Here's What I've Been Reading in May...

I am a book addict. I love to read, I always have. There was a time in my life many years ago, though, that I felt guilty if I read anything but the Bible. I thought that if I had extra time, that the best way to spend it was in the scriptures, so I didn't allow myself to read anything else. While that school of thought may not be all bad, my position changed after listening to some good teaching. This particular person recommended reading GREAT BOOKS that can help you grow in your faith and theology. That was so freeing... and it makes sense! Just like I can learn from my local pastor or a solid pastor online (sermon audio is my absolute favorite resource), I can read the writings of Jonathan Edwards, John Bunyan, Spurgeon, Calvin, Augustine, etc... and learn from them too! So my book addiction began to be fed with a vengeance! Homeschooling has also opened up a plethora of great literature resources that I never would have found on my own! So I am hoping, little by little, to do a brief review of a few books a month. Some months I may have a certain theme I'm hi-lighting, other months it will just be a random mix. But I am fairly certain that you won't find any of these on the NYT best sellers list.

And as a disclaimer, I still do recommend spending the bulk of your reading time in the scriptures: the inspired, inerrant Word of God. That being said, I'm also fairly selective as to what I will read. I only have a limited time, so I want it to be time well spent. I want to renew my mind with things that are consistent with a Biblical worldview. Sooooooo, let's get started!!

  THE CROWN AND COVENANT SERIES by Douglas Bond

Duncan's War, The King's Arrow, Rebel's Keep

These books are widely available but here is the link to the set from Amazon.

 Do you want to learn more about the Scottish Covenanters of the 17^th century? (Trust me, YES you do!) The Crown and Covenant trilogy by Douglas Bond is a captivating, historically accurate account of the persecution and plight of the reformed church in Scotland between 1660-1688.

Grace withereth without adversity. The devil is but God's master-fencer, to teach us to handle our weapons. - Samuel Rutherford  The trilogy follows the M'Kethe family (fictional) as they endure the persecution under King Charles II and strive to walk according to the Word of God. These fictional characters are ingeniously woven into the lives of the true historical men and women from the killing times and the years surrounding them. Duncan's War, King's Arrow, & Rebel's Keep are a must read for junior high age to adulthood! This is a fun way to brush up on your history, and it will inspire you to emulate the firmness of faith demonstrated by our spiritual ancestors. By the way, you can't go wrong with reading anything by Douglas Bond!!! His historical fiction novels are just fantastic!

 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE - a sermon by Matthew Henry

 Here is the Amazon link.

 

Years ago I listened to a sermon that told about a woman who upon returning home from church spent 3 hours pouring and praying over her sermon notes. This sermon by Matthew Henry is one that could be prayed and meditated over for years!

A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE – A sermon concerning Family Religion was preached on April 16, 1704. This book is a transcript of that sermon and is a must read for anyone who is passionate about restoring daily worship back to the christian household. (No, it is not advocating skipping corporate worship and doing church at home. Rather it is a call for daily family worship.)

Matthew Henry breaks the subject up into three main parts and expounds upon each providing scriptural basis and life application for the areas of DOCTRINE, WORSHIP, and DISCIPLINE. He speaks at length about incorporating the scriptures, catechizing, specific areas of family prayer, Psalm singing, and the discipline needed to implement this high privilege. Don't miss this invaluable resource which ends with MOTIVES and practical application concerning implementing daily family worship. "If you do not have a church in your house, it is feared Satan will have a seat there. If religion doesn't rule, Satan will." - Matthew Henry

A PEEP BEHIND THE SCENES - O. F. Walton

Available as a free Kindle book here, or in print here. 

 

 A Peep Behind the Scenes by O.F. Walton was published in 1877 and sold over 2 ½ million copies. In fact, it outsold The Scarlet Letter by 2 million books! 

 

Rosalie's father is the god-less, heartless owner of a traveling theater company. Her mother is an actress and Rosalie was born into this not-so-glamorous lifestyle, void of the gospel, void of hope, and void of the glitz and fame projected to the circus-attending fans. One day an old man gives Rosalie and her sickly mother a picture of a shepherd rescuing a lost sheep with a verse printed on it. This began a spiritual awakening within them both, a hunger for the word, repentance, and a strong desire to tell others about the Good Shepherd.

Don't underestimate what the Spirit is able to do with a simple tract, a picture, a book, or even a simple question from a little child in the spreading of His kingdom. This is a great read for elementary school to adulthood, or even a family read-a-loud. Has the Good Shepherd found you?

THE TURQUOISE TABLE - Kristin Schell

Here is the Amazon link. 

 

The Turquoise Table is a beautiful little book filled with do-able and practical ideas facilitating outreach and building relationships within your community. There are a myriad of helpful examples and recipes to show you how simple hospitality and reaching out to your neighbors can be. While it is not filled with scripture, it is definitely written from a Christian perspective.

How often do you invite guests over? How well do you know your neighbors? Relationship is key in discipleship, evangelism, and bearing one another's burdens. This book will inspire you to start cultivating friendships right where God has planted you. This will be especially helpful if you live in town. However, as a country gal, I'm brainstorming on how to adapt it to those who live in the middle of nowhere...

I hope you enjoy these brief book summaries! I'm looking forward to posting more next month!

May our Daughters be like Palace Cornerstones - Psalm 144

I was recently invited to a baby shower for a baby girl. One of the gifts my girls and I made was a rustic wooden sign with the scripture from Psalm 144 which says: ...and may our daughters be like palace cornerstones. When I make scripture word art, I love meditating on the truths of the verses I am working with. I pray for the recipient of the creation and hope that it will be a blessing to them. That was the case with this verse/sign.  As I was meditating, I was wondering what the deeper meaning was behind these simple words: May our daughters be like palace cornerstones. So I began to do a study on the verse for my own personal devotions. About a week before the baby shower, I was asked if I would be willing to give the devotional. WOW! Yes, I thought... and I know EXACTLY what I'm going to talk about!

So below is a copy of the devotional that I gave. I left it in "speech" form, so as you are reading it, that's why it sounds like I'm talking to you.   The resources I used were Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, .Kevin Swanson's Family Bible Study series on the Psalms, and my own personal study of the scriptures. After the devotion, there is a list of a few of our favorite resources.


Before you begin, open your Bible to Psalm 144 and read it.... ENJOY!!!

May our daughters be like palace cornerstones...

Psalm 144

This Psalm is a Psalm of faith: in God's provisions, promises, and protections. We are going to look at a few different aspects of this Psalm, but focus mainly on verse 12. Towards the end of the Psalm, we see David (who represents a type of Christ) praying for two main topics: 1. a faithful progeny/future generation and 2. prosperity for the nation. Certainly (as indicated) a people are truly blessed whose God is the Lord! God has made promises about faithful posterity and prosperity in many places in scripture and we see here that David prays for those things already promised. Keep that in mind, as this applies directly to us as well.

We are going to focus (in the first place) on verse 12: “Our daughters as corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace”.

When I do an in depth study, I generally go to a lexicon and Bible dictionaries and study the words in the original language. I'm not a Greek or Hebrew scholar, so those are helpful resources. However, in this case I was disappointed! There were no rich goldmines, synonyms, or deep thoughts for the word cornerstone or cornerpillar. Basically, what you see is what you get. So then I had to ask myself: What is the function of a cornerstone, and how does that apply to our girls? A cornerstone is an integral part of the foundation (of a palace in this case), and it helps hold together two walls. Like I said: nothing earthshattering here.... But how does this apply to our daughters? We are going to talk a bit about two different ways our daughters function as cornerstones. I'm sure there are more, but time is going to constrain us to just two. As I speak of each of these functions, realize that when I say “daughters”, I'm referring to GROWN UP DAUGHTERS who are (hopefully) functioning as cornerstones. So picture your little girls in your mind and fast forward a decade or two as we look at their future roles.

***CORNERSTONES BETWEEN TWO FAMILIES:

Matthew Henry said that by daughters, two families are united and connected to their mutual strength. It took me awhile to decide if I agreed with that or not, because at first thought it seems like the man as head of the family would be the one binding families together. However, after reflecting upon my experience (which I'm not trying to promote as a method of Bible study), it is the daughter/wife who has the power to bring families together or drive and keep a wedge between them. Think of families you know which have been filled with strife. Is it the son or the daughter that typically resists reconciliation and relationship? We certainly don't want to raise daughters who are easily offended, hold grudges, or who are unforgiving and selfish. We want them to exhibit 1 Cor. 13 love and to be humble peacemakers. As anyone who has been married for any length of time knows, there are ample opportunities for offenses, discord, and for Satan to work in the in-law relationship. We want to raise our daughters to do everything in their power to bring Christlike unity into the inter-family relationships. In Romans 12, we are told that “as much as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all” and also “repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all”. So after reflecting, I agree with Matthew Henry, our daughters are cornerstones between two families and can strengthen both of them. ...or tear them apart.

***CORNERSTONES BETWEEN HER FAMILY AND GOD:

My dear friend and prayer partner and I were discussing daughters as cornerstones and their roles within their own families, namely with their husband and children. The daughter who has now become wife and mother has the opportunity to be the cornerstone between her family and God. Again, I'm a firm believer in male headship, and I'm not trying to discount that. But our daughters as wives have the opportunity to be a helpmeet to their husbands in a physical and spiritual sense. She can pray for him, encourage his spiritual walk, and encourage his accountability with other godly men.... OR NOT. She can be supportive of him in family worship... OR NOT. I won't go in to a lot of application on the marriage aspect of this cornerstone since this is a baby shower and not a bridal shower. But I'm sure you get the idea.

But another major arena in which our daughters have the opportunity to be a cornerstone is the influence that they have upon their children. Even if they work outside the home, and especially if they stay home and/or homeschool their children, our daughters' impact on that next generation is hard to overestimate.

Again, as I'm speaking of daughters, we are still looking into the future at what role we see them performing. In the physical sense, the daughter is the one who will decide how nutritious of food she will feed her family: fast food, pre-made, gummi-worms, fresh, organic, whole, frozen, etc... She will decide how they are clothed, bathed, or how clean the house is kept, etc... In the spiritual sense, the daughter (who is with the children most of the time) will either actively or passively determine what goes into the hearts and minds of her children. Will she lead them to God? Or away from God? What kind of story books will she read to her babies? What is the worldview behind the toys she allows into her home? What kinds of songs will she sing to them? Will they be babysat by the TV? What kind of shows will she let them watch? What will she do during naptime? Will she fill her own mind with godly, nourishing things or soap operas? Proverbs 14:1 says: The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.

As you can see, our daughters' influence on the next generation is very great. Discernment must not only be made between right and wrong, but between right and almost right. Will our daughters be a cornerstone between their families and God? That is what we pray. That is what David prayed.

Now that we have looked at a deeper meaning of the word “cornerstone”, we need to glean some truth from the 2^nd part of this verse.

ESV – cut for the structure of a palace

NAS – fashioned as for a palace

NIV84 – carved to adorn a palace

NKJV – sculptured in palace style

KJV – polished after the similitude of a palace

We see words like cut, fashioned, carved, sculptured, and polished. Notice that the cornerstone wasn't just picked up out of the quarry and set into the foundation. There was a lot of work done to it to get it prepared “just right”. In the same sense, when God gives us our daughters as little 6ish pound packages all bundled in pink, cute and perfect as they are, they are hardly fit or prepared to be a cornerstone. When I speak of “daughters” from here on out, I no longer am referring to them as the grown up product. I'm referring to them in their current state as diamonds in the rough who need to be prepared. There is much work to do and a whole lot of “fashioning” to accomplish. As firm believers in God's sovereignty, predestination, and His hidden will, we must not make the grave mistake of neglecting His revealed will, especially in the bringing up of our children. God gives us many promises and instructions for raising our children in His word. We need to cling to these, pray over these, and seek wisdom in implementing them, because this process of fashioning will be a real battle, in fact, a war.

Going back to the beginning and rest of the Psalm, we see that God is the one who has ultimately defeated the enemy and allowed David to triumph. BUT, we also see that despite that, God TRAINED David's hands, even his fingers, for the war. DON'T MISS THIS: God won the battle. God trained David to fight. It applies to us... particularly in the battle for the hearts and minds of our children. We have to actively be fighting: on our knees and in our decisions and actions. Thankfully we have the entirety of Scripture before us, to guide us, to train us. Our pastor has been preaching on Eph. 6, and it is very applicable in preparing us for the battle.

This brings us to the next truth in raising our children/daughters: THERE WILL BE A WAR! THERE IS A WAR! Unfortunately, not every parent recognizes this fact, and to miss it is a costly error. According to this Psalm, who or what is the enemy? Those whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand swears falsely. In our culture, we are bombarded with false teachers, false Christs, false gospels, and very inviting ½ truths. Discerning the enemy is not easy. Remember that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. And we can find him in our movies, TV shows, advertising, educational systems, books, music, the liberal left, even in twisting scripture... But that's nothing new, there is nothing new under the sun.... We need to be prepared and fight the battle well for the hearts and minds of our children and daughters as we endeavor to cut, polish, fashion, and sculpt them to one day be palace cornerstones.

***Application – How do we apply this to our daily lives?

1. Immerse yourself in the truth!

-Daily read God's Word.

*Always be systematically reading through the whole Bible! The pace doesn't matter so much as that you are constantly working through it in a scheduled manner: once/year, twice/year, once every two years, etc... You CAN do this. I prefer using the chronological plan.

-Be studying passages in depth.

Regularly do topical studies, spend time on what your pastor is preaching on, use resources like Ligonier online, listen to teachings available on SermonAudio, etc...

-Memorize Scripture – long and short passages... YES YOU CAN!

Memorize with a friend, memorize with your children, memorize passages that will help you in areas of temptation in your life, etc...

-Know the truth about God – Study Good Doctrine

WSC, Westminster Confession of Faith, Knowledge of the Holy by Tozer, AW Pink's Attributes of God. The scriptures warn us of thinking that God is like us. Know his attributes! Beware of cotton candy theology! This is where Satan easily invades our minds and hearts with stuff that sounds good and sounds biblical... but is not! Don't get sucked in by your emotions!

2. Be vigilant about what is coming into your home!

Titus 2:5 uses a word that means working at home/keepers of the home/guard of the home. You are the guarding over what in entering into your domain. What are you letting in? Where is Satan deceiving you? ---TV, movies, books, people, devices, clothing, music, toys... What is the worldview behind them? Remember how Absalom stole the heart of David's people? Don't let “well meaning” and seemingly innocent things come and steal your daughters' hearts.

*Example – what are the roots of Barbie? Did you know she was modeled after a doll sold as an adult novelty in Germany? She was sold in bars, tobacco shops, and adult themed toy stores. Does she portray a model of a polished cornerstone that we want our daughters to emulate?

YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR ENEMY AND BE EVER SO WATCHFUL AS HE TRIES TO INVADE!!!

3. Have a vision – know why you are doing what you are doing and convey that to your children. This helps protect against legalism where you have the actions without the heart behind it. Why do we learn to read? So we can read God's word. Why do we learn to write? So we can write about God's Word to others. Why do we learn to speak well? So we can accurately tell others about the gospel. Why do we memorize scripture? So we will not sin against God.....

4. Don't underestimate the ability of your kids!

-Matthew Henry learned to read early and was reading the Bible independently at 3 years old.

-The WSC was written for children! Yet we have striven to make it easier and condensed it into just a few words. Our little kids are capable of memorizing it.

-Have your kids memorize scripture – even long passages! Have a systematic review system in place. Every kid is different, but they are capable of a lot! My 7 year old has several chapters and verses memorized... including the entire sermon on the mount.

-Lack of diligence on the parent's end tends to be what limits our children... it isn't their lack of ability.

5. Teach them wholesome songs: The Psalter and Great hymns, set scripture to music

-We all know the power of music. What lyrics do you want flowing through your daughter's mind throughout the day? Truths about God? Or the indoctrinations of man? Don't be fooled into thinking that there isn't an agenda behind things like Disney's “Frozen” and “Let it Go”.

6. Read them Good Literature/ Provide them with Good Literature and Godly heroes/role models.

-Hudson Taylor, John Paton, Gladys Alward, Amy Carmichael, and Elizabeth Elliot are much better role models than Superwoman.

7. Bathe them in prayer and cling to the promises God has given to us in His Word.

This is not easy, it is not for the faint hearted, and it is EXHAUSTING! Sometimes battling Satan feels like the game Whack-a-Mole. You win one victory and he immediately rears his head in another arena. Persevere, Sisters! Each minute spent discipling your daughter is effectively fashioning her to be the polished cornerstone God is calling her to be.

So I'm asking all of you grown women here: Are you polished cornerstones between your families and God? Between your extended and in-law families?

And as mothers, grandmothers, and mentors, are you actively polishing these little daughters in our midst to be palace cornerstones?

Recommended Resources:

Standing on the Promises – Douglas Wilson

With the Children on Sundays – Sylvanus Stall

Knowledge of the Holy – Tozer

The Attributes of God – AW Pink

The Child's Book on Repentance – Thomas Gallaudet

Christian Heroes Then and Now series – Janet and Geoff Benge

Hero Tales – Dave and Neta Jackson

Training Hearts Teaching Minds – Starr Meade

Family Driven Faith – Voddie Bauchum

Shepherding a Child's Heart – Ted Tripp

Leading Little Ones to God – Schoolland

The Ology – Machowski

Large Family Logistics – Brenneman

The Shaping of a Christian Family – Elizabeth Elliot

Truth and Grace Memory Books

Dangerous Journey ---- a beautifully illustrated version of the Pilgrim's Progress

WSC set to music – Holly Dutton

Quiet Time.... When there is no quiet and there is no time?????

I have wrestled about writing this post for several days now; prayed about it, thought about it, mulled over in my mind what I would say and how I would say it. Even now, I’m not anticipating that the words will come easy. And why has writing this post caused me such turmoil? Because I want to make sure that my motives are pure. It would be very easy to write this while standing on my soapbox because the very subject matter is very near and dear to my heart. However, I wanted to make sure that I was motivated by a love for my sisters in Christ before I wrote a word. I want this post to be an encouragement for you to grow in Christ.  So, with that in mind…..

I don’t spend a lot of time doing the “social networking” thing. (Obviously I would have a lot more blog posts if I did…). But there are 2 main blogs that I follow. One of them only posts a couple of times a month, the other posts several times a week, but it takes a minimal amount of time to scan through the information and get on with my day. Anyway, one of the bloggers posted an entry about having a quiet time during this busy, child-rearing time of our lives. By the end of the post, the author had validated about every excuse possible to let busy moms “off the hook” from spending meaningful, intentional time with the Lord and not even feel guilty about it. My take home message was that if I said a quick prayer here and there throughout my day, that was OK because eventually there will be a season where a busy mom would have more time to sit down with the Lord. I read the first several comments on the post and ALL of them were full of thankfulness for the release of the “guilt” they felt for not getting in the quality time with God on a regular basis.  At that point, I thought to myself, “Am I the only one who disagrees with this post???”  So I read it to my husband to get his opinion. He said, “Well, it sounds good, but it isn’t biblical.”  So, all that being said, the blogger did post another entry with some corrections to the previous post.  I’m not posting a link to the blog, because my intention is not to criticize the author at all. But the subject matter in question is the springboard to this subject which I am passionate about.

A couple more disclaimers before I get started. I am not some well-known blogger. Most people that read my blog are friends and family whom I know personally and would consider friends.  In Proverbs 27:6 we are told: Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse and the kisses of an enemy.  We all know that only a true friend is going to speak the truth even if it is going to hurt. The key is to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). That being said, I hope these words will be helpful in carving out time in your day with the Lord. And if you are struggling in this area, remember: “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench” (Matt. 12:20). Although scripture will not “tickle our ears” (2 Tim. 4:3) on this issue, it will provide a light to the path we should be striving towards.  None of us are perfect and even the most devoted disciple will have hills and valleys in his/her walk, but the general picture of our lives should be a whole hearted devotion to the Lord, loving Him with our WHOLE heart, soul, mind, and strength. That kind of devotion requires spending intimate time with Him.

So how do you make a quiet time when there is NO QUIET and there is NO TIME? Let me first say that we have all been given the same 24 hours in each day. People who have a very intimate relationship with the Lord do not have one second more in their day than people who squeeze in an occasional prayer before a meal.  So, there IS time, the better question is “how are you spending your time?” A relationship with the Lord will not come naturally. In fact, until the Spirit causes us to be born again (John 3) our hearts will not be bent towards Him at all.  (We may think that we are seeking him by being a “good” person and being “religious”… but outward “motions” in the absence of  inner change are futile. We must be born again).  But even after we are born again and have received a new heart (Ez. 36:26), many factors work against us conforming to the image of Christ: our sin nature, Satan, our culture, etc…  Trying to cultivate intimacy with Him without being purposeful is as fruitless as trying to run a marathon without intentionally making time to train. It isn’t going to happen. You will not be walking down the road one day and suddenly trip and fall into a deep, personal, growing relationship with your creator.  Hudson Taylor once said (in effect) that Satan will always find something to distract you with, even if it is just adjusting the window blind.  Oh how many times I have sat down to be with the Lord and immediately I’m distracted by the dust I see on the furniture around me! Hudson Taylor’s quote pops in my head quite often and I give myself permission to get to the dusting later!

So first of all, you need to realize that you do have time. We make time for what is important to us. You take time to eat, drink, and sleep so how much more important than these is time with the Lord? Most of us won’t have to cut back on those basic items in order to find time with God (although some may have to). The majority in our culture are filling their days with many things that although may be “good” things (or maybe not), they aren’t the “best” things. We commonly substitute “good” things in place of God’s best for our lives. Take some time to write out (or at least think about) what your days are being filled with and start cutting out those things that aren’t necessary. Some obvious things that come to mind are: TV/movies, internet/email, too many outside activities that keep you away from home several times/week, scrapbooking, too much exercise, video games, facebook, puzzles/games/smart phone apps, talking on the phone,  texting, etc…  Not that any of these things in and of themselves are inherently bad, but if you are finding time for them and not finding time for God, something needs to be cut back.  Even serving and ministry areas need to be evaluated in light of your own personal time with God. Just look at the example of Mary and Martha. Martha was busy serving and was irritated at her sister because Mary chose to sit at our Lord’s feet. Mary was commended by Jesus for choosing the better option. If we aren’t getting our own time at the feet of the Lord, we are serving in vain.  If you are a wife and a mom, your first area of service is to your husband and children (Titus 2:3-5). We are to bring up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). How can we do that if we do not have a grasp on the discipline and instruction of the Lord ourselves? You can not give what you do not have. You can not teach your child about being a disciple if you aren’t discipled by the Lord yourself. The great commission (Matthew 28:18) is to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. If you are a parent, this begins at home with teaching your children. Again, if you do not have a grasp on the teachings of Christ and the scriptures, how can you teach your children? No, you do not need a seminary degree to learn the scriptures. You just need the Holy Spirit to guide you through them, teaching you bit by bit each day (Isa. 28:10 – For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little). God equips you to carry out His commands. Matt. 6:33 says: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS will be added unto you. Don’t feel that the task is impossible. God will guide you and equip you. But you need to SEEK HIM FIRST.

I personally believe that your quiet time needs to happen when you first wake up. We are to give the Lord the first fruits of our labors/money and I think that you have a “first fruits” of your time as well. If you have early-rising itty-bitties, you may need to get up 30 minutes earlier. If a child wakes up with you, (you know this will certainly happen)… have a game plan. They can snuggle on your lap and you can pray out loud with them. Read your Bible reading to them. Let them be a part of your confession and thanksgiving time. Another option would be to have a “prayer closet” which is at a minimal distance from your bed enabling you not to disturb any sleepers as you tippy toe to your meeting with the Lord.  Sometimes when I get interrupted in the morning, I continue my study during nap time, play time, (or the older children’s quiet time).  Sometimes my study has to continue after the kids have gone to bed. But, my goal is to have 30-60 minutes before anyone else is awake. If it doesn’t happen, then I go to “plan B”, and if that doesn’t happen then “plan C” is enacted. But NOT having a quiet time is an immoveable pillar (even if it means I lose sleep or a meal).  If you keep quiet time as “optional”, you will opt-out of it more often than not. That is how Satan works. (And there will be a “good excuse” for not having it every time…) Remember, that those days in which we are too busy for God are the days when we most need to get quiet before Him.

There will always be an excuse as to why you can’t have a good, consistent quiet time during a given season of life. Don’t look for an excuse as to why it won’t work for you. Instead, look for a way to make it work. Pray that God would show you how to have time with Him. Ask Him to give you wisdom in overcoming the obstacles (children???) and interruptions.  Ask Him to give you a game plan (A, B, and C) so that you can get intimate time with Him.  He will be faithful in answering your prayer (James 1:5-8) Ask your husband to pray about it too. Better yet, ask him to lead you in this area. Ask him to evaluate your schedule with you to see what needs to be cut out or rearranged. You will soon find that your time with your creator is the most blessed part of your day!

Family Time Picks for January and February

A.W. Pink once said: "The Bible is not designed for lazy people.  Truth has to be bought (Prov. 23:23), but the slothful and worldly minded are not willing to pay the price required. That "price" is intimated in Proverbs 2:1-5: there must be a diligent applying of the heart, a crying after knowledge, a seeking for an apprehension of spiritual things with the ardour and determination that men employ when seeking for silver; and a searching for a deeper and fuller knowledge of the truth such as men put forth when searching for hid treasures - persevering until their quest is successful - if we would really understand the things of God.  Those who complain that these articles are "too difficult" or "too deep" for them, do but betray the sad state of their souls and reveal how little they really value the truth; otherwise they would ask God to enable them to concentrate, and reread these pages perseveringly until they made their contents their own.  People are willing to work and study hard and long to master one of the arts or sciences, but where spiritual and eternal things are concerned it is usually otherwise."

How true his words were and very much still are today. How many times have I been told: "I've gone as deep as I want to go," or "I don't have time to read the Bible," or "I have other things I have to do," or "Look at all the ministry things I do and how I serve at church... that is how I serve God", or how many people simply read the Bible without meditating on its truths or even think about what it means to apply it to their life? Today's culture has lost the love of simply being alone with God and seeking Him.

Does it take time? Yes. Does it take discipline and determination? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Is the wisdom gained worth as much as gold and silver? It is worth much more!  Sadly, convincing others of that truth is not easy. Even though (as the western church) we say we are christians, where we we prioritize our time paints a much different picture. Statistically we are spending 40+ hours a week watching TV (and that doesn't include the time spent on the web, playing video games, reading novels, sports, etc...). Jesus takes a back seat to our other priorities. Where our time and money is... there is where our hearts are.

We want our children to grow up with the mind of Christ, with a insatiable love for the Word of God, with a love FOR God which translates into habitually spending time with Him, meditating on and memorizing His word. We want them to see the world how God sees it, to love people how Christ loves people, and to humbly serve Him with their lives. We want them to know about and study the great minds and missionaries of the past (Baxter, Bunyan, Bradford, and the puritans, Edwards, Calvin, Waldo, McCheyne, Murray, Augustine, Brother Andrew, Brother Yun, Mueller, and countless more). We want to teach them to work hard, study hard, and to be men and women of virtue. We want to pass the truths of the faith on to them through a lifestyle of discipleship which is what we see illustrated in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Home schooling Discipleship allows us to pour our time into our children, molding them, training them, teaching them, and demonstrating the love of Christ to them.

Do we struggle and fail? Epically and every day. We constantly have to repent and seek forgiveness from our children and our Lord as He sheds light on our shortcomings. We constantly "examine ourselves" to make sure we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). But is that an excuse to give up? No. Is it hard? Yes. Is it exhausting? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes! Do we have it all figured out? No we do not. With much prayer we seek to know how to raise our children in this manner as we plow through this unbroken ground hoping to pave a family legacy for generations to come. We read books and follow blogs by others who had this vision. We seek other families and listen to teachings from Godly men who are leading their families, pouring into their children, and washing their wives with the water of the word. But we also thank God for the resources that are available to us. Especially, because in the eyes of this culture (and EVEN in the eyes of the typical western church) we are extremists who "take the Word too far.."  Our "friends", family members, acquaintances, and even those within the typical church see us as that family: You know, the weird, unsocialized homeschoolers who eat weird, take the Bible too seriously, have a ba-jillion kids, reject dating and encourage courtship, make-people-want-to-sin, etc... you know.... we are THAT family. So to have a community of believers who have the same vision is invaluable!

But while we are serious about God's Word and giving them a Biblical worldview, it does not mean that it is a "dry" and super-serious undertaking that bores our kids to death... quite the opposite. There is so much wonderful, biblically-founded media out there and we are always looking for more things to learn from. But finding a place to start can be overwhelming, so I wanted to share some things that have blessed our family time so far this year! We are fortunate to have resources available to help immerse our family in the truth of God's Word and the application of it to everyday life! These resources have been so fun the last several weeks, and while we don't do them ALL EVERYDAY, we have routinely used all of them the past couple of months.

Balancing the Sword - This is a 2 volume set that gives questions/answers for every chapter of the Bible. It is filled with awesome illustrations and quotations from a variety of Christ followers of old. We use it to ask the kids questions about their daily Bible readings from their chronological reading plan and their monthly Proverbs reading plan.

Trial and Triumph - This is a book with several biographies of people in church history. It has been a great family read-a-long spurring many great discussions. From Peter Waldo, Augustine, Anselm, Bunyan, St. Patrick, etc. there are 46 biographies and you are sure to learn a lot!


Dangerous Journey - This is a great retelling of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress with AWESOME illustrations! Another great read-a-long stirring great family discussions!

How A Spider Saved A Man's Life and 51 Other Spurgeon Stories - We love C. H. Spurgeon and this little, fun book of children's stories is just great! They are concise, interesting, and keep our kids wanting us to read several at a sitting. There are great lessons to be learned from each story.  There is also a 2nd volume by the same author that we will definitely be getting!

The Peleg Chronicles - This series of 3 books is set in post-Babel times where paganism abounds. But there are some who still believe in Noah's God! The Bible speaks of huge beasts and giant people... what would it have been like to live back then??? Join us in reading about dwarfs, dragons, giants, and the faithfulness of a few in this series. These novels are packed with scripture and action. My 10 year old and I are reading them now. My 7 year old will begin soon. We are loving this series!

How to Disciple Your Family - a 200 Year Plan - I got my husband this DVD series for Christmas and we are carefully working through it. It has been great in giving us a model for family discipleship, prayer points for our kids and generations to come, a family catechism, etc... Doug Phillips and Geoffry Botkin are the presenters on the DVD's. Both of them are great teachers and examples of fathers who are raising godly children. I would definitely recommend this series (and almost anything that Vision Forum sells)!

The Kingdom Series - Wow... what can I even say about this series to do it justice? This is a series of 6 books (we purchased the audiobook version) that is a medieval parallel to the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Be sure to click on the link to read more about the plot... but I highly recommend this! The audio (drama) books are SOOOOOO well done! Because our family tends to spend a lot of time on the road, we listen to it in the truck during our hour long trips between here and out west. The story has ALL of us captivated and sitting on the edge of our seats! It is really worth the money! I love how the audiobook allows us all to enjoy it together! Even our 2 year old begs us to turn it on!

Well, there you have it! These are the resources that are blessing us at the moment! What are your family's favorites????

Train up a child....

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  Ephesians 6:4

And these words I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and talk about them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 4:6-9

These are only a few of the many scriptures that apply to parenting. Truth be told, the Lord has much to say to us as parents; He does not send us out "blindly" as we strive to raise our children.  I have heard many people say that "Kids do not come with an instruction manual." I would beg to differ. We have God's Word which is readily accessible in our country. We have a whole 66 books in which the Lord has spoken to us.  The question is, do you use your manual? Most people do not. Most people would rather turn to the newest "self-help" book, talk show host, or whatever friend who will listen to get advice in raising their children.

I'm not going to take the time to go into an indepth word study here, but look at the language used in the above scriptures: "Train up", "Bring them up", "Discipline", "Instruction", "Teach them DILIGINTLY"... The terminology here does not indicate a passive role for us parents in raising godly offspring. It is quite the opposite. We are to have an intentional, active, planned, and systematic approach in teaching our children the scriptures. In addition to that, the scriptures should be such a part of our own lives that we should recognize the Lord in our daily activities and use those moments to teach our children even more about Him.

If my plan was to run a marathon, I would have to "train".... "diligently".  I would not be able to complete the race if I only ran on Sunday mornings and the occasional Wednesday evening.  Even if I ran twice on Sunday and every Wednesday it would not be enough to prepare me for the race. The same applies to teaching our children the scriptures and correct Biblical doctrine. A couple of times a week for an hour here and there will not cut it. Furthermore, it is not the church's job to teach your children about God. It is your job. So, where do you start?

Most people probably did not grow up with parents who modeled what the previous verses instruct. If you grew up with that model, give thanks and praise to God, then tell your parents what a gift that they gave to you! But even if you did not have that model, ignorance is no excuse and it is not "bliss". ...because you have ignored my counsel and would have none of my reproof... Prov. 1:25; As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passion of your former ignorance... 1 Peter 1:14; The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent... Acts 17:30 Your first step is to acknowledge that you have fallen short in obeying His commands and repent. (The Lord gives grace to the humble). We must humbly admit that we were wrong and need His help in bringing up our children. We need to ask for His guidance and wisdom in understanding the scriptures for ourselves, as well as wisdom in teaching them to our children.  Then, it is time to get busy in studying the Word.

Thankfully, we have the Spirit to help us in our understanding of the Word. God has also provided us with mentors, pastors, and other Godly people to help guide us. Pray that He would bring a mentor into your life. These "mentors" can also come in the form of books (just make sure that you are careful in selecting your sources and that you are a "Berean" (Acts 17:11). There is a lot of false theology available... even and especially in the "Christian" category). 

I recommend that you read through the Bible systematically. There are many reading plans available for free online. (I prefer the chronological plan.) In January, all of my independent readers (9, 6, & 5) began reading through their "Bible in a Year" plan. This is something we will always be doing in our home. Each time you read through your Bible, you learn more and are even more familiar with the Word. I have read through the Bible many times and each time, something "new" speaks to me. God's Word is living and active and I love that! I also recommend that you start memorizing scripture.... a lot of it! Memorize verses that will help you in areas that you are prone to temptation in. (Psalm 119:11). Memorize with your children! I could spend a lot of time on this subject too.... but......

.....What I really wanted to talk about on this post is catechism (note... this is not the same thing as catholic sunday school which is what most readily comes to mind when "catechism" is mentioned).. So what is "catechism"? It is a guide in Q & A format designed to teach fundamental principles of religion. When we "catechize" our children, we are teaching them to memorize the answers. When they have learned it well, they will have a good, thorough, understanding of the Christian doctrine.  Richard Baxter (a puritan preacher) visited each of the families in his congregation annually and examined them by evaluating how well children and parents knew the catechism. According to "A Quest for Godliness; The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life", Baxter claimed to have more outward signs of success in demolishing the kingdom of darkness among his church members through this practice than through all his public preaching to them. In other words, teaching our children a catechism is a good tool to use in passing on the Christian truths. 

How does this work? As we ask our kids the questions and teach them the answers, we also talk about those answers and use scripture to support them. My favorite catechism questions have to do with the 10 commandments. Being just a summary of God's law, their requirements are so much DEEPER than "thou shalt not kill...." When we study them more in depth, we learn what the 6th commandment requires, forbids, and allows for. When we study the 7th commandment, we learn that it also forbids all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions.... not just "don't have an affair"...  So in going through the questions, we gain (and give our children) a much broader understanding of who God is, what the scriptures teach, and how we are to live.

There are many catechism resources available, but these are some of our favorites:

      Truth and Grace Books (TAG books) - These little books are a great, concise, asset to help your little ones memorize verses, memorize catechism questions, and memorize hymns. Book 1 is for ages 2 through the 4th grade. Book 2 picks up from there (grades 5-8), and subsequently book 3 continues for grades 9-12. The books are set up with goals for each year and spaces to "sign off" on once the requirement is completed.

       Wesminster Shorter Catechism - This book contains all of the Q & A's as well as great commentaries, scripture references, illustrations, and discussion questions.  We use it in combination with Training Hearts Teaching Minds.

        Training Hearts Teaching Minds - This book takes each question and spends a week (6 days) expounding on it in the format of a family devotional.  If you go through the book as written, you will complete it in 2 years.  The devotionals are short, and our family works through it at a bit faster pace than that, but you are free to customize it to your family.

         Westminster Catechism Songs CD's - This is a new, fun item we just added to our library.  The artist has 4 cd's in which she covers all of the questions, setting them all to catchy tunes on her guitar.  My kids have so much fun singing them... I just had to post a video of them being silly to share!

 So I encourage you to start today in studying the scriptures with your kids!!!!  What are your family's favorite scripture helps????

Planning for Peace

I have been trying to sit down and give attention to this blog for several days now... to no avail. I could blame it on having a newborn, but honestly, he hasn't really been the issue. Things have been hectic with all of the normal daily things we need to accomplish, school, fruit harvest and canning/dehydrating/freezing, making decisions on the house we are re-doing, cooking, and whatever else spur-of-the-moment things that tend to frequently pop up unexpectedly.  It seems like we have been off of a "normal" daily routine for weeks now. Maybe this is the new normal... I hope not!

During these super-busy seasons of life, I am more prone to get irritated at inefficiency.  I have noticed that when I have 4 or more of the kids working together on a particular chore, they tend to get distracted easier (especially the 2, 4, and 6 year old). They also have a tendency to not display brotherly affection towards each other (remember our key verse this year: 2 Peter 1:5-8... the 4 oldest kids have this memorized now). So ultimately what happens is that the task which could easily have been done in 15 or so minutes takes an HOUR! With the 7 and 10 year old arrows (children) doing the most work. An example of this would be cleaning up the kitchen after a meal. Actually, it is almost exclusively in this chore where we have had issues.

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,

but those who plan peace have joy. Proverbs 12:20 (emphasis mine)

During my quiet time several weeks ago, the Holy Spirit really spoke to me through this verse... plan peace! Now this isn't rocket science! In fact, I have been planning peace for years during various activities. When my children are reminded how they are to behave during church, I am planning for peace. When I tell them what is expected of them during grocery shopping, I am planning for peace. When we lovingly, Biblically, discipline them, we are planning for peace. But let's face it, our children are born into sin. We do not have to teach them how to lie, steal, whine, be selfish, etc... they are born that way. We are to train up our children in the way they should go; even when they are old, they are will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Training our children in the way they should go IS planning for peace. Training requires WORK, DILIGENCE, and DISCIPLINE on the part of us as parents. We can not "parent-from-the-couch" and expect the results to be optimal.

So what does it look like to PLAN PEACE? First of all, we need to recognize that "plan" is a verb and requires you to be intentional in order to carry it out. It is an active process, not a passive process. You can not "do nothing" and plan peace. You have to think and plan, and then follow through. Satan will do what he can to prevent you from obeying the Word of God, so the most important step in the process is prayer. I have a list of scriptures and biblical promises written down that I routinely pray through... this scripture is one of them. By doing that, I am enlisting the power of the Holy Spirit to help me plan for peace. He gives me patience, wisdom, energy, and whatever else I may need to glorify God in my parenting each day. Do I regularly fail? Yes... but He does grant me new mercies each morning; and by His grace He lovingly convicts me of my sin, training me each moment so I am better equipped to train my children.

Next, I try to identify areas during the day that aren't peaceful. I will use the example of kitchen cleanup: how can I make that time more peaceful, efficient, and loving? There are several things that can be done here, and what may work for one day, week, month... may not work for the next. Also note that some of the things that work for us may not work for another family.  I have found that reminding my "arrows" of 2 Peter 1:5-8 before beginning the task keeps them focused on acting more loving. (Col. 3:23 (Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord and not for men) and 1 Cor. 14:40 (Let all things be done decently and in order) are other verses that we commonly use. Another thing that we have found is on some tasks, having 2 kids working in an area at a time is more productive than 4 kids. So there have been times where I have a cooking helper (or two) who help with meal prep and clean-up before the meal and the rest of the kids clean up after the meal. If each child has an area they are responsible for, things go smoother too. When we are at "the farm" where there is no dishwasher and the dishes all are done by hand, the kids have a great system worked out with 4 jobs: washer, drier, "hander" who hands dry dishes to the child sitting on the counter, and "put-awayer" who sits on the counter so he/she can reach the cabinets. My kids also tend to be joyful in their work if there is music playing, so turning on the CD player and listening to praise/worship music, Westminster catechism questions set to music, children's hymns, or even Peter and the Wolf will boost everyone's mood (and speed). Making the chore into a game with a time limit can be fun too. I love watching them race the clock and work together to beat the buzzer. (Note: not all of these ideas are implemented at the same time on the same chore...).

Remember that parenting is training... even for the little ones. My just-turned-four year old can fold and put away laundry all by himself. My just-turned-2-year old is also included in these chores. She has been helping with household chores since she could walk. Don't let the little ones off of the hook; they WANT to help. Training them young is planning for peace too. They are able to fold towels/wash clothes, put silverware away, help unload/load the dishwasher, dust, etc... even when they are 1 year old! Yes, it requires more time on your part as the parent, but you are training them up and planning for peace.  Planning for peace does not mean that you sit your kids in front of the TV while you take care of household duties. Sure, it is easier and may be more peaceful for the moment, but did that train your kids in godliness?

Don't forget to praise your kids for a job well done. We tend to point out the negatives and forget to mention the positives. We need to train our kids to have a Godly attitude towards work and each other, and we need to have Godly attitudes as well.

What about planning for peace in your marriage? Do you tell your husband how much you appreciate him when he gets home from work? Do you show him respect that comes from your heart? What are some things you can do to make a peaceful relationship?

This list certainly is not exhaustive. It contains a few ideas of how our household plans for peace. Do you plan for peace? Have you ever thought of planning peace? What works in your home? There are many aspects that this verse can be applied to: parenting, marriage, work place, friendships, church body... I encourage you to prayerfully evaluate areas in your life that need peace!