Do the Next Thing

Sometimes we can be so caught up in our own grief that we don’t know what to do next.  It may seem as though taking one step forward could take us off the side of the cliff.  We can’t see where we are going, we are trying to trust God for guidance, but not knowing what will happen within the next few minutes brings about a fear in us that we don’t like to admit.  OK, yes, I am talking from experience.  My husband & I should have this “walking by faith” down to an art form by now, but we don’t.  When things get tight we start to fret.  With our mouths we say, “We know that God will provide.”, but still we worry how & when it will happen. 

Once I remember when finances were really bad after the 9/11 attacks and we had no money.  Our phones were turned off for a while.  “What do we do now?”  I asked.  Scott says, “I go to work, you stay here with the kids like we normally do.  We just live as normal as we can.”  When life seems to be falling in on us we sometimes want to just crawl into our corner and wait for it to go away.  It is when we keep going that we see the Lord working.  It is when we keep going to his Word on a daily basis that we still hear from him.

When the Israelites were in the wilderness and they were crying out for delieverance God spoke to Moses & said, “Why do you cry to me?  Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” (Exodus 14:15)

God leads us step by step, day by day & moment by moment.  But because I don’t know what will happen in the next moment I try to take control.  History tells me over & over that it never works; my own history & the history of others.

I have learned that when God wants our attention & he can’t get it, he begins to take things away from us that are distracting us from him.  Then we become like the Israelites who had no choice but to eat the manna that God provided each day.  He wants us to be confidant in his ability to take care of us today & not worry about tomorrow.  Wow, that is really hard when the kids ask what they will eat tomorrow or when they can get new shoes or whatever the need may be.  These difficult times that are meant to be times of polishing so that we can shine brighter and be useful to our Lord.  It is his way of preparing us for greater days or maybe more difficult days.  We don’t know, but he does.

 

Matthew 6:34 (TLB)  says, “So, don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too.  Live one day at a time.”

 

We don’t live in a society that understands not being anxious.  We are planners & we feel that we must know what tomorrow holds.  This concept of not worrying about tomorrow is foreign to so many.  For those who live by faith it is a way of life.

 

MOMENT BY MOMENT 

Never a trial that He is not there,

Never a burden that He does not bear,

Never a sorrow that He does not share,

Moment by moment, we’re under His care.

~by; Daniel W. Whittle

DO THE NEXT THING

At an old English parsonage down by the sea,
There came in the twilight a message to me.
Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven
That, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.
And all through the hours the quiet words ring,
Like a low inspiration, do the next thing.

Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand,
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing.

Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance, be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then, as He beckons, do the next thing.

(I found this poem in a newsletter I get, but I could not find the authors name.  If you know, please let me know)

 

FATHER,

Please help me to remember that you gave me today and that you will provide.  I thank you for the gift of today and the opportunity to honor & praise you.  Please forgive my doubt and my fear.  I want to bring glory to you & live in a way that shows others why they need you.  Hear my cry & answer me  – Oh God.  A~men

Here are a few scriptures to remind you of God’s presence in any & every situation.

Philippians 4:5-6, “The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything.”

Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you.”

Genesis 28:15, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever youu go.”

Acts 18:9-10, “Speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you.”

Hebrews 13:5. “I will never leave nor forsake you.”

JUST DO THE NEXT THING…trust your God & your Savior

November ‘07 Newsletter

 

Stepping Stones to Encouraging Others

 

We have finally made it to one of my favorite times of the year…Fall.  Here at our house, I have our windows open, airing out the house & it is great!  We are digging out our sweaters and stocking up on the ingrediants to our favorite hot cocoa mix.  We are getting ready for Winter. 

Along with the change in seasons of weather comes a season of holidays.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas already right around the corner we find ourselves in a spirit of thanksgiving and generosity that we don’t hold all year.  For some of us this is a very exciting time of year, while for others it may not be so.  It may be a season of difficult memories or struggle.  When we are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit we may find ourselves in a postition to encourage and support someone close to us.  That is what this newsletter is all about. 

Back during the summer I began reading a book that I found on the clearance table at Half Price Books.  It has opened my eyes to the importance of encouraging others.  But before I can truly encourage anyone, I must have an intimate relationship with Christ.  The scripture speaks volumes to the importance of encouraging others.  It is one way the Lord can use us to draw others to him, but we must be walking closely with him first.

The book is called Treasures of Encouragement by Sharon W. Betters.  Many of what I wrote in this newsletter came from what I learned in her book.

I pray that this newsletter will be of great encouragement to you and will motivate you to walk more closely with your Lord Jesus Christ.

To His Glory!

Dana

~What the Bible says about encouraging others

According to the Merriam Websters Dictionary encourage is defined this way: “To give courage, spirit, or hope; to stimulate.”

Courage;  “Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”

Spirit;  “The activating or essential principle influencing a person.”

Hope; “A desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.”

Stimulate; “To excite to activity or growth”

Can you imagine being able to affect a person in such a fantastic way as to cause fulfillment, strength or positive growth?  That is what our encouragement to others can do.   Scriptural encouragement is ongoing, daily, and consistent.  It requires much of us as believers.  Here are some scriptures that show us what encouragement can do.

~ Strengthening: I Thessalonians 5:14, “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all.

~ Motivating: 2 Samuel 19:7, “So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to your servants.  For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight!  This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”

~ Assuring: Deuteronomy 1:38, “However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land”

~ Exhorting: Acts 11:23, “When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts.”

~ Supporting: Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do what is right!  Promote justice!  Give the oppressed reason to celebrate!  Take up the cause of the orphan!  Defend the rights of the widow!”

~ Disciplining: Hebrews 3:12-15, See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God. 13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. 14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end. 15 As it says, “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

True encouragement pumps hope into the receiver and into the giver.  It requires a deep intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and it demands a lifestyle of servant hood.  Real, and true encouragement is simply a response to God’s work in our own lives.  We want to encourage and lift up others because of the work God has done in our lives.  He has changed us inside and out and we can’t respond the way we used to when we see others hurting.  Through our intimacy with Christ we learn the importance of connecting with one another, which will naturally lead us into deeper relationships.  The spiritual needs of people that we are closest to are made clear as a result of our time spent with Christ.

Hebrews 10:24, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

We look for ways to encourage each other because we love our Lord so deeply that we must share it with others.  It is a treasure, but not one to be kept, it is meant to be given away.  When it is given away in the spirit of humility, it will be returned in due time.  When we are walking closely with the Lord and he gives us opportunities to encourage others it is his way of using us to draw others to him.  I can’t think of a better way to be used!

~Why we don’t encourage

Many years ago the kids & I were in a car accident.  My daughter had to stay in the hospital for a few days after having surgery.  While in the hospital we were overwhelmed by the outpouring of friends who came to visit us.  We were surprised at who came to see us.  Many times it someone we didn’t expect to see.  Once we were home there was even more of an outpouring of support and encouragement for us as our friends brought us meals.  I wondered though why some came to help us and others that I really expected to come never did.  I didn’t understand why they didn’t bring us a meal or call to see how we were doing.  These were friends that I thought would be some of the first to come see us, but never did. 

There are several reasons I have found as to why we don’t encourage others. 

~ We are just too busy and have no free time available to offer our time to anyone else.

~We don’t know what to do or say, so we decide to just do nothing.

~We give up when we don’t see any results from our past attempts at helping someone.

~We are selfish and insensitive to the needs of others.

~We do not understand our identity in Christ.

Scripture is full of charges to encourage others.  We can read all the scripture we want, but unless we apply it and live it, there will be no understanding or wisdom.  It all comes back to our intimacy with Christ.  When we truly understand who we are in Christ, then we will not only know how to reach out beyond ourselves but we will desire to do so.  The first 4 reasons I wrote above are only excuses that are made because we do not have a deep relationship with our Lord.  That may sound harsh, but I know it is truth.  I am proof that it is so.

But does this mean that we are to jump onto every person that needs help?  Should we cook a meal for everyone who needs it or call everyone we know of who is going through a tough time?  NO.  The spirit leads us to those we are to encourage.  There have been times when I knew of someone in need, I wanted to help, but the Lord did not lead me to help them.  I prayed for them instead.  It may not sound very proactive, or like an excuse, but it is not.  Sometimes I am not equipped to help someone.  Many times I am equipped and when those times arise it is not only my responsibility as a believer to be available to help, but it is my deepest pleasure.

 The miracle of encouragement is that we often are doing it without even realizing it.  It can be a simple smile, greeting, or just a hug.  I asked a friend at church one morning how she was doing?  I had not seen her in a while and really wanted to know.  She answered with the common, “I’m fine.”  I said, “Really, so tell me how you are?”  “You really want to know?” she answered.  Of course I wanted to know.  She told me that she had been sick and that is why I had not seen her.  She was still recovering, so she still didn’t have much energy.  How many times has someone asked you how you are, but you know that they really didn’t want to know.  They were just being nice.  Don’t ask someone how they are unless you really want to know.  Then please don’t tell them that you will pray for them unless you really will.  I always know who really does pray for me, because they will come to me later and ask me about what I had shared with them.  I am on their mind, because I am in their prayers.  Sincerity is really important and true encouragement can’t happen unless you are sincere.

I don’t want this to discourage you, but to motivate you to search deep within your soul desires and passions.  Where do they lie?  Is your heart focused on pleasing and growing in the Lord or is it else where.  Do you pass up opportunities to encourage and help others because of any of the reasons I posted above?  Are you consumed with getting everything checked off your list everyday or do you look for opportunities to reach out to others?  If our plans are not his plans then our plans will fail. 

~Encouraging our Husbands

 I have learned more of the importance of lifting my husband up in the last 3 years than in all of our marriage.  The last 3-5 years have been very difficult for us financially and I have realized how crucial it is that I continue to encourage and support my husband through it all.  He takes his God-given role of provider very seriously and this has been very difficult for him.  When he comes in from work and I dump the woes of my day on him I am only tearing him down.  Our words are so powerful.  They can either speak life or they can destroy.

Proverbs 10:19, “When words abound, transgression is inevitable, but the one who restrains his words is wise.”

I don’t know about you, but I have a real problem at times at not knowing when to shut up.  I start talking and before I know it I have said all the wrong things and can’t take any of it back.  Learning when to say what has been a huge in encouraging my husband.  And learning when to be quiet has been an even bigger positive in our marriage.  I learned not to long ago that men need to know that we are proud of him more than knowing we love them.  It is how they were designed.  They need to hear “I’m proud of you”, just as much as they hear you say, “I love you”.

“An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who shames (him) is as rottenness in his bones.” Pro 12:4

Wives, you have the power to build and support your husband. You also have the power to shame and belittle him. Your support means much more to your husband than you realize. You can make your man or you can break him.

In the Amplified bible, Eph 5:33b says, “… and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband, that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates and esteems him and that she defers to him, praises him and loves and admires him exceedingly.”

In the Bible, respect means to voluntarily lift up another person for special consideration and treatment.

Your husband is not just another person. He is the man you have chosen to commit in marriage for better or for worse.  For a husband to feel successful as a man, his wife must respect him.  He must be championed.  Never correct him in public or in front of the children. Be sensitive and advise him privately.  Respecting your husband involves understanding and appreciation.  Understand and appreciate his responsibilities and pressures.  Understand and appreciate his strength as well as his weakness.  Understand and appreciate his difference as a man.

Finally, encouragement demonstrates respect that gives confidence to your husband.  Encouragement means specific acts of building him up.  Think of 3 things you will do in the coming week to encourage your husband and see what that will do to him.  

~Encouraging our Children to be Excellent

Do you ever feel like you spend your whole day telling your children everything they are doing that is wrong?  I know that I do.  It is an exhausting day when I am putting out fires all day.  I usually go to bed feeling like I got nothing done.

I decided a few years ago that I would try something; kind of like an experiment.  I had read Genesis 1:31, Then God looked over all he had made and he saw that it was excellent in everyway.”  (NLT)  I thought I would look at my children as excellent, rather than evil.  J  I would look for their good qualities.  Now, that doesn’t mean that I ignored their bad behavior.  It just means that I went out of my way to see & praise the good things they did.  To be absolutely honest about this, I had a few kids that I just couldn’t see anything good in them.  So, I asked God to show me how they are excellent.  For several weeks I prayed for these children asking the Lord to show me good things about them.  Then I began to see these kids in a whole new way.  My prayers for them changed from “Show me, Lord” to “Thank you Lord.”

With this new outlook on my kids I began to praise them and enjoy them more.  And in turn they enjoyed me also.  I wasn’t the stressed out mom they had before.  Our days were much more peaceful than ever before.

I noticed something else; they began to encourage each other more.  They were still arguing and fighting, but not near as much as before.  They had a respect for each other that was not there before.  When you know you are respected by someone you are more likely to do things that please them rather than hurt them.

There is no magic formula to this, just pray and praise your children and let the Lord do the rest.

 I Need Your Help!

Do you have any ideas for future newsletters?  What kind of topics would you like to see covered?  If you have any ideas or suggestions email me!

dana@livingstones4moms.com

Blog Update!

I have 2 new categories on the blog now.  One is on Raising Daughters, and another is on Psalm 119, Ways to Remain Pure. Soon I hope to start one on “Raising Sons” (or maybe I should say Surviving Sons)

Also, I am about to start putting the newsletter in a simple text form on the blog.  It will be under the Category, “Newsletter Archives”.  This is the easiest way for me to do this until we get a real website up & running.  So if you just joined us and you would like to see what you have missed in past newsletters you can read them on the blog. 

These are a few ways that you can support Living Stones Ministry.

1. One is through your prayers for us. 2 Corinthians 1:10,11 says,”On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”  Praying for others in Jesus name is powerful and no dollar sign can compare to it.  I truly believe in the power of prayer.  Here are a few specific requests: (1) Pray for me(Dana) that I will recognize opportunities to share the love of Jesus with others and then have the boldness to act on them. (2) Pray for my family as they stand with me in this commitment to minister to others, that we will be protected from the enemy’s wicked schemes. (3) pray for those who are on the receiving end of our ministry that they will be encouraged to seek the Lord and be the godly wives and mothers God intended them to be.
2. The second way to support us is to give financially.  We don’t have the money to do many of the things I would like to do.  We hope to host more conferences, build a real website, publish books and keep this email newsletter going.  All of this takes money.  We are trusting God that he will provide what we need when we need it to accomplish his plans for this ministry.
3. Purchase the 5 CD set of the speakers from the 2006 conference.  There were 5 sessions and 4 different speakers, all moms who shared their testimony on becoming a godly woman, wife & mother.  The set sells for $20.00 plus shipping & handling.  You can email us for more information on the topics shared.
4. Please pass this newsletter on to others if you have been blessed by it.  I say this, not because I think I have anything grand to say, but because of what the Lord says through me.  I never know how my words will fall, but the emails I get are so encouraging and confirm to me that the Lord is using this newsletter to build up godly wives & mothers.

If you would like to recieve the newsletter in your inbox, you can click the Email Newsletter link under my picture.

September ‘07 Newsletter

 Stepping Stones to God Time

During our Bible Study time a while ago, the kids & I were discussing Psalm 139:7-10.

“Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast.”

We discussed that it doesn’t matter where we are God is always there.  One of my sons said, “Yeah, like He’s right here.”, as he patted the sofa seat beside him.  Then he looked down and noticed that the sofa was covered with books, pencils, and paper so he began moving it aside so that there would be room for God to sit.  We all had a good laugh out of that, but I thought later, “Have I made room for Christ in my life, what needs to be moved over or out so that he can sit with me?”  We get so busy with our little ones and the daily routines of life that we gradually squeeze God out.  Before we know it there just isn’t time for a quiet time or prayer.  The good news is God is everywhere we are.  We can call on Him any time, any where.  That is a great comfort to me to know that I can call on Him anytime of day and anywhere I am when I do find myself drowning in my day.  

As moms we teach our kids about play time, dinner time, bath time, school time, and other special times of the day.  But, do we teach them about God Time?  How do we teach our kids the importance of spending time getting to know God and when can we start teaching this to them? 

This issue is focusing on the importance of having God Time.  I want to share with you what the Lord has shown me about my need for a relationship with him and the extreme importance of teaching it to my kids.  I pray that you will be blessed.

To His Glory!

Dana

A Gift For You

I love to buy gifts for my friends and family, don’t you?  It is so much fun to watch them open the gift & be surprised when they see what it is.  I love that.  I also love getting gifts.  I like being surprised and unless my 5 yr old gave me a super huge hint I usually am surprised. Do you ever feel as though you truly deserved the gift that you received?  I don’t.  Often words are used like, “You didn’t have to do this.” or “This is too much.” when we get a gift from someone.  Well, God has given a gift to all of us and none of us deserve it at all.  He has offered it to every one, but only a few will accept it.  This gift is eternal life with God himself and his son Jesus. 

Before you can know God, you must accept and believe that he is your Savior. You can read the Bible all day, and even pray, but until you believe that he sent his Son to save you from your sins, you will not know him personally.  You can know a lot as a personal friend is much better!

First you must realize that you are a sinner.  Roman 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned.  The only one who walked this earth who has not sinned is Jesus Christ, God’s son. We are all sinners and according to God’s Law there is a payment required for our sin. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” In the Old Testament the sacrifice of an animal was made and the blood was payment to God for your sins.

God sent his son, Jesus, to us.  Jesus had many reasons for being here and walking among sinners, but his biggest mission was to die for us.  He shed his own blood for us so that we would not have to die an eternal death in Hell.  His sacrifice for us means we can go to Heaven.  You must believe that Jesus was God’s Son, not just a martyr who died for a good cause.  And you must accept that all of this was done for you.

You must also accept that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.  The world teaches that there are many ways. But scripture is clear, there is one way and it is through Jesus Christ.  Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” He doesn’t say those who go to church the most or serve on the most committee’s will be saved.  He doesn’t say those who feed the hungry or do the best deeds.  Those are good & important, but they are not the way to Heaven.  Once again in the book of John, Jesus says in chapter 8 verse 24, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”  All we have to do is believe it and accept it.

If you believe this truth for the first time I must say…CONGRATULATIONS!  WOOHOO!  Pray right now & tell the Lord that you believe in him.  Tell him that you believe that he is the only way to Heaven and holy Son of God and that you know that you are a sinner and he is the one who can forgive your sin.  Ask him to forgive you for you sins and he will!  It is an amazing thing to know that your sins are forgiven.

Now that you have trusted Christ as your Savior you can get to know him as a personal friend.  He will never leave you or let you down.  When you fail he will always be there to help you back up.  Others will let you down, but Christ will always be faithful to you when you believe.

Why Should I make God Time?

First and foremost; God desires a relationship with us.

Jeremiah 24:7 “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD.  They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart..”

 

 He wants us to know him & how do you get to know someone?  You spend time with them, lots of time.  Knowing God and understanding that he is the secret to peaceful & joyful living will change you forever and that can only happen if you get to know him.

Second of all, when you do spend time reading the Bible & praying, it helps to prepare you for your day.  It won’t change what happens to you that day, but it will change the way you react to what happens. 

Ephesians 6:11 says,

“Put on the full armor of God so that you may take a stand against the devils schemes.” 

Reading his word and praying to him is one way to put on the armor & prepare us for any attacks the devil has in store for us that day.  God wants to speak His blessings & wisdom to us before any attacks are thrown at us. Only God knows what our day looks like & what will happen and when we spend time in prayer with him, we give him the opportunity to prepare us.  A soldier does not go into battle with out his armor on and we should not start our day without putting on our armor of God.

Lastly, we need God!  If we ever begin to think we really don’t need him and can do things on our own we are setting ourselves up for a fall, a hard fall. 

Psalms 63:1, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

Our souls hunger and thirst for him; don’t let yourself get dehydrated or malnourished.  We often try to quench that thirst for God with other things, material things, or relationships.  Nothing will fill that void in your life except God.  When you have a need, go to God first, not your friends, for counsel.  Sometimes he leads us to others, but many times his Word will give us the answers we need.  It may not be what we are looking for or want to hear, but it will be what we need.  Do you want someone to be straight with you?  God always will.  He knows you better than anyone.

Can I have God Time with Small Children?

Absolutely!  Is it easy?  Absolutely NOT!  My experience has been that there is no easy formula to  having a quiet time when your children are still living at home. Since all of my children are still at home right now then it is still hard for me.  But I can’t let that be my excuse for not making the time.  But I have learned that I MUST make time for it.  I want to share with you a few tips that I hope will make it seem more possible.

1.       Pray & ask God to show you time in your day when you can spend studying his word.  He will reveal pockets of time.  Or he may show you things in your day that you need to weed out because they are not that important and get in the way of your relationship with him. (like General Hospital at 2:00)

2.       Before you get out of bed in the morning, begin praising God for giving you a new day to worship him.  Ask him for strength & guidance for your day.  Just have a God party right there in bed.  There is no such thing as getting up on the wrong side of the bed when you start out like that.

3.       Write or print scripture cards and stick them up where you spend the most time.  For me I have some by the kitchen sink, my bathroom sink and my computer.  This has really helped me to meditate on his word through out the day.

4.       Pray all day!  I don’t mean to sit with your head bowed all day, but stay in conversation with your Lord.  It is great!  My kids don’t accuse me of talking to myself anymore; they know I’m probably praying.  And if I am talking to myself, they think I am praying!  I love it.  I often pray for my neighbors when I look out & see their house or I pray for a friend or my husband that comes to my mind.  At Christmas time, we pray for those who send us Christmas cards.  And pray Gods words back to him.  He loves to hear his words of praise & wisdom spoken.  They bring great peace & joy also.

5.       Keep your Bible open and available.  That way you can grab short moments in your day to read.  The late Ruth Bell Graham, wife to Billy Graham did this.  She raised 5 children and still found time to read the Bible.  Her kids knew that her Jesus was priority in her life.

6.       Teach scripture to your kids, have regular devotions with them and pray with them.  I can’t tell you how many times the Holy Spirit has spoke to me in a huge way while sharing devotions with my children.  It has been literally life changing for me!

7.       Memorize scripture with your kids. We often have our own family competitions in scripture memory.  My kids blow me away at how many scripture they can learn in a week.  I can’t keep up with them, but I try.

8.       Commit to 5 minutes of prayer a day.  If you don’t have 5 minutes in your day then you are way to busy.  Are you nursing a baby?  There is at least 15 minutes right there!  Do you go to the bathroom?  What are you doing between midnight and six in the morning?  (that’s a joke J) Anyway, you will be amazed at the difference that 5 minutes of concentrated prayer will make in your life.

9.       Use a book with devotions & scripture already written out that you can read quickly.  I have a list of some of my favorites in the back pages of this book that might help you.  Sometimes I use a devotional book & then other times I just begin reading a book in the Bible & let the Lord lead me through & teach me as I go through it. 

10.   Warning!  Time with the Lord is habit forming!  Once you get in a routine of coming to the Lord everyday & praying it can be hard to change.  You begin to see how desperately you need this time.  You will begin to wonder how you ever got through a day without it.  You will desperately miss it when you don’t do it. 

Teaching God Time to Your Kids

I often get asked how we can teach our kids the importance of spending time with God.  Well, let me ask you, if you were to ask you kids what they think is important to you what would they say?  Why would they say what they did?  Probably because they hear you talking about it, they see you doing it and they see a pattern in your life because of it.  Would they say that the Lord is most important to you?  It is a scary question to ask because we are afraid to hear their honesty.

I grew up seeing my mom in her big chair in our living room many early morning’s reading her Bible.  I knew what she was doing.  I never doubted how important her God was to her because she spent time studying his Word, she talked about him and I watched her exhibit faith and truth to so many people.  I knew God was important to her.  She naturally passed on to me a knowledge of the importance of God Time. It was up to me to now apply that knowledge & put it into practice.

We teach God time to our kids by having our own God Time.  We let them see us spending time reading our Bible.  If they walk in your room while you are praying, don’t freak out & get frustrated.  Just patiently ask them to let you finish praying & you will help them as soon as possible. Or if they are really small, pull them into your lap and finish praying with your child in your lap…sweet times! Most often, I just act as if I didn’t hear them come in & when they realuize what I am doing they try to sneak out of the room. 

 If your child can read independently then they can read their Bible alone.  Help them to develop that habit by setting time aside in their day for that.  It will become a habit, best habit ever made!  If they don’t read, then read to them.  Most often we do this at bedtime as part of the routine, but it can be anytime of course.  There are many great resources out there for reading the Bible to your small ones.  One of my favorites is “The Child’s Story Bible” by Catherine Vos.  I most often encourage moms to just read straight from the scriptures to their kids.  Reading short sections, maybe just a few verses from Psalms or Proverbs, is a great way of teaching the how great the scriptures are.  There is great power in the Word of God!

Don’t make God time for your kids as a dreaded time, make it fun & something to look forward to.  It may take a while for your kids to make time for God on their own, but the ground work is laid now while they are still young.  And if you train them in the importance now then they will return to it later.

August ‘07 Newsletter

 Let’s Talk About Boys!

Hello again!  Here we are coming to the end of summer already.  I don’t know what it is like around your house, but around ours it has been very busy.  The boys are outside all the time.  The creek by our house is overflowing with frogs, turtles, crayfish, and other gooey type creatures that my boys are crazy about.  I finally had to make a new rule; no more frogs in the house!  I really got tired of finding tiny little frogs in the sink in the guest bathroom. 

Years ago when we had 4 wild little boys and 3 calm little girls I was at my wits end.  I didn’t know what to do with boys!  They were loud, stinky and did things I just didn’t understand.  I was beginning to think that God had it in for me & his punishment was giving me a house full of boys.  Then someone gave me Dr.Dobsons book, Bringing Up Boys.  For the first time in my life I felt that it was a really good thing to have so many boys.  My perspective changed and I fell in love with my stinky, loud, little men all over again.  I just can’t imagine my life without them.  I know their sisters can imagine a much quieter and cleaner house if they were not here, but even they would admit that these boys make our lives so much more exciting.  Zachary(5) is pictured above.  He has the deepest dimples I have ever seen & his laugh is none stop.  Austin is the next picture down.  He is all about conquering the enemy.  When the other boys were playing with trucks, he was fighting off the bad guys as some kind of super hero.  Ben is pictured at the bottom of the next article.  He is the one that has to hug me at least 5 times a day.  What would I do without all those hugs?  He has a great servants heart. Sam is our newest boy.  He is almost a year old.  He just makes us laugh.  His favorite things to do are chase the cat, chase the dog and nurse.  Josh & Collin are the “older boys” They share a room, rarely get along, but can’t live without each other.  They may argue & fight in the house but once they step outside they are a united front, not to be reckoned with.  These are my boys.  As cute as they are, I probably spend more time on my knees praying for them than anyone else.  They are my reminder that I know NOTHING about being a mom.  I have to rely on God for all everything, if I don’t I may find myself hiding from them in my closet with my chocolate.

This newsletter is all about our boys and loving them even when we don’t understand why they do the crazy things they do.  I will share with you some of what the Lord has taught me thanks to my boys.  Also, my husband wrote me a few things that he thought I needed to know about boys.  I hope you enjoy this issue.  It was a lot of fun for me to remember how much I love being the mom of 6 stinky, wild, and very huggable boys.

Raising a Modern Day Daniel

Daniel 1 details a wonderful story of 4 very strong and dedicated young men.  These men were in their early teens, but according to their culture were considered men.  There was evil in Jerusalem.  For many years it had been ruled by kings who were wicked and God handed Jerusalem over to the king of Babylon.  2 Kings 24:14 says that, “He(King Nebuchadnezzar) carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans-a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.” “Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. (Daniel 1:6)

After arriving in Babylon the young men were gradually stripped of their Jewish heritage.  First they received new Babylonian names, and then they were to eat the Babylonian food.  Daniel and his friends, I’m sure, were not happy with their new names, after all they were much harder to pronounce, but they could live with it.  But when the new menu was set before them they knew they couldn’t defy themselves.  It would go against everything they had been taught.  The Mosaic Law was very clear about eating unclean foods; “Don’t do it”!  In Daniels mind, there was no choice; he could not eat the Babylonian food.  His friends agreed with him and together the 4 of them rebelled, respectfully of course, against eating the fine foods of the Babylonians.  They knew that their God was bigger than even the mighty Babylonians.  They had a very healthy fear of their God.

They stood before the overseer of the court of officials and asked permission to not defile themselves.  The God they so strongly believed in softened the heart of the officials.  This Daniel was a very wise man.  He made a bargain with the official.  Is that not like the typical man?  Daniel tells the official “Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink.  Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; deal with us in light of what you see.”(Daniel 1:12,13)  It worked!  They got what they wanted.  Even better, the whole plan worked.  They were able to show that their simple diet of vegetables and water made them stronger than the others who ate the food of the Babylonians.  Then the official removed all of the junk food and they all ate the healthy food.  After all, the King didn’t need fat, lazy Jewish men in his court.  They were no good to him like that.

Because Daniel remained faithful to his God, did not conform to the pagan culture, and took a stand against that which he knew was wrong he was blessed over & over for the rest of his life.  Read about his life in the book of Daniel.  It is fantastic.  I didn’t say it was easy, but it was very blessed.

As a mom, I have to wonder what kind of mom Daniel had.  Did she know that she had raised a young man who was so strong in his convictions?

Read the rest of the article on my blog

5 Things Moms Need to Know About Their Boys.

By: Scott Bailey

 

1.  Boys are created wild at heart.  They want adventure in every aspect of daily life, they enjoy an enemy to fight and defeat, a damsel in distress, weapons for battle to help secure their territory and the territory of those in distress…they desire to be that “knight in shining armor”.  This may cause splinters in hands or bruises on the forehead, but rest assure they will heal.  Boys scars are like his trophies….let him get a little scarred up in life.  They like things that move fast, make loud noises, and fly high in the air.  Do not be shocked if your boy wants to go faster, higher, and make a louder noise….this is just simply a fascinating challenge to any real boy. 

2.  When boys reach the age of young manhood around   10 – 12 yrs old, they will began to pull away from mom more as they yearn to be more independent.  This in no way indicates that the boys love their moms less, but they are not nearly as huggy and kissy and do not need mom to hold their hand while crossing the parking lot anymore…that becomes embarrassing to them at this point. 

3.  Boys like to pickup any strange looking creature they come across.  This includes, but is not limited to, snakes, frogs, spiders, worms, lizards, insects, caterpillars, mice, rats, and such.  Most of these will end up in the pants pockets of the boys…. from boys prospective, what are pockets for?  So, always look through boys pockets before washing those pants. 

4.   Boys enjoy being thought of as “handy” around the home.  Mom should ask him to help her if at all possible with opening a jar, taking out the trash, feeding the animals, mowing the yard, hammering in nails for pictures (be careful with this one), gluing something back together and anything like this.  Boys take great pride in knowing that mom thinks he is big enough to handle tougher and tougher jobs….a sign that he is “growing up”.

5.  Boys need a hero.  Great men that rescued ladies in distress, always ended up winning in the end, were the good guys, fought mighty when in battle, were brave and heroic, men of strong faith that did not back down from the biblical truths, missionaries that took great risk in order to share Christ with a particular tribe, cowboys of the old west, military greats, and so on.  Even fathers and grandfathers can be placed in this category if he is involved in the boys life.

Read more about boys here on my blog.

This is Sam, our youngest (15m)

 

 

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July ‘07 Newsletter

 

Let’s Talk About Girls ~ Raising Our Daughters to be Godly Women

This is a very full issue.  I hope you find some encouragement and affirmation.  Take your time with this one.  I have a long list of my favorite web sites & blogs.  A few are for girls.  I don’t let my girls just wander online & try to be very careful, so these sites have passed my inspection.  Also, I have given you a few of my favorite books to read with your daughters.

When we began having our children and they were all very close in age people seem to enjoy telling me things like, “Just wait until they are all teenagers.”.  Well, they are teenagers now and we are not experiencing the horrible things that we were warned would happen.  Don’t get me wrong, we have our “teenage” moments, but over all our kids are a lot of fun to be around.  Our daughters help manage & keep the home.  Our sons help to maintain the home.  They all have their responsibilities and know what is expected of them.  They all have a servant’s heart and are learning to seek the Lord for direction.

I was told when my girls were young that if I began to train them then to be godly young ladies that they would become godly wives, mothers & friends.  We are beginning to see some of the fruit of our labor.  Our girls have developed a reputation in our church as youth leaders that can be depended on to step in & do what is needed to be done.  They baby sit for many families and the parents know they can trust the girls to take care of their children & their home.  When I was training them to be independent and responsible in our home I never thought about how useful it would be to them when they were baby sitting for others.

If we are faithful in training our children according to God’s word then I know that I can expect my teenage children to begin bearing the fruit of a godly life while they are still young.  Scripture promises that we will “reap if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).  The years that I was warned about and many parents dread can be years of joy and fruitfulness.

I hope to share with you in this newsletter some things to begin teaching your daughters while they are young.  And for those of you with older daughters, I hope to encourage you in ways to capture the heart of your daughter while she is still home.

 How can we train our girls to be godly?  We must be godly.  As mothers we need to seek and love our God with all our heart so that we can show our girls what it looks like to be godly.  Here are a few things you can do with her to help accomplish this.

~Study these scriptures together.  Discuss how they apply to you right now.

§         Proverbs 31:10-31

§         Galatians 5:22-23

§         Galatians 6:7-8

§       1 Timothy 2:9-15

~Activities

§         Talk with other godly women in your life.  What advice do they have about becoming a godly young lady?

§         Talk to other men (dad, grandfather, etc..) about what they admire or value most in the women in their life.

§         Proverbs 31:10 says, “A wife of noble character who can find?
       She is worth far more than rubies.”  Learn about rubies.  What else in scripture is compared to rubies?

§         Study the lives of godly women in history. What traits did they have that set them apart from other women? 

• § Read about some ungodly women in the Bible or history. What was the end result of their life?

Training Our Daughters to be Modest

Teaching our daughters to dress modestly should be a no-brainer.  But today, it isn’t.  I see so many moms who dress in clothes that are way too tight, way too short, and way too low in front and in back.  It seems like she buys her clothes in the same section as her daughter does.  How can we expect her daughter to dress appropriately if her mom doesn’t?   But I’m sure you are not one of these moms.  We need to understand how sensitive a man’s eye sight is.  It doesn’t take much for his mind to wonder and wish.  We need to make sure that we do not cause his mind to wonder where it shouldn’t.  Below are some scripture verses to explore and then some activities you daughter can do or you can do with her.  I remember doing this with my daughters when they began to dress to their own style.  It was good for them to see what scripture said rather than just what Mom said.  It was also good for us to discuss together how we can still dress the nice with out wearing giant baggy clothes.  It isn’t always easy, but when we keep our focus on glorifying God then it is worth the trouble.

~Look up and discuss the following scriptures.

§         Romans 12:2

§         1 Thessalonians 4:4-7

~Activities

§         Practice sitting and bending over modestly whether you are wearing shorts, pants or a skirt.

§         Discuss with your parents: What is your goal in the way you dress?  Are you dressing for the approval of man or God?  Are you seeking to attract attention to yourself or to bring Glory to God?

§         Ask your father to explain how a young man responds to form-fitting or revealing clothing, flirtations behavior, body language, etc.

§         Look through a clothing catalog or sales ad.  Which styles are immodest?  What makes them immodest or modest?

§         In a public place, note the response of men to women who are dressed or behave immodestly.

• § Read this letter from a Christian guy about modestly. Discuss it with your mom & dad.

 Training Our Daughters in Purity

It is no secret that purity is not being taught enough to our young kids any more.  The pregnancy rate among young girls is only getting worse.  And the age of girls getting pregnant is getting younger & younger each year.  Can you imagine your 10 year old daughter pregnant?  I can’t, but there are some out there.  Satan is out to steal our children’s purity.  As mothers we must teach our daughters the importance of remaining a virgin in all physical ways until they are married.

Study these scriptures together.  Discuss them.

§         Proverbs 4:23

§         Proverbs 27:12

§         Matthew 5:8

§         Matthew 26:41

§         Romans 6:12-14

~Activities

§         Study men and women in the Bible who resisted temptation.  What were the blessings of obedience in their lives?

§         Study people in the Bible who yielded to temptation.  What were the results of their disobedience?

§         Make a list of standards for choosing godly friends.  Base you list what the scripture says about friends.  What qualities will you seek in a friend?  What will you avoid?

• § Make a list of sins that you have commit. Now write down ways of escape for each area.

  Here are a few books that I think are really important to have if you have daughters.

This is the book in which I get a lot of great ideas for training my daughters to be godly women.  There are many excellent resources out there, but this one remains one of my favorites. Door Post has a great site full of many great resources to use in training your children according to scripture. Click on the picture to go  to their site. Many of the activities I used in the 3 articles above came from Polished Cornerstones.

The Princess and the Kiss is a precious story full of excellent illustrations that beautifully portrays the value of purity and the rewards of waiting on God’s timing. By Jennie Bishop.

Beautiful Girlhood is a book that I have read with my daughters.  It is full of timeless truths for those who desire to be godly.

 

There are so many more books out there, but not enough room to list them all.  But maybe this will help you if you need a few suggestions.

Capturing Her Heart & Keeping It

I’d like for you to meet my 2nd daughter Sarah Catherine.  She is turning 15 in a few months.  She is a fabulous young lady who is growing in the Lord.  I asked her the other day what foreign language she wanted to learn this year & her response was Hebrew!  She said it was because it would help her to study the Bible better.  How cool is that?!

So, what do I mean by “capturing their heart”?  Your heart is where your desire for relationship is.  God desires a relationship with us and we desire relationships with others.  It is so important to build a solid relationship with your daughters. 

The strongest foundation for a good relationship is trust.  When our daughters can trust that we are there for them wholeheartedly they are more likely to come to us for counsel and fellowship.  When my daughters do confide in me what do I do?  Do I go tell my friends?  Do I try to solve her problems for her?  Does she get a sermon from me about how we reap what we sow?  Or can she trust that our discussions will remain private?  Can she trust that I will listen to her and love her in spite of what she has done?  There is a very fine line between being her mom & being her best friend.  But as her mom, I want to be her most important mentor and role model as a godly woman.  She won’t come to me if she can’t trust me.  If every time she does come to me, I put her off because I am busy or I tell her all that she does wrong, she will stop coming to me and going to someone else.  She will find another “mom friend” to go to.  My daughters do have several other female adult friends in our church that they can talk to & I trust these ladies to give my daughters sound Biblical advice, but I don’t want my daughter to go to them because she can’t trust that I will be there for her.

Communication is very important in building a good relationship with anyone.  How can you get to know them if you don’t talk to them?  Go for the simple things first.  Learn her favorite color. What does she like to dream about?  What is important to her?  You may be surprised by her answers.  When I asked Sarah what foreign language she wanted to learn, I really thought she would say Spanish, but she said Hebrew.  I ask my kids things like this every now & then just to try and stay connected with them.

If you have older daughters, talk with her about your relationship with Christ. What has he taught you this week? What are you struggling with? What is you favorite scripture?  My oldest daughter, Ashley has grown a lot in her relationship with the Lord this past year.  Together we have discussed the importance of sharing our faith with others, defending our faith and knowing why we believe what we believe, arming ourselves for battle against the enemy and praying for friends who have drifted from the Lord.  We have prayed together when she was struggling and we have rejoiced together when God answered her prayers.  She is going on a foreign mission trip in July and she knew the Lord was leading her to go, but she was nervous about how she would raise the $1250 needed.  Well, 3 weeks before her trip all her money was raised.  “See” she told us, “I told you God wanted me to go!” 

Capturing the heart of our daughters can protect them from the evil they will encounter.  It will help them to become godly young ladies and strengthen them to resist temptation and remain pure for marriage.  It will hopefully prepare them for the day when they have daughters (& sons) hearts to capture themselves.

 

These are my 3 oldest daughters; from the left, Sarah(15), Ashley(16) & Morgan (13)

The top picture is my youngest daughter, Gracie (3)

June ‘07 Newsletter

 All My Men

The month of May was a really busy month for us, so I am just now getting to write this newsletter.  I’m sure you have just been waiting on pins & needles for it to come.

Our family went to spend some time with my parents the last weekend of May.  My little brother was graduating from high school.  Just to brag a little here, he graduated with distinguished honors & received a scholarship during the ceremony which was a surprise to all of us.  We hooted & hollered as loud as we could when they called his name & he walked across the stage.  I have written more about that night on my family blog.  We were all so proud of him.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter.  Since June is the month for Fathers I have dedicated the writing of this issue to the men in my life. 

 My dad has always been a great role model for me and his faith and trust in the Lord has helped make me who I am today. He protected me many times from hurtful relationships through his gift of discernment.  He challenged me to search the scriptures and base all my decisions in life on what God’s Word says.  And he loves my mother more and more each day they are married.

My husband is my best friend and the second love of my life. He is the spiritual leader in our home and he has lead me into a deeper relationship with the Lord.  His encouragement is often what keeps me going.  And above all else he makes me coffee every morning! 

I have six other little men in my life.  God has a great sense of humor.  I am totally convinced of that!  I did not grow up around boys.  Until I was 16 years old, my dad was the only boy in our house.  I married Scott when John (my brother) was only 2 years old so I didn’t even grow up with him.  So for me to have 6 boys is evidence of God’s sense of humor.  I don’t know what to do with boys, but God is showing me. They are so different from girls.  They are loud, rough and stinky, but I love them!  Raising my little men to become mighty warriors for Christ is a daunting task, but God’s grace is abundant.

The Glory of Your Husband.

I heard a visiting preacher at our church give a very simple definition of “glory”.  He said it is, “to make look good“.  I love that!  Our purpose as God’s creation is to glorify him.  We are to make him look good.

Did you know that we are also to glorify our husbands?  We are to make them look good. 

1 Corinthian 11:7-9 says, “A man…is the image and glory of God; but a woman is the glory of man.  For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.”

So how can we, as godly wives, be the glory of our husbands?  I have three ways.  There are many more, but these are a good starting place.

The first way is through our speech about them and in front of them.  We should sing our husbands praise to our friends, not put him down and reveal all of his faults.  Have you ever listened to a woman complain about her husband?  It doesn’t sound good & it doesn’t look good either.  Also, when my husband and I are with friends I need to be careful of the conversation I make so not to embarrass him.  I am really bad at opening my mouth and talking then to see a look of shock and disbelief on his face.  You just can’t take it back once it is out of your mouth.

How we manage our home is the glory of our husband.  If we are disorganized, the home is chaotic and loud; this doesn’t not say much for how we think o four husband. I struggle with clutter all the time.  My mom will tell you it is a family trait.  I try not to let it get too bad, at least not so bad that it can’t be dealt with quickly if someone is coming over.  My husband is so sweet to not gripe about the house. He just quietly moves the stack of laundry over so he can sit down to watch TV.  But I know it is important to him to have a peaceful place to come home to everyday, so I try to create that for him by managing my home efficiently.  The kids have chores & responsibilities to help out and that has helped take a lot of the burden off of me.

Lastly, how we keep ourselves is the glory of our husband.  The way we dress reflects our husband more than we realize.  When we are trying to dress in a way that will impress our husbands, most often we are also impressing other men around us.  We have to be careful and responsible.  I ran into a friend a few nights ago and we stopped to chat.  However; I had a really hard time listening to her because of the low cut blouse she was wearing.  The whole time she was talking I kept thinking, “Pull up your shirt.  Get a different shirt.  Did your husband know you walked out like that?”  I didn’t feel comfortable enough to speak to her about it, but I hope one of her closer friends did.  Remember that we are also to glorify God, even in our dress.  It isn’t always easy, but it is possible to dress stylish and still modestly also.  

“But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world – how she can please her husband.  I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”  (1 Corinthian 7:34,35 – NIV)

As believers our first devotion is to our Lord Jesus.  We are to first be concerned with pleasing the Lord, then with pleasing our husbands.  We are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. (Matthew 22:37)   When we love God like we should then we will love our husband like we should.  We will conduct ourselves in a way that makes our husband look good.  We will want to submit to his leadership.  We will want to serve him out of love, not obligation.  We will respect him and he will know it.  But is it that easy?  Of course not!  It is easier for me to clean house, wash clothes and cook meals that to love my God as he commanded.  Why?  Because of my GIANT sin nature that keeps getting in the say.  It is easier for me to do things that will make me look good to others than take on a change of heart and habit that will make God look good.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t love him, it just means that I am only loving him with parts of me, not all of me.  Then I only love my husband with parts of me and not all of me.  But, I am so blessed to belong to a loving and merciful Savior who love me anyway and forgives me.  I am also blessed to belong to a wonderful and merciful husband who loves me, sin and all!

 My Mothers’ Husband

My parents have been married for 39 years.  My kids say that is forever.  Their model for a godly marriage has bee very important to me.  I rarely remember hearing my parents argue & they never fought with angry or hurtful words.  Their marriage has been built on a mutual love for the Lord and it shows.

I have a lot of really great memories of my parents together.  They had a lot of fun and they did a lot of laughing with each other.  One memory in particular still makes us all laugh even today.

At the dinner table, my mom was always very faithful to refill my dad’s tea glass.  He would shake it and she always took this as her cue to get him more tea.  She never asked why he shook his glass rather than just asking for more tea, she just filled his glass.  And he always drank it.  Finally, after many years of this, dad asked why she filled his glass everytime he shook it.  She was shocked, I think. 

 She replied, “I thought that is what you wanted.  When you shook your empty glass I thought you needed more tea.”

“No” he answered, “I was just shaking the ice down to the bottom so that when I took that last drink the ice didn’t fall out on me.”

We all laughed so hard.  To think, all these years he was just trying to take his last drink of tea & she kept giving him more!  Now, my dad gets his own tea & most often my mom’s also.

All My Little Men 

Like I mentioned earlier, I didn’t grow up with boys, so I had no idea how different they were when I had my first boy.  My first 2 babies were girls.  They were quiet and sweet and loved to play baby dolls.  Then Josh was born and we have never been the same since!  He totally woke up our house.  By 2 years old he had figured out how to get on top of the refrigerator.  By 3 he was escaping out the front door and neighbors were bringing him home.  By 4 the sheriff was bringing him home with his bike in the trunk (we lived in a really small town).  I could not keep this child in my house.  So, finally when he was about 5 we moved out to the country.  The neighbors in our neighborhood threw a block party I’m sure.  Now the tools in their garages were safe again.

We just kept having more boys.  My husband was thrilled, I was scared!  I didn’t know what to do.  They would sit and watch a cartoon and when the commercial would come on they would all jump up and hit the floor wrestling!  It was like they couldn’t stand to sit down any longer.  They see everything differently!  A fence is seen not as a way to keep you in, but a challenge to climb out.  A creek is not just a body of flowing water; it is a substance that contains tons of things yet to be discovered.  Mud, is not just the result of water on dirt, it is the material needed to create the perfect road for your trucks.

 God slowly began to show me how he has a special purpose for each of these little men and he wanted to use me to help shape them into godly men.  I couldn’t help but think of Susanna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley.  They grew to be mighty men of God and helped shape our Christian history.  She raised 13 children, many times alone.  What was her secret?  She spent time with the Lord everyday.  She studied his word, prayed and then taught that to her kids.  She created a hunger and thirst in their heart to know God more.  I think her sons had a deeper relationship with the Lord than their mother did.  That is what I want.  I want my children to know God even deeper than I do.  I want to create in them a hunger for his wisdom and truth.

I don’t know what kind of men my boys will become. That is not the part I play in their lives.  My part is to be faithful to my God in the training and nurturing of my children.  My part is to seek the Lord in his direction.  My part is to love my God with all my heart, soul and mind.  And leave the rest to him.

More reasons to teach our girls purity

Here is an article that gives us even more reasons to follow God’s command to remain virgins until we are married.  If you think it is just for spiritual reasons you are wrong.  God set these commands to keep us healthy too.

 From FOX News; More than 1 million cases of chlamydia were reported in the United States last year — the most ever reported for a sexually transmitted disease, federal health officials said Tuesday.

Read the rest of the article here

May 2007, Newsletter

 Don’t Give up! 

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

 

I don’t know about you, but as a mom, there are days when I’m just not sure my kids are getting anything that I am trying to teach them.  I feel so often that I am not teaching them anything or making a difference at all.  We still have the bad attitudes & disobedience that slows down what I want to get done in a day. 

One morning in our Bible time we discussed being a peace maker.  We had a great discussion & even better prayer time.  Then our day started and it was like no one remember anything that we had discussed!  I would ask them, “Are you being a peacemaker or peace breaker?” as I pulled 2 of my boys apart with legs and arms still flying.  Will they ever get along?

A few days later I was in the house with the windows open.  Some of my boys were playing outside in front of our house with some neighborhood kids.  The other kids started arguing about something.  I stopped what I was doing and began listening.  My boys told them that it was stupid to argue over that, it wasn’t that important.  It became clear that one of the other boys just wanted to fight over it. My boys ended up just coming inside.  I acted as if I was busy when they walked in & asked them what they needed when they came in.  They said nothing, they just didn’t want to be outside anymore.  “Thank you Lord!” I prayed silently.  They made a choice to leave the trouble makers to their own argument & not participate.  WooHoo!

Just when I think I am getting no where with my kids in teaching them godly character & wisdom the Lord gives me a tiny glimpse that they do hear a little of what I say.  I think it is his way of saying, “Do not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest.”  He is saying, “Don’t give up!  These kids need you to teach them about me.”

Being a mom is so hard.  But God knows how hard it is and just when we are ready to throw in the towel he picks it up, wipes the sweat from our brow or the tears from our eyes and gives us what we need so that one of these days we will reap a harvest.

“Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.  Psalm 37:3

 

 

Raising Up Godly Mothers 

As a mother of 4 daughters I know that one of these days they will be mothers(at least I hope they will) and I often wonder if I am teaching them all they need to know to be godly mothers. My time is growing short with each passing year.  If they get married and become moms as early as I did, then I could be a grandmother in only 3 years!  Will they know how to cook well enough, do the laundry or clean the house?  As I continue to watch my girls grow up into wonderful young ladies I know that all those things are secondary to what they really must know.

They need to know God in a personal and intimate way if they are to be the godly wives their husbands need.  They must know how to depend on God for the wisdom and guidance to teach & train their children.  These are things that I am still learning how to do and yet I know that as I am learning I must also teach it to my girls. 

If I am going to teach them to know God personally then I need to know him personally.  As I immerse myself in his word I also immerse my children by sharing with them what I have learned and discussing it with them.

One of the best ways I can teach my daughters to be godly wives is to exhibit that myself.  By loving their father, supporting and adoring him they learn how to love their own future husbands.  When I speak negatively of their father it cuts deep into their souls also.  They see when I respect him and they see when I don’t.

They also watch me as I deal daily with their siblings.  I know they watch because they treat their younger siblings the same way.  They are like little mirrors for me to see my true self in.  I must watch my words and how they are said.  I have to be careful as to how I react to someone who comes to my front door or comments rudely about our family in public.  They learn how to treat others by watching me. Ahhh!  That is scary at times because I know I make huge mistakes all the time.  I am so bad at speaking first then thinking.  My mom says I get that from her.

When I begin to worry if I am preparing them enough for life outside our home, the Lord reminds me that I am only his vessel.  If I trust him & depend on him for wisdom, my children will recieve all they need from me when they need it.  He knows what they will become and he knows what they need to become that.  My role is to teach them the Bible, apply it to my own life, and to pray that they will desire and hunger for it themselves.

I can’t wait to see my daughters as wives & mothers.  I really think they will make excellent ones.  Not because I am doing such a great job, but because of the work I see God doing in their hearts right now.  The desires and interests he is placing in their hearts are making for a great sneek peek into their future.

Teaching Wisdom to Your Children

Wisdom can often be a hard concept to grasp for adults much less for kids.  The world’s wisdom is totally opposite than God’s wisdom for us.  Many times we confuse having knowledge and having wisdom as the same thing and it is not.  If you read the Ten Commandments, you have the knowledge of God’s Laws.  When you apply them and put them into practice is when you gain God’s wisdom in the law.  We can read the whole entire Bible, but until we begin to apply & practice what it says will we begin to understand God and gain wisdom.  So how do you teach this to your children?  The same way you eat an elephant, one bite at a time.

Proverbs is a great place to start.  Begin reading Proverbs with your child & memorizing it.  Talk about what the verses mean and how we should live according to the verses.  If you are not sure that is o’k, go look it up together in a commentary. Bible Gateway is a great online place to find many commentaries and Bible translations.

Here is a short lesson you can do with your child.

Topic: Quarreling

Read:   Proverbs 17:14

Ask: 

• What would happen if someone made a tiny little hole in a dam that was holding in tons of water?
• How long do you think it would take before the little hole became a big hole that would eventually break apart making the hole dam collapse sending water everywhere?

Discuss:  This is what arguing is like.  It may start out as a tiny little thing, but easily grow into a huge fight.

Read:

• Genesis 26:16-33

Ask:

• How did God bless Isaac for not arguing with the Philistine herdsmen?
• When is the best time to stop an argument?

Pray together and ask God to help you be peacemakers like Isaac.

To His Glory!

Dana

Training Our Daughters in Purity

It is no secret that purity is not being taught enough to our young kids any more.  The pregnancy rate among young girls is only getting worse.  And the age of girls getting pregnant is getting younger & younger each year.  Can you imagine your 10 year old daughter pregnant?  I can’t, but they are out there.  Satan is out to steal our children’s purity.  As mothers we must teach our daughters the importance of remaining a virgin in all physical and emotional ways until they are married.  Today, it is to not just keep them pure for their future husband, it is too keep them healthy also.  There are diseases that can be caught just from kissing much less the obvious ones from being with multiple partners.  This is such an accepted way of life, a passage into adulthood, that to teach against premarital sex once again puts me on the outside of normal according to society.One approach we have taken with our children is to talk to them about what they are doing to their future mate if they chose to be in a physical relationship before they were married.  Saving their self emotionally and physically for their husband is like giving him a gift that no one else has opened.  Does he not deserve her whole heart?  When she stands before her friends and family on her wedding day and she says her vows she wants to bring only her whole self to her husband, not just what is left over after giving pieces of it away to other boys.  Saving her body for her husband is part of God’s plan for marriage.  Just like he wants our whole heart, our husbands deserve our whole heart also.

Study these scriptures together.  Discuss them.

§         Proverbs 4:23

§         Proverbs 27:12

§         Matthew 5:8

§         Matthew 26:41

§         Romans 6:12-14

~Activities

§         Study men and women in the Bible who resisted temptation.  What were the blessings of obedience in their lives?

§         Study people in the Bible who yielded to temptation.  What were the results of their disobedience?

§         Make a list of standards for choosing godly friends.  Base you list what the scripture says about friends.  What qualities will you seek in a friend?  What will you avoid?

§         Make a list of sins that you have commit. Now write down ways of escape for each area. How could have these sins been avoided?

Please mothers, keep an open conversation with your daughters about their purity.  Pray for them in this area & let them know that you are praying this.  Pray for their future husbands that they too will remain pure.  If your daughters know that they can talk with you about this they have a much greater chance of remaining faithful to God’s word.  It is time that we have a generation of young ladies that are committed to not following the ways of the world.  It is time that our young ladies take a stand against the immorality all around them by remaining faithful to their God and making him the true love of their life, rather than the next cute guy that comes along.  Be their example, make him the true love of your life also!

Training Our Daughters to be Modest

 Teaching our daughters to dress modestly should be a no brainer.  But today, it isn’t.  I see so many moms who dress in clothes that are way too tight, way too short, and way too low in front and in back.   How can we expect her daughter to dress appropriately if her mom doesn’t?   We need to understand how sensitive a man’s eye sight is.  It doesn’t take much for his mind to wonder and wish.  We need to make sure that we do not cause his mind to wonder where it shouldn’t.  Below are some scripture verses to explore and then some activities your daughter can do or you can do with her.  I remember doing this with my daughters when they began to dress to their own style and taste.  It was good for them to see what scripture said rather than just what Mom said.  It was also good for us to discuss together how we can still dress the nice with out wearing giant baggy clothes.  It isn’t always easy, but when we keep our focus on glorifying God then it is worth the trouble.  Girls need to learn that their worth is not in what they wear.  Their worth is in Christ. 

~Look up and discuss the following scriptures.

§         Romans 12:2

§         1 Corinthians 10:31

§         1 Thessalonians 4:4-7

~Activities

§         Practice sitting and bending over modestly whether you are wearing shorts, pants or a skirt.

§         Discuss with your parents: What is your goal in the way you dress?  Are you dressing for the approval of man or God?  Are you seeking to attract attention to yourself or to bring Glory to God?

§         Ask your father to explain how a young man responds to form-fitting or revealing clothing, flirtations behavior, body language, etc.

§         Look through a clothing catalog or sales ad.  Which styles are immodest?  What makes them immodest or modest?

§         In a public place, note the response of men to women who are dressed or behave immodestly.

§         Read this letter from a Christian guy about modestly.  Discuss it with your mom & dad.