summer plans

Ummm, did anyone else see the beginning or middle of summer? Because I'm pretty sure I missed it. IT IS ALREADY JULY 18!! I can sit here and be flabbergasted at how quickly the time has flown, but I'm really, truly, not at all flabbergasted. *sigh* It was so crazy busy at the Cragin Homestead that I think we're all just starting to emerge from our own version of "survival mode." I, personally, am crawling out, hiding my eyes from the blinding light that pours through my kitchen windows because I haven't yet bought curtains for them...

Let me sum up June and the first half of July for you:


Kitchen Remodel
House guests
Wedding (semi-coordinator of said wedding)
House guests
Finish of Kitchen Remodel
July 4th Celebration
Anniversary
Linc's Birthday
House guests
 And BOOM!: we start school in 1 month.

I had some awesome plans set out for myself so that I could accomplish amazing things this summer. I was going to take time to write every day. I was going to make sure my kids got some awesome fun (educational) stuff done every week! I have a small mountain of upcycling projects that I just can't wait to delve into. They beckon me every day! I had plans written out in my bullet journal (which is a new current obsession, thanks to an introduction from my niece!) and I was going to accomplish ALL the things! EVERY SINGLE THING!

And here I sit, just now blogging for the first time in 2 months. And I cleaned up a piece of furniture today, the first piece I've touched. And I had my son read to me today. AND DID I MENTION THAT IT IS ALREADY JULY 18?!

Today's take away in all this malarkey? (Did you know that it was spelled "malarkey" and not "malarky?" I didn't.)
Here's the truth: We make our plans, but God directs them.

When I look back at this past month and see how He worked in our lives as well as the lives of the people we interacted with through our kitchen remodel and the numerous house guests we had, He knew, better than we did, what He was doing.

When I look back at the experiences and growth that has happened to our family over the last month, I wouldn't change God's plans back to my own for a million bucks. I mean, I'd consider it because a million bucks is a WHOLE lot more than I make teaching piano lessons each year and it would remodel the ENTIRE house, not just the kitchen....but I'd really only consider it for a minute...or five.

God makes it pretty clear in His #truthbomb from Isaiah 55: 9 ~  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

That's right: God just put us ALL in our place!

So go ahead make your plans, but just know that His are bigger and better and higher!

KC