I'm reading Robin Sampson's book "The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach" and have really appreciated how she gets my focus on God and coming to him for my decisions with homeschooling. In this book she talks about seeking the Lord and waiting on him in prayer. I wanted to share a quote from this book that I really appreciate.
"The third meaning of "wait" is to watch, observe, and take notice. This means that all our spiritual senses must remain expectant. To wait means that we are to be near to God, in His Word and in prayer; and to be still means that we become sensitive enough to catch the faintest whisper and be able to quickly discern His voice."
Later she also says, "We will not watch long or keenly observe the movements of God for a great length of time before He has some word for us. We will hear Him as He bids us to come or go on some mission; or to speak, write, pray, or visit someone; or even to sing for Him. Why? Because we are near enough to feel what is on His heart, and so we are able to enter into fellowship with Him in service."
May we have that nearness of heart to the Lord and wait to hear from Him as we stay near to Him through His Word and prayer.
Dustynne , a wonderful, godly young woman (almost a teen!) daughter of a friend of mine tagged me. So now, 5 Reasons Why I Love God:
1. Because he loves me unconditionally - no matter what I do.
2. Because he forgives me and saves me from my sins when I put my faith in Jesus as my Savior.
3. Because he guides me each day through the trials, giving me wisdom and help each day.
4. Because he give me grace to handle any trial that comes my way and teaches me through them.
5. Because he made this wonderful world of nature that we can enjoy and study.
I've always loved this hymn. Cyberhymnal has the full version that was written with extra verses. What a complete story of God's grace and triumph this song has! The verse in bold has always been a favorite of mine and describes how I often feel. Here are the words.
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
May this day be lived for God alone - for his glory not mine!
It's so easy to want glory for myself, to long for others' approval, to want to be "somebody". It's easy to see life from my perspective and not God's. Oh to love the Lord and his ways first and not desire my own things, but God's.
I was struggling the other day with problems with my parents and not feeling like they think I'm doing a good job with the kids. I was feeling like a failure as a parent. Instead of letting it get me down that I'm not getting full approval from them, I need to use it to bring me to God's feet and admit that I can't parent my kids perfectly, I can't make them be who they should be, I can't do anything on my own. Only God can through my prayers and his grace, work in their lives and transform the.
I was also struggling with dh's and some issues there. I was feeling very different from them and feeling like our different choices are keeping us from being included with the rest of them. But the Bible says that we will face persecution from our family if we follow him. Instead I should rejoice, not worry if I'm accepted by them, and pray for them.
SO, may this day be lived for God's glory, not mine. May I need judge my parenting by my children's behavior and consider myself a failure if they aren't perfect. May I rest in God and lean on him for his strength today and every day and give up trying to look good to everyone and have others look at me as something special. May God be given any glory for any good seen. To his glory alone.
I'm in the middle of reading a great, inspirational book. It's called, "Lord, Please Me Me in the Laundry Room" by Barbarra Curtis. It's a great book to encourage you as a mom. Barbara is a mom of 12 kids. She has adopted 3 down syndrom children and given birth to a child with downs as well. She didn't become a Christian until she was in her 30's and had a number of children.
What I like about the book is how encouraging she is of our walks with the Lord and how she doesn't have much time for in-depth Bible Study but instead meets the Lord in the laundry room as she changes laundry throughout the day. She is very down-to-earth about her parenting and herself as a mom. She doesn't claim to have all the answers but claims to know who does and promises that God will meet you wherever you are - even if you're busier than you can imagine. She talks about learning to walk in God's presence throughout the day and live each day in communion with him.
One of my favorite quotes from her book is this, "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called". I've been reading from 1 Kings and reading about King Solomon and his prayer to become wise. I like one of the preceding verses - 1 Kings 3:7 "And now, O Jehovah my God, You have made Your servant king instead of David my father. And I am a little child; I do not know to go out or come in!" When King Solomon became King, he wasn't already equipped, he instead needed equipping. He believed that God could equip him and prayed for wisdom and understanding and boy was he sure equipped!
There are many things in life that we don't do or turn down because we don't think we're able to or aren't good enough to do. God may be calling us to step out in faith and do his will in a certain area. We may not think we're up to the task, but like I said before, "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called."
Often I think people treat having more children this way. People wonder, "how do you do it - having 6 kids who were under 8 years old?" I can answer again, "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called." Some people find it harder or easier to do certain things, but God will equip us in whatever way it's necessary to meet the demands that are placed upon us. Sometimes it may seem impossible, but as we cry out to him, he is faithful. It doesn't mean it's easy. Just today I found myself yelling at my kids. I HATE when I do that. I wasn't walking in that fellowship with the Lord today.
Just because having fewer kids is easier and within what we think we can handle doesn't mean that that's God's plan for our families. It's so easy to follow the flow of society and do what is normal. We originally thought we would have 3 or 4 kids. After 2 kids I got pg with twins so we thought we would be done as we had our 4 kids. I got rid of my maternity clothes after my twins were born and we thought that was that. Thankfully we didn't do anything "permanent" about the situation.
When my twins were almost a year I just had this sence that there was someone else (or many someone elses) who the Lord had plans for on this earth that we should be having. I imagined children who might not exist based on our decision to stop having children. I talked with my dh about it who wasn't sure about having more children right away. We read "Be Fruitful and Multiply" by Nancy Campbell and after a few months of praying and waiting, dh agreed with me. His biggest problem was worrying about finances.
So we got pg again and had my 5th child. I remember before I got pg thinking about having another child and imagining looking at that child and thinking that he's a child that may not have existed had we followed the ways of society. Now we've had another child. It's hard to imagine life without these 2 little blessings! Are things always easy? NO Is life complex with all these relationships/child-training to mange? YES! Is god big enough equip us to raise these children! YES - if we learn to come to him and rely on him. On my own, I fail, but with God there is victory.
No matter where you are in life, the Lord calls you to step out in faith and walk with him. Are there areas that the Lord is speaking to you about? Are there things he has for you to do that you don't feel adequate to do? Have faith in God - he can and will equip you for what he calls you to do.
Last night I went outside before going to bed. I wanted to spend some time in prayer and our deck outside seemed like just the place to go. As I stepped outside I was greeted with warm, humid air with just the right breeze blowing. It was perfect with the wind blowing away the mosquitos and keeping me cool. The air smelled of the country trees and the only sound was the sound of the wind blowing through trees in the distance.
I looked up to see the many stars. There was just a sliver of a moon and the many constellations above. It is so awe-inspiring to look out at the universe. I know God isn't necessarily "up there", but looking out there makes me feel his presence and feel awe at the world he created. What an incredible, big universe we live in. We could study and study and never understand even a portion of it! What an awesome God we have!
I spent some time in prayer. Prayer for my family, for my husband, for my kids, for myself. Prayers of repentance and prayers of gratitude. I closed with a song to the Lord. It just flowed out of my heart. This is the song I sang.
I Stand in Awe of You
You are beautiful beyond description,
to marvelous for words
To wonderful for comprehension,
like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above.
And I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God to whom all praise is due,
I stand in awe, of You.
May we take time to stand in awe of God and pour out our hearts to him.
Great website with free Bibles and Bible study resources!
Posted on Sun 17 Jun 2007 at 11:26
Our pastor just suggested this site for downloading free Bible Study stuff. There's a ton of stuff you can download for free. I'm looking forward to going through it and enhancing my Bible Study with these items! Hope we can get some good info from this and that more than anything, we remain faithful to studying God's word! Here's the site! http://www.e-sword.net/
I have subscribed to the Above Rubies devotional that gets sent out periodically. Today's devotional speaks volumes to me because it's where I'm at and how the Lord has been speaking to me. More than anything, I've been impressed with the need for me to pray continually and daily for my children and for my husband and for all things. Only through prayers will all our efforts be effective. We need the Holy Spirit and his power to change the lives of ourselves, our children and our spouse and those around us.
I decided I would include the devotional by Nancy Campbell in my post today. Many of you may have read it, but it's such a good reminder for us!
A CONSTANT REMINDER
Exodus 28:29, "And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually."
I am always amazed at the incredible specifications God gave for the High Priest's clothing. They were to be holy garments, made for "glory and for beauty." A whole chapter of the Bible, Exodus chapter 28, is given to these instructions. One of the instructions was to take two onyx stones and grave on them the names of the children of Israel, six names on one stone and six on the other. They were then to be set in gold and placed in the shoulder-pieces of the ephod so that Aaron could carry these names before the Lord as a constant reminder.
God knew the names of the tribes of Israel which represented every adult and child in each tribe, but He wanted the names before Him continually. In the Word of God the shoulders speak of responsibility and government. It was the High Priest's responsibility to do this. I believe that it is also the responsibility of parents to bring their children's names into the presence of the Lord. We are to carry them before the Lord continually. We often feel the weight and burden of raising children. It can bear down upon us. But the greatest way to bear the weight is to bear it upon our shoulders in prayer and to bring our children's names constantly before the Lord.
But that wasn't all. God commanded them to make a breastplate for Aaron. The breastplate was to have twelve beautiful gem stones, four rows of three stones. Each gem stone represented a tribe of Israel with the name of the tribe engraved on it as though it were a seal. In this way Aaron carried the names of the tribes of Israel over his heart when he went into the presence of the Lord.
Each jewel was different showing the difference between each of the tribe families of Israel, just as each of our children is unique. We can't parent each one the same way. This is why we constantly need to come before the Lord. We desperately need His wisdom and anointing. Exodus 28:29 MLB says, "Aaron shall wear the names of Israel's sons over his heart on the breastplate of judgment as he enters the holy place, for a perpetual memorial in the presence of the Lord."
What a beautiful picture for us parents. Not only should we carry the names of our children and grandchildren on our shoulders (embracing this responsibility) but on our hearts (with our affection and love). The greatest way we reveal they are on our hearts is to bring them into the Lord's presence. He loves them. He wants their names continually before Him. In our immediate family, with children, spouses and grandchildren, Colin and I now bring 51 names before the Lord each day. This has been our life-line as we raised our children and continues to be so. We could never have done it without prayer. It is the most powerful weapon of parenthood
As you pray audibly for your children, the Lord may also lay on your heart a way to write your children's names on something significant that you could bring into His presence as you pray for them each day. This could be something tangible that reminds you to bring them before the Lord. Ask Him to show you.
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
PRAYER:
Thank you for the privilege of bringing my children daily into your presence. Help me to be faithful to this responsibility. Amen.
AFFIRMATION:
My soul is burdened, and my heart cries,
For my children I have many sighs,
But into His presence I bring each name,
His power and anointing for them I claim.
Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week.
If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank email to subscribers-on@aboverubies.org
Joy in obedience to God! OR Being content where God places you!
Posted on Mon 11 Jun 2007 at 01:46
"Trust and Obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!"
I'm truly feeling such joy in this move we made to our little town here. For the last couple of years, my goal was to get to the country and have the perfect homestead with the perfect land - at least 5-10 acres.... We recently bought a house after getting our ink business (see sidebar for link) in a very small village - actually right on the edge of the village where there's country all around us even though we don't own it. We only have 1/2 an acre but we were able to not be stressed financially with this move.
Not only are we reaping the benefits of staying conservative financially, but I truly love living here. We are in the country even though we don't own it. We have our pastor and his wife in town. Now, through the Lord, I've connected with a like-minded mom who lives about an hour away and was looking to move over this way. She may be moving to our tiny town soon if the Lord works it out! I already feel like she's a great friend. AND she has a 12yo daughter - the only one at home with them right now, who loves kids and babies and wants to be around them. We have plenty for her to practice on!
I feel like the Lord has so put us together in this place for them and them for us. Had we gone off other places in search of places to live, this friend situation would not have happened the way it looks like it will. God is so good!
Anyways, I just want to encourage anyone who is seeking, envying or coveting that perfect place for your homestead, God does have the perfect place for you. It may not be that picture-perfect place, but if you plant yourself where he wants you and seek contentment in that, he will bring you joy and contentment where you are.
I was playing the piano today after our family had a family hymn sing time and came across this hymn in playing. It's an old favorite that I haven't sung in a long time and speaks to my heart right now. I pray that I may hold and treasure Jesus in my heart. If you're interested in a site that has the tune to this song and also tells who wrote it and all, visit http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/t/jtveryth.htm .
Here are the words. If you go to the site above, there are actually 11 more verses to this song that don't make the hymnal!
Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name,
O Savior of mankind!
O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!
But what to those who find? Ah, this
Nor tongue nor pen can show;
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.
Thirsty for something. Thirsty in my soul. Needing to get rid of the dryness, the cracked and hard places.
We have clay in our yard. When dry, there are big cracks all over in it. When it is wet, it's smoother and able to be molded. My kids like playing with the clay.
What do I want to be? Dry, cracked clay or wet moldable clay? Where does the water come from to make me that wet moldable clay?
Psalm 42:1-2 - As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
The question at the end of these verses show the key to having our thirst quenched. It says, "When can I go and meet with God?" It is through meeting with God and being with him that our thirst is quenched.
Nehemiah 9:15 - In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.
Spiritually I am hungry and thirsty. In Nehemia it talks about what God did when Israel was hungry and thirsty. He met their needs. After he met their needs, he told them to go and take possession of the land he had promised them. When I am thirsty, I can meet with God and God will faithfullly meet my needs. I am then able to "take possession of the land". For me this means, I am equipped to be the mother, the wife the child of God that God desires for me to be. I am equipped to be a conqueror, not just one who stays where I am and takes the easy life. Taking possession of the land and conquoring isn't easy. It takes hard work, sometimes pain, sometimes exhaustion. But it is right and in it my thirst is quenched.
SO. Time to get filled. Time to meet my Lord again. Time to find out what he has for me and be strengthened, renewed, and sent off into battle. Time to become wet, and moldable clay - to meet with God and place myself in his hands to mold me into his image and use me for his glory.
Today was a good day for connecting with my kids. I realized how important in daily life it is for me to truly connect with them in enjoying the things they enjoy. Today was Mother's Day and often on Mother's Day we're made to feel that we need to be pampered and need to have this day for ourselves. Instead of doing that, I decided that today I would take time to enjoy being a mom. What is Mother's Day for if it isn't to enjoy the calling we have as mom's!
Instead of wanting time for myself and for peace and quiet, I enjoyed the little things with my kids. I enjoyed snuggling with my 2yo on the floor and reading a book, watching my dd fly up and down the road on her new bike, kissing and tickling my 8mo old baby and listening to her belly laughs and giggles... I took time to look into their faces and imagine the people they would be and see their potential. What unique creations they each are!
Instead of being selfish today, I enjoyed my calling as a mom. Instead of seeking gifts, I enjoyed the blessed gifts I've already been given. May we truly enjoy and love and connect with our kids on a daily basis!
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Tonight I wasn't sure what to write about and was browsing different things and went to my friend Carrie's blog of How I Love Thee. I really appreciated her article. Click here for it. I feel in need of encouragement from the Lord and often struggle with believing that God truly sees me and my failures in this loving way. May we live trusting in faith and living in joy because of the love of the Lord.
Verses from Ephesians 3
[14] For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
[15] Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
[16] That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
[17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
[18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
[19] And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
[20] Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
[21] Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Galatians 6:14
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
What a wonderful, tough verse! It's really easy to seek the world's approval and praise - maybe not the secular world but the religious world. It's good to feel accepted by others, but my motivation in life is not to receive praise from others and boast about myself and what I've done, but rather to point others to the cross. How often do I point others to the cross? Often I'll tell of what God's done for me in certain areas, but am I pointing others to Jesus and the cross or to a self-seeking view of Jesus. (Jesus is there to help me) Has the world truly been crucified to me and I to the world? What a tough verse to digest and live out! May the grace of God and joy of his forgiveness through the cross fill me daily!
Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Today I needed this verse. Several things I was hoping would happen
didn't happen. I was waiting for 2 calls from different people. Neither
of them called. I really dislike waiting for the phone to ring and for
people to call back! I needed to consciously move myself from the point
of disappointment to trusting and having peace in God. God was good and
restored joy to him. Anyways, I pray we can find God's peace in
rejoicing in him, not being anxious, and praying to him at all times.
Picking up books on reserve from the library this afternoon with 3 of my kids. It's rare that I get out of the house during the day!
Chatting with my favorite librarian and having her ok a few book we were returning with binding issues, so we didn't need to pay a fine.
Walking away from a situation where I was starting to get angry with my kids, praying and getting calm, and returning to the sitatuation to handle it properly through the Lord's strength.
Taking a break from this blog right now to take a few minutes to pray for my family. I want to make sure I do this before I spend time blogging to keep my priorities straight. (See blog below - "Blogging - the good and the bad") When I did this, the Lord spoke to me about going to talk to my oldest son who had just gone to bed, about some issues from the day. We had a good short chat that I pray will be meaningful in his life. Had I ignored the promptings to pray for my family, I would have missed this opportunity to sow seeds in his heart.
Lows:
Not waking up much before the kids to have much of a quiet time with the Lord.
Losing my calm for a moment with one of my 4yo boys and speaking angrily with him about his yelling about things. (hmmm - not a good example - a bit of a double standard there...)
Struggling with my perfectionist daughter and how to handle her emotional outbursts of frustration.
I continue to struggle to always maintain a calm and patience with my children during those trying times of the day. Today was a day of mixed results. I definitely felt frustration and stress handling those moments of conflict within the family. I praise God that he can work in our family despite my failures. What a merciful Lord we have!
Our Journey Into The Country - A Faith Walk