Spinning Plates

I have often visualized myself in life as the plate spinner. And there are weeks when it really gets to me....I vigorously spin the "homeschool plate" and the "housekeeping plate" is on the other side wobbling precariously, so I run to spin it and the "caring for (insert name of kiddo)" wobbles ... and so on...you get the picture. And you understand I'm sure. It's nerve wracking. Add to it that you feel (whether accurate or not) the expectations of others around you who only seem to see the plates that are wobbling, not the ones you've just spun, and it can become a situation riddling with people-pleasing fear and paralyzing anxiety.

So the other day this conversation ensued:
Me: "Jesus, I'm exhausted and weary! Please be my plate spinner - I am worn out!"

Him: "What if I have no intentions of spinning your plates? What if I have something completely different in mind? What if I want to take your plates down completely, set them on a great big banquet table and serve a filling, nourishing banquet to those around you - using each one of your plates?"

Me: "How is that even possible - I have absolutely no food to give, nothing to provide!"

Him: "I'm the Bread of Life. I am the Living Water. I am abundant life."

Enough said! :) I'm still not quite sure what all of that is supposed to look like, and I'm still not quite sure how NOT to spin my plates, how to rest and let Him take them down without breaking them, how to let Him prepare the banquet....but I can tell you, the idea of not being a plate spinner anymore sure fills me with a tremendous amount of hope!

The Ministry Plate

With the students being back from Moab, our regular schedule is under way.  That means all day Monday and Wednesday afternoons are spent at Timberline (I bring a huge basket of homework with me for Jenna) for Family Group Breakfast, All-Community Worship, and Covenant Group. The students have already heard some great teachers (both from Timberline as well as guest speakers). Our prayer is that God's Word would take deep root in their hearts!

The Home Plate
- Tuesdays are our weekdays at home and Thursdays for us are filled with Classical Conversations, both the morning program (Memory Work, science and art/music projects etc.), and the afternoon Grammar and Writing program that I'm tutoring. Jenna loves CC - it's the highlight of her homeschool day. (on the picture above - the kids' favorite thing to do after school is to play together out in the yard, and they include their baby sister for which Mom is very thankful as that enables me to cook dinner in peace and quiet- and we're also glad that the snow has held off so far!)

- we now officially have a toddler....she's been able to walk for quite some time but didn't care to do

so for a long time! :) (here are the girls studying their geography together! :)

- Thursday evenings are Celebrate Recovery nights right now and the training is well under way - there are already 20 people attending this leadership training and the hope is to open CR to the community in January.

- Reid has also felt impressed by the Lord to provide a Thanksgiving meal to needy families in the community and is in the midst of putting that together. The local community center is offering it's facility for free and he's working with some local food banks and rescue missions to see if the food can be provided also.

- Renovation on the living-room is well under way and the anticipation of what everything will look like when it's finished is worth living in a construction zone in the mean time.

- We praise the Lord that Ian's 2nd visa came in.  He is still in need of raising some support and we trust the Lord will confirm and provide the rest. His departure date is scheduled for November 11th and he's been working diligently to get ahead in his school work. You may have heard that a hurricane hit the orphanage - so their visit could look very differently from what they originally anticipated.

Well that's the news here! We'd love to hear from you and how the Lord has taught you to put your spinning plates down!