The Big Picture

In my house, I don't do the dishes often (My sweet, amazing, selfless, husband who loves me and spoils me does it almost every day), I haven't been keeping up with the laundry well, I don't shower every day, and I am lucky if I eat a decent breakfast in the morning. I am often exhausted when Derek gets home at night. Sure, we do our memory verses at lunch, science/history reading at snack time, and devotional at dinner...we have Family Bible time when it works out and Daddy is home in enough time to do so...but sometimes, sitting down with to work on a puzzle together or to play a game that involves any sort of thinking is too far beyond my energy level!! I have guilt over that...guilt that maybe we shouldn't have had so many kids in such a short amount of time. Guilt that I'm not giving them as much one-on-one discipling/education time as some of my friends with fewer and farther-between kids. Once we finish our school stuff for the day, I am often spent.

But here's the thing with this Big Picture Project. My point, obviously, was to take photographs of every-day things and look for the "big picture" in it. (Doing a gigantic load of laundry seems like an awfully boring and mundane task unless you think of how you are serving your family and worshiping the Lord as you do it with the right heart and fulfill the calling He has on your life right now.)

Anyway, I realized that sometimes, seeing the "big picture" means looking a few years down the road. Past the diapers, past the spilled drinks, muddy tracks on the carpet, and temper tantrums. What I am doing now and how I am reacting to all of those things is laying a foundation for my relationship with them...a relationship that will be extremely important as they get involved in things that really count (a life in the real world!)

So as I took this picture and looked at the faces of my boys, I focused on the big picture:


Loving them...

and striving to live a life that reflects everything I know to be Truth

in the hope that my children will one day walk in that Truth

with love in their own hearts, and with the "big picture" at the forefront of their minds!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Raising Real Men, part 6

Image
Moving into Part Two of the book, "Civilization for the Tough," the Young's begin with "First Things" first! What do you think is the first thing involved in raising REAL men to be civilized? Deuteronomy 6:4-7 The Young's have dubbed this passage of Scripture "the basic commandment for homeschoolers." I think many homeschoolers use this passage, as well as Deut. 11:18-20 , which I even have had on my homeschool blog for awhile :) To summarize the verses: Teach (these words) diligently to your children, talk of them while you sit, when you walk, when you lie down, when you rise... The foundation of the raising of our children (boys or girls) must begin here. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength," and with all your mind (which we so often forget!!!) (Matthew 22:37) I am so glad the Young's state this as being first, because even though, as a believer, it seems obvious, it can s
Read more

Raising Real Men, Part 3

Image
Chapter 3 was a very short chapter, but full of ideas on a simple truth: Boys will become men who will eventually come to a situation or position where they will need to stand up for what they believe in. In certain situations, this might mean they are left standing alone (hence the title of the chapter, "Standing Alone.") Through the reading of Luke 16:10 ("He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much,") the Young's set out to give their sons responsibilities and leadership positions in baby steps. Most importantly, it all began under parental supervision. Their purpose in this plan was to make sure their boys were given ample opportunity to face real-life obstacles while Mom and Dad were there by their side. When the boys became men and were truly faced with those situations (withOUT Mom and Dad), they had the confidence and courage to stand alone and do what was right. My favorite lesson in this chapter (and one I was quick to share with my h
Read more

Raising Real Men

Image
I just started reading Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young , and I am already blown away. I read so many rave reviews about the book, and (seeing as I have four boys) I figured it would be a good one for my library. I will posting a "quote of the week" from the book here on the blog, as well as various convictions, thoughts, and things I am learning. I would love to have something to look back at once I'm finished reading the book, and I hope it will benefit those of you with boys out there as well. So often, I feel like I need to re-read books once I finish them simply because it takes me so long to get through them. This is also one of those books that I feel like has so much to chew on in one chapter, I need to let it sit for a few days. I hope you gain some wisdom from these authors (of SIX boys) as I do the same!! If you ARE a mother of many boys (or even just one!), pick up this book. It is totally worth whatever price you can find it for. I would seriously q
Read more