Monday, November 22, 2010

Grateful for ANCHORS





It's Monday morning. I hope you all had a good weekend!

I'm grateful for a wonderful weekend, albeit a very busy one. Yesterday was great, the meal turned out well, and we had a very nice time of fellowship. We ended up having 38 people here!



Today I'm happy to wake up looking forward to a quiet, "normal" day. Over 12 hours of people, people, people! Although it's fun and needed, it's exhausting.

I'm extra grateful that tonight we've been invited over to another family's home for the evening meal. A little quieter tonight since it'll only be us and them. And, we get to enjoy someone else's labor of love! Yay!

Today we'll straighten up the mess a little, do some schoolwork, and drop those anchors back down.


Large ship's anchor


Anchors are things that we instill in our day that keep us grounded, so to speak. I learned this from Dr. Raymond Moore, one of the early homeschooling pioneers, who wrote a lot of eye-opening books, one being "Better Late Than Early." Anchors are times in your day that you and your family can count on happening. They bring a sense of order.

Some anchors could be:

Breakfast at 8am
Chores
Lunch at noon
Afternoon Tea/Quiet Time at 3pm
Afternoon Chores
Dinner at 6:30pm
Family Time in the evening
Tuck in and prayer before bed

Very simple, ordinary things. Some days even just meals and bedtime at the expected time bring a sense of order and peace to a family. When the children can count on these times happening most days, they know what to expect and it keeps them a little grounded.

Obviously, we can't keep as many anchors down when we're not at home, or when special circumstances come up. And it's nice to have healthy diversions and such. But, for the most part, we try to keep our anchors down and the children are much more settled as a result. And when the children are settled and happy, the parents are more settled and happy.



Just a simple little thing that works. I'm grateful for anchors, especially our eternal Anchor, Jesus Christ, Who keeps us grounded even when we have no anchors of our own in place.

"Though the angry surges roll
On my tempest driven soul,
I am peaceful, for I know,
Wildly though the winds may blow,
I've an anchor safe and sure,
That can evermore endure."

For the complete lyrics to this beautiful hymn, click here. What do you think about anchors?

Join Brenda today at Garden of Learning for lots of inspiration on gratitude.


Branch Of Wisdom

I've also linked up with Branch of Wisdom for "A Month of Thanksgiving" Visit there for help in counting your blessings!

Have a blessed week, friends. Please tell me about your weekend or upcoming plans for your week!

12 comments:

Illinois Lori said...

Hi Jimi Ann! I'm Lori, found you from Tamara's "Month of Thanksgiving" meme. Nice to meet you!

I know what you mean about hospitality being wonderful, fun, needed, and exhausting all at the same time! I hope you enjoy your quiet evening with friends...a nice treat for you!

Anchors are important...they are like protective arms that wrap around us. Thanks so much for sharing this blessing with all of us today!

SisterTipster said...

What a wonderful reminder of the important things~Have a blessed day! HUGS!!

Jen U. said...

I agree anchors are important. I love that Hymn! A favorite of mine. I really enjoyed your pictures as well.

Christi said...

Thank you so much for sharing that hymn. I've never heard it before, absolutely beautiful. I love the pics, too. Beautiful post.

Christi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Dear Jimi Ann...thank you so much for visiting my "little space"...I always love meeting new friends and sharing about our families and our homes. I look forward to browsing your past postings and get to know you better! Sweet blessings to you! ♥ Teri

Unknown said...

Thanks Jimi Ann for the reminder of anchors. I had never thought of those moments in our day as anchors before but they are. Your post has encouraged me to be more purposeful in those times! Thanks! ; )

Prairiemaid said...

Hi Jimi Ann,

Thanks for coming by this morning. Your post today is beautiful and very timely.

I hope you are having a wonderful time of food and fellowship this evening.

Blessings,
Cheryl

Annette said...

Very beautifully written. I will continue to contemplate our family's anchors.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Jill said...

So glad to hear your hospitality dinner went well. Good reminder about the "anchors" they are very important not just for kids, but for moms as well.

Anonymous said...

Such a beautiful post and I'm so blessed to meet you!

I've really enjoyed your heartfelt post and hope that you would consider joining us again tomorrow and on Tuesdays.

I appreciate the food for thought on my family's anchors today.

Catherine said...

I'm glad your dinner went well. 38 people, wow! How fun!

We had an anchorless day today, and by the evening we were all ragged. Anchors are so important. What a nicely written post!

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