How often do people want to hear from authors? I asked that question of an author friend of mine, and she ran a survey of several thousand of her readers. Their answer? More often than they do! They like to hear updates about what is happening in the REAL LIVES of the authors they care about.
So what’s going on in the Elliott house?
My husband recently sent a long reply to an out-of-town friend who had asked the same question. He wrote out a long reply filled with an actual list of everything that has been on our plate, but he tried to stay positive. He finished with, “All in all, it has been busy, but Yah is good.😊”
But before hitting “send,” he showed it to me.
“Anne,” he said, “I didn’t realize how BUSY it has been until I wrote it all out!”
Yeah, I agree.
- Our first grandchild was born in July. Our daughter was married in August. We led a large Sukkot event in Michigan in September.
- My elderly mother is moving in with us next week. We are driving to PA on Sunday, and tentatively we will come home Wednesday or Thursday with a truck and everything she owns. She is downsizing from a 4-floor home to a bedroom and storage unit.
- Our house is tiny, so my husband is trying so hard to remodel it and add more closet space. He is extremely overwhelmed, too, because our old house is crooked (which is what the realtors call “charming” ha!), so it’s been a difficult DIY job. I don’t think it will be ready by Sunday. So my poor mom will get the couch until her new room is finally ready.
- Our newly married daughter caught Covid and then a severe case of double pneumonia. I have spent quite a few days with her, taking care of her and cooking meals for her, trying to keep her from being hospitalized. (She is much improved now, halleluYah!)
- I’m still trying to run a business, teach classes online, answer all your emails, and continue to write curriculum. I feel like I’m dropping balls everywhere.
- Kraig’s sister has a hip replacement coming up the week after Thanksgiving. She will need a ton of in-home care for about 2 weeks, although this can be shared throughout our whole family and won’t solely be on me.
I struggle knowing my priorities through all this, to be very honest. Work? Pastor’s wife? Mother? Daughter? Sister? Wife? Homeschool mom to our two high-school students?
I told a close friend about all this. We then had a wonderful and encouraging conversation about priorities. She asked about my own health. I shared that I still struggle with many of the same issues that have plagued me over the past few years, especially those resulting from my severe fall and traumatic brain injury in 2020. Migraines have been increasing in the past few weeks.
She reminded me to take naps, and to be sure to prioritize health, especially if I wanted to minister to OTHERS on top of just staying healthy. She reminded me about a book by Elizabeth George, A Woman After God’s Own Heart, which mentions priorities. I have that book, so I got it out and reviewed it. In fact, my very first published book (2005), called Juggling Life’s Responsibilities (out of print), had a very similar order to the biblical priorities of a woman.
- YHVH
- Husband
- Children
- Household
- Work/Ministry/Friends
I soundly agree with all of this, and my friend reminded me that the needs of those in Priorities 1-3 were non-negotiable, and after that, I would just have to delegate or wait on the Father’s timing if delegating wasn’t an option.
When life is “full to overflowing” with unexpected challenges and blessings, she reminded me to look at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Paul says:
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Master three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace [protection] is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities [illnesses and sicknesses], that the power of Messiah may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Messiah’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Right now, I don’t have any staff working for us except a daughter who is a senior in high school, who helps with shipping our books. This means I have indeed been dropping balls at work — such as replying quickly to emails or video chats, handling technical difficulties in a matter of hours, or marketing Homeschooling Torah out on social media and making new videos for YouTube.
I have been prioritizing urgent customer needs and writing curriculum, especially Science and Word Power. However, even that has been SO MUCH SLOWER than how I wish it would be.
I still have so many ideas for the future, beyond new curriculum and making older curriculum even better. I dream of writing marriage and parenting materials to equip young parents to have a STRONG FAMILY from the very start. My husband and I have been praying about unit studies for both children and adults on topics such as the biblical feasts, topics for those new to Torah, relationships, and so much more.
But… priorities. As Yah allows, we will all keep going, with JOY!
But as seasons change and He allows difficult times and setbacks, we just have to continue to trust Him.
See why I don’t like sending these update emails? I feel like I’m constantly telling my friends that my life is NORMAL and full of the same struggles you all face. I feel like I’m letting a bunch of people down. Why would you want to read this?
But if I can encourage you, it would be that as a homeschooling wife and mom, the MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY you have is to show love to your family.
Prioritize love and care over math and science and phonics. Yes, academics are important. However, if your life is crazy in this short season, prioritize hugs, a listening ear to frazzled family, snuggles on the couch with books, laughter, clean underwear, food in everyone’s bellies, and plenty of sleep. Keep the most important things the most important things.
That will mean your “school” won’t look the same as how the world does it. But at the end of the day, you’ll know you’re pleasing your Master, amen?
Homeschooling Torah isn’t run like an ordinary company either. We’re just one family reaching out to minister to other families. May He expand all our reach in this world! May He get all the glory! May His Truth go out into all the world, and may STRONG MARRIAGES and PEACEFUL HOMES be the fruit of all we do.
But it’s all in His time. In His way. In His seasons.
Ahhhhhh… this flesh of mine will be SO HAPPY when I can finally write an update saying, “Word Power is done! Science books are in stock!”
Meanwhile, has anyone seen my clean socks?
Hugs and shalom,
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