Don't Fight Your Life Preserver

I took my almost 3 yr old twins in the hot tub recently and an interesting thing unfolded.  It started with me not being able to find my daughter's favorite life vest.  She isn't as good of a swimmer as he is so I put him in floaties and her in brother's life vest.  He hated those floaties.  She happily floated and gloated on her back.  He jumped, flailed, twisted, pulled and spit!  He was so upset at the new floaties on his arms.  He kept tugging and tugging at them.  I calmly explained to him that those floaties allowed him to enjoy the water.  They would keep his head up and nose out of the water so he could breathe.  

He didn't want logic, he wanted them off.

 I let him rip them off for a second and he sank to the bottom of the tub.  I scooped him up, settled him down, and set him back on my lap.  I explained again that the floaties were there to protect him and help him enjoy his swim safely.  This time he listened and started floating on his back and jumping around.  As I watched him struggle off and on with his 'life preservers' I heard it, God's still voice saying,

 "See what I deal with?  I sent them a Savior and yet they still fight me!" 

When my son would quit fighting the floaties he enjoyed the water.  He even forgot they were on his arms at times.  When he focused on them, he wanted to be free of the constrant and he was miserable.  When he was free of them he sank to the bottom unprotected.  

So my question is this, are you fighting your Savior or walking in freedom?  Do the 'rules' of our faith have you focusing on the other side of the fence thinking the grass just might be greener?

Let's stop fighting God and start trusting Him more.  

Psalm 119:93, "I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life."

Luke 17:33, "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it."

Some thoughts on respect for the human body....

I took the kids on a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry this week. We had so much fun. I had never been before, but it was always on my wish list. It was like Chuckie Cheese for the brain! The kids bounced from exhibit to exhibit and after 4 hours we were all beat! No one even seemed to mind the beginning rush hour traffic as we trekked home, because at least we were sitting down!

One of the museum current exhibits is 'Inside Out Animals'. It is a spin off of the Human Body exhibit that was wrapped in controversy a few years ago. I guess dead plasticized animals are less concerning with their origins and dare I day, tamer? I was discussing all this with a friend this week and shared with her the controversy over the source for the corpses in the Body exhibit. She never heard about it, so I dug up the articles for her this morning. I also read an article of late term abortions outside the womb and came to one conclusion after looking at the two topics.....we've lost respect for the human person.

We live in a society so wrapped with fear of infringing on a persons right to choose that we remain silent or keep our head in the sand while murders occur all around us.

Where is the outcry for truth on the sources for the corpses turned into a modern day science freak show? We stand in line, belly up to the ticket booth and stop and stare at the beauty and complex design of someone's dead mother, father, child, uncle or baby.

My dad died 14 years ago right across the border of Mexico in California. The thought of him dying in Mexico at the cancer clinic he was at was unacceptable to my mother and I. We were afraid we would never get his remains out of the country and rushed him across the border a few hours before he passed. It was stressful and traumatic in Memorial Day traffic, but gave us peace in the end that we could honor and bury him properly.

This week I studied Joseph in Genesis chapters 37-50. It is the account of the boy sold by his brothers to Egypt as a slave. He ends up in prison after false accusations by his master's wife and ends up saving thousands of lives from starvation and famine by divine revelation. After his brothers come to buy food it is revealed that the very person that saves them is the one they carelessly threw away. Every life matters, every life has meaning and purpose.

After begging Joseph for forgiveness of their crime all is reconciled. The family is moved to Egypt and Joseph cares and provides for all of them. When his father Jacob (a.k.a. Israel) passes away Joseph takes his body and begins an intense process of preserving, embalming and transporting him to his burial place. To do this properly it takes over 2 months and Scripture tells us it was to honor his father's final wishes. Joseph knew a thing or two about respecting the human person.

The Bible teaches that man was made in God's image.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

The decline in acceptance and support of that truth results in babies spinal cords being snipped in live birth abortions in America. We've contributed tens of millions of dollars into the pockets of private exhibit owners without considering their methods.

Don't stick your head in the sand...open your eyes and seek the truth!

Articles I read:

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/2072577

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=12348566&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Fm%2Fstory%3Fid%3D4296982

Selfishness stinks!

We love homeschooling the kids. It never ceases to amaze me to find teachable moments within moments of teaching. It truly does work best for our family.

Today we were working on our latest unit study on honeybees and my 7 year old decided he wanted to color the same picture my 5 year old was coloring. Unfortunately I couldn't run him a copy because she had already colored it and our book of original posters was at another family's house. I asked him if he could please just wait until we got the workbook back. He said, "No!" With crossed arms and gritted teeth.

This particular child is one of my gentlest and easiest so I didn't pay to much attention to his outburst and went on with the lesson. He continued to gripe and grunt so I stopped and repeated my explanation and request to just wait for the workbook for a copy. I could tell he wasn't going to cooperate so I offered a different picture as a trade off....still no! He did compromise by asking me to draw the picture for him by hand. I covered her picture with a blank sheet, placed it on a window and could see that I could trace it exactly and quickly. I did. When I finished and turned around he had taken an original poster of a different picture and had started coloring on it. I grabbed it away from him and sent him to his room.

I was so angry! Why did he do that? I stopped the lesson and left the room to pray. I asked God what about that made me so angry? He softly whispered into my spirit, 'It was selfish'. I knew that today's lesson on honeybees would have to wait. Today we learned about selfishness instead.

I brought the dear child out of his room and explained to him that selfishness is putting our SELF in front of everything else and it is a sin. It is like saying no to love and yes to envy, self interest and greed.

We took turns picking different family members names and thinking about how they would feel on different situations. We also talked about how to put others first. A big example the 5 year old came up with was letting someone else pick the TV show we are going to watch :)

We also talked about these two verses:

'An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.' Proverbs 18:1

'Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.' Psalms 119:36

We ended by discussing Jesus and how he came to give us a perfect example of selflessness. I reminded them that we all need God's help to fight selfishness.

Without the awareness of our selfish hearts we sound a lot like the seagulls in Finding Nemo saying, "Mine....mine....mine!"

Help us Lord to put others first and not selfish gain.

What Are The Chances?

 

Today is Good Friday.  The day that Christians all around the world stop and contemplate the sacrifice by Jesus on the cross to bridge the gap between God and humankind.  I have been asked by a close friend in the past "You aren't one of those Christians are you?  One that takes the Bible literally, are you?"  I've been scolded by a Christian friend not to take the Bible as literal because it isn't trustworthy like a history book.  I've been made fun of by atheists who say I'm unintelligent because I take my faith blindly, without logic or reason.  I respectfully disagree with them all. 

In an exercise of building my own faith,  I have asked myself, "What are the chances?"  Well, come to find out, I'm not the only one that has wondered about that very question. Mathematicians and statistical scholars have asked too, and they have even calculated the odds.  So, here they are:

There are over 700 prophecies written to help us identify the Messiah throughout the Bible.  Prophecies foretelling how, when, where of his birth, death and resurrection.  And don't forget, also his return.

Dr Peter Stoner (Science Speaks, 1958)  calculated the probability  that the chance of one man accidentally fulfilling just 8 of these prophecies is one in 10 ¹⁷ It is a number that is hard to wrap the mind around.  Here is an illustration by Dr. Stoner to help us visualize it:

If you mark one of ten tickets, and place all the tickets in a hat, and thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket is one in ten. Suppose that we take 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They'll cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would've had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.

Now, what are the odds that only 48 of the more than 700  prophecies of Jesus were fulfilled?  Dr. Stoner estimated the odds against that to be 1 in 10 to the power 157. [1]  A number that would fill a  blank page with zeros.  Here is an illustration to help us visualize this number:

How large is the number one in 10¹⁵⁷? Well, it contains 157 zeros! Stoner gives an illustration of this number using electrons.

Electrons are very small objects. They're smaller than atoms. It would take 2.5 TIMES 10¹⁵ of them, laid side by side, to make one inch. Even if we counted 250 of these electrons each minute, and counted day and night, it would still take 19 million years just to count a line of electrons one-inch long.

Statistically, any odds beyond 1 in 10⁵⁰ have a zero probability of ever happening by random chance. This is Borel's law in action which was derived by mathematician Emil Borel.

Dr. Stoner concludes,''Any man who rejects Christ as the Son of God is rejecting a fact, proved perhaps more absolutely than any other fact in the world."

Those are the odds.  If you take blind faith out of the equation and insert mathematical probability and logic, you get a zero probability that Jesus was accidentally or mistakenly the prophesied Messiah. 

That means Jesus came just as God promised. He lived among us just as God promised, He died for you just as God promised.  He rose from the dead just as God promised.  And He will come again in glory just as God promised.  It is a Good Friday, indeed!

Revelation 19:10,

“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

*If you are interested in studying some of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled check out the Bible Study link on the top right of the blog.  I will add it as soon as Resurrection Sunday is over, but for now I am going to go celebrate with my family!

waiting....

I have a new friend I have been praying for the softening of her heart towards the Lord.  I was praying the words for her that she cannot yet pray herself.  As I was praying a picture flashed in my mind of children in an orphanage in Ethiopia.  This meant a lot to me considering  I have another friend in Florida who has been in process of adopting their baby (one week younger than our twins) from there.  They went and met him, Baby T is all they are allowed to share for now, and now they sit waiting for that phone call saying they can come back and get their child.  They heard about him at 7 months and now for the past 14 months they have been in agonizing wait for their child to come home with them. As I reflected on what my prayer for an unbeliever would have to do with my friend adopting from Ethiopia it became clear to me.  God longs for us to come to Him the same way.  He patiently waits and desires nothing less than to wrap us in His loving arms and say welcome home, child.  I missed you!

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting everyone to come to repentance.  2 Peter 3:9

Determining your Worth....

Value...what do you value?  What are your valuables?  Do you have certain 'values' you live by. Maybe you value a sense of community, your children, home, or relationships.  Value as defined by dictionary.com is this:

VALUE (noun)-
1.relative worth, merit, or importance.

2. monetary or material worth, as in commerce or trade.

3. the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things it can be exchanged for.

4. estimated or assigned worth.

I was meditating on this concept yesterday.  Thoughts of times I have tried to assign my own value or worth as well of times I have allowed others to define my sense of value came springing to my mind.  How easily we can go from being confident and feeling valuable to a feeling of worthlessness by hearing a harsh or critical word.  Everyone has some desire to feel valuable.  No one wants to be alone or unimportant.  On some level we all desire to feel needed, smart, or like our lives have made some difference in the world around us.  This deep rooted drive to have value assigned to us can make us needy people-pleasers as we seek our value from human relationships.  We can also be on the other side of the spectrum in a flash assigning a value or worth on another person, fetus, drug addict......you see where this is going. 

I have heard countless times the saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  Value is the same way.  Just look on an EBAY auction and watch people try to assign worth to something.  The seller wants to get all they can, the buyer wants to get it for the least possible.  They are at odds with each other, both sides looking at it from their vantage point.  I do not think people can be unbiased judges of worth.  We need an outside perspective and who better than the One who created you in the first place?

Worth or value of a soul is not determined by a person, unless that person is Christ.  Defining value with our definition above and through the eyes of God gives you the relative worth of your life, merit or importance, assigned worth of your soul in terms of an amount exchanged for you....you were so valuable to God that He sent His only Son to die for you and pay the ultimate price, the maximum amount- all of it -to restore you to Him.  That makes you very valuable, a person created with much worth and importance to the Creator of the Universe.  

The world tries to devalue life, get you to devalue yourself, or take what is valuable in God's sight and make it depreciate.  We cannot not afford to believe the lies. 

A person's value is not determined on another person's appraisal. 

A person's value is determined by the price Jesus was willing to pay....

and He paid it ALL for YOU!!!! 

John 3:16,  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

Deuteronomy 6:7, "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession."

Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

1 Peter 3:3-4, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight."

 Amos 4:13, "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name."

Psalm 139:13-18a, "For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.
 My frame was not hidden from youwhen I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

 How precious to O God!  How vast is the sum of them!

 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."

How to Shine like a STAR....

Homeschooling provides us with so many teachable moments.  I think that is what I love most about it.  I often ask God what virtue, trait or concept I should focus on or teach the children.  I try to stay sensitive to what is going on in our home and I diligently look for opportunities to reinforce important truths to them. God has never failed to amaze me.   Today we are learning about how to stay pure and shine for the Lord. 

I found a great free website for printing out handwriting pages:  http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/flash/printdots/paragraph/ .  You can put in your text and it will print out a custom handwriting sheet. This made it possible for my youngest writer to be able to write out the Bible verse we were focusing on with ease. 

We studied Philippians 2:14-15, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe."  

I had each of them write out the Bible verse and as they did I explained to them just what exactly that means. 

- We talked about how it is important to do EVERYTHING without complaining!  Boy is that a lesson we can all take to heart.  I think it is more accurate to say we do everything WITH complaining lately!!!

- Without arguing!!!!  The kids were challenged with this one as soon as they climbed out of bed and their feet hit the floor.  I think this is a biggy, especially for those of us who are together 24/7!

-We talked about the importance of not complaining or arguing and how that helps us to lead blameless and pure lives. 

-Then we discussed how there are people in the world that do not believe, acknowledge or live their lives according to God's laws.  They are crooked and depraved.  I explained to them how we can stray or get lost if we are crooked and that God desires for us to keep our eyes on Him to stay on the straight path.

-I printed out this picture for them and had them color it in.  (http://www.thecoloringbarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/star-1.jpg) .  When they were finished we talked about things that make us shine like stars....praying, sharing, helping, serving, forgiving, etc., and as we said each thing we added some glitter glue to the main star.  I told them that everyone has the ability to shine and we added some glitter glue to the top stars representing others in the world. 

-Then we talked about sin and how it gets us dirty.  I had a small cup of potting soil ready and we talked about things that would get us 'dirty' or cause us to not be pure and blameless.  Much to their horror I sprinkled a little bit of dirt on to one of the sections of the wet glitter glue on their star.  They were pretty upset that their picture now had a little dirt on it.  Shelby even tried to cover her dirt up with more glitter, but you could still see it.  This gave me the opportunity to share with them that we can try to cover up our sin, but it is still visible to God.

-Next we talked about what Jesus came to do.  I had them each bring me a baby wipe and we wiped off the dirt just as Jesus wipes away our sin when we ask Him for forgiveness.  It was a powerful moment.  Then we added more glitter glue in that spot so that it could be restored and shine again for the Lord!

-Finally we talked about how everyone has sin, everyone of us.  We added some dirt to the other stars to remember that.  They asked me how to help get those stars clean and I shared with them that they will need someone to tell them what Jesus did for them, too.  They each picked a star to 'tell' about Jesus and we then we wiped them clean and added more glitter to represent a new life choosing to shine for the Lord. 

It was such a powerful lesson.  I am so thankful to the God of Heaven who looks upon us and meets us right where we are to show us the way to shine like stars in the universe.  The kids got it.  They understood on a whole deeper level the power sin has to make us unclean and that only by the power of the blood of Jesus we can be pure again. 

Now, I would be lying if I said my children were perfect little angels the rest of the day!  I wish!  But, I will say that the only correction I have had to give today is, "Be careful and STAY CLEAN!!!!"

If it isn't IMMEDIATE....then, it isn't OBEDIENT!

Have you ever asked a child to do something, once, then twice, three times.....? Have you ever said, "How many times do I have to tell you to........?"  They say kids learn by repetition.  Okay, I get it.  We have to keep repeating the lesson of where your shoes go when you take them off and why you don't leave the sink running after you wash your hands.  But, how about when you ask them to do something and the flat out say, "NO!!!".  It happens. 

It has happened a lot in our house lately.  I fear the kids are testing the boundaries again.  I have noticed it isn't just my kids, but all kids.  Recently a friend come to pick up her child who refused to get into the car.  I experienced a blank stare last night with our oldest after her Daddy asked her to please go read a book to her sibling.  This morning one of the clan told me he would not help take laundry downstairs (unless I paid him in jellybeans!)  When I just pulled into the driveway a few minutes ago 2 of my darling children refused to put their seat belt back on for the last 200yds.   So.....I stopped the car and made them get up and walk to the house!  What in the world is going on??????? 

How can we explain to our children (without screaming or spanking them) that they should listen? Here is what I am focusing on today with mine, and I pray it helps you too!

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Ephesians 6:1

as defined in the original Greek:
to Obey: to listen, to harken to a command, be obedient to, submit to. 
Obedience means: compliance, submission; obedience rendered to any one's counsels, an obedience shown in observing the requirements of Christianity.

Romans 1:5, Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

Romans 5:19, For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

John 15:10, If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

How to abide or remain in Christ’s love: obedience. Obedience and love go hand in hand. Christ has provided us the perfect example of both. 

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. " John 14:15

So here are a few truths I am sharing with our children in teaching them the concepts of obedience:
1. When you don't respond the first time you are already in disobedience.
2. When you respond, "NO", you miss the opportunity to obey all together.
3. When you do obey you get the chance to show God that you love Him.
4. When you do obey you show the person you listen to that you respect them.
5. When you do not obey you are responsible for the negative consequences that follow. 
6. It is impossible to disobey your parents and obey God at the same time.
7. To stay walking in step with the Lord requires your obedience.

That precious bundle that told me NO this morning.....well, he sat on the couch until he was ready to listen.  It took 45 minutes.  Then he said, "Okay Mom, I will do it without the jellybeans!"  I explained to him that he missed the opportunity to obey, because now the laundry had all been taken downstairs by his sisters.  I told him that he missed a chance to listen to me and to show God that he loved Him.  He started to cry and told me he was really sorry.  I forgave him, gave him a hug, and told him there would be more opportunities to listen and love God today.  Hopefully next time he will not miss it, but jump at a chance to show his faith by acting the first time.

Love, love, love.......all we need is LOVE....

Because today is a day that is set aside to celebrate LOVE...I thought it would be appropriate to hear a few words about L-O-V-E from the Author, Himself:

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.  Deuteronomy 7:9

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  1 Chronicles 16:34

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. Psalm 13:5

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, Psalm 33:18

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Psalm 36:5

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness...Psalm 86:15

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8
 
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Psalm 145:8

...because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:12

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred. Proverbs 15:17

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. Proverbs 17:9

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

What a man desires is unfailing love ; better to be poor than a liar. Proverbs 19:22

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. Proverbs 21:21

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. Matthew 12:18

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30

He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” Luke 10:27

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”Galatians 5:14

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— Ephesians 1:4-5
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loveColossians 3:12

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  1 John 5:2

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Mirrors tell us about ourselves.  We check them to see how we look and sometimes even feel.  My daddy used to put me in front of one when I was pouting and would show me how silly I looked!  It has been fun to watch the twins.  The mirror each other every day.  One of them will do something, like wave bye-bye and then the other will watch and seem to say, "Oh, we can do that?"  Then they will copy it on cue!  We learn so much about ourselves by our reflection. 

I am in the middle of a Biblical Counseling Training Course called Extrodinary Woman and it has reminded me again that our self concept, identity and sense of fulfillment is built over time by our mirrored reflections.  What our parents, peers, teachers, or others give us a sense of who we are.  By far the parent-child relationship is the most influencial influence on a child.  Even as an adult, many find themselves seeking their parents approval, desiring to hear that they are special, talented, smart or loved.  If you were blessed to have loving parents who took opportunities to tell you how fearfully and wonderfully you were made, you are probably pretty secure and confident in who you are and what your purpose is.  On the other hand, if you were not so fortunate and had unprepared, ungodly, unavailable or unloving parents your self concept was not based in the truth of who you were made to be.  It could be that your reflection mirrored back at you is a lot like looking into a fun house mirror that stretches, distorts or warps your perception of yourself.  I haven't even mentioned abuse which can further damage one's self image and leaves the abused feeling unvaluable or ruined beyond repair.

The Bible tells us over and over that we were made in God's image. Genesis 1:27 says, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Ephesians 4:24 tells us, "and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

When we spend time with the Father it is like looking into that mirror to see who we are meant to be.   We can study His Word and learn even more about ourselves. 

We are told that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), are a reward (Psalm 127:3), loved (John 3:16), accepted (Romans 15:7), chosen (Ephesians 1:4), important and have confident access in Him (Ephesians 3:12), taken care of (Philippians 4:19), and complete (Colossians 2:10) just to name a few!!!

James 1:22-24 says, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

Beloved, do not forget who you are; you are valuable to God.  Value is determined by price, therefore you are worth the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.  Jesus paid the ultimate price for you determining your infinite worth to the Father!

I love this quote from a Study on "Who I am to God", by Kenneth Boa, "The more we embrace these truths from Scripture who we have become in Christ, the more stable, grateful, and fully assured we will be in this world." (http://bible.org/article/who-does-god-say-i-am)

I pray God will remind you who you are to Him today.  I pray, those of us with children will not take for granted the priviledge of telling our little blessings who they are created to be.  I pray that those of us struggling with our self concepts or images will look to Father for the truth about our identity. 

Was it really Eve's fault????

We have started a 'Read the Bible in a Year' plan with the kids.  I thought it would be pretty cool for them to be able to say that they have read the whole Bible and pretty cool for us to be able to say we read it to them.  You naturally start in Genesis 1: "In the Beginning....".  We read through creation days 1 to 6, God resting on the 7th.  Chapter 2 speaks of the Garden and where he put man.  Then I noticed something for the first time in this very familiar text.  In Genesis 2:16-17 God gives the command to Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Wait a minute, where is Eve?  She is the one who disobeys and is 'tricked' by Satan to break God's command.  We tend to pin the entire fall of man on Eve, but think about it, she wasn't even created until God puts Adam into a deep sleep and forms her from his rib in verse 22! 

When we read on to Chapter 3 we see Eve falling for the trick, "Did God really say, You must not eat from it?"  She eats, gives it to Adam- he eats, and get this...."He was WITH HER!"  (verse 6)  They sew together a quick covering from fig leaves, then they hid from God.  When God confronts them they point at each other, Adam blames 'the woman' and the woman says 'the devil made me do it!'  They are equally punished and equally held accountable.  Finger pointing doesn't work with the God of all Creation.

I think it is safe to say that when we don't fulfill our God defined roles we are open to falling.  God made everything with order, including limits and boundaries.  Man was created to rule and subdue the creation God had made and was told to obey it God's way. Woman was made to help man with the monumental task.  God called it all good.  It was not a flawed plan, it was good.  God called them one flesh and (saw them equal) with different roles.  The Husband loves, leads and protects wife; wife submits and respects husband. (Ephesians 5:22-33)

Submission can bite us in the modern day.  Women don't even really like to say the word, type it, or especially discuss it!  I am about as strong willed as the Lord makes them and I was raised by a very  independent woman and passive father.  Submission was as foreign of a concept to me as nuclear science and yet, I have made peace with it :) 

God's design for the man-woman relationship is good.  Man is the one who distorts it.  I had a boyfriend in college who pretended to be godly.  He took me to church with him on Sunday like a good boy and proceeded to sin the rest of the week.  He would sit in the pew and point with authority and gloat to Ephesians 5:22, 'Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.'  He would scold me for not being submissive and obedient.  It never even occurred to me that he wasn't my husband and I wasn't a wife yet!  After I moved onto a healthy relationship and did become a godly wife, I was totally against the concept of submission because of the distortion it had become to me.  As I matured I was surprised by the following verses of Ephesians 5 detailing the relationship of husband and wife, especially the husband's role.  (You see, I never got that far before, because I would slam the Bible closed at the first part!) 

Ephesians 5:23- 31 says, "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds it and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--for we are members of his body.  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

God sees us as equal in the husband-wife relationship.  He calls the woman to submit, because that was the design.  It doesn't mean she isn't smart enough or strong enough.  We were designed to do different things and in different ways, yet called to unity and wholeness as a couple.  When we are standing face to face with the Lord and He asks us "Why did you........?" finger pointing isn't going to get us out of it!

I have had many women ask me questions like these:

"Do I really have to submit to my husband?"  No, you don't. BUT, when you don't you leave yourself open for the craftiness of the enemy, just as Eve did.

"What if he won't lead and I have nothing to submit to?" Pray. Ask God to help you take a step back so that your husband can take the step forward. Pray that the passive nature our culture has bred into our boys and feminism into our girls will be overcome with the Truth.

1 Peter 3:1-2 says, "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives."

"Do I have a say at all or am I subject to his every whim?"  Yes, you have a say, but he has the final decision.  God made you a team.  He fully expects you to share your thoughts and opinions with your husband.  We are not called to be doormats, but to be support to our husband.  1 Corinthians 11:11-12 says, "In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.  For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman.  But everything comes from God."

Submission may be the dirty word in our world today, but with God's help we can understand it, apply it and strengthen our marriage by returning to God's original design for husband and wife, and it is very good.

Unplug 2 Connect.......

 Recently our church held a Sacred Assembly.  It was a powerful day full of worship, reflection and prayer.  One of the events of the day was the reading of the Book of Mark.   As I heard the words spoken out loud something kept standing out to me......Jesus went alone....to a solitary place.....he withdrew.

During that day I had several different people come to me and ask for prayer to help them connect with God, find more time to be still, or just plain hear Him better.  I was thinking to myself  as I ended with "Amens" hopefully God understand that meant for me as well, because I need it just as much as the next person.  We all struggle with balancing the demands of life and our spiritual life.  If you don't then you are better than Jesus!  I mean that, seriously.  Let me prove it to you the best way I know how, with Scripture:

Mark 1:35, Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Mark 6:30-31,  The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Mark 6:46, After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Matthew 5:1, Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.

Matthew 13:1-2, That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

Matthew 14:13, When Jesus heard what had happened (beheading of John the Baptist), he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.

Matthew 14:22-23,  Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

Matthew 26:36, Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Luke 5:16,  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Luke 9:18, Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

I have to say that I am very blessed by these verses.  Especially Mark 6 where it says Jesus was in such demand they didn't even have time to eat!  The other day I was doing schoolwork with the children, cooking lunch, prepping dinner, cleaning the house, taking care of the babies and answering the other 5 kids demands.  The hours just flew by and before I knew it, it was time to load up in the car for hockey practice.  I ran out the door with my lunch in my hand that I had never had the time to sit down and eat.  I was so thankful I had a teenager to drive so I could eat my salad at 5:30pm in the car!!!!

I'd like to suggest based on these Scriptures that Jesus knew a thing or two about how to connect with the Father.  He withdrew, went off, alone, by himself, or left to pray.  Jesus didn't have the electronic revolution to deal with like we do now, but I know if he did his behavior would be the same, for he is the same yesterday, today and forever. (And it would still be exactly what we need!!!)  UNPLUG to connect, that is what he would demonstrate and say.  "Come with me to a quite place and find rest."

What this will look like for you will be as different as your circumstances, but the answer will still be UNPLUG to connect.  Whether you are a child growing in the ways of the Lord, UNPLUG to connect.  If you are a teenager in the throws of hormones and friendships, UNPLUG to connect.  If you are a young adult trying to find your way and callings, UNPLUG to connect.  Maybe you are a new mother trying to adjust to the needs of your bundle of joy or a seasoned mother managing the brood, UNPLUG to connect.  If you're days are coming and going as fast as the commuter train, UNPLUG to connect.  If you are an empty nester enjoying the freedom and enjoying the fruits of your labor, UNPLUG to connect.  No matter the season we are in, the answer is still the same....."Life comes with distractions and time fillers sooooooo.......UNPLUG to connect"!

God calls us to an intimate, undistracted time of personal relationship (however long you are able He will bless.)  His desire is just to BE with you and you with Him.  Jesus demonstrated it so we could learn the simple truth that when we UNPLUG we will connect.

Got Sleep?

I love babies and recently one of my very closest friends gave birth to a healthy baby boy.  I went up to the hospital to see her and she looked beautiful and glowing, but exhausted.  I remember those sleepless nights.  I especially remember them after we brought the twins home from the hospital just last year.  I remember how we had to feed them 1.5 oz. of milk at a time (OH SO SLOWLY....).  It took them 45 minutes to finish a bottle and by the time I finished with both of them I got to rest my eyes for 15 minutes before #1 was ready for the next feeding!!!   I see mommies at our twin support group come in with bloodshot eyes and desperate faces, wondering "Will I EVER get sleep again?"

It is draining being a new parent no matter how many babies you bring home.  One little blessing can turn a house upside down quicker than you can say "Cafe Latte, please!"  When it is your first child you can also expect to experience the loss of independence and freedom life held before you held your little one.  It is a difficult adjustment that continues until you are an empty nester!  It does get easier as time goes by, but being a parent will always mean you consider them with every major decision and most minor ones, too! 

I woke up this morning wondering what God says on the topic.  After all, He is the Perfect Parent, and He has more children than we could even dream of!!! 

So here are a few insights I found in Scripture to encourage all you out there who are pacing the halls in the wee hours of the night: 

God knows what it is like to never sleep!
Psalm 121:1-4, "I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Children are a blessing from God.
Genesis 33:5, Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.”

God gave you your blessings and He will give you the strength to care for them!
Psalm 68:35, You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

This sleepless time is a season and when it is over it will be like water under the bridge!
Job 11:13-16, “Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,
if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.
You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.

This verse in Job tells us that no matter what we are going through if we keep our heart pure and focused on the Lord we will get through it, our problem becomes smaller, and over time it will seem insignificant, even though right now it feels ENORMOUS!!! That gives me hope and I hope it encourages you as well!  I can testify that our season of sleeplessness with the twins does feel like water under the bridge.  Likewise with our son David, who is now 8, he didn't sleep from birth until he was 4, yet it feels like a distant memory and we even laugh and tease him about it now.  :)

So be encouraged, this season of sleeplessness is just a season.  Cherish your little one, because in a blink of an eye they won't be so little anymore and you will be sleepless for other reasons, like are they home yet??????

This is Gabe, he wanted his picture in my blog this morning and it was taken during one of our family devotional times when he fell asleep!  Precious!!!