Don't Just Vote!

It is so crazy to me how political we all get for a presidential election. Suddenly, all these people come out of the woodwork and want to express their political view and opinion.

Well, I am not going to write all my political views and opinions, though I do have them. I am going to encourage you, the reader, to realize that once every 4 years is not the only time to voice your concerns and political views. We need to be voicing these concerns while Congress is in session, when our city is having local elections, when a bill is being introduced in the state legislature....

I am concerned about this election, but I am more concerned about what will happen after the election. If we really want to change our country, it will take more than a new president. I want to encourage you to take this next month to register to vote and to commit to being a responsible and active citizen.

Sunflower Seeds

How many seeds do you think are in one sunflower?

Well, being the great homeschool mom that I am (HA HA), I decided to take a dead sunflower and show my girls the seeds that were now tucked inside the flower. We have been studying plants and flowers, and I was hoping that this would give them a good visual.

Of course, they were amazed by the seeds and wanted to count them. So, I said, "Sure", and promptly turned around to clean some dirty dishes.

My daughter kept pulling out seeds, and she finally reached the last one to announce that there were 132! I was then the one amazed and even excited. How awesome that one flower can produce that many seeds!

The girls and I decided to save the seeds for the spring, instead of eating them. Won't it be great to see what comes from that ONE flower? It could be ten or more flowers that will then produce their own set of 130 seeds. I may have a sunflower farm before long!

Seriously, this does make me think of us as Christians. Shouldn't we be reproducing? How many seeds will we leave behind?

Balance

This summer has been a time of bringing me back to balance. I am one of those people who quickly volunteers and has a hard time saying no. How about you?

I was forced to really look at my time, and I found that I was so spread out that I was not really accomplishing my real goals - love my God, support and love my husband, and teach my children to be God-loving adults. I was too busy creating websites, organizing activities, teaching others, fulfilling my own personal dreams, and doing lots of other wonderful things.

I needed to find the best and choose only that, and be OK that the good would be alright without me. It is and was hard. I now have to be careful not to add anything else in the "empty" spaces.

I will tell you that after reorganizing and re-positioning---I am sooo happy. I can go to sleep with a sense of accomplishment and rest. The laundry still needs to be folded, and the kitchen floor really needs to be mopped this year---but, I am focused on completing the most important first. I think the Bible says something like "seek first His Kingdom, and all things will be added."

Thank You, Lord, for teaching me and guiding me to a closer walk with You!