Summer at Wildwood

Our summer of 2020 has been lovely.

There are undeniable moments where we see God at work in our hearts, and that is difficult and so very good. I have been learning ways to show more grace and love to those around me. 

I do not even want to believe how immature I am, yet God uses me and trains me each moment of these days. Many of these training moments come at intervals when I am physically tired, emotionally exhausted, or confused. I am bombarded with questions, comments and concerns from the kids most of the day... and how I respond to them takes so much self-discipline. Many times, I fail to do it right, but I still try to learn from that wrong. It's a mistake, but it doesn't mean it can't be fixed. So, I try the next time! God's example of Grace and Love give me the wisdom to see what IS right. How I can choose JOY to overpower me. How I can discipline myself when I'm wipe out, to do the next thing. God's story shows me the example of giving up what He loved most, to save me. 

The promise of Eternity keeps me turning back to Him. 

"Stamp Eternity on my Eyeballs" continues to be a mantra. 

One Puritan explained it that 5 million years from now, a soul in Hell will be no closer to being released than the first day that they entered. Jonathan Edwards once stated, "Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs." We ought to have a similar urgency in the church for holiness and for the souls of men. 

So, I should mark down some of the things we have been seeing, learning and doing this summer. In an out-of-order list: 

1. swimming at the lakes
2. 2x swimmer's itch for the kids
3. VBS online with our church
4. a trip to the cabin
5. Dad came from Seattle
6. camping at Itasca
7. Jordan and Joy came with the boys
8. a few portrait sessions with Amy Kate Photography
9. nature walks
10. wild blueberry picking
11. reading more picture books
12. still reading Ralph Moody's Little Britches series #2, "Man of the Family" <3 
13. late evenings outside
14. Tim's been doing food plots + working on the shed + lots of mowing + still busy with Construction, Praise God!
15. Online church at home
16. kids and my birthdays
17. minimal house chores just to maintain
18. outside a lot
19. $6 kiddie pool + squirt guns
20. family movies we have enjoyed: 
1. Abominable
2. The Croods
3. Brothers of the Wind 
4. Up
5. Miniscule
6. Treasures of the Snow
7. A Little Princess
8. Secret Garden