Texting the Truth - Real Moms, Real Grace
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • BlogLovin
  • Email
Menu
Skip to content
  • Home
  • Our Story
  • Our Team
  • Treasured Products
  • Contact Us

Tag Archives: Courtnee White

Searching for What to Keep

11 / 5 / 1811 / 8 / 18

Courtnee

So do you remember how I purged all our belongings before we moved to Florida?  It’s only 10 weeks into the school year and I am drowning in paperwork! I will have to plant a few trees after my son’s kindergarten year!

Laura
Laura

I’ll need to plant a whole forest to compensate for the dead trees, now that all four of my boys are in some form of school, I cannot even believe the mountains of paper on our kitchen counter and table.   I have a system, but when the system gets backlogged by life, it’s ugly.

Laura
Courtnee

My pile is SO deep we lost an assignment sheet and now we are a week behind on the Native American diorama assignment! #secondgradehomeworkformom #thisonebelongstodad  

Laura
Laura

Oh no!  I’ve so been there!

Laura
Courtnee

If my goal is one tote per child that holds treasures from K through 12, I have to decide EACH WEEK what to get rid of and what to keep!

Laura
Laura

Or everyday!  So many decisions!  It’s hard to know what to keep and what to throw away.  I sure hope you have an “ah-ha” moment to help me make these decisions because my Pinterest file folders (Yes, I totally printed the cute labels and everything!) are filling up fast! #wishicouldsaveitall

Laura
Courtnee

Laura, you’re not gonna believe this, but I do have an “ah-ha” moment that came back to me.  I was reminded this week of the children’s picture book that changed my perspective and guided me during the house purge. 

Laura
Laura

Well that sounds amazing!  What’s the book?

Laura
Courtnee

It’s called Rain School by James Rumford.  It’s a story about a teacher and her students building a simple school structure from mud bricks and a grass roof in the African country of Chad.

Laura
Laura

I’m intrigued… what happens?

Laura
Courtnee

Their first lesson is to build the school.  When the students finally get to sit down on the mud benches they built, they are eager to learn.  

Laura
Laura

That is some serious hands-on learning–building their own school and desks?!

Laura
Courtnee

Then the older children reassure their younger siblings they will get a pencil and a notebook of their own.  What a difference from our mounds and mounds of papers.

Laura
Laura

No kidding.  I’m thinking with my former-teacher brain for a minute.  What would I have those students put in that one notebook?  I would have to be so selective with what to “keep” in the curriculum!

Laura
Courtnee

And then at the end of the school year, the heavy rains come and the mud structure and mud desks begin to gradually wash away, but  “the students’ minds are fat with knowledge. Their notebooks are rumpled from learning.”

Laura
Laura

I’m not going to lie.  That sounds a little sad.  All their hard work… their school… just gets washed away? 

Laura
Courtnee

But the author writes: “It doesn’t matter.  The letters have been learned and the knowledge taken away by the children.”

Laura
Laura

That is a great perspective.  It is really about what is in the hearts and minds of the students.  No wonder this changed your perspective!

Laura
Courtnee

While doing our whole house purge, when I got stuck on whether to keep something or not, I would say “Rain School” or look at the “Rain School” sign I made.  I would ask myself, “Has this item already served its purpose in our lives?” I found it was easier to let something go when I realized I had something inside me (or my family) that was more valuable, longer-lasting and portable than the object.  

Laura
Laura

That’s true.  That’s what is really important.  I love this idea! Eventually the content of the papers are just going to be in their minds. The love of learning and the dear friendships are going to be imprinted on their hearts.  Math worksheets, sight words, and even the cute crafts don’t really matter.

Laura
Courtnee

But Laura, here’s the kicker.  The Sunday School paperwork.

Laura
Laura

Oh, right.  You mean the papers that “prove” they learned something about God?!  

Laura
Courtnee

Bahahahah!   Actually my problem is the  “talking sheets” from Sunday school that I’m just filing  away rather than using. It’s not because I don’t want to talk with them about God and what they learned on Sunday afternoon; it’s because I’m overwhelmed with paperwork and they’re clamoring for lunch, not spiritual conversation. 

Laura
Laura

Oh, right!!  You are just failing as a mother there!  Not using your “talking sheets” from Sunday school to guide the spiritual development of your children?!  How dare you file those papers… I hope you sense my sarcasm here! ???

Laura
Courtnee

So since I’m overwhelmed by the paperwork, can I just rely on my relationship with my children and my heart to teach them?

Laura
Laura

Right!  Because the papers aren’t really what’s important here.  You said it just a little bit ago. It’s what’s in their hearts and minds.  Let’s just say our kids’ hearts are their one notebook. As parents we want to be pretty selective on what gets written down in there.

Laura
Courtnee

And even though they don’t say it to us, they are “writing” our interactions with them into their notebook.  The values we are teaching them carry a weight because we have a special connection to their hearts as their parents.

Laura
Laura

And what gets into their hearts and minds is what you are talking to them about over and over and over.  If the “talking sheets” help you decide, by all means keep it, but if not, I don’t think you need to worry too much about using every resource.

Laura
Courtnee

My good friend, Jane, told me she always disagreed with her parents because it was a safe place to work out her beliefs.  But what her parents didn’t know is that she always took their side when she had discussions elsewhere.

Laura
Laura

That is good to think about. Because sometimes it feels like the conversations don’t really stick in their heart notebooks.  Plus what I really want to show my boys is that there are ways for them to search out what is good for their hearts and minds on their own.  And there are things that they need to give up thinking about. Concerns that they need to give up worrying about. Habits that they can give up for good. 

Laura
Courtnee

Yes, I want my kids to have a filter for the things they are experiencing because my kids are “bringing” a lot of things home from school that concern me.  My regular prayer has been for God to guard their hearts for them and teach them how to filter what they allow into their hearts and minds.

Laura
Laura

What a great prayer!  I am going to pray we can help them make the search for good become second nature.  And on the other hand, the choice to give up what’s unhealthy a choice they aren’t afraid to make.

Laura
Courtnee

This is so hard because we are like mama bear snipers wanting to pick off anything we think would be harmful to our kids.  But in reality we need to step back and realize we are trail guides pointing them toward Jesus and His invitation to be a wholehearted person in a world full of good and bad choices.  

Laura
Laura

I know it will take time.  Sort of like I had to come up with my system of what papers to save and what papers to throw away.  We just keep on trying to show them. It’s a constant process.

Laura
Courtnee

Lord, help us to invite and inspire our kids to journey toward you every day.  Will you be their leader and ours in sorting through what to keep and what to let go of.

Laura
Laura

Amen!  

Ok… I’m inspired! I’m off to tackle the pile on my kitchen counter.  And while I sort, I’ll be praying for our kids to do the same.

Laura

Soaking in the Truth

Scripture to encourage you:

  • “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:… A time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,6, NIV).
  • “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4, NIV)
  • “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”  (Proverbs 4:23)
  • “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33, NIV)

Music to inspire you:

  • “Build My Life” Peyton Allen, Bethel Worship Music
  • “Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns
  • “Fear is a Liar” by Zach Williams

Readings and Resources to come alongside of you:

  • Growing Kids with Character: Nurturing Your Child’s Potential, Purpose, and Passion by Hettie Brittz
  • Parenting the Wholehearted Child: Captivating Your Child’s Heart with God’s Extravagant Grace by Jeannie Cunnion

Related Posts on Texting The Truth:

  • Beautiful in His Time: A New Season
  • Decluttering Our Spiritual Closets
  • Finding Strong Priorities Under the the Clutter

  • I (Courtnee) am decorating the kids room with their school art.  I have SO many sight word sheets that I am also going to get creative with cutting them up and building some sentences on the wall.  I see it as my “Rain School” that will contribute to their learning for the year. Do you have a space in your house to use their school paperwork to build your Rain School?  Go off the Pinterest grid and see how you can be creative with your space and your stuff to build your Rain School out of what the kids bring home!
  • I (Laura) have one large bulletin board for cute crafts and other work that we are really proud of.  Like the 10/10 correct spelling words that someone worked so hard to get! These papers go on display for a season.  They get replaced with the next season of work. When I take the craft down, I have a little system if it gets trashed or not.  First is is somehow personal to my son? Does it display his handprint? His personality? Something unique to him? If his craft looks just like all the other student’s crafts, it usually gets trashed.  If I am unsure or for some reason just feel attached to it, then it goes into a holding bin that I have for each child. Twice a year, I look at the holding bin and decide if those papers will make the cut and go into my Pinterest file box.  One folder per year in one box K-12!!!
  • Beyond the practical systems of sorting and keeping, we can all be in prayer for kids.  Pray with us? Lord, be with _________(child’s name) today.  Protect his/her heart’s notebook. We ask that You would be his/her teacher.  Show him/her what to write down today about the world that You have made and what he/she should know about You from what they heard from friends and learned from teachers.  Help me as his/her mother to reinforce what you want him/her to keep in his/her heart. Help me to talk everyday about You and what You want my dear child to learn. Amen.

Treasured Products we love:

  • The Rain School by James Rumford

{These suggestions are ideas from novice moms. Sometimes our life situations need more.

In that case, seeking out professional help is the right call.}

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Email

A Time to Plant and a Time to Uproot

9 / 17 / 189 / 17 / 18

 

In my adult life, I have been uprooted several times.  Recently, we moved for our work from Illinois to Florida for a year.  I can now say I have had driver’s licenses in five states.

There is some joyful recollection, but also some quiet mourning as I often wonder what it would be like to stay in one place for a long time.  What would it be like to be really known in a community? To have your name on a park bench when you pass away because you made such a significant impact on the people of that community.

And yet I know that moving around doesn’t mean that I don’t have an opportunity to form significant relationships–it just looks different and takes a different kind of investment.  We specialize in getting to know people deeply in a shorter amount of time.

During the goodbye party for one of our past moves, a friend gave me a small plaque that said, “Bloom where you’re planted.”  

It sounds lovely, but we are only one month into this most recent move and the honeymoon phase has slid into, “Oh my goodness, what did I get myself and my family into?!”  I feel like a transplanted plant because plants often go through shock when they are moved from one garden space to another. They need a lot of extra care to make the transition to their new place.  And sometimes before they are transplanted, they sit in a pot–waiting for the gardener to prepare their new home.

I feel like the plant sitting in the pot, waiting. I need extra water.  I need to be shielded from too much sunlight. I need some fertilizer to strengthen me through the transition.  That sounds easy when thinking about a plant. But when I think about myself (and my three kids and husband), I realize that the extra things we need are a form of soul care.  

We need time for our souls to catch up to our bodies.  To start rooting in the new soil. We need grace and acceptance to show our stress–like a plant that often wilts during the first days of a transplant.  We need to maintain simple traditions and rhythms–things we can bring with us to our new place. We need to have fun, to find the warmth and joy of the sunshine in our new place.  We need to trust God who led us into this transition. A faith that He is the Master Gardener who will attend to our needs. He will not leave us on the patio to wither, dry up, and die. His desire is for us to flourish.

During this transition, I have thought about the ancient Israelites journeying through the wilderness with Moses as their leader.  God miraculously and powerfully delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh, yet multiple times they accused God of leading them into the wilderness to die of starvation and dehydration.  

Their lack of faith angered God.  Moses demonstrated the faith the Israelites lacked when he boldly and candidly talked to God.  He reminded God of His plans and promises to transplant and transform these Israelite refugees wandering in the desert into a great nation that would reveal Him to the world!

As a follower of Jesus, I am grafted into the family and these promises also.   God has good plans for me and my family. He did not transplant us to the ninety degree heat to let us wilt and die.  And so with that in mind, I need to also trust Him to provide for the big and little things that will nourish my soul and strengthen my roots during this transition.  And those of my family.

Before this temporary, move a friend gave me a sign that reads, “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”

Oh God, strengthen my heart so that I can be wholeheartedly here and partake of what You have for me.  Gardeners transplant plants so they have the space and growing conditions to spread, multiply, and increase in size and fruitfulness. This is our desire too!

Whether He transplants us across the street or across the country, we can trust the Master Gardener who leads us into new seasons of transition and growth.

?Written by Courtnee White

Soaking in the Truth

Scripture to encourage you:

  • “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,” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a, NIV)
  • “He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV)
  • “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1, NIV)


Music to inspire you:

  • “God of All My Days” by Casting Crowns

Readings and Resources to come alongside of you:

  • After the Boxes are Unpacked by Susan Miller – I haven’t done this study, but I have heard from many women that it is such a helpful resource if you have currently moved!
  • A Time to Uproot Devotional 
  • A Time to Plant Devotional 
  • If you are curious about the Exodus story I alluded to, you can read these three “Facetime” conversations that Moses had with God during the Golden Calf incident and following many waves of disobedience and grumbling from the Israelites.  
    • Exodus 32:7-14: “An intimate exchange: Two friends talking about what to do”
    • Exodus 32:31-33:6: “So Moses returned to the Lord and said…”
    • Exodus 33:7-11: “God speaks to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend”
    • Also, If you have never read the entire story of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, consider putting it on your Bible reading bucket list (mainly the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy and Joshua).  Seriously not boring sections of the Old Testament–they read like a Netflix drama with some comedy mixed in! Reading them out loud is even more captivating!


Related Posts on Texting The Truth:

  • Beautiful in His Time: A New Season


Living Out the Truth

Ideas to try:

  • You may not have moved, but maybe you need to consider what needs to be uprooted in your life. Are there habits that need to be weeded out? Ask God what He wants you to uproot so that you can plant things that bring vibrant life.
  • The seasons of a person’s life are not always marked by a geographic move.  Staying in the same place requires steps of faith, also. My friend’s husband just went through a process to decide if he should change jobs which would require a geographic move.  God led him to stay. The decision process and the staying are leading them into a new season of life right where they are.  How has God worked in your life to lead you into a new season of life, and/or growth and dependence upon Him?  Try making a map of your life: as you look back can you mark off specific seasons? You might use these 5 H’s to help:  Heritage (family), High Times, Hard Times, Heroes, Hand of God.
  • Pray a prayer of surrender.  I recently heard a woman speak who has been greatly used by God through the past 50 years of her adult life.  She told a story about being a young woman sitting outside looking at a beautiful landscape at the ministry headquarters where God had called her to work.  She was amazed at the things God was doing through this new ministry and that she got to be a part of it. She asked the Lord, “Why me, Lord? Why do I get to do these things?  Why are you using me?” And he answered, “Because you said, ‘yes.’” I (Courtnee) felt deeply challenged and encouraged to surrender my heart (continually) to God and His will, not my own plans and ambitions.  And then, when I was sharing about how this story impacted me, I was asked a powerful question which I want to share with you: “What if this year you only did what God wanted to do through you?”  (Huh, you might be thinking?  That was my response.) You may also think that the “only” part sounds so little, so much less than what you want to accomplish.  You’ve got plans. Ambitions. But I think the “only” actually guards the sacred in that question rather than minimizes it. So what if this year you ONLY did what God wanted to do through you?

{These suggestions are ideas from novice moms. Sometimes our life situations need more. In that case, seeking out professional help is the right call.}

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Email

Posts navigation

1 2 Next Page

About Us!

We don’t claim to have motherhood figured out. Actually quite the opposite. We’re a group of women who first and foremost love the Lord and want to honor Him with our lives and talents. And we decided that what better way for us to sort out this beautiful and messy thing called motherhood but to process it together in text messages? Our prayer is that as we share our real-life stories and honest experiences, every mom who visits our blog will receive tangible truth and experience real grace.

Connect with Us!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • BlogLovin
  • Email

Stay Connected

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of text messages by email!

Categories

  • #atasteoftextingthetruth
  • #autumn2019
  • #beautifulinHistime
  • #bemomstrong
  • #christmas2019
  • #Coronavirus2020
  • #newbeginnings2020
  • #simplechristmas
  • #smallshifts
  • #Spring2020
  • #summer2019
  • #summer2020
  • #thetruthaboutgrowingup
  • #thetruthaboutsummer
  • #warmthinthewinter
  • Anxiety
  • Being Honest
  • Brave Mom
  • Communication
  • Expectations
  • Friendship
  • Holidays
  • Let's Chat
  • Marriage
  • Me Too Moment
  • Mental Health
  • Mom Fails
  • Mom Fears
  • Mom Guilt
  • Mom Identity
  • Mom Life
  • Mom Memories
  • Mom Pride
  • Mom Time
  • Mom Win
  • Moms in Progress
  • Relationships
  • School
  • Special Needs
  • Tired Mom
  • Uncategorized
  • Working Mom

Search this Site



Tags

anger Anna Brink Anxiety balance Christmas comparison coronavirus discipline Easter faith Fear Forgiveness friendship God grace grief Humility husband identity Janelle Gibbs Jen Moore Jesus Jo Perkins juggling Katie Duh Laura Freytag marriage memories Michelle Warner Mistakes Mom Fail mom guilt Moms in Progress mom win Mom Win Wednesday perfectionism perspective prayer resentment rest Social Media summer surrender trust Virginia Forste

Recent Posts

  • “Mom-sters” Hungry for Peace and Laughter
  • Dream Big, Hope for More, and Don’t Settle
  • Leaving a Legacy
  • Thieves of Joy
  • Reflections on a Blog’s 4th Birthday

Share the Love ♥

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • BlogLovin
  • Email

About

Submissions

Contact Us

Disclosure

Advertising

We Believe

Site made with ♥ by Kristen McCall
Angie Makes Feminine WordPress Themes