Been Awhile

 

Boy, time sure does fly!

I have lots on my mind but nothing really to say so I have no idea how this post is going to go!

We’re trying to finish up a few things with school so haven’t really started Christmas break.  Usually we wind up taking off the whole month of December so I’m really proud of us for sticking with it this year.  Travis has to finish a report on reptiles… yesterday while he lay across his chair crying and throwing a hissy fit over having to write 10-15 sentences I threatened to send him to school, I think the boy would benefit from a little peer pressure!   Anyone want to send their kids over to laugh at him for me when he’s throwing fits??  Between that and Jacob’s deciding he’s had enough and asking for a break every two minutes I’m really looking forward to some time off.  At least Cade’s being agreeable right now!!

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Sometime today we’re going to decorate sugar cookies.  I’m hoping if I give each kid their own thing of each color frosting it will cut down on the chaos… we’ll see how that goes.  Worst case scenario they eat all the frosting and we have plain cookies!

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My Bible fell open to Psalm 40 this morning, I love how God knows just what I need to read…

I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God:

Today I’m thankful for His ever present help. 

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Kind of a funny… several months back we were having a horrible day.  I think people have this idea that homeschooled children are always agreeable and easy to be with and homeschooling mothers are always patient and calm… yeah, not so much!!  Most days are good, most of the time I enjoy being with my kids, most of the time they are wonderful to be around, but there are times.  Times when I’m just one whine, one scream, one pee on the commode seat, one spilled anything away from running screaming down the street like a crazy person.  The only thing that stops me is they’d probably think it was great fun and come screaming after me!!

So we were having one of those days and I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a few minutes of peace.  I keep a Bible in there because that’s usually the most uninterrupted time I have during the day, so I decided to read some from Psalms to calm down.  I opened it up and the first thing I read was “LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.”   After my little pity of “yes Lord, they are!!”  I had to laugh.  I guess when you consider that David’s son was trying to kill him when he wrote that my days don’t look so bad. 

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Wednesday night we had a great message. I don’t have a cd because we’re remodeling right now and all the sound stuff is put away but the text was from    I Peter 5:6-10, Luke 22:31-32, and James 1:2-4 if you want to read it.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

 

As I watched this I was reminded of these verses….

Matthew 6:25-33  ~    Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.   Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment?   Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

It’s easy to get caught up in wanting more but so many of the things that society tells us are necessities are really just distractions that keep our eyes off of Jesus. 

Thank you Lord for knowing what I have need of and supplying my every need… truly I am so blessed.

Oh, Soul So Far Astray

 

I know there are people who think that “being good” is all it takes to make heaven, but yesterday was the first time I’d actually talked with someone who felt that way.  It breaks my heart that Jesus paid such a price for us and people either don’t know or don’t want to acknowledge his sacrifice.  “Being good” is a side effect of being saved, it’s not what gets you there.  There is only one way to God, Jesus said anyone who tries to come in any other way is a thief and a robber.

This song has been on my heart all day.  It’s my prayer for that woman and for everyone else who thinks they’ve found another way… “Oh, soul so far astray, come and plunge today in the blood that stained the old rugged cross”

(sorry it’s so shaky… this is the best video I could find in my quick search)

The Glory of God

 

I felt it yesterday as I prayed in advance for our bible study and all the women involved… it built as we gathered together and prayed in His Name for a sweet sister whose battling cancer… it built more today as I met with friends and broke the bread of life with them over lunch… it built even more as I prayed off and on throughout the day for different people and needs in my life… and then tonight as my pastor stood up and proclaimed the promises of God it burst out of and over me.  Rivers of living water flowing out. 

People who know me know how I am, and that doesn’t change when I walk through the church doors.  I’m not (usually) loud, don’t like drawing attention to myself, I’d rather just hang out in the background and be a wallflower.  But when the glory of God comes down there’s no holding back!

I’ve stood on mountains and stood in awe of His creation, I’ve stared up at the stars and wondered at His awesomeness, I’ve held my newborn babies and been overcome by His workings and attention to detail… but there is nothing like surrendering totally to the presence of God!  Leaving everything else behind and worshipping Him with all that I am… feeling His glory come down and those rivers of living water flowing out, nothing can compare!

I don’t know, we may whisper and sit quietly in awe when we finally make it to heaven… but I have a feeling there will be a little shouting and leaping for joy on those hills of glory, too!!  What a privilege to get a small taste of that here on earth!

Praise Him

I wrote a long post this afternoon… and my computer ate it.  It was really good, too, sorry ya’ll missed it!  The condensed version is when we draw nearer to God He will draw nearer to us and all those things that seem so impossible to overcome now… habits, addictions, stinkin’ thinkin’… will not be so hard because we’ll be letting Him handle it instead of trying to do it on our own.

I’ve been thinking today about answered prayer and recognizing the hand of God.  I don’t ever want to overlook what God’s doing.  A friend is in the hospital, Saturday things were looking really bad and they were expecting to have to do surgery… Sunday she’d made a huge recovery!!  Miracles like that are kinda hard to miss, but what about the things that are easier to overlook.  The light bulb moment when it all clicks and the boys understand and put into practice the things I’ve been trying to instill in them.  Or the light bulb moment when it all clicks and I understand and put into practice what God’s been trying to the teach me!  I pray that we never fail to give God the glory for every thing He does.

Bless the Lord

 

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. 
Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

This psalm was on my tongue tonight as I knelt down to pray.  I can’t quote it all but it was in my heart.  Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits!!   Just look at all He has done for me… it takes my breath away… and when I think of how often I fail Him I’m humbled… and yet He has not dealt with me after my sins or rewarded me according to my iniquities, for as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy to them that fear Him.  Bless the Lord, O my soul!!

We also sang this song tonight.  Ever wonder what your purpose is?? Here it is… this is one of my favorites, never fails to sharpen my focus.

Top 10 Things NOT to say when asked "What?! No school today?"

 

10. Well normally yes, but this time of year I need help with the planting and plowing.  ~oops, this is the reason for when our school year stops and starts!  used this one!!

9. Goodness, no!!! I graduated 18 years ago, but thanks for the compliment!

8. No, we homeschool. We're just out to pick up a bag of pork rinds and some Mountain Dew, then we gotta hurry home to catch our soaps.

7. What?! Where did you guys come from?! Oh my gosh! I thought I told you kids to stay at school! I'm sorry. This happens all the time. (sigh) ~ gotta remember this one!

6. There isn't? Why, you'd think we would have seen more kids out then, don't you? ~have actually said this before but in my defense I was just clueless and actually being sincere…

5. We're on a field trip studying human nature's intrusive and assumptive tactics of displaying ignorance and implied superiority. Thanks for the peek! ~wonder if I could pull this one off??

4. On our planet we have different methods of education. (Shhh! No, I didn't give it away... keep your antennae down!)

3. Oh my goodness! I thought that today was Saturday...come on kids, hurry!

2. Noooooope.Me 'n Bubba jes' learns 'em at home. Werks reel good!

And the number one answer we should NEVER give to the question: "What? No school today?"

1. "What? No Bingo today?"

Bless His Heart

Jacob yesterday….

Jacob today…

We took a little trip to the doctor’s office today just in case that other eye decided to totally swell shut, too… hasn’t slowed him down a bit though!

Best Laid Plans…

 

How’s that saying go??

We had a great start to the morning.  Woke up at a decent hour, everyone in a good mood, wonderful attitudes for school…. then I had a great idea. 

So I spread shaving cream on the table for Jake to practice writing his letters… only problem was I forgot what that would do to the other two!  They couldn’t stand it.  Ok, I can handle that, I tell them they can play too but they have to finish what they’re doing first.  They do, and I take advantage of the break to read some in Proverbs…. and God takes advantage of my reading to convict my heart. Ok God, I hear you!

The boys finish playing in the shaving cream when it’s all off the table and on them.  We clean up and head back to do more school.  Jake decides he’d rather read library books, so I send him to the other room while I focus on the big boys.  They start math and mysteriously every thing they’ve ever learned about math flies right out the window!  You’d have thought they’d never looked at a math problem.  Oh well, being clueless is no excuse in this house!!  Once they make peace with the fact that ‘no, mama will not cross off all the problems on the page’, they are eventually able to finish. 

Then the phone rings… someone needing one of those favors that sounds like a snap until you get started and then suddenly it’s not so simple.  Ok, no problem, the boys eat lunch while I start on that project.  Then they decide they want to play outside which sounds great to me.  One thing I’ve learned about myself is I really need quiet time to decompress during the day.

Just as I’m about to call them back in Cade comes running to say that Jacob’s been stung by a bee.  Sure enough, poor little guy got it right on his eyelid.  Ok, no problem, we pray, I doctor him up and we head for the rocking chair for some cuddle time.  Cuddle time also turns into teach-while-rocking-time which really worked better than expected.

So the point of this whole post was to say how thankful I am for the peace God’s been speaking to my heart.  Life is going to happen… we can throw a fit or roll with it, but it’s going to happen.  More days than I would like it’s just one thing after the other… that’s life, but it’s much better for my children’s spirit (and my blood pressure) when I trust God to work it out and just roll with it.

Oh, and to top it all off, the dog just brought in a mole, or gopher, or mouse, or something, and dropped it on  my rug!!  There are not enough paper towels in the world to make that not icky to pick up…

Giving from the Heart

 

The boys got a birthday party invite in the mail yesterday, they love getting mail so there was lots of jumping around and yelling involved. 

Once they realized what it was they all had only one thought… not, what kind of party?… not, will there be party favors?… not even, will there be food?

Their first though was ‘What gift will we bring?’! And if you know my boys it’s not what will we buy, it’s what can we make or which of our toys can we give!  I love their generous spirit!

It’s hard for me to bite my tongue when they want to give a friend one of their beat up toy cars. I look at it and think what will people think if we bring something so obviously used, we can’t give that as a gift, how embarrassing. 

But in my children’s hearts it’s a totally different story… they’re giving something that is special to them. That used, beat up toy got that way because they love it and love to play with it, and now they want to share that joy with their friend!

What selfless giving!  I’ll admit I’m not much of a gift giver, but to take a favorite possession and give it to a friend so they can take the joy in it that I take would never cross my mind.  I might buy them one like it, but to give mine? Me do without to make them happy???  No way… it’s MINE!

But then I remember “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”, and I pray that I will be more like my children and give just for the joy of giving with no thought to the cost.

So FYI, if you ever invite us to a party and my boys bring hand-me-down gifts wrapped in construction paper… know that much more love and thought went into that gift than the prettily wrapped one from the store that I’m carrying.  And please be patient with my embarrassed, stammering explanation of their gifts… I’m still a work in progress!

Examine Yourself

 

2Co 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.

Gal 6:3-4  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.  But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

John 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

James 1:22-24  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Deu 28:9  The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.

Col 1:10  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

 

Examine yourself…

Are you growing? Are you walking daily with God or standing still? Are you applying God’s Word to your life or is it in one ear and out the other? Are you closer to God today than you were yesterday?

In looking up those verses, I found this one…  2Ch 12:14  And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

King Rehoboam did not prepare his heart to seek God… and he did evil. We don’t grow in truth by accident, purposely seek God and you will find Him… or don’t and do evil in the sight of God.

My Purpose

 

Children do not accidentally become righteous leaders or emotionally healthy and productive adults – any more than seeds thrown randomly to the wind grow to be part of a thriving garden. Simply throwing children into a cultural tornado and hoping for the best  gives them little chance of living up to their potential or coming out unharmed.  Someone needs to take responsibility for their nurture, protection, nourishment, intellectual development, manners, recreation, personal needs, and spiritual development.  Someone needs to commit time and energy into staying close to them as they grow, encouraging and correcting and teaching.

                        - Sally Clarkson

               The Mission of Motherhood

Hi There…

Wow… life keeps getting in the way of my blogging! I tell myself I’m going to update more often, but it’s just not happening!

Somehow we’ve made it through our first 6 weeks of school, time sure flies!! After a bit of a rocky start the boys are doing great… not counting today, but daddy’s on vacation this week so all bets are off. ;) They’ve all settled in and are really working hard, thank goodness because with the way we’ve been sleeping in around here we’d never finish if they were lollygagging!!

We finally cleaned up the yard and moved all the farm implements back to the pasture, yea! There’s still a logging camp out by the road, but since that provides part of our income I guess it can stay.

Tomorrow Brian and I go to Tyler to have his head examined… praying there’s a simple answer to what’s causing his headaches. After putting up with them for years I am thankful he’s finally agreed to see a doctor.

Seems like there’s been more going on around here, but short of telling the horrible story about the cow getting it’s head stuck in the squeeze chute today, I can’t think of anything. And don’t ask… you truly don’t want to hear the cow story, it was pitiful.

Testimony

I’ve debated on giving this testimony for several months.  God keeps putting it back on my heart so I think now is the time to give it.

A couple of years ago I went through a trial that I honestly never thought I’d have to face.  Call me naive or whatever, but this was the first time I’d prayed for something so important and not gotten the answer I expected.

I read something a while back that talked about the difference between faith and trust.  I’ll paraphrase but it gave the illustration of a man pushing a wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.  Suppose you’ve read about him doing this before, maybe seen him do it on TV, so when he asks if you believe he can do it you say sure, you believe he can… that’s faith.  Now suppose he asks you to ride in the wheelbarrow while he’s pushing it across the falls on a tightrope… that’s trust!

As a consequence of what I went through my trust in God was shaken.  I still believed He could provide, but my trust that He would answer my prayers was weak… and I didn’t like that feeling one bit.

I’ve always relied on God to see me through storms and to protect me and my family, and the feeling of being alone was horrible.  I take comfort in knowing that someone bigger than me is watching over my kids and has them right in the palm of His hand, feeling that He might not was scary.

Even in the darkest days I still knew deep down inside that even if I didn’t feel like He was listening, those feeling could lie.  So I cried out to God and laid it all on the line to Him.  I told Him my trust was shaken, told Him that I still had three more children that I needed to feel I could entrust to His care, told Him how disappointed I was, told Him how alone I felt.  I even told Him that if I thought there was anywhere else I could go to meet those needs I would, but that I knew He was the only way.  As the apostle Peter said when Jesus asked if the disciples would leave Him too, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”

As I was pouring all this out to God the Holy Ghost spoke to my heart the words to a song we sing sometimes.

“Though God slay me, yet I’ll trust Him.  I will then come forth as gold.”

Those words touched me. They showed me that even though I didn’t feel God’s presence He was still with me.

Not long after that I was talking with Travis.  He was mad at me about a decision I’d made to not let him do something and wanted me to explain myself to him.  We were standing in the kitchen and I’ll never forget the words I said him…

You may not always understand the decisions I make and I may not always explain myself to you.  There are some things that you are not yet mature enough to understand and there are some things I know and see that you don’t yet.  But always know that everything I do, I do because I love you and every decision I make, I make because I want what’s best for you.

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I knew they were for me.  The Holy Ghost was speaking those words through me just for me. And I stopped right there and cried and thanked Him.

I wish I could say the road back was easy, but we’re never promised an easy road.  We are promised that we won’t be alone on that road.  I can be thankful for one thing though, in the end my faith and trust in God is stronger than it ever was.  Before, my faith came from seeing the miracles and feeling Him with me… and that’s good and I thank God for those miracles and feeling His presence… but now I come to God trusting Him just because HE IS.  I don’t know if that makes much sense, but He told Moses “I am that I am”.  Hebrews 11:16 says “…he that cometh to God must believe that he is…”.  It’s just that simple, just believing that He is who He says He is and will do the things He says… no matter what the circumstances may say.

When I first thought about writing this out I went looking for a video of this song.  I couldn’t believe it when I found this one, I’ve know Bro. Jason for years.  Back in their younger days he and Brian could pass for twins!  If you have time to listen to some of his preaching clips you won’t be disappointed.

Jesus Saves

I woke up this morning with this song on my mind…

 

Also, an update from my last post…  Not only did God bless us to be able to pay all our bills this month… He abundantly blessed so that we will be able to pay extra!  What a mighty God we serve!!

Lazy Days

 

We stayed out way to late last night visiting with friends… luckily we don’t have to get up early for school!!  Reason #357 we homeschool!

The kids rolled out of bed at the crack of 10 a.m., ate brunch and we got to work.  I decided reason #358 to homeschool is that we get to set our own schedule so today was a lazy day.

We start with bible/devotions/prayer… this week we’re learning to listen more and talk less… it’s a work in progress, but I’m sowing seeds!

Snuggling up and reading on this gray rainy day suited me fine so I read a chapter from “God has a Plan for Little Boys” next, and we talked about how God has a plan for their lives and great things in store for them.  Then we read about the Ajanta Caves in India for history and looked at pictures online.

They sailed through handwriting and math.  Travis will finish his math book this week.  He’s mastered single and multiple digit addition and subtraction, multiplication and division facts, multiple digit multiplication and long division… next up the wild world of fractions!

Quick spelling lessons and Travis took a science test and we called it a day! 

I resorted our home library and organized most of the books by reading level, so they spent part of the afternoon laying around reading.  We have books I didn’t know we had thanks to donations from family!  I keep saying I’m going to start hitting garage sales to pick up books but I never seem to find the time… I really need to do that though… and buy more bookcases, bookcases would be great!

As part of my ‘no more threatening or nagging’ plan I told the boys we would make cookies once their room and the living room were clean.  Our chewy chocolate cookies turned out kinda crunchy, but at least the rooms are clean!

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I want to always be willing to share how God has blessed and moved for me and my family.  In the last week He has moved in three areas where I know it had to be Him.

First, Brian had been sick for weeks, went to the doctor 3 times and would get a little better for a few days and then feel worse again.  Finally one night we were finishing our devotions and he said he thought he needed to go to the doctor again, so I asked if he wanted to pray about it and he agreed. We prayed and he started feeling better the next day and is now doing much better!

Second, we had some unexpected expenses this month. No matter how I figured it we still came out needing about $500 more than we would have… and that’s not even planning for groceries, believe it or not these people around here think they need to eat every single day!!  So I prayed about it and gave it over to God.  Just about every day last week someone contacted Brian with a job for him! He hasn’t gotten paid for everything yet, but so far we’ve been able to pay everything on time and it looks like we’ll be able to do the same for these last two bills!

Third, my phone rang a few day ago, I didn’t know the number so I almost didn’t answer it.  The person wanted to ask me a few questions about my church, I answered them still not knowing who it was.  Turned out it was someone I’d talked to for maybe 2 minutes, 3 MONTHS AGO, about something totally unrelated to church!  It blessed me more than I can say to see first hand how God can touch lives.  He is truly able to put that hunger in people’s hearts… and He can do it all by Himself.  All He needs is a people willing reach out and be a friend!

Answered Prayers

This is gonna be quick because it’s almost 10:00 and we still haven’t started school, but I don’t want to start school because we took off yesterday to go to Chuck-E-Cheese for Jake’s birthday and now I just want to take off today too, but we can’t skip another day so I’m stalling by writing this, but soon I’m going to have to get my rear in gear… how’s that for a run on sentence?!

God’s trying to move me out of my nice, comfortable box and I’m digging in my heels… it’s cozy here.  It started in bible study, and I made a few small steps, but Saturday night and last night’s messages were like crowbars prying me out.  So pray for me that I won’t let my shyness and nerves hinder me from being obedient to God’s will.

In other news… I’m so thankful that my God hears and answers prayers.  Two weeks ago I started praying two big-to-me prayers (nothing I could pray would be to big for God) within 3 days I was seeing answers to both those prayers and it hasn’t stopped. 

This week I was also told by two other people I have been praying for that God is speaking to their hearts.

And last night when I knelt down to pray at church my back started hurting, so right then I asked God for healing and immediately the pain lifted.

Too many times I’ve only silently thanked God for His goodness, now I want to publicly thank Him for answered prayers and for His mercy and grace toward me.

School Days

 

Normally by the middle of July I’m super excited to start back to school, everything planned and organized and ready to go.  This year… not so much!  The garden made longer than usual so I was still picking and canning and all that good stuff right up to time for us to start school… but we did start and it’s gone pretty good!

Travis is in 4th grade, it’s been a bit of an adjustment… lots more writing… but he’s doing great.  He’s all into posing for pictures lately, he’s trying to sneak a grin into this one!

Jake started Kindergarten… he loves it and thankfully I can count on him to be excited about school and have a good attitude!  He was the one begging to start this year.

Cade started 2nd grade… and asks me every day if he can drop out! A few days ago we were reviewing subtraction facts and after fidgeting and staring into space for ages he asked me “Why do I have to figure it out??”  Umm… because I already know it!

       We studied the ‘early days of Britain’ this week so today the boys were Celts complete with face paint and a mini war!

 

 

 

Cade is making a lapbook of ancient civilizations.  I decided to do this at the last minute, which is why we have the mismatched folders!    So far he’s only worked on the cover, I’ll put up more pictures later… I think this is going to be really cool.

There’s a map showing locations of the different civilizations.  He’s not much for coloring… can you tell?

And a timeline… pretty cool!

 

Quick Update

 

Please say a prayer for the New Testament Holiness Church in Kenya when you pray.  They are in the middle of a week long crusade/revival.  They were expecting about 200 people… before it even started over 300 had shown up, some walking for 2 or 3 days to be there!  how convicting for us lazy Americans who are to tired at the end of the day to drive 10 minutes to church! I forget the exact number but as of Monday I think around 20 had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior!! 

It’s wonderful that so many people came to be in the revival… but the flip side is that all those people have to be fed.  Our church sent money last week and we’re sending more this morning, but please pray that God will provide the increase so that no one has to go without. 

Still Alive

 

No, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth!!  We did start school (more on that later) though…  so it kinda seems that way!

Our church has added some sermons to it’s website. So far I’ve only listened to the second one, it was really good… a confirmation of some things I’d been praying.

Things have been pretty quiet here lately.  I shut down the produce stand, and am trying to find the motivation to plant a fall garden.  We’re working on going to bed earlier and getting up before noon… it’s a work in progress,  the boys seem to have taken after my night owl tendencies.

I’ll post more about school soon, now the boys have come in from catching tadpoles and it’s time to get down to business!

Park Fun

 

We went to the park Monday for a little R&R.  After weeks of letting the boys sleep in they were not happy about being woke up early… but it was worth it to get there while it was still only hot and not sweltering!

 

 

Jake and Cade on the swings

 

 

 

 

So proud to be swinging with no help

 

 

 

 

Plotting their next big adventure

 

 

 

 

Betcha can’t guess who didn’t want his picture taken

 

 

 

Love that grin

 

 

 

 

Showin’ off

Today’s Reading

I read this today in my quiet time.  It touched me, so… I’m sharing.

First the KJV then NIV for those who can’t handle King James English! ;)

Romans 12

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

and again…

Romans 12

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:
   "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
      if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
   In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Certainty in God

 

“…they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” ~ Luke 24:32

I’ve had this post on my heart for several days, but my thoughts are so scattered I’m not sure how it will flow.  But here goes anyway…

Too many times I’ve knelt weeping at Jesus’ feet and felt His arms come around me for anyone to tell me God’s not real.

Too many times I’ve stood in the middle of a storm unable to see the light and felt unexplainable peace for anyone to tell me God’s not real.

Too many times I’ve been sick or in pain and prayed for healing and instantly been healed for anyone to tell me God’s not real.

And I could go on and on…

So what brought this on?

I sometimes read this blog by a woman who used to be a christian and now says she’s an atheist.  That made me think of this woman who went to our church when I was growing up… she was faithful every week, taught Sunday school, and yet once told my mom that she had never felt the presence of God.  So that made me think of what a short slide it is from just going through the motions to no longer believing.

I look around and see so many people just going through the motions.  How easy it is to believe Satan’s lies when we don’t really KNOW Jesus.  Just hearing about Him is not enough.  Reading the Bible is good and necessary but just reading about Him is not enough.  We must KNOW Him.  Because once we really know Him nothing and no one can take that away.

The thing is I think a lot of people don’t even know that they’re missing out.  It reminds me of the place in Acts where Paul asked the people in Ephesus if they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed and they replied that they didn’t even know that there was a Holy Ghost. People are going through the motions not even realizing that there is more, not even realizing that they are missing out.  Why?? Because we aren’t shouting God’s goodness from the rooftops. 

God moves for me and I thank Him and then go on about my business.  I never stop everything and run out to tell everyone I see.  So I’m saying it now… there’s more.  God has moved for me in mighty ways, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.  He has touched me, healed me, turned my life around, and there is still so much more He has in store. 

The message last Saturday morning was so good… I wish I knew how to upload audio, but this is a small bit…

“Being religious is not going to help us. We’ve got to eat His flesh and drink His blood.”

“If there’s no dedication in your walk with God then you need to be in the alter. If there’s no prayer life in my ministry then I need to sit down.” 

“We’ve got to press. He said you put on the whole armor of God. He said you earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. He said you occupy til I come.  He said you hold fast.  He said you fight the good fight of faith.  What’s all that?  All that’s telling that you’ve got to do it.”

No one else can do it for us.  No one can convince anyone else with a certainty that God is real… but He can.  If you’ve never felt the presence of God, if you can’t say with certainty that God is real… seek His face.  He will reveal Himself to you.  Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.  It’s a promise! 

Wild World of Cade

 

This child constantly cracks me up.  He can be a bit of a challenge, but is such a joy at the same time.  You just never know what he’s going to come up with!

A few days ago he came up to me and said, “Why does it say no elephants in the swimming pool?”

I have no idea… but given the size of our pool it seems like good advice!

A Heart That Values Being a Mother

I’m reading A Woman After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George with my bible study group.  LOVE this book… it’s really been a wake up call in some areas of my life.  These are just a few of the quotes that jumped out at me in the chapters on mothering…

• A woman after God’s own heart is first and foremost a woman who has in her own heart a deep and abiding passion for God’s Word.  And her children… are to receive the firstfruits of this burning personal passion.
• Out of our mouths at every opportunity must come salt…. First a mother and father fill their own hearts with God’s Word and then they deliberately and diligently teach their children at every opportunity each day presents.
• How’s your walk? What are your children seeing about God in you? What are you teaching your children?
• As mothers on assignment  from God, you and I cannot underestimate the urgency of planting His truth in our children’s hearts and minds.
• We must be committed to nurturing and maintaining a godly life because a soul- the soul of each child- is involved.
• As mothers, you and I are the Number One influence in our children’s lives.
• What I put in to my children on a daily basis- seeds of patience or impatience, faith in God or lack of faith, kindness or selfishness- would be what I might gain back in years to come.
• We serve and take care of our children simply because God says to. Just as we do for our husbands, we give to our children expecting nothing in return.
• There are no other options, no conditions, no exceptions, and no fine print when it comes to God’s clear command that we are to love our children.
• This principle- Don’t give away to others what you have not first given away at home- applies to far more than just food.  We talk to people on the phone, for instance, but we don’t talk to our own children.  We listen to other people, but we don’t listen to our children.  We spend time with other people, but we don’t with our children.  We give smiles and joy to others, but don’t always share these with our children.
• Our presence in the home is important.  No dollar amount can ever be put on the value of our presence at home…

I highly recommend this book… it’s very convicting!

 

Catching Up

 

Whew… I think I’m being held hostage by my garden! To all my friends I’ve neglected and not kept up with, I’m sorry!  The craziness should end soon… I hope!  Unless I plant that fall garden I’ve just about talked myself back into after talking myself out of it last week.

The good news is I’ve put up a LOT of food for the family and our produce stand is doing great.  So there is always an up side!

The bad news is my kids have also been neglected, although I don’t think they’ve noticed to much.  You know it’s getting bad when they don’t want to eat hot dogs anymore! And when swimming in a dirty swimming pool counts as their bath!… not that I’d really do that, right?

One of the benefits (or headaches, depending on how you look at it) of raising independent, self-sufficient children, is they will take that ball and run with it if you give them half a chance. 

Yesterday I came in from picking tomatoes and Jake met me in the living room with a cake mix in his hand. “Mom, we can make this! Look, 3 eggs… we have eggs. A cup full of water… we have that!”  I laughed, said “hmmm”, and went back out to pick more tomatoes.  A little bit later, when I returned with another basket, I found Jake and Cade at the kitchen table.  Cake mix in mixing bowl, eggs already in mix and just about to pour in a plastic Pizza Hut cup full of water.  Being the good mother that I am, I stopped them and quickly showed Cade how to use a measuring cup, warned them not to turn on the oven… and went back out to pick MORE tomatoes.  I met Travis on the porch, told him to help his brothers and also gave him permission to use the oven. 

Their cake turned out fairly decent!  There were a few little mistakes but they did a good job.  And if they’ve been eating cake for breakfast and lunch the past two days… well at least it breaks up the monotony of hot dogs 3 times a day!

I also have a praise…

My wrist started hurting yesterday.  I don’t know how in the world I could have sprained my wrist shelling peas, but that’s all I can figure!  It hurt to move my wrist at all, I couldn’t put any pressure on it and even moving my fingers to type was excruciating.  So I did what I always do… ignored it and hoped it would be better in the morning!

Well, it wasn’t.  If anything it was getting worse.  I babied it through the morning but then I needed to can tomatoes, really need two hands for that.  Lifting pots of water was killing me and my fingers on that hand were beginning to feel numb.  So after almost 24 hours I did what I should have done at the start… I started praying.  Just stood right there in the kitchen, laid hands on myself and started calling on God!  Immediately the pain lessened.  I was able to can a bushel and a half of tomatoes without a bit of pain, and sitting here now I can type with no problem and move my wrist in any direction with barely a twinge!  I’m so thankful to be serving a God who still answers prayers… no matter how small the matter might be or how long we put off coming to Him!

Going Above and Beyond

I’ve been thinking about the Samaritans lately… I know, crazy thing to think about!

Quick history lesson :)

When Assyria conquered Israel the Israelites were exiled to Assyria, and other people were brought in to live there. These people were eventually known as the Samaritans. This picks up in 2 Kings chapter 17…

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. ²⁵ When they first lived there, they did not worship the LORD; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. ²⁶ It was reported to the king of Assyria: "The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires."

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria gave this order: "Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires." ²⁸ So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the LORD.

²⁹ Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. ³⁰ The men from Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men from Cuthah made Nergal, and the men from Hamath made Ashima; ³¹ the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³² They worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. ³³ They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.

What I’ve been thinking about is… these people served God just enough to keep from being killed by lions and that’s it, no more. They still held on to all their old habits and beliefs.

How many times are we like that?

No, we’re not being killed by lions, but the idea is the same. We want to be saved, be Christians, spend eternity in heaven… but we still want to hold on to all our old habits and beliefs, too. We still want to do what we want to do and so we make excuses or we ignore God or we try to justify our actions and make them seem okay.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we can earn our salvation… it’s a free gift (Ephesians 2:8). We could never be good enough or do enough to earn it, our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). BUT, once we’re saved, Jesus said if we loved Him we would keep His commands (John 14:15).

And, I believe, that there are some things we can do for Him that He doesn’t require, but we can do just because we love Him. (Now what I do may be different from what you do, that doesn’t mean that what I do is better… just that different people have different ways of showing their love!) As parents, doesn’t it please us when our kids go above and beyond? Why wouldn’t it please God, too?

My friend Katie had a wonderful blog post about something her son did that blessed her. It wasn’t something she asked or even expected of him, but when he rose to the occasion she was so proud of him. We need to rise to the occasion for God, stop making excuses and trying to justify our actions and just do the things we know will please Him.

It might not be easy, and we may have to get out of our comfort zone, but it will be so worth it!

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

The True Vine

 

I’ve been feasting off the scriptures from Saturday night’s service for last couple of days… so I thought I’d share them with you!

Of course I forgot my notebook and didn’t write anything down so I think I’m forgetting at least one, but here’s what I remember

 

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.  Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.  ~  John 15: 1-8

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.  ~  Hebrews 4: 12-13

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  ~  John 14: 26

He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:  And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.  ~  Luke 13: 6-9

 

Helping or Hindering…

 

This weeks chapters in A Woman After God’s Own Heart dealt with our role as a wife.  They were very convicting chapters!

As wives we are called to be helpers to our husbands.  So one thing she asked was if the things we do are a help to him or do they hinder him. 

He has a responsibility to provide for our family… am I actively helping him, or am I hindering him by placing extra demands on his time, spending our money unwisely, or constantly nagging him to do more.

He has a responsibility to be the spiritual head of our family… am I helping him to achieve that, or am I hindering by pointing out all his shortcomings and failures, taking over the role myself (he won’t stand up and fill in the gap if I’ve already done it and there’s no gap to fill), or failing to follow Christ myself in the fullness that I know to do.

There are so many little things we can do for our husbands that don’t take a lot of effort on our part but they can mean so much to them.  For Brian one thing I can do is make sure there’s always sweet tea available for him to drink… that’s it, not a big deal but it means a lot to him.

Yesterday while I was working in the garden God really spoke to me about this.  It’s good advice and something we should be aware of in our marriages, but it also applies to other relationships.

Our friends, are we helping or hindering their walk with God?  Acquaintances, same question… when they see us do they see Jesus or do our actions hinder them in their walk?

Our actions have consequences, and many times they are consequences we would never dream of.  Look at Eve, one little piece of fruit and humanity is still reaping the consequences. 

We must be very cautious in what we say and do.  That news we just have to share… is it going to help or hinder the one we tell? How about the one they tell? Or the one we’re talking about?

We try to justify, “It’s true, so it’s not really gossip”, or “They need to know what so-and-so is really like.” But the Bible says differently.

Proverbs 11:13 ~ A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.

Proverbs 18:8 ~ The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Proverbs 20:19 ~ He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.

Proverbs 26:20 ~ Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.

Just recently I had to apologize to someone for being a talebearer.  What I told was true and really wasn’t a surprise to the one I told… but it didn’t concern me and did absolutely nothing to uplift or encourage anyone, so I should have kept my mouth shut!

I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again!… We are the light of the world, a city set on a hill can not be hid.  For better or worse our light is shining before men… does what people see cause them to glorify our Father in heaven or does it hinder them?

Can You Hear It??

 

And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.  And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee     2 Samuel 5:23-24

Can you hear that rustling? 

This has been on my heart for a while. When I look with my natural eyes it’s not always apparent that God is moving.  Oh, but when I close my eyes, I hear a rustling in the tops of the trees.  God is on the move and I don’t want to be left out because I was looking with my natural eyes and not my spiritual eyes. 

In 2 Kings ch.8 the king of Syria came out to fight against Israel…

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?  And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

The army of God was there the whole time but the servant couldn’t see them until God opened his eyes. God is moving all the time but if our eyes aren’t opened we’ll miss it.

Do you hear the rustling?  Can you see how God is moving?

So many little things I’m seeing, small things God is doing, small changes in people’s hearts… on their own they don’t seem like much, but all together they add up to big things!

I’m excited to see what God’s going to do next!  From the small things He speaks to my heart to the big ways He makes things fall into place, I don’t want to take any of it for granted.

Rain!!!

 

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. ~ Joel 2:23

So thankful for the rain today!! 

Even though my garden’s washing away and the refrigerator we buried last week to make a root cellar is floating up…. I’m still thankful!

I’m also thankful for good rubber boots!! ;-)

Speak the Word

 

We’ve had a wonderful beginning to the revival.  The first night was good, the second even better, but last night you could really feel everyone in one mind and one accord reaching out to God. 

The sermon last night was on speaking God’s Word.  John 6:63 says “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”  God’s word is life, it is powerful.  And if we have His Spirit in us He wants to speak through us.

Jesus said in John 12 that He spoke the words the Father told Him to speak and in John 5 that He did the things the Father showed Him to do.  Well, if we have that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, then we have that Word living in us…. it’s life, let it come forth! 

In Matthew 8 the centurion said “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.”  Just speak the Word. 

Matthew 21:21 “If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” Speak the Word.

Ezekiel 37, I won’t quote the whole thing but God told Ezekiel to speak to the dry bones.  God told him what to say, and when Ezekiel obeyed God caused it to happen. 

Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Speak God’s Word and great things will happen.  Jesus said we would do even greater things than He did….. imagine that!

 

 

That’s the condensed version!  I left my notes at church so I know I’m forgetting a lot.  If you haven’t made it out yet I encourage you to come…. you won’t leave disappointed!