What's Up With the Blog?

Ahh, how patient you've been! I have heard from many of you over the past several months, wondering where I have been and what has become of the blog. Thank you for your emails. I always love hearing from you and am eager to tell you what is happening around here.

As many of you know, I am the busy mom to four children and love my work with them. The end of the school year held a lot of excitement and a lot of fullness for our family. My oldest graduated from 8th grade in June and we all found ourselves wrapped up in that amazing transition. Throughout the spring and early summer, all the children were involved in sports and games and life was very full. Good, just full.

While my attention and time was turned to my four kiddos, I was also working hard on a book project that I have wanted to complete for some time. Many of you have heard about the Sticks! program in your churches or on this site and it was time to get that book proposal completed. So, I dug my toes in here and worked on completing the proposal in a way that actually felt... complete. Once that was finally done, I was able to pass that work on to a team of folks who are reviewing it. I would love to say that it was on its way to becoming a book. (I would really LOVE to say that!) For now, I know it is being reviewed. When I hear more, I will pass the word. I am thrilled though to have gotten this far in the process and am eager to see this book project through. Having spoken on the Sticks! program for years, I am always amazed at the response. I have gotten so much positive feedback from all of you who have tried it and then let me know how it went. It is my strongest desire to offer encouragement to parents who are looking for a new plan for their families and homes. I am praying that this book might become a tool that is available to those who are looking for that help.

So, the book proposal has been handed off and I am now working on the upcoming speaking season. I have developed a new topic for this year and am eager to start offering that talk soon. As always, if you or anyone you know is looking for a speaker, please go to www.NadiaSwearingen-Friesen.com to check out my topics and then be in touch about what you need this year. Dates book quickly in August, so let's talk soon!

So, what about the blog? With all the hubbub in our family and with all that has happened with the book proposal, the blog was one thing that needed to be set aside. I have loved blogging over the years and am eager to return to this place. I believe there will be some changes but I am excited about diving back in. I hope to offer more giveaways, as well. So, if you have been stopping in, keep your eyes open and soon I will be up and running again.

Now, back to summer we go! Today is August 1 and we have less than a month left to share! What will you do with that time? I have been reminded lately of the importance of spending time... the great importance of finding ourselves face to face with those we love and enjoying that time together. This has nothing to do with money. Nothing to do with vacations. Nothing to do with what we wish we could do and everything to do with what we choose. The full schedule of fall will be upon us soon. Today is August 1. What will you choose to do with the time we have left together?

Thanks for reading again. I would love to hear from you. Leave a post below and let us know what you are doing with these last summer days. How helpful to have new ideas to pursue!

Blessings on your day!

Juggling

It's a hard thing to juggle, I gotta say. And sometimes, the balls all fall to the ground. Maybe that's okay.

The kids have been home for summer break for just about a month. The days vary from long and lazy to chaotic and crazy. The whole of it feels like a juggling act... the kids, the house, the writing, the blog, the million things that must be done at any given moment. Sometimes, something has to give. Ever feel that way?

For me, it has been the blog.

I would apologize... but I think you understand. With four kids in the house, it is hard to hear my thoughts, hard to find time to write, hard to steal off to an unoccupied room for long enough to write something readable. So, I had to let that ball fall...

And then there is the thinking it through... I feel inundated by the changes I see happening to my family and to process it well enough to share it with you seems out of reach for now. I am trying to understand what it looks like to: parent a teenager, find my role is in the life of my tween and go slow enough, each and every day, to gently meet the needs of my littlest ones. And it's a lot.

I was never really all that good at juggling anyway.

Yet, there is so much I want to share... so many things I am eager to write about...

Like:

1. Stopping to look at and listen to my children, even when they don't know I am there. I am finding this humbling and empowering, all at once...

2. Watching my older boys run off to camp... what I learned while they were away... and what I hope they learned, too.

3. Remembering what younger children need... and feeling horribly guilty that mine don't get it nearly enough.

4. Wondering at the summer days... the slow and sleepy pace of day upon day and night upon night and all that it holds and all that I hope for it.... hmmm... I am getting away from myself.

For now, I am so busy doing it all that it feels nearly impossible to write it all down. So, when the schedule clears and I have a bit more time, I think you might be sick of all I have to share! For now, I am here like you, juggling and watching ball after ball hit the ground. I am remembering that maybe letting it fall might be easier than fighting gravity.

Because, from where I sit, the view is sweet and I want to soak it up... even with balls at my feet.

Blessings on your day.

What's the Point?

I just spent two hours working on a blog post that processes through a lot of things. After thinking and praying about the post, I have decided to hold it back. For now.

Part of what I am thinking through has to do with the point of blogging. My friend, Shannon, talked with me about this a while ago. She wondered why anyone would read someone else's blog, why any of it mattered at all.

When I talked with her, I told her I think we are looking to connect to others and maybe clarify our thoughts and beliefs. We are holding out a hand, offering and reaching for help. But, the truth is, I really don't know. I believe these things are part of it but really not nearly the whole.

I have been blogging 5 times a week for almost 3 months. Prior to January, I found myself blogging here and there and then made a New Year's resolution to do a better job of being consistent. I wanted to blog more regularly because I am working on the discipline of writing. Also, and primarily,I wanted to blog more often because it helps you to know that there will be something here to read. No more bopping in to find the same old post as a week ago... But instead there is something new that, I hope, offers some encouragement or help or even just a smile.

Maybe I have it all wrong. Can you take a minute to give me a hand? It would mean the world to me if you would jot a sentence or two in the comment section to tell me why you come. What are you looking for here? What do you hope to find? Why do you read any one's blog, not just mine? Is it entertainment? Community? Encouragement?

It has been my prayer all along that this place would offer something up. Help me know what you are looking for when you wonder in here or anywhere else. Your opinion and insight mean the world to me.

Blessings on your day.

Odds and Ends and Muffins Again!

Look around! I made a few changes here on the blog to make it a bit more user-friendly. A few things to notice:

1. Check out the search feature on the right, at the top. I played around with this myself for a few minutes and think it's really fun. : ) Put any topic in that I have ever discussed here and you will get click-able links to that information. If I ever linked to another site, and they mentioned what you are looking for, you will get links for that as well. I tried search for muffins. : )

2. Instead of a big, ugly list of blog labels, I added a place at the bottom of this page that offers all those labels, not in a list. I like it better. If you are really organized, you might not. : ) Sorry about that.

3. I took some stuff off and tried to put the things you use closer to the top.

Other things to think about:

-I kept the link to my website. If you, or anyone you know, is looking for a speaker for a parenting group or Sunday school class or conference or retreat, click through on that link and you will be brought to my site. From there, you can find lots of information about my speaking topics and booking options.

-If you do not already follow the blog, feel free to add yourself. I am also on Twitter! There is a link on the right to help you find me there.

What's up with Mr. Linky?

So, I have wanted to try it for a long time and couldn't figure it out. If you are new to the whole Linky thing, all you have to do is add your info at the end of the post (Look at yesterday's post if you are unsure what I am talking about...) and then post on your blog on the same topic I posted about. When people bop in here and read about the topic, they can then click on to yours to read more on the same topic. I like the Simple Woman's Daybook topic... I think I will do it again. Normally, it is posted on Tuesdays so keep that in mind and let's grow that list. Mr. Linky is just a fun way to help connect a whole bunch of blogs.

And wait! Did I mention speaking?

I am going to be speaking in Michigan on April 24. If you know of someone who is looking for a speaker around that time, please send them my way. I would love to add other groups to that weekend!

And... how's this for random?

You know that amazing muffin recipe from last week? You remember, the chocolate pumpkin muffins? Easy peasy? This week, I tried that same recipe with a spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin (I found organic pumpkin at Target!). The results were amazing. My kids LOVED these pumpkin muffins and they were so easy. Made me think that there are millions of ways to tweak this recipe to discover new flavors. What cake flavor will you try next? : )

Okay, this is different from my regular posts but now we are all on the same page! Sometimes you gotta deal with the odds and ends. Come back tomorrow... I will be posting about some of the things that have been going on here this week.

Blessings on your day!

Blogs YOU Like...

Last week, I asked you to send some blogs my way. I had a fantastic time looking them over and honestly just loved every minute of that time. Below are some, not all, of the ones you sent. I do not know any of these people but really enjoy their sites.

http://orangette.blogspot.com/ --Amazing recipes!


http://dancingwithcats.blogspot.com/ --A friend and honest Momma...


http://thepioneerwoman.com/ --Lots of down-home advice, ideas and recipes... LOVE IT.


http://www.saussie.com/ --Pet lover and photographer, cool site!


http://romp-roll-rockies.blogspot.com/ --Dog lover and interesting stuff.


http://michellearlotta.blogspot.com/ --Photographer... gorgeous work.


http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/ --Intriguing blog about training dogs and their connections to us.


http://thesmallbeginnings.blogspot.com/ --thoughtful and thought-provoking... honest.

Read away, my friends! Feel free to send more my way. I love to see well-loved blogs. Some of the others that I read are listed in the right hand margin on my site... really love Bring the Rain... so honest. And as always, feel free to forward this blog to anyone who may enjoy what's here. New readers always make me smile. : )

Blessings on your day!

And Now for Something Entirely Different...

I am a sucker for community. Love to create it, to observe it, to nurture it. It has, in my life, been a very shaping and important thing. I have been a part of educational communities, faith communities, work communities, social communities... the list is truly endless. I have trained on it and grown in it and found again and again how crucial it is to me.

Over the past year, I have thought often about the online community and it's place in the world today. There are many who believe there is a falseness to it... a disconnectedness found in the distance within. But, it seems to me that the idea of an online community of people who are, in some way, intertwined with one another is changing and growing and becoming something that is much more real than it had been before.

The world of blogging is an integral part of all that. It brings us together based on experience or knowledge or a random series of events that can bind us somehow. Even here, as we talk about our lives as women, as moms, as people who love and think and seek out something intentional, there is community being created that occurs mainly, not because but in spite of me. And when I hear from you through email or posts, it makes it all so real to me... that we are in it together and that what we live is real and good.

So, let's try something new! This week, as you read this blog and any others, forward them to someone who may not find it any other way. Let's be purposeful about building this community and welcoming new friends to join us as we go. Know a mom who could use some encouragement? A friend who seeks to be intentional in her parenting? A co-worker who likes to think it through? Forward this blog to their in-box or send them a link to this site. And as you do that, I would love to know what other blogs you read. Share some ideas about someone else's site that we all may enjoy as well.

Because the truth is, we are in this together. You may be sitting in Michigan or California or Massachusetts but there is something about sharing in this way that helps us to feel a little less like strangers all over the world and a little more like neighbors sharing a cup of well-brewed coffee. I love that picture... and love what we can discover together.

So, let's do it! Let's expand this community and build new connections and encourage one another this way. It will only take a minute to share a link with a friend... and how grateful they will be that you have thought of them, remembered them, saw them today.

Blessings on your day!

Hearts at Home Blog!

Happy New Year!

With my children back to school and 2/3 of my house somewhat cleaned, I am taking a few minutes to update my blog. It has been a while but I will keep chipping away at this task until I am happier with the frequency of my posts. I am thankful you continue to read along. : )

I am grateful to be blogging with Hearts at Home again this year. Today, my blog is featured on their site. If you have traveled here from there, welcome! If you stopped here first today, I want to encourage you to bop on over to the Hearts website and take a look around. There are so many resources for women there, I know you will feel right at home. Hearts at Home's website is http://www.hearts-at-home.org/. If you are looking for the blog area, click on "What We Offer" at the top of the page and choose blog from the drop-box. There are guest bloggers featured there each weekday and you will find many ideas and words of encouragement within these blogs.

While visiting their site, please look over the conference information. Registration for the National Conference is now open and it is an amazing experience. Totally, TOTALLY worth your time! : ) I cannot wait to go myself!

Blessings on your day!

Internet, Connection and Kingdom

The internet is a funny thing. It has tremendous power to connect or destroy, to build up or demolish. It can help us to accomplish what we feel most called to do... or keep us from that very thing. How we choose to use this tool is the greatest deciding factor in what the outcome will be... an important choice to make.

Over the past year, I have started to read a wide variety of blogs. One thing that has been so interesting to me is following a blog trail... one blog that leads to another that leads to another, and so on... And in doing so, I have landed on a variety of interesting reads.

Perhaps it all began with reading Lysa Terkhurst's blog after hearing her speak at Hearts at Home. Lysa's blog was an extension of her speaking ministry and in that way, I was being encouraged by her written words building on those she'd spoken. I think it was Lysa's blog that led me to Angie's blog. Angie's blog was a new experience for me... raw, painful, faithful and true, I was drawn into the lessons and thoughts she bravely shared after the loss her sweet newborn. Somewhere along the way, I ended up Marla Taviano's blog and was drawn into the day to day living and enthusiasm that she shares regularly. It was Marla's blog that connected me to The Mac's Blog the week that their daughter, Cora, was first diagnosed with cancer. For the first time, I was drawn into someone else's story, not as a memory, but as something currently happening in real time. As I hugged my little ones, they hugged their Cora. As I prayed with my children for dinner, they prayed for healing for their girl. And as I attended a wedding in Nashville, their sweet baby died of cancer only weeks after being diagnosed.

As I read Cora's story, I felt compelled to pray. I prayed for this family, unknown to me personally, as though we were life-long friends. I prayed for healing, for comfort, for peace. I prayed as Cora struggled. I prayed as Cora died. I prayed still today for Cora's parents, Joel and Jess, as they continue to piece together a life that looks nothing like they had expected just 8 months ago.

Blog to blog, connections made. It is all so facinating to me likely because this way of connecting is really pretty new. But, I believe there is value in what is happening this way... value in the world being connected via blogging or facebook or twitter... value in the Kingdom of God being revealed like this. And, at the core, that is what it all feels like to me. A glimpse into the Kingdom that I might not have otherwise seen. A glimpse into the simple, ordinary lives of people just like me... and in willingly taking that glimpse, a bridge is being built. A bridge is being built that helps me to see that Joel and Jess and Lysa and Angie and Marla are an awful lot like me. We have something to share... some ordinary moment, some lesson we have learned, some funny statement or homey recipe or sincere need, that connects us in a way that is very much the way God builds His Kingdom. Because the truth is, I don't know Joel and Jess. I don't know them at all. But, they had a need and I could help. They needed prayer... lots and lots of prayer. They have traveled a road that most of us cannot even begin to imagine and what they need is not another meal or a pat on the back or a sypathetic, spoken cliche. What they need is for someone to cry out for them... pray for them... be WITH them in any way at all... so that they can find strength and be eased from their pain and be comforted by The One who comforts best. I can do that. I want to do that.

I think it was Angie's blog that lead me to MckMama's Blog. Have you heard about it? Oh, my dear friends, there is a family who needs your help. Their baby, Stellan, has an issue with his heart and is very, very ill. With three other children (all very young) at home, MckMama is being airlifted with her husband to a hospital in Boston in hopes of finding some help for their baby Stellan. We cannot make this baby well. But, we know The One who can. Pray with me for this young family and for the doctors who will work with Stellan today.

Every now and then, we can see a little glimpse into what God's Kingdom is coming to be. Every now and then, we look around and see how He has connected us. It may be a new way of connecting and yes, it is very different from meeting over a cup of coffee at Panera... but, it matters. It is why we log onto the internet, why I visit blogs, why you visit here. In some small way, we are sticking out our hands and hoping that someone on the other side reaches out and grabs on tight. In a world that has grown more divided than ever before, the internet can provide a way for us to sit on the porch and wave to our neighbors, though they may be a world away. It's no substitute for java and face-to-face chat, but it does provide a way for us to add on to that. It gives us a way to see something bigger... to meet someone new... to connect in a way that likely could not happen without broadband to tie the knot.

There is something comforting about knowing we are part of something bigger than ourselves. There is something humbling about knowing we can play a part in the life of another. These feelings come from the fact that we are made to be in relationship with one another. We are created to seek connection and to lend a loving hand. Can you see it? If we choose, we can squint our eyes and see a part of the Kingdom we might have missed. It is not more important, or less, than the corner we sit in right now... but it is a part of it nonetheless. As I sit here right now, a baby is being airlifted to Boston. I don't know him at all. But I know his story and I know his need and it is my privilege to pray for Stellan. I hope you will pray with me.

Since I Have Last Blogged...

May always gets away from me. I don't know about you, but I would take the hurried holidays over the mayhem of May any day. With spring comes sports and projects and the wrap up of a year well-spent... and while all of it has its upside, in the end I feel like I can barely keep up.

Since I have last blogged, Josiah and Elizabeth started baseball and have played all their games, save one. They are on the same team and both have really learned to hit the ball. Mark and I have watched in amazement as our youngest boy came to embrace a sport our older boys did not care for much at this young age. Josiah also had a chance to try soccer in a nearby town and has grown from an overwhelmed kindergartner unable to understand why he had to run around after that dumb ball, to a true competitor who has found joy in contributing to a team effort to score.

Since I have last blogged, Noah has jumped into another baseball season and another soccer season and finds himself playing side-by-side school friends on both. While we normally do not "double-sport", Noah has found that he loves the fullness of juggling school and two sports and has a great time on both teams. Soccer ends for him on Saturday but baseball has a long way to go!

Since I have last blogged, Benjamin has thought through what it means for him to play on a travel soccer team. We have spent time evaluating with him what is good and what is frustrating about this different level of play. For a boy who loves to run and laugh and compete HARD, the conversation was a tricky one... and truth be told, something we continue to process with him still.

Since I have last blogged, I have wrapped up another busy speaking season and have had some time to reflect on how blessed I am to be able to spend time connecting with women far and wide about our important roles as moms. Whether we were talking together about organizing our children or balancing our lives or organizing our home life or playing outside, that time feels like pure privilege to me. I am now busy planning next year's speaking schedule and am excited for what is yet to come.

Since I have last blogged, I have worked alongside my children completing school projects, studying for tests, memorizing Scripture and generally trying to keep us all on track through this trying time. All in all, it felt too full and yet I know I felt the same way last year... and the year before that, as well.

In the midst of all that activity, I flipped the calendar over and this week found myself standing in June. With nothing more than the change of the month, all that busyness ground to a halt and now I am in a season anew.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. Noah, Benjamin and Josiah will all go for a half-day and suddenly find themselves older, wiser and a grade ahead. Am I ready? Am I ready to be the mom to a seventh grader, a fifth grader, a first grader... and in the fall, my final kindergartner? In talking this over with a friend last week, I remarked that in many ways advancing in school starts to feel more weighty to me than the birthdays of my children. By the time my 9 year old turned 10, I was ready and had been trying that age out on him for months. But, finding my fourth grader has suddenly become a fifth grader, with all the increased responsibilities, social pressures and impending "talk" just stuns me. It feels so old and this leads me, every year, to a place of such nostalgia. How can it be that my sweet babies are getting so much older? How can it be that the same boy that I just taught to ride a bike is now looking sideways at the sweet girl who sits two rows over in homeroom? Some days it seems like it goes too fast and when the school year ends, I find myself seeing it all through a wide-angle lens... learning to walk and starting school and becoming a 'tween all in one quick pic.

And maybe that is okay... Maybe it is okay for us to have moments when the scurry of our schedule slows down and what had been rushing by in a blur becomes suddenly clear. They are growing up before our very eyes. And we get to watch. We get to help. We get to journey alongside those we love best and offer our hand as they learn to navigate the path they will soon enough own.

Tomorrow is the last day of school and but today is for remembering and seeing and smiling at what I sometimes miss. Today I have a sixth grader, a fourth grader and a kindergarten boy. Tomorrow, the world will change and I have three months to adjust to that new truth. Three months to play and learn and sleep and be with these children who will only be this age once. I know we will all miss school but I look forward to all that summer will bring.

Keep reading, friends. I will be blogging next on how we get ready for summer at our house... traditions we share, how we structure our days and normal words that we count as "swears" during June, July and August. I will write again soon! I am off now to spend time with my daughter... the last day of one-on-one time til she shares her days with her brothers all summer long. I may be lost in thought but I want to see what is in front of me while its still here.

Blessings on your day!

On Blogging and Brazil and Facebook and Finland

Spending time reflecting on the minutiae of my daily life has been helpful to me. Looking at my life surrounded by these precious little lives and wondering what I need to learn from them deepens this experience for me. And, writing about it can help those lessons and memories to stick. Originally this had been the hope and plan for this simple blog. Over time however, that view has changed, adjusted, become something new.

As I poke around my blog and hear from regular readers, I am reminded that this work of mothering may feel a titch lonely from time to time. But actually, it is done in vast community with others all over this amazing planet. I do not think I would be aware of this had I not chosen to blog but the reality of it is both comforting and humbling.

I was blog-surfing today and came across my blog listed on someone else's site. I have never met them and they live far away. But, to me, it was another reminder about how connected we really are... how our work in raising little ones is, at its very core, so similar. We may live in Alaska or Florida or somewhere in between, but we all woke up this morning, put our weary feet on the floor and began the day by responding to the needs of someone who is likely not old enough to vote. And, together, we will cook and clean and kiss and cuddle through this long and sunny Saturday until all are safe in bed and we fall, fatigued, into the same.

Every week, I help to run a MOMs Group with a great group of enthusiastic women. A few weeks ago, we wandered off-task into a discussion about Facebook. There are so many women who are in this stage of motherhood that have found there way to that site. We wondered together why there was so much enthusiasm for Facebook among this very busy group. Our talk together revealed some truth about our lives. While we love our families and we love our children and we would not change a thing... we can get a little lonely. We weary from talking in three word sentences and spending the day forgetting ourselves. We long for connection outside our home and seek to find that which we are doing, every single day, is also happening somewhere else. Please hear me... this work of mothering is worth it and full and glorious and good... but sometimes we get a little tired. Sometimes, we feel a little alone.

In finding my way to blogging, I never would have guessed that I would be able to connect to others all over the world. In the past month alone, folks have wandered in here from Malaysia, Canada, Argentina, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Brazil, and 24 of the 50 states. My dear friends, can you see it? You are not alone. You are not alone. This is just one simple blog, one mom's thoughts on life with her family. But, standing all around us are moms from all over the world, doing exactly what we do. They are loving on their children, trying to find a minute to themselves, and looking for connection. Just like you. Just like me. This picture in my head is wonderful and rich and seeped in the kind of community that can renew our vision for what we really do. This picture of mommas in Brazil and Finland both embracing their babies makes me smile and feel encouraged. And maybe, just maybe, in imagining that scene somewhere else, I can see anew the importance of what I am doing today.

It is Saturday. I am home with my two youngest and the day is spread out before me. As I finish this blog, I am going to go upstairs, get dressed, and get my kids ready for a walk outside. We are going to take our dog and we are going to let the Spring sun fall upon our faces. We are going to sit at a baseball game and cheer for our team and we are going to wander outside looking for proof that Winter has ended and a new season has come. What about you? What does this Saturday hold for you? Wherever you are today, whatever you are doing, remember that there are others who laugh with you, share your frustration and know the minutiae of your ordinary day. And they know, like you, that there is power in the simplest moment; your child's arms around your neck, the peaceful breath of a newborn, the reckless abandon of a child at play, the kiss that you place on the forehead of your child. We all see that. Together. All over the world.