a completely new appreciation for all the help that is required to put this together.  It's one thing to know that a lot of work goes into it and another to actually see the work that goes into it.  We had an absolutely amazing group of directors working on this and they made our job so easy!  We were so thankful for each and every one of them!

One of the things I prayed about when I first accepted this position was for humility.  Whenever I'm given a position of authority or visibility I'm very aware that pride can begin to creep in.  As I look back on my time as a director I have to laugh because God definitely answered my prayer in such a way that I couldn't take any credit even if I'd wanted to.  God took control from the day I started working on it and everything fell into place so neatly and smoothly that it was obvious that He was at work.  My sister and I joke that God knew we couldn't do it so He just told us to sit back while He took care of it all.  I've spent some time since VBS finished just reflecting back on all the answered prayers, all the details that were easily taken care of, all the issues that were dealt with quickly and smoothly and I'm just blown away at all the different ways where His working was so completely evident.  I can only sit back in awe at the work He did and it makes me smile.

No matter what areas I'm lead to participate in VBS in the future, I know that this year has changed the way I view VBS.  I'm going to be much more aware of the people who work so hard beforehand.  I'm going to be much more aware of God's working in the smallest of details.  I'm going to appreciate all the volunteers who help out through the week even more.  This year has been such a blessing and I'm thankful for the opportunity that I had to participate in this way.



As a side note, VBS has kept me from working on book three, but now my schedule is much more free and I'm hoping that after I've had this week to get my house back in shape that I'll be back to writing again next week.  The story is working in my mind and I'm anxious to get my thoughts out on paper.
Best Laid Plans
Smell the Roses

Balance

I'm entering the time of year where I'm finding it difficult to balance everything.  The school year is coming to an end which means parties and fun activities.  My daughter's ballet class is getting ready for their recital.  My son's baseball team is entering the play off season.  Vacation Bible School is coming up soon.  It's all fun and I enjoy it, but it makes the every day things a bit more difficult to do.  I've actually been keeping up on the house for the first time ever.  I don't always get everything done, but it used to be that my perfectionism would tell me it wasn't good enough and if I couldn't do it all then I shouldn't do any of it.  Doing as much as I can is a definite improvement.  Unfortunately, what has slipped lately is my writing.  It's been difficult to sit down and focus on the story.  Looking at my calendar it seems like things slow down in the middle of June , so hopefully I'll be able to concentrate more on writing then.

I think Brooke's story is coming along nicely though and I feel like I know where it's going which is always a good feeling.  I'm always interested to see if everyone else likes it as much as I do.  I'm looking forward to having my editors read it through and let me know what they think.  I'm also starting to get an idea of how I want to work Isabelle's story.  I feel like her story has taken me a little longer to figure out, but I think I'm going to enjoy writing it.  I actually enjoy the  process of writing more and more as I go along.

On another note, I want to thank everyone who helped to spread the word about "Smell the Roses" being on sale.  I did see a significant jump in my sales and I know that your publicity helped me.  Thank you!

SALE

"Smell the Roses" will be available for $0.99 (normal price $2.99) starting tomorrow, May 7th, 2014!  It will be at $0.99 for a few days and then will increase to $1.99.  It will return to it's regular price next Wednesday.  If you haven't purchased this book yet, this week is a great time to do it!  If you have any friends who might be interested please let them know about the sale.  Word of mouth is fantastic advertising for me.

You can purchase the book by clicking on this link:
Smell the Roses by Courtney Lyman

Remember the sale is for one week only!

Cleaning and Sickness

You guys know that I've been trying to keep my house cleaner for my new year's resolution and you also know that I've had highs and lows in actually doing it.  I've noticed something recently and I'm not joking that this is how it works.  Every time I've spent a couple of weeks really cleaning the house and it's looking pretty good, inevitably I get sick.  While I'm sick, the house gets messy again and I get discouraged and end up back at where I started - feeling overwhelmed.

So the last couple of weeks I was really cleaning my house.  I was going to start over on the resolution and set up some good habits.  And, of course, I got sick.  I don't know if while I'm cleaning I stir up dust and then I'm wiping my nose a lot and putting my hands up on my face all the time and that contributes to getting me sick, but it's very frustrating because normally I'm a pretty healthy person.  I feel like I'm being kept in this crazy cycle and it's hard for me to break free of it.  It's easy to say "Satan is doing it to keep me frustrated and discouraged" but the bottom line is that I need to control my own attitude.  I could let it get me down or I could back on my feet and get to work.  This time, I'm choosing to get back on my feet.

Today, I still don't feel wonderful.  My throat itches and my head feels dizzy, but I feel better than I did.  So instead of looking around the house and feeling like I'm too far behind and I can't possibly get caught up, I'm digging in my heals and working.  It's kind of nice.  I don't feel like I've won the war, but this has been a huge victory for me.  It may seem silly, but this battle has beaten me time and time again and to finally have even one time where I've said, "I'm not going to let this put me back where I started" is a big deal.  I think it's important to celebrate the small victories as well as the large ones - and give the glory to God.  I can't do it on my own.

I have to thank my friend, Casey Husar for this too.   She doesn't know it, but she's been a huge help in this victory.  Back when I posted my blog about my new year's resolution, Casey posted a link to a weekly cleaning schedule.  I downloaded it and printed it out - and left it sitting in my printer for four months.  It seemed like too much and I felt like I had to clean my house first before I could keep it clean with the chart she sent me.  I finally felt like I needed to use it because I didn't know where to start.  It was amazing!  It broke things down and I finally felt like this was something I could do.  I think that's what has helped me be able to get back up this time.  I finally have someplace to start and I know where I'm going.  So thank you so much for your help, my dear friend!

Sometimes we can feel like we need to clean ourselves up before doing something that God has for us to do.  The worst lie we can possibly believe is that God wants us to clean ourselves up before coming to Him.  The truth of the matter is that our own attempts to clean us are futile.  We can't do it.  We can only come to Him and let Him clean us.  When we try to clean ourselves, it's like a child going down to a mud puddle and washing their hands.  No matter how hard they scrub or how long they wash, they will always come to their mother with dirty hands.  It's only when they allow their mom to take them to the sink and gently scrub away the mud with soap and clean water that they will be truly clean.  This Easter season our pastor talked about the thief on the cross.  He wasn't able to go and make restitution for what he had done or give money to the poor or go to church.  He was dying.  Yet Jesus told him that he would be with Him in Paradise.  Jesus cleaned that thief completely with His blood.  Praise the Lord!

Easter

Happy Resurrection!  I love Christmas, but I think Easter is my very favorite holiday.  Jesus coming is only part of the story.  It's a wonderful, joyous time, but I love Easter because it celebrates the reason He came.  I love the solemness of Good Friday.  I love the mixture of joy and sorrow.  If you've never done it, I encourage you to look up the details of a Roman crucifixion.  It's hard to stomach and difficult to imagine, but very eye opening.  Jesus was willing to go through the excruciating, humiliating agony of the cross - for ME!  That is absolutely amazing!  His blood was shed instead of my own.  He paid a price that I could never have paid and all because He loves me so very much.

And as awesome as Good Friday is, it would be worthless if Easter had never happened.  Jesus' resurrection gave us hope and showed that He triumphed over the grave so that we can, too.  Hallelujah!  I love this passage where Paul explains why the resurrection is so important for believers.

12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.  (I Corinthians 15:12-22)

I hope that you had a precious weekend of reflecting on Jesus sacrifice and celebrating His resurrection.  The picture at the top is me, my mom and my sister at the end of our choir's Easter musical.  It was a beautiful way to remember the events of that weekend so many years ago.  I pray that Easter is not just a yearly holiday for you, but that it is something to be celebrated every day.  He has risen!  He has risen indeed!

A New Hobby

I've started a new hobby recently and it's all because I'm a reader.  One of the authors that I like to read is Debbie Macomber and many of her books have characters who knit.  She even has a series where the primary setting is in a yarn store and the group of women meet because they are doing a knitting class together.  After reading so much about it, I had to try it for myself.  Since my mom and my sister read the same author, they were game to try it with me.

I've been surprised at exactly how much I've enjoyed knitting.  I knit a scarf for each of my kids (which is extremely useful in Arizona).  Still, they were excited about it and kept coming to check the progress on their scarf.  I've started knitting a few dish cloths recently just to do something different and to use up some of my left over yarn.  I'm looking forward to trying new projects.

All of this makes me realize how much reading can influence what you want to try or where you want to go.  I want to visit places that I would have never had any interest in except that I've read about it in some story.  I've wanted to try activities simply because a character in a book enjoyed it.  I've wanted to try certain foods only because the description in a story sounded so good.  Which shows how important it is that the books I read are honoring to God.

I'm reminded of Philippians 4:8.  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  What am I thinking about after I read a book?  Is it honorable?  Is it lovely?  Is it pure?  If not, I need to rethink what I'm reading.

On the flip side, as an author, what do I want my readers to be thinking about as they read my books?  Would my stories fit within the qualifications of this verse?  I certainly hope so!