about beth & the brew*crew
Hi, I'm Beth and I'd like to say welcome and thank you so much for visiting my blog! I do hope that you find inspiration, truth and encouragement here! I'll never forget the day that I sat in a church listening to a guest speaker who made mention of his blog, and I wondered over the idea. That afternoon my hubby and I found blogger and discovered the world of blogdom.
It was actually Chris who pushed the idea, and encouraged me to start writing/publishing online. He even went so far as to set up my first blog, in the process giving it it's kooky name, "the brew*crew adventure", (which has somehow stuck over the years and a few moves). What an interesting journey it has been, in so many ways and rewarding on so many levels. I have been humbly, and quite unexpectedly, delighted at the network of friends, support and inspiration I have found among my fellow bloggers on the web, especially among those within the homeschooling community.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
~ Ecclesiastes 3.11
Over the years, this has become a favorite Scripture of mine, the truth of which has brought me much peace. I've learned that truly, we never do know what each day holds, nor can we ever comprehend the Mind of God, yet I do know that no matter what, good times and bad, we are blessed and touched by the Hand of a Loving Creator who gives beauty for ashes... even especially when the adventure is hard. I love that verse because it speaks so deeply to me of TRUST. In the face of uncertainty and questioning doubt... I am learning to trust Him more, even as I'm learning to pray more.
Why am I brewing this blog anyways?
My Lord is continually surprising me with wonderful newness of life as my family and I adventure forth in the Way, as He leads us. So why am I writing along the way, and why this blog?
I write to relax, to hear, to think, sort things out, mark my path, to share, to remember and to better understand... to continue the process that began so many years ago when I discovered my love for thoughts framed with words.
I believe that the sentiments of William Makepeace Thackeray express perfectly why I love to write and do desire to write more as the seasons of my life allow.
There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write.
This is basicly just a writing and photo journal of my days; musings, hopes, fears, faith and falterings as I adventure with my family through this amazing gift of life I've been given. My prayer is that this blog of mine would somehow bless those who happen upon it and meander within... Shalom, and welcome. Thanks for reading and feel free to email me anytime: beth.brewcrew@gmail.com. Please leave me comments anytime. I'd love to hear from you!
Who am I and what's in the brew?
Still want to know more about me, the brewess of this blog? Okay, first and foremost, I am a redeemed sinner, and I love my Messiah and King passionately. I have been married for 15 years now to my soulmate and best friend, my beloved- Christopher. The first five years of our marriage were the hardest... on so many levels. However, once we made it through that rocky start, it's just gotten better every year. Though our life circumstances sure haven't gotten any easier, we're becoming closer as we both grow in the Lord and our history together unfolds. We are deeply in love, something we've learned at times is a choice, rather than a mere feeling~ true, undying commitment~ the feelings follow the choices, and they will come and go.
As a little girl I dreamed of getting married and being a Mommy... and that hope that slowly faded for a period of many dark, seemingly lost years in the life a broken-hearted, very confused and searching girl turned rebellious, angry teenager has now come true and is a far greater, more fulfilling blessing than I ever could have imagined. Through the years, my Lord has brought healing to this soul and restored depths that I never even knew I'd lost.
Why do we homeschool our crew?
I am also blessed to be "Momma" to our beautiful children. Our eldest, Nathanael, just turned 14 years old this year! Our middle child is our 11 year old daughter, Tabitha, followed by our baby Judah, who is in heaven already, and most recently we have been blessed with our precious baby girl, Savannah, who arrived in August of 2007, right on her due date. Babies Judah and Savannah are both our vasectomy reversal miracle babies. I am more in awe of how blessed I have been to have these precious children every. single. day.
Chris and I have both been impressed with a strong conviction that the spiritual and academic upbringing of our children (not the State's!) is our greatest responsibility unto the Lord, after that of our own devotion to each other, and to Yah Himself. The reality is that we are simply discipling them daily, and the weighty responsibility of this fact, that one day we will give an answer for how we've led these individual souls, entrusted to us for but a short time, brings me to my knees, and the Word of Elohim more and more often as the years go by and our understanding increases.
I am loving learning with my kids as we spend time together homeschooling... there's (usually) absolutely nothing I'd rather be doing each day. I really do think that I get as much out of it as our kids do, if not more! I'm learning way more than I ever did in my own formal education, even in college, though probably mostly because I'm actually interested now, and have the wonderful luxury of time.
Our main goal in educating our kids would probably be to instill in them a love for learning, and to share a full life with them, made of rich memories built on a solid foundation from which they may one day fulfill their own destinies, life goals, missions and purpose.
Homeschooling has just seemed to Chris and I like the most natural progression in the world for our family, as a lifestyle of learning~ together. As our children have grown, so too have our educational endeavors! I remember when N was a baby, our meeting a family in our church who home schooled, and knowing immediately that that's what we wanted for our family. I started researching and readying myself when he was about 3 years old, 10 years ago now! This is our eighth year officially homeschooling, and I do believe that I'm finally starting to get the hang of it! Haha. Chris and I like to joke that even once our kids graduate and leave the nest, we'll continue homeschooling ourselves, since after all, life is learning...
Over the years, as we've had a few interstate moves and lots of other adventures- like babysitting more kids, our homeschool has seen many seasons of unschooling, but mostly "relaxed eclectic" would probably best describe our approach thusfar (or would it better be described as "structured unschooling"? hmmm, a conundrum), with Charlotte Mason aspirations. These last couple of years we've added a lot more structure as we're taking on more of a Classical approach, and Nathan and Tabitha are getting older and I'm learning how to best implement CM's methods in a meaningful way for us. Adjusting to life with a very busy, curious toddler who only takes one 40 minute nap on the average day has been our latest challenge! I'm slowly reading through Miss Mason's Homeschooling Series.
What else am I brewing?
Besides wanting to be a better wife, "Mama", writer and home (un)schooler, I love art and still want to be an artist when I grow up. In the last few years I have discovered photography, and though my humble camera has served me well, I have also discovered a huge frontier of unexplored possibilities that a new camera might afford me. I am hoping, planning and praying SO excited to do more with photography one day in the future very soon, because I am FINALLY about to be the fumbling, nervous, overwhelmed owner of a brand-spankin'-new Nikon D40, along with some great lenses that I'll be blogging about soon! if only I can (convince Chris that we can) afford it now keep Chris from regretting all this $ I'm spending on it, and learn what the heck I'm doing! LOL I dream of the day that I'll get a nice digital SLR, Photoshop, and eventually even start shooting professionally (which simply means making $ at it)!
There's just something magical about capturing moments in time, memories in images. In college I majored in fine art and sold most of my artwork, though I wish now that I hadn't, but needed the money then, starving artist and all. I fell in love with sculpture and pottery those years and built on the passion for visual art that I've had since I can remember. Drawing and painting was how I captured images... and maybe someday I'll do some more of that. But for now, I'm finding that I'd usually rather take pictures, preferring to capture the beauty of the natural light as it does the painting, carving out the intricate images our Creator has already fashioned all around us...
How this brew*crew adventure began...
I'm still an art student at heart... dreaming of eventually drawing and painting my childrens' portraits... as a first step towards doing my art seriously again... One day, all in due time, right? However, as much as I enjoy photography, and anticipate doing more of it soon, I sometimes wonder if I'll ever draw as much again? In 1995 I quit art school to run off and get married, after only three months of knowing this crazy guy- my Christopher. Everyone thought we were nuts, and rightfully so- we were, and still are, but together! And look at what a life we've created together!
Somehow, cliche as it may sound, we really saw each other's cores and just knew we were each other's match. All I can say is that it's by God's grace that I met and married my man when I did, and we've laughed over the years more than a few times at realizing how perfect we are for each other. Yeah, there have been times I've regretted dropping everything and moving so quickly, not finishing my degree, yet I've never regretted where that choice has brought me. Does that make sense?
Still here, AND want some to know more?!
I like to scrapbook, but hardly ever seem to find the time to do it much... am still working on my kids' baby albums. It's a relaxing hobby, and I like to scrap with my daughter. I'm thinking that once their baby albums are done though, that I'd like to take up digital scrapbooking. I used to be snobby about *crafty* things (something I picked up from the "fine art" crowd I guess). Now I'm not. I've since learned that crafting is creating and creating is soul food, in all its forms. However someone finds they can and do create- it is always good medicine.
I've found the same cathartic satisfaction in piecing and sewing a quilt, or intuitively timing all the dishes of a splendid home-cooked meal to be done at the same time, or growing and eating our own organic produce, or designing a beautiful scrapbook page layout, or learning knitting, or witnessing my kids assimilate new knowledge in meaningful ways, or facilitating their accomplishments, or discovering a bit more about myself as I write out my thoughts, or beading a perfect necklace as I ever did in painting the likeness of a landscape or fashioning a figure of wax and casting it in bronze. I've learned that living, really living, IS art!
I like to read to my kids and sing them lullabies at night. My 13 and 10 year olds still ask for their lullabies, and for me to read aloud to them... and I love that. I almost always oblige, knowing that someday they won't ask. Besides, they actually think I can sing! I've found that I also love to dance with my kids, and with my husband, but especially in worship before my Lord. I took an Irish tap dancing class with my kids for awhile, at our church, and loved it, along with an adult ballet class (with emphasis on basic technique and lyrical/interpretive worship choreography). Hebraic folk dancing is another form of dancing that I've had the pleasure of learning a bit of.
Chris and I dream of moving further out into the country someday, buying more land. He wants to be a farmer. I like to play in the dirt. We think that we'd like to have a dairy cow, or two (maybe a little raw milk co-op), gardens and breed-to-sell quail. I think it's so cool how we've both grown and changed so much over the years, yet we've stayed in sync with one another, sharing the same convictions, passions, goals and inclinations, a vision for our family. Meanwhile we have no idea how/if we'll get there, having recently sold our country cottage home on two acres in NE TN. Right now most of our stuff is in two 10x20 storage units, while we're thankful to have found a monthly rental that allows us to have our spoiled-rotten 100# German Shepherd indoors with us (as he's used to).
We are in transition mode for the time being, and eager to see what the Lord has in store for us along the way... where He'll lead us to next. Having moved around a lot in my life (both before and since being married), you'd think that I'd be used to this by now, but I'm not. My roots grew deeper there in NE TN every day of the five years we lived there. I'm missing our *home* there (which was our network of friends as much as the area itself). But then, nomadic soul that I am, part of me is enthusiastically relishing all of the changes and newness yet ahead of us. I do believe that I could/would make myself at home most anywhere, and for that I am thankful. I've been blessed to make (and even keep up with) such wonderful friends, who enrich my life in so many ways, at every point along the way.
Chris and I are fascinated by the Hebrew language and all things Hebraic, and have wanted to learn Hebrew for many years, something I plan to do with my kids very soon. Chris now wants to learn it as well. I am convinced that in its most ancient form it was the original language Yahweh Himself must have spoken to Adam and Eve in as they strolled through the garden... My family and I have been so enriched in our faith through learning of and celebrating the Biblical Feasts and blessed as we're learning to take the commands and spiritual truths of Adonai, found in His Book of instruction, the Torah, more to heart over the years.
Thank you for reading and I invite you to join my family and I as we continue in this amazing adventure, these fleeting days that I shall attempt to capture and hold a little bit longer by journaling with both words and pictures of this gift of life we've been given.
Embracing the adventure,
I also love long road trips, always have... they somehow offer time to reflect upon where we've been and recalibrate, to plan and anticipate the future and where I'm headed... not to mention the nostalgia they offer from years gone by, as I grew up the eldest child of a hippie who married a southern belle, both of whom had gypsy souls... and so we traveled, year to year, from state to state. Hitting the road is soul food for me. We are nomads in this life, after all ya know. Here's a little something I wrote a few years ago, a sort of road trip down memory lane, if you will...
Where I'm from... an old brew, dark & rich...
I am from the backseat of endless drives down interstates to the tune of “Strawberry Fields Forever” playing on the 8-track, rest stops and picking up hitchhikers in “Clyde” - the old Chevy van (who “ran on dinosaur blood”) we kids had helped our Dad to paint camoflauged. I’m from camping out with my sister and brothers in the back of “Bonnie”, the winged station wagon who carried us from Mississippi to the great NW, in search of something more. I am from canned mackerel on plain bread sandwiches passed back, which tasted so good to hungry children.
I’m from knowing that we’d always be moving soon and not thinking about it much, except that I hated new schools. I am from miles of wide open road, wondering over how the moon traveled with us always, and how the dew glistened on the spiders’ webs in the sparkling morning light as I stepped outside of our wet little tent, eager to discover what adventures awaited me… reminding my Mother of Alice in Wonderland, from freezing one snowy winter night spent on the lip of the Grand Canyon, forgetting myself as I took in the awesome morning sight…
Favorite Movies: Fiddler on the Roof, Bleak House, Les Miserables, Braveheart, The Sound of Music, Little Women, Mary Poppins, The Black Stallion, Black Beauty, Dreamer, Because of Winn Dixie, Ben Hur, El Cid, The Princess Bride, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Anne of Green Gables (the whole series), Love Comes Softly, Phantom of the Opera (the new one), Life is Beautiful, The Chosen, Sarah Plain & Tall, Secondhand Lions, Four Feathers
Favorite Books: The Book of Psalms & Hebrews, Bible, Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyan, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Song of Songs by Watchman Nee, The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread by Booker, The Original Homeschooling Series by Charlotte Mason, For the Children's Sake by Macaulay, Follow the River by Thom, Christy by Catherine Marshall, The Fisherman's Lady by George MacDonald, The Baronet's Song by G. MacDonald, The Tutor's First Love by G. MacDonald, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, First Light by Bodie & Brock Thoene, The Book of Sorrows & The Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
Music: Well, that's everchanging, but I'm always especially fond of folk music, enjoying learning classical composers with the kids (part of our AO studies), jazz, worship, Messianic, some contemporary Christian, some classic rock, alternative, some oldies, etc., etc.
Share ThisSong
Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O'er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.
My Family from WiddlyTinks.comheader photo., et al.
The header photograph(s) for this blog was taken by me (if I'm using a template that has one). This and all other photography shared on my blog is property of me or my family members, unless otherwise noted. Please do not copy or use without getting my permission first. Thanks. beth{dot}brewcrew{at}gmail{dot}com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License
