Bethany Vitaro - Honest yarns of faith and family
  • My Books
  • Writing
    • Five Minute Friday
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Parenting
  • Exercise
  • About
My Books
Writing
    Five Minute Friday
Faith
Family
Parenting
Exercise
About
Bethany Vitaro - Honest yarns of faith and family

Latest Post

Share Four Somethings February 2025

Share Four Somethings February 2025

February 27, 2025
  • My Books
  • Five Minute Friday
  • Parenting
  • Exercise
  • About
31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, Faith, Family, Writing

Risk Getting Close: Generosity as a Tool for Building Intimate Relationships

October 31, 2018 by Bethany 3 Comments

I talked earlier this month about how difficult it can be to accept help (though it probably shouldn’t be). But…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, Faith, Writing

Giving Voice to Our Work: Generosity as a Tool for Evangelism

October 30, 2018 by Bethany 1 Comment

One of the best reasons to be generous is to show the love of Jesus.  This may sound like an…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, Faith, Writing

All That We Can Do Together: The Benefits of Corporate Generosity

October 29, 2018 by Bethany 5 Comments

So much of generosity is personal and individual, as it should be. But there is power in corporate generosity, giving…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, Faith, Writing

Writing the Song of Our People: Building a Culture of Generosity

October 28, 2018 by Bethany 1 Comment

As Americans, there is a reputation we have throughout the world. It may be unfair but it still exists. We…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, Faith, Writing

No One Is An Island: Generosity as a Tool for Spiritual Wholeness

October 27, 2018 by Bethany 2 Comments

When times are hard, for many of us the easiest reaction is to withdraw. We kind of circle the wagons…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, Faith, Five Minute Friday, Writing

Where and For Who?: Discovering What It Means to Live Generously

October 26, 2018 by Bethany 6 Comments

I remember when my husband got his dream job last year. It was more money than we ever thought was…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, Ethical Shopping, Faith, Writing

Capture Your Creativity: Be Generous, Create Jobs

October 25, 2018 by Bethany 3 Comments

In a recent sermon, I heard a guest speaker made this point. “Generosity from a selfless heart multiplies itself, prospers…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, Faith, Writing

Simple Generosity: Little Things Matter Too

October 24, 2018 by Bethany 3 Comments

We’ve been talking about extravagant generosity and while I believe many of us need to grow in this area, some…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, Faith, Writing

Embrace Extravagance: The Pursuit of Uncommon Giving

October 23, 2018 by Bethany 2 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really means to be generous. But the part I keep getting stuck…

31 Days of Cultivating a Generous Heart, Faith, Writing

Learning to Be Helped: Accepting Generosity from Others

October 22, 2018 by Bethany 3 Comments

When I was in the first year of my marriage, my husband lost his job. My best friend, herself still…

Load more posts
Page 1 of 212»

Socialize with me

Like Me On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget
Bluehost Website Hosting

Categories

This girl! She just comes to life on stage. The la This girl! She just comes to life on stage. The last three months have been grueling for us all. (Hard work for her trying to learn all the songs, dances and lines and for us managing schedules and transport). 
She'd never done a musical before and it's been quite an experience. In the end, I know she's proud of what she and the rest of the cast accomplished. (And still has two more shows to go!)
So grateful to @chrysostomacademy for opening their doors to homeschoolers and giving her this chance to shine. 

#musicmanjr #chrysostomacademy #parenting #parentingteens #theaterkid #homeschoolkid #babygirlgrowingup
At least seven years, possibly longer. I've lost t At least seven years, possibly longer. I've lost track at this point. 
There is still tons more work to do but I'm officially done with my first full manuscript edit and ready to send this well loved (and sometimes hated) project off to my beta readers. 
Holding my breath and hoping it's as good as I hope and not as bad as I fear. 

#manuscript #firstedit #betareaders #actsofwives #amwriting #amediting #historicfiction #onwriting #amwriting #writerproblems #theendisnear #musedontfailmenow #writingonthego #writerslife #wordcount #80000strong
#justafewmorewords #honestyarns #author #writing #workingtitle #AuthorsOfInstagram #WritersOfInstagram #alwaysawriter
What does rest mean to you? I've always thought of What does rest mean to you?
I've always thought of rest as either physical rest (sleeping) or something like a vacation when there is a freedom from responsibilities. 
I'm taking some time off from work this week and it's harder than I thought it would be. I'm not actually going anywhere so the daily needs of the house and family remain. 
If anything those needs loom even larger because without my job taking priority I suddenly feel responsible and even guilty for all of the undone projects. 
There is a sense of panic about what my in-box might look like when I return, and the need to feel valuable at my job.
Perfectionism raises its ugly head as I try to figure out the ideal, most efficient way to spend my week. 
But instead of galvanizing and exciting me, it paralyzes me. 
All the usual things still need to happen (laundry, cooking and cleaning), my children are still here and my husband is still working his paying job. 
Perhaps what I need most is freedom for my mind and spirit. 
The freedom to not be in charge of everything. The freedom to let go of the outcome (even though it wasn't truly within my control to begin with.) 
While I have always tried to create some sort of Sabbath rest, I wonder if this is the part I'm the worst at. Because the responsibility of life and parenthood never takes a day off. The weight of responsibility for their present and future needs is palpable. Some days I can almost feel my body bend under the pressure. 
Except these children are not mine alone, they are given to me to steward. The same power that spoke the world into motion is at work in their lives too. There are good plans for their life that I have no knowledge of or responsibility for. 
I may not be able to take the week off from parenting but I can take a break from worry and strife. I can be present without having to be pressured to produce perfection, in myself or in them. 
Now I just need to take a deep breath, and begin. 

#honestyarns #sabbathmonday #parenting #sabbath #rest #timeoff #presentoverperfect #freedom #recoveringoverachiever #preventingburnout
The only thing better than having a garden is havi The only thing better than having a garden is having a friend with a bigger, better garden. ☺️ Especially one who lives out in the country and invites you to come harvest berries (and peas) during a heatwave and it's a good ten degrees cooler than at home. 
So grateful for a community of friends that continue to be part of our kids' lives and education in so many ways. Last night was the most relaxing, fun I've had in a while, especially considering this heat. 

#garden #gardenlife #harvestoffriends #berries #summer #summergarden #natureday #notaschoolday #alwayslearning #alwaysgrowing #communityeducation #communityhomeschooling #microfarm
In the last week this kid has turned 15, and finis In the last week this kid has turned 15, and finished her first year of high school. She's become more independent while still being very aware of the benefits of childhood dependence. She's strong and stubborn, funny and deep, delightful and exhausting. 
I see glimpses of possibility and hear whispers of intermittent competence. Most weeks I'm not even sure how I feel about her growing up and I'm for sure grateful that she is my first and not my last. 
But this week has mostly been the joy of milestones completed with cautious moments of optimism. 
They get older. The problems are different. There is still joy, there is still struggle. But we change too. Our shoulders grow stronger and our hands open wider. 
I'm not ready to let go, but I'm getting used to the idea. 

#thisis15 #babygirlgrows #growingup #rootstogrow #wingstofly #celebrate #endofyear #homeschoolyear #honestyarns #faithandfamily
Load More Follow on Instagram
© 2024 copyright PREMIUMCODING // All rights reserved
Everly was made with love by Premiumcoding