Verbuary Challenge: Day1

I'm diving in to this challenge for the month of February called Verb-uary. I have zero aspirations of completing every single day. But it's Feb. 2 and I'm thoroughly enjoying myself!

Using a one word prompt, I'm to write a fictional story of any length and share it with the world. I'm sharing here because I can, and I tend to write too many words for social media to handle.

Now, I'm giving you an out. You totally do not have to read any of the forthcoming fiction. It's purely for fun and writing practice. Should you feel the need to leave some feedback or join in on the challenge yourself, I'd probably do a little happy dance. But if not, my feelings toward you will not change whatsoever.

One more thing before I share the first short story: most of the time, I have no idea where the story is going until it's done. These aren't edited. They barely pass through my brain before hitting the page. But isn't that how the best stories are born? When they happen TO you? Well, I think so!

Photo by Kaley Dykstra on Unsplash

"Chain"

He slumps a little bit more than yesterday. Nothing is different today. But that's the problem.

Over and over. Day after day. The same.

He tosses the empty bag of chips across the living room floor and shoves the 3 cans of beer onto the floor. Grabbing the remote, he navigates his Apple TV. A movie, a show, the news? A mindless game? Stupid videos of stupid people doing stupid things?

He clicks on YouTube and drowns in the mindlessness of it all. At least he's not that guy. At least he's not parading himself (or being paraded) all over the internet. At least no one can see him now.

The loneliness tightens his chest and he reaches for food as a response. The chains grow tighter. Heavier.

His hands grasp at empty rappers and cans and bags. He's literally eaten through everything. Even if he wanted to get up--even if he could--he'd find nothing in the cupboards. His fridge has been empty for who knows how long.

His anger boils up. He wants to blame someone. He looks around like he might find someone to blame, knowing full well his eyes weren't going to land on anyone but himself. And when his eyes do catch a glimpse of himself--his tattered and stained sweatpants and large rolling gut, something explodes inside of him.

He leaps from his smelly and distorted lazy chair with more power than a man of his girth should be able to. Tearing through the room, kicking trash about, he rummages under the kitchen sink in search of a trash bag. He finds none.

He's sucking air, not only from the sudden exertion, but even more so from the chains ever tightening. They're thick and cold. And oh so heavy. He flails his arms, desperate to break free from the invisible chains of sin that have gripped him for far too long. That have stolen his entire life from him.

The room is empty but for him to the naked eye, but the spiritual war is waging hard. He thrashes about while the demons of his sinful life grip and pull on his chains, legs, neck.

He falls in a heap. Defeated.

Distant voices from the YouTube videos remind him, as he lay panting and still, that he's completely alone. He's crying now. He's like a beast, chained to the floor with demons for guards, taunting and laughing and pulling ever tighter the suffocating restraints.

Find my writing IG @thewriterslifeforme

Date Night: October Edition

Derek recently coordinated some date night babysitting exchange with my brother and SIL. They live just minutes from us now so it's super easy! And we only have to watch two kids when they go out ;)

My favorite place to go (because it's free!) is the Mishawaka Riverwalk. It's so beautiful and peaceful. I love not feeling rushed, but just moseying along, admiring all the things. Derek always talks about when he and his Xtreme crew knocked out a bunch of trees blocking the view of the river while he convinced the mayor to keep a select few. The rest of the time I usually go on musing about everything under the sun and Derek quietly and patently listens in the loving way he always does. We're so good for each other.

Just off the Riverwalk is Smokestack Brew, which is delish so we dined then walked some more. Nothing fancy, just time together. 

There have been a lot of broken marriages coming to the surface lately. People that have been together much longer than D and I have. People who's weddings we went to. People we never thought would fall apart. It's been a painful reminder of how fragile marriage really is. 

It's also a reminder that it is a slow fade. We don't fall apart overnight. We fall apart over time. It's one tiny decision after another until one day we realize we're miles apart and getting back to each other will take nothing short of a miracle. And usually at that point, we don't really want that miracle.

I can't help but PRAISE THE LORD that He has stationed angels to guard our marriage. Yes, it takes effort on our part. And yes, we fail and we drift and we have stupidity tendencies. But in the end, it's JESUS who holds us together. That in itself is an utter miracle and a blessing at which I pray we never turn up our noses. 

Love is Not a Fight

Warren Barfield

Love is not a place

To come and go as we please

It's a house we enter in

And then commit

To never leave

So lock the door behind you

Throw away the key

We'll work it out together

Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter

In a raging storm

Love is peace

In the middle of a war

If we try to leave

May God send angels

To guard the door

No, love is not a fight

But it's something worth fighting for

To some love is a word

That they can fall into

But when they're falling out

Keeping their word is hard to do

Love will come to save us

If we'll only call

He will ask nothing from us

But demand we give our all

Love is a shelter

In a raging storm

Love is peace

In the middle of a war

If we try to leave

May God send angels

To guard the door

No, love is not a fight

But it?s something worth fighting for

I will fight for you

Would you fight for me?

It's worth fighting for

Date Night: April Edition

I love April.

It being my birthday month has everything to do with it.

I don't like growing older but I love my birthday.

Just do what Derek does and don't try to understand me. It can't be done.

I still remember how in high school my friends would deck out my locker every year. They always made me feel so special (thanks, Dava!). Derek does an excellent job of that, also. He's not the type to decorate, but that's not what I would want at this time in my life.

He always knows exactly what will fill my heart the most. Even though I spend basically every waking hour with my kids, time together with my family is my very favorite.

And if it's free (or mostly free) and nature is involved, he's nailed it.

The weekend of my birthday was packed full of goodness. It all began on Friday night with a girls night with my biggest.

We went to Secret Keeper Girl where we learned about how God has made us each a masterpiece. It was incredible and all sorts of fun. Lifelong memories were made.

Derek had to work on Saturday morning so we all just lounged around. (It was my birthday weekend. Dishes were not on the agenda!) He came home and we all piled into the van and drove 1.75 minutes to a small lake to go hiking.

Afterwards, we dropped the kids at my Bro and SILs and headed to the theater with the lounge seats. We ate popcorn, drank soda, and watched I Can Only Imagine. (Highly recommend, by the way!!)

A quick stop at my fave sandwich place - Penn Station - then some chat time with the sibs and home again.

On my birthday, we went to one of our favorite places: church. Family celebration followed at my parents house. Then Derek and the kids went to kids club/youth group, and I settled into a couple of chairs with a good book.

It was stress-free. It was full of family. It was perfect.

Thank you, husband! On to another year of this glorious life. Interesting how I haven't aged at all in years...

Date Night - March Edition

In March, we finally attended a banquet that we've been wanting to attend for years. Of course we almost completely forgot about it, and thankfully my wonderful SIL and unsuspecting brother were available as last minute babysitters.

Yay for living so much closer now! And for wonderful family. I really have the very best.

We went to the RETA banquet where we had the privilege of listening to Davey Blackburn share his story and a powerful message about the importance of fathers. We also enjoyed some super delicious dinner and a little bit of fellowship with strangers and old friends.

RETA - Reason Enough To Act - has always held a special place in our hearts. Derek used to work part time there as a mentor to fathers. While he worked there, I got to help share some in parenting classes. The founder, Roxana, is an excellent employer, but even more so a wonderful human being. We're privileged to know her.

They're literally walking distance away from Planned Parenthood. The only reason to ever darken the door of Planned Parenthood instead of RETA is to get an abortion (I just censored myself there...) At RETA, you can get a free ultrasound (including a mobile unit), free pregnancy test, and access to Fairhaven OBGYNs. Not only that, there's biblical counseling for those who are recovering from an abortion, coaching and classes for parents, and a store loaded with necessities for new parents that can be earned through the classes. Oh, and if you're looking for someone to teach the real sex ed, RETA's got that too!

All that to say, our March date was at this banquet. And we think you all should get to know RETA and support this incredible ministry in whatever way God calls you!

Of course we didn't take any pictures so here's an adorable picture of my girls from March. They're so stinkin beautiful.

My Favorite Benefits of Homeschooling

I was recently shown this article covering a public forum held with public office candidates. The question of homeschooling came up and I was utterly shocked by the responses.

I still feel downright appalled.

I guess it's just a testament to how we erroneously put so much faith in humans in office. They're fallible and sinful, just like the rest of us. And they don't know everything about all the things. In fact, these particular candidates clearly don't know a blessed thing about homeschooling.

It breaks my heart to think that these people could destroy our freedom to homeschool based on their complete ignorance. I'm seriously considering writing letters to give them an education.

But here, on my teeny tiny blog, I'm gonna go in a little different direction. I simply want to share some of my favorite homeschooling benefits.

While I am a HUGE fan of homeschooling, I'm not for one second going to claim I know what God has for your family. I'm confident that He hasn't called everyone to homeschool. I'm also confident He has called us to it.

Here's just a handful of reasons why I am so grateful that He has:

1. Homeschooling has given us freedom.

You know those super nice days last week? My kids and I got sun on our cheeks. My littlest two boys spent all.day.long outside. We scrapped the usual and soaked up the unusual.

At one point we were headed to a park and we drove by a school that was just letting out. A long line of kids came strolling out, each child wearing winter coats, gloves, and even some with hats. It was 72 degrees. Marie asked why they were all bundled up. She couldn't believe that it was actually that cold out when all of these kids came in to school that morning. She slept through the morning chill and spent her whole day in shorts and a t-shirt. Outside.

I'm not trying to knock traditional school. But I've done excessive research on the benefits of spending lots of time outside, and it beats out classroom work tenfold.

There's not only freedom to close the books and head outside at any given moment, but there's also freedom to pursue subjects and passions that excite my kids. There's freedom to read extra chapters, or skip a lesson altogether. There's freedom to learn life skills like laundry, dishes, splitting wood, and painting trim.

2. Homeschooling has brought us closer.

My kids get along fairly well. Not always, of course. But they are each others' best friends. They do have other friends, trust me! It's not about their siblings being their only friends, by any means. It's about their siblings truly being life-long friends.

We're all about family, and homeschooling has allowed us to do life as a family. We cook, we clean, we read, we play, we travel, we laugh, we fight, we grow. While we could still do all of this on a much smaller scale if our kids spent their days at school, I'm grateful our family is a top priority, not just an extra at the end of the day.

3. Homeschooling is teaching our kids how to interact with all ages.

My kids are the only preschooler, prek-er, 2nd grader, and 4th grader in their school. Their whole lives have been spent with various ages even just within our immediate family.

It plays out outside of our immediate family, too. Marie has been known to take care of any toddling toddler she meets. Kempton can find a friend in anyone who has a friendly face, be it his Uncle David, his cousin Pax, his great grandma, or the random kid at the playground. My kids don't even comprehend the idea of spending an entire day with only peers.

I think that's a beautiful thing.

4. Homeschooling has given us lots of Jesus moments.

We believe that, as parents, we've been called to teach our babes about Jesus every chance we get. I know plenty of amazing parents who do just that even with their kids going to school all day. We just love that we have so much more time for it.

Of course sometimes homeschooling teaches our kids all about how parents are also imperfect and in need of forgiveness... a lot.

My point is, I'm there for the teachable moments. I get to be the main person to share Jesus with them. I love that other people at church and co-op reinforce these things, and that our kids are able to learn about our Savior from a variety of godly teachers. But I'm grateful that Derek and I get to be their main source.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Oh the benefits are endless! Maybe I'll just write up a whole long list for the blog someday. But these few have really stood out to me over the years we've been homeschooling. After realizing through that article how little some people know about homeschooling, I couldn't help but share my favorite reasons to stick with it in spite of the foolish and ignorant comments.

We love homeschooling!