A Drink for Weary Moms

Isa. 55:1-3 - Come, everyone who thirsts come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear that your soul may live; and I will make with you and everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

As moms, our lives can and generally do spin into the daily monotony of screaming kids, diaper changes, spilled sticky fill in the blank, dirty dishes, mountains of laundry, cooking, cleaning, and more cleaning as the littles follow you around like an aura of dust and filth, undoing what you just did in 2.61 seconds. Add to that grocery shopping, homeschooling, discipling, gardening, miscellaneous activities, and oh yea, supporting hubby and making him happy too. When we finally get a breather, we are bombarded by picture perfect Pinterest and Instagram houses and families whose kids must not have hands because there is not a fingerprint to be found in their perfect white paradises. Girls, we are drained, exhausted, spinning plates and juggling, and there comes a time when we know we are at the end of our rope. We are out of gas and we're just ready to quit. We don't have the energy to shepherd our children, we'd rather parent from the couch. And romance???? Let's not even go there... LOL! So what do we do?

Our culture tells us that we need more "me time", a girls' night out, a retreat, a vacation, more shopping. While these things are nice and not inherently bad or wrong, they are not what you need. They are not going to sustain you and nourish you much more than a candy bar will. Sure, they may give you a quick burst of energy in the short term, but in the grand scheme of things you will still crash if you are not receiving true nourishment of your own personal time in the Word. What we really need is a change in perspective that comes from drinking from the well of living water found in the scriptures. You see, if we aren't abiding in the true vine (as beautifully illustrated in John 15), our focus gets all out of whack, and we begin to think and act like this life is all about us and our comfort, our ease, and our happiness. And when we come to verses like Luke 17:7-10, we aren't comforted. We look at that servant and think, "Of course I want to come in and relax at the table, but this servant doesn't get to." And ultimately, this servant displays an attitude of humility, recognizing his undeserved gift from the master and a willingness to persevere in serving.

So our first perspective shift comes by knowing WHO GOD IS and WHO WE ARE. It comes in realizing that man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, (Westminster Shorter Catechism #1). Once we realize this by faith, then we also realize the truth and comfort of Matthew 11:28-30  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Now, as you take up the yoke of Jesus, it may be that you are convicted to simplify your schedule, extra activities, or maybe not. But what WILL happen, is that as you go throughout your day, you will realize that you are glorifying God by cleaning the toilet, changing diapers, picking up the toys, cooking the meals, etc.  Instead of these things seeming mundane, now you can realize that you are serving the God who created the universe, the God who sustains each star, the God who formed your inmost being, the God who converted your heart; something that you did not deserve and can never repay. How can you not love and gladly serve such an awesome Savior? The joy of the Lord becomes your strength throughout your day, because you have discovered and abide in your first love. From that joy, you now have strength to serve your husband, your children, your home, and your family in Christ. Because you are drinking from the vine, out of your heart are flowing rivers of living water. Do you see that? Your circumstances didn't change, but by letting the Lord change your perspective, the burden/load/work becomes more joyful, lighter, and you recognize there is a greater purpose which is bigger than you.

The other perspective/focus adjustment I want to address comes from Proverbs 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. There are so many applications in this little nugget of Scripture. Our blessings generally come with responsibilities: no garden - no canning, no chickens - no cleaning the coop, no cattle - no feeding them in the winter, etc... You get the idea. But here's where it hits home to me EVERY TIME: I wouldn't have diapers to change if I didn't have a baby. I wouldn't have shoes laying all over the house if there were no feet to wear them, I wouldn't trip over toys if there were no kids to play with them, I wouldn't have fingerprints to clean up if I didn't have children, I wouldn't have a sink full of dirty dishes if we didn't have food, etc... Do you get the point, Sweet Mom? All of this is so worth the blessing of a home, food, and a family. So the next time you feel frustrated, remember this proverb and let the Spirit speak its truth into your life.  I'm thankful for the dirty diaper because it means I have an Elijah and he eats and is healthy. I'm thankful for the EIGHT pairs of shoes not put away because it means I have many healthy, active children who fill them.  I'm thankful for the sticky fingerprints on the fridge because it means my children have abundant healthy food to eat. I'm thankful for each of these blessings in disguise because by them, the Lord is sanctifying me (Romans 8:28-29).

So weary sisters, come to the fountain of the pure word. Drink and be refreshed! Worship and abide in your creator. Let your focus be fine tuned to your Savior through the Word EACH DAY. There, and no where else and in no one else, you will find rest for your souls.

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????

A Meeting with the LORD...

Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the LORD. (Exodus 34:4-5 ESV)

On Thursday mornings (at 6 a.m.) a couple of ladies and I get together to study God's Word.  We have studied many different topics over the last couple of years. Last week we listened to this sermon by John Barnett on Daily Devotions.  We listened to it several months ago too, but a refresher never hurts. It is a great little sermon about hearing from the Lord and having a meaningful quiet time. This morning I was reviewing my notes and was reading in Exodus. This part of scripture really spoke to me and came alive with application.  Now, I am all about going "deep" into the Word and to the original languages... but there was no need for that this morning. Going "deep" has its merits, but a lot of time, the application and meaning is so plainly laid out that it is mind boggling. Today was one of those days where the simplicity is just stunning. So... if you are expecting a grand exposition of scripture... I'm not your person, and this is not your post...

I hear from God much more clearly when I have a pen and a journal in hand. Or rather, I pay more attention to God's promptings when I write them down and meditate on those scriptures I've journaled about.

Moses was prepared to hear from the LORD. He cut 2 tablets of stone. They were blank slates prepared with the anticipation that the Lord would fill them up.  I have never cut tablets of stone, but I imagine that the process takes time and patience.  As far as I can tell, God had created/cut the first tablets (Ex. 32:16  The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.) If so, I'm sure Moses was all the more careful to create the tablets to look as close to the original as he could. At any rate, I should not think it so hard to "trouble" myself to find an appropriate notebook or journal and pen to bring with me to meet with the LORD.... to be prepared beforehand and to expect that God will speak with me. (And for Pete's sake, when my journal is getting filled up.... get to Hobby Lobby and get another one!)

And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded...

I believe giving God our first fruits also includes our time. In tithing our money, we give off of the top (or give to God first). I should give God the first of my day as well.  And in order to do that, I need to get up earlier. A simple Bible search on "early morning" yielded many, many examples of people rising early in obedience to the Lord to hear from Him and worship Him. These were people who were far more busy and distracted than I am.  (I mean, really! They had to raise their dinner, catch it, kill it, clean it, and cook it... all before eating it!  Very often they had to do this! They also didn't have dish washers, washing machines, vehicles, etc....  These people were BUSY!) So the excuse of "I'm too busy to have a good quiet time" is just not going to "fly".  We are NOT too busy. And if we are too busy, we are filling up our days with unnecessary and/or ungodly things. Repent and simplify! Part of my being a "living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1) means that I should sacrifice some of my sleep in order to meet with the LORD. Having communion with God that yields fruits should give me convictions and truths that I should spend my day meditating on. If my time with God is in the evening (habitually), then it leaves me little time before bed to meditate on the truths Jehovah has shown me.

Moses rose early and went...

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35

Do you have a place to go and meet with God? Maybe it is a couch, or closet, or chair, or church... I have tried at times to stay and study in my bed, but I seem to fall back asleep when I do that.  I don't recall that pattern ever being portrayed in the scriptures. Moses went... Jesus departed and went.... Where do I go? What kind of place should I seek? In Ex. 34:3 (No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout the mountain), Moses was to come alone and present himself to God. Mark 1:35 said that Jesus went to a desolate place.  It seems that our "place" should be one where we can be alone and undisturbed and not distracted. I have little kids, so leaving my house isn't the best option, but there are places in my house where distractions and interruptions are minimal.... especially early in the morning...

If early morning doesn't work, this might be the only way to minimize interruptions around this house!!!

 Moses rose early, and went... and took in his hand 2 tablets of stone.

Moses went prepared, taking with him the blank slates in expectation of God filling them. When I come before God and expect him to speak, He always does. And even more-so when I come with pen and paper in hand, ready to record what He gives me. It may be simple or complex truths. It may be a rebuking for something I said or did... or did not do. It may be a call for intercession on behalf of someone. But whatever it is, usually it requires me to make a choice to respond in obedience or to turn and go my own way.  Throughout the day I meditate on what the Lord gave to me and what a blessing it is to share with someone about what the LORD opened my eyes to.

Lastly, we see that the LORD proclaimed: The Lord, the LORD, a god merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (Ex. 34:6-7a).

These qualities/charcteristics of God are so worthy to meditate on. How can I not worship Him? And proclaim His goodness? To one who has been so patient with me: a grave sinner and transgressor of the law... He has pardoned me. He is faithful, gracious, merciful, and abounds in love. And to think that I would value sleep or other worldly things consuming my time above meeting with the all-powerful creator??? Woe is me!

Ex. 34:8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

And so shall I!

Give Them REAL Heroes....

Romans 12:1-2 says: Therefore do not be conformed any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your MIND. Then you will be able to test and approve what the will of God is; His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Matthew 22:37-38a says: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your MIND. This is the great and first commandment.

I imagine that you will see me speak a lot on this blog about the importance of renewing and protecting our minds as well as our kids' minds. That is a major key in being on fire for Christ or being stagnant. I will make no apologies on that one, if you do not control what is going into your mind, you WILL be conforming to the patterns of this world. Falling in love with Jesus and making Him Lord of your life requires INTENTIONAL obedience to His commands and a radical lifestyle of inputting things into your mind which bring Him glory.  How you think dictates what you believe. And what you consistently feed your mind dictates how you think. We must be feeding daily on the Word of God and meditating on it, applying it to our lives and obeying it.

I could continue, but that is a whole post topic in itself.... So, on to the point I want to share tonight.... I'm sure that the average person knows that the Olympics are taking place. Let me say that our family RARELY watches TV. If the kids watch, it is in the form of a pre-approved movie or documentary such as WWII and the Providence of God or A Night to Remember (both available through Vision Forum). Movie night at our house is "supposed" to be on Friday nights. However, maybe only once/month does that happen (especially during the summer months). That being said, we have enjoyed watching some limited gymnastics and swimming this past week. But the reason I am posting about this is because of my kids' conversations during the opening ceremony.  As the various countries were entering, here is what my kids were saying: Ecuador - That's where Nate Saint went! China - That's where Hudson Taylor and Gladys Aylward went! Great Brittan - That is England and that is where George Mueller was! Japan - That is where Jacob Deshazer was a missionary!....

I could continue, but you get the point. Yesterday, my 10 year old was quizzing the others by naming a country and asking which missionaries had gone there. It really warmed my heart listening to them! As the Olympics seem to always have a few "heroes" that spring up each time, I would encourage you to teach your kids about heroes of the faith. There are so many resources out there and my family has loved reading about, watching, doing skits, and listening to real stories of people just like them who were sold out for Christ. It inspires them and gives such deeper meaning to what Lordship means.

Obviously, one way that we renew our and our kids' minds is by reading lots of missionary biographies rather than other fiction. (I'm not saying that all fiction is bad or that we never read it... but the preference of my kids is a real life missionary story!) I love YWAM publishing, Vision Forum, BJU Press, and some of Sonlight's reading lists. This is where I primarily turn to to find wholesome reading materials. We also enjoy "Hero Tales" (there are 4 volumes in the series). I realize that purchasing books and videos does cost money. However, I feel that it is a worthwhile investment in my children and their education. Building up our personal library has been very fun and the kids enjoy reading and re-reading the books (as well as sharing them with their younger siblings).

Who are your heroes????? Who are your kids looking up to????

A Refreshed Homeschool Vision

This post is a copy/paste version of an email I previously sent to some friends. But because it sums up what I am focusing on with my kiddos, I wanted it to be a part of the blog.....  But also know that I added some things about our chore chart at the bottom that weren't in the original email...

I was wanting to share some things from my quiet time and away time that we had while camping at the farm at the beginning of July.  We began our school year again, what else are you going to do when it is 105+ out? Might as well start school. That being said, we aren't in our "full" schedule, but reading, math, and english are formally started and those subjects tend to take the longest anyway.

I spent a lot of time praying and meditating about our homeschooling journey, goals, short-comings, strengths, and weaknesses of each child as well as myself. I especially want to be better at showing a Godly attitude to my children, even when they are mis-behaving.  Several weeks ago, while reading in Psalm 106, a couple of verses really struck me: In verses 32-33 it says: They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips.  Boy, that was a convicting verse and the Spirit continues to remind me of it.  Because, honestly, when my children aren't listening, when their attitudes are poor, and when they do sloppy work, I am very prone to developing a bitter spirit and to speak rashly with my lips. So my quest this past week was to allow the Spirit to guide me in preventing a sinful, reactionary response in my attitude and behavior.  Firstly, I do want to point out that in Psalm 106:28-30, Phinehas intervened between the people and the Lord and was able to stop a plague. We (I) need to remember the power of intercession for my children (Job spent time interceding for his children too in Job 1:5).  As I identify character weaknesses in each one, I need to be writing them down and faithfully taking it to the Lord in prayer (as well as being intentional about teaching the child Biblically about overcoming the specific problem).

The Lord gave me the following verse a few weeks ago, and it is our theme this year. We will all memorize it, meditate on it, and obey it: 

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and

virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with

steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly

affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and

are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge

of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8
So the question became, how do I apply this in my own life, where am I failing, and what, practically can I begin doing today?  Prayer is the obvious, first answer to this... for wisdom, perseverance, a refreshed vision and energy for discipling and teaching my children, for an ever growing commitment to the shema:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deut. 6:4-9

I do not want to homeschool and disciple my children with an attitude of just getting done, or getting by. Satan would love to step in and steal my joy in all of this, and my children's joy too. This is such a precious time and a special gift the Lord has given us: being able to pour into our children each day, having them here to renew their minds (Romans 12:1-2). I want to maintain my passion and excitement and devotion to the task the Lord has given us as parents.  Below are three prayers that I will pray and meditate on each morning, as my day is beginning.

    Give us a fresh vision of homeschooling and

    discipleship. Grant us new mercies each morning.

    Give me patience and self control as I minister to

    my children. Help me not to display an attitude of

    selfishness, grumpiness, or frustration. Rather give

    me Your wisdom and keep my actions, words, and

    motives pure at all times. Let me wait on You and

    gain new strength, not growing weary.

            If I am not portraying a godly attitude, help me to

            let it go and take a break, give my kids a break, and

            refocus my character on You. Help me remember

            that most importantly, we are homeschooling in

            order to train and cultivate Christlikeness in our

            children. If I am not showing them the character

            traits that I'm trying to teach them, then I am failing.

            If I succeed in teaching them only what my lesson

            plans dictate, I have failed. We want our kids to have

            godly characters that are conforming to the image

            of Christ so that they may be obedient and effective

            servants of the Lord.

                        Help me to accurately discern whether my children are

                        doing sloppy work or if they do not understand the

                        concept. Give me patience and wisdom in my teaching

                        and wisdom in dealing with slothfulness and sloppy

                        work.
So that's where I am beginning... prayer! Secondly, I am a firm believer in the If-Then charts from Doorposts.com.  I love them, so I decided to use that method for our most common behavior problems during school that tend to result in me not being the Godly portrait of a mom that I want to be. (I have used the charts a lot, they are posted in our kitchen, but I had never applied them to our homeschool settings.  In essence, the "rules" Byron and I set down and wrote out became our own chart for disciplining homeschool issues.  So I listed out the issues that tend to recur: sloppy work, bad attitudes, etc... and I wrote out consequences for each one. I went over the new "rules" with the kids this week, so we are all on the same page. The rules and consequences will be posted in our school area for us all to be reminded. So far, the method has worked great... yes... the kids (some of them) have already "tested" it and my response was very cool, calm, and collected. It really has helped me with self-control when dealing with "repeat offenders"!  I also set up rewards for diligent work and behavior.
There are 2 reasons for me sharing this: number one is for accountability! I give you all permission to ask me if I am increasing in my faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love.  My second reason is Hebrews 10:24 - And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...  If anyone can learn from my shortcomings and weaknesses, I am glad to help prevent the same in any of you. Homeschooling is such a blessing, as is parenting, and educating our quiver of arrows in the Lord. It is a hard journey, but the Lord equips those He has called. So as the process of intentional parenting and schooling continues, I just want to encourage all of you to run with endurance the race that is set before you (Hebrews 12:1).

I posted a picture above of a chore/discipline chart that I made. I purchased a large dry erase/magnetic board from Hobby Lobby (you can download a 40% off coupon to help with the cost). I then took ribbon and hot glue to make a column for each child, a column for everybody's tasks, a "spare" column, and at the bottom, there is a space for completed tasks. I then had a bunch of magnets for putting on the back of business cards, so I printed off labels of various tasks, chores, etc. and attached each of them to a magnet.

Here is how it works: At the beginning of the day, I assign each kid their normal tasks by putting the appropriate magnet in their column: for example: Bible reading, clean out cubbie hole, etc... and I place the group chores in the group column: dishwasher, laundry, vacuum, etc...  As each task is completed, the magnet gets moved to the completed row. If I have a child with a bad attitude, sloppy work, or breaks the rules we have gone over, I move a group chore from the group column to the individual child's column. (Alternatively, I may move one of the spare tasks to their column such as run, clean wheat, dust baseboards, etc...)

So far, it has worked very well for us and because the forethought of the discipline has already been decided, I am able to discipline out of love and not out of anger.  What works for you???? Please post!

I will be posting my spreadsheet school schedule/organizer, cleaning schedule, and some other things we have implemented soon in another post! All of these can be customized to your family/house if you are interested.

Have a blessed weekend!
Nicole