Redeeming the Time

A new school year for the Mitchell household began yesterday!  I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this year.  We are starting a new curriculum this year.  Change is good and I know it will be a change for the better.  The kids are already energized by it...but we will see how things are going next week! There is always a great attitude and excitement about the "new" at the beginning of each year.  The honeymoon period, as we call it.

I am specifically asking the Lord to give me grace and to be single-minded during our home school time.  It is so easy to get distracted in a ministry home by phone calls, to do's by the Pastor/hubby, and well-intentioned friends wanting to get the kids together.  All of those things are SO much easier than staying focused on the task of school work, so it is a constant struggle.  I want to be a good steward of the gifts God has given us and redeem the time for His glory.  May He receive all the praise for any accomplishments we may achieve: for it is by Him, to Him, and through Him that we can do anything!

Olive Shoots and Fruit that Remains

Psalm 128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.


What a blessing and a gift from the Lord are my children!  I am reflecting on His goodness toward me this morning as I read His Word and spend time in prayer.  Each Monday, as the craziness of the week begins to weigh upon me, I am thankful for the time alone with Him to gather my thoughts...and combat most of them with His thoughts which are Truth.  As I pray, I realize I am asking Him to help me accomplish all I have to do and to give me strength.  When, in reality, I can do nothing in my own strength.  My prayer quickly changes to, "Lord, I cast all my cares upon You.  I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet.  Give me Your strength and accomplish Your will in my life today.  I know I can do nothing apart from you." That is what God's Word does for me...takes me from my small minded thinking, to His glorious Truth.

All that this morning because it is another milestone week in the life of our family:  our oldest daughter will leave for college on Friday.  How I love Psalm 128:3.  I love the visual of the olive shoots around the table and I think of it every day as we meet around the table for meals and to fellowship together.  But, how bittersweet as those olive shoots begin to branch out as they pursue God's calling on their lives.  My oldest, Micaiah, is a junior this year at The Master's College in California, but will be studying the entire Fall semester in Israel.  We are so excited for him and this opportunity.  My daughter, Schaeffer, will be attending Reformation Bible College as she prepares for the foreign mission field.  My second oldest daughter also turns 17 this week...how I am reminded to redeem the time I have left with her and the other 6 that will follow much too soon.


What an honor and privilege to live out God's design as a mother preparing those precious olive shoots.  I am thankful God has given us fruit.  Fruit that will remain, not necessarily always around our table, but remain in eternal value for the kingdom of God.

Living Out God's Design

Living out God's design...a lifelong goal of mine.  I so desire to be exactly what God designed me to be and encourage other women in pursuing God's unique purpose for them.  His ways are perfect and all is for His glory.

I begin this blog today not feeling so well.  And when I don't feel so well, I don't feel like living out my design!  So thankful that it is His power through me that enables me to live daily for Him, to focus on what is important and eternal, and to rise above my feelings to bring Him glory.

I hope to use this blog for just that...His glory.  And to testify to His power and strength in my day to day.  Living out God's design.