Twenty Sixteen and Midyear Ramblings.

At the beginning of the year, as I have in the past two years, I pondered a word for our family. In place of resolutions or goals that would be too quickly forgotten, I choose a word to focus on for the year. This year, it took much longer and by February, I was somewhat discouraged. I prayed on it, wrote about it, and prayed some more. One morning, as I read in the Bible, this verse stuck out; "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." Matt. 5:9
and yet another one,
"Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." James 3:18

That's it! Peacemakers. That's our word! But, I thought, "What exactly does that mean? What does that even look like? ...

The year moved steadily on. We meandered through Winter, celebrated Spring, sulked at Winter's comeback and rejoiced at Summer's grand opening.

We survived basketball season, "flumageddon" after nine days straight, a new job position for the man and a shaky, somewhat blurred-lined end of school year.

Summertime has been glorious with it's bursting colors, flourishing gardens, striking sunrises, warm breezes and wild rompings. There are baby animals, including six new chicks for our flock, toads, worms and plenty of bugs to study and sometimes run from. The mornings are slow and the days are long. There are days of swimming, eating fresh foods and lots of popsicles, porch-swinging and racing through the dandelion fluff. Some days, there are naps and more often than not, dinner includes a movie. We read lots of books and paint outside. And soon, there will be a new play house; I can only imagine the hours of imaginative play that will take place there!

It's been a time of personal reflection and growth not only for myself, but each of us. Even my boys, who are growing and becoming more independent (and deeper!) thinkers, seem to have recognized in their own ways, that life is precious and fleeting.

It's been a time of slowing down for our family.

Slow seems a fitting word and I find myself using it more and more when describing our days. Oxford Dictionary defines slow as "moving or operating, or designed to do so, only at a low speed; not quick or fast."
But, as I ponder it more and more, it seems to fit well with Peace; Oxford defines the word as "freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility..."
and yet another word that has been my heart more of late, Preservation. Oxford defines the word as "the action of preserving something"
and "the state of being preserved, especially to a specified degree"

So, three words? Perhaps. But each leads to peace. And for my family, peace has been good for our minds, bodies and souls. Peace leads to joy! With the state of everything these days, family preservation is vital, yet seems nearly lost. To the world, it's absurd, almost unheard of. But in God's kingdom; in faith, and even in human spirit, family is precious, like gold. So as for me and my house, we have slowed down, we are keeping peace and preserving our family.

"If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." - Mother Teresa

A final thought; Time always bring change.

A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

There will always be change. And we have lots to look forward to. The twins will be in their second year of school and the littlest is excited to join us in community and lessons this Fall. There will be a family trip and soccer season and then holidays and birthdays.  "Busy" will come to us again soon enough. But for now, we are resting and enjoying every delicious moment we can.