Wisdom from above

James 3:17-18 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

I have these verses written on a note card on the fridge right where I fill up our cups with water – a million times a day.  This time I was filling up a canister to make our daily Tang (a staple in our household).  Since I was there a while I read the verses and thought, “Am I displaying the wisdom from above in these ways?”  Immediately, I was convicted, yet with the conviction came the marching orders for the day – “Lord, please help me to rely on You so I can be these things in my mothering.  I desire to display this wisdom from above today.”

There’s so much more I could say (and would love to go into) about these amazing verses but I will leave you with one of my favorite pastor’s sayings.  Pastor Don Dukes used to lead the prayer meetings at our church and he would give us a benediction that went something like this: “Tonight you came in here in pieces, but now you can leave in peace.” 

This is our prayer:  May the peace of God rule in our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. And we ask for this precious wisdom so we can model the very characteristics of God to our children today.  May our kids glorify and praise the God who made them and offers them this peace.  We need Your help, Lord to carry out the calling on our lives today.

“Well” Watered?

If you think of a well to draw water from – it’s DEEP, it’s not so wide but concentrated in one direction to fulfill the purpose for which it was made.  Same with us.  We were made to be a well filled with water, living water, that should continually be drawn from and filled again…to overflowing.  Do you have the picture in your head of that well – bricks around the top and even a wooden roof was made atop (so no junk could fall in from the sky, if you know what I mean), and a watering bucket is hanging between the wooden posts with a rope to let down the bucket.

Bricks/foundation – God Almighty, sure foundation, solid rock (Psalm 62:2,6)

Roof – banner over us is love (Song of Solomon 2:4, Isaiah 18:3)

Junk – the world, sin (John 1:29, John 16:8, Exodus 9:27)

Bucket – our bodies, our offering, where the wellspring of life is (Proverbs 18:4, Romans 12:1)

Posts – our friends, accountability (Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 18:24)

Rope – prayer, lifeline, connection to God (1 Samuel 2:1, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6, James 5:16)

Does your well-water runneth over so others can be blessed or is it always running dry?  Does it “runneth” at all?  Do your kids know you read the Bible?  Do they see your lifeline in action?  Do they hear you talk to friends with encouraging words (or gossip stuff)?  They see how you dress, is it representing an offering to God, or an offering to the eyes of the world?  Does your roof leak the junk of the world in or is your home covered by the blood of Jesus, in love?  Is the foundation of your life built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ? 

Let’s pray:  Lord God, we are so grateful and thankful for giving us Your word, the Bible.  We can read it and ask You to fill us with Your living water of love, and the fruit of the spirit.  We receive your gift of love and act on it today.  May our eyes be open to the possibilities around us.  May we look for ways to pour Your love onto others today.  May we experience the joy of our salvation when we share the hope that is within us today.  We’re thankful that we can draw from You today.  Help us be concentrated in one direction to fulfill the purpose for which we were made.  Thank You, Lord.  In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Something Different

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (NIV)

The other day my husband was talking with a group of his co-workers. The subject: the real meaning of Christmas. My husband asked why we celebrate Christmas, and most were on board that we celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas time. But they were baffled by his next question: Why did Jesus have to be born? The room was silent. No one had an answer, and he shared with me later that it broke his heart. So, in his own way, he began to explain the “why” of Christ’s birth.

I remember taking an Everyday Evangelism class at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale years ago. This class was such a blessing to me because it gave practical ideas and suggestions on how to share the Good News of Jesus in a way that people can understand and relate to. One of the best tools I learned was to draw a picture. Write the words “Us” on the left side and “GOD” on the opposite side of the paper. There is a big gap between “Us” and “God”. Then you draw arrows in the direction of “GOD”, but all these arrows make a descent just before they reach “GOD”. These arrows represent our very best efforts to jump across or bridge the gap between us and God. We help others. We give to the poor. We try to treat everyone kindly. You get the drift. However, we are sinners trying to access a holy, perfect God by our own efforts…so we fall short.

Next, draw a horizontal line from “Us” to “God” (like a bridge) and a vertical line down the middle so that your bridge is the shape of a cross. This cross represents the perfect life of Jesus that bridges that gap between us and God. He is our great mediator, the way for us to access the Father (John 14:6). Jesus does what we can’t do for ourselves: he pays the price for our sin, clothes us with his righteousness, and restores the relationship between us and the Father. Jesus closes the gap.

Someone told me recently that thanks to Facebook, Google, and the power of the internet, she could never run for political office. I chuckled because I know my pre-Christ life, and I was so grateful the internet was not up and running then to take snapshots of it. It is so amazing to me that as a culture we are often quick to acknowledge that our lives are not squeaky clean enough to run for political office because of some stupid thing we did years ago. Yet, many believe they are good enough for heaven, and to live there for eternity with an all-mighty, all-knowing, and all-powerful God. That logic really isn’t rational, but it is popular. I wonder if people feel this way because they don’t know who they are (a sinner) and why Jesus had to be born (our savior).

I loved Joannie’s blog earlier this week and the suggestions she gave to make this Christmas more memorable. I particularly loved her advice about the Jesus party and the limit of 3 gifts (just like Jesus received three gifts from the magi). I believe it is so important for our children to love Christmas—have fun, celebrate, go all out to make memories commemorating Jesus’ birth. Personally, I think Santa is an irrelevant distraction from the true meaning of Christmas. A little boy once told me that Christmas was about Jesus and Santa. Really? The truth is one day he will grow up to know (hopefully) that one, Jesus, means everything and the other guy with the reindeer who comes down the chimney…well, he doesn’t even exist. A fictional Santa gives gifts to children if they are “good”, but the other, Jesus, is the ultimate gift from God because he knew we could never be “good enough” on our own.

So let’s show those in our sphere of influence something different: peace, joy, and hope—all the things only Christ can offer. I would also encourage you to set aside a special time to explain to your little ones (in an age appropriate way) WHY Jesus was born, put less emphasis on a fictional Santa “who is going to give them lots of presents”, and have a very MERRY CHRISTmas!

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means, ‘God with us’. Matthew 1:23

Dear Father,

We love you! Thank you for the birth of Jesus, your Son. Thank you that he did what we could not do on our own—live a perfect life and bridge the gap between us and you. Thank you for loving us that much. Help us focus on you this Christmas, to have your joy and peace in our hearts, and to share the miracle of Jesus’ birth with our children, family, and friends. May we put on the attitude of Christ and seek to serve others this Christmas. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Please check out this link to the song "Here With Us" by Joy Williams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om5-95_Byjo

Firm Foundation

Hi! My name is Tammy. I am the blessed Mommy of 2 amazing little girls, Selah, 2, and Susannah, 8 mos. I am happily married to my best friend Rick since 2006. Both Rick and I work in Christian education. I taught elementary school up until the birth of our first daughter. I am now blessed to be a stay at home mommy. I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and pray daily for wisdom and humility to be the mother He has called me to be.






A while back, my husband bought Selah a beginner's set of building blocks, the large ones that connect. As we watched Selah attempt to build up a tower, we noticed she was growing increasingly frustrated as the blocks would tumble over without a strong base to support them. So, we sat down, took a few of the larger blocks, and showed her how to build a foundation. It has now become a regular part of block time. Selah will hand us a few of the larger blocks and say “Mommy/Daddy foundation?”, and we will help get her started by laying down a foundation of blocks for her to build upon. Now, she has even started to build her own foundation in the way we have shown her.


I have often seen Ephesians 6:4 referenced in not mocking or speaking cruelly to your children as well as not disciplining harshly in anger. Through this interaction with our daughter, I began to see exasperating/provoking your children to wrath (depending on translation) in a new light. By not setting a firm foundation for the blocks, Selah became frustrated by her inability to build a solid structure. By not laying down a ‘faith foundation’ we would not be preparing our children to build and lead solid lives. What we model for them and teach them now all lays the foundation for what kind of lives they will live. They absorb and imitate everything we do from our words and attitudes, to the way we discipline, our interactions with our spouse and others, etc. as they develop their own character.



The word used for instruction/admonition- nouthesia means literally, "a putting in mind". The sense here is, that we are to put them in mind of the Lord - of his existence, perfections, law, and claims on their hearts and lives. (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible) That is the foundation we are to lay for our children, a mindset of knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ. We do this by living lives that honor God, being role models for our children to look to. We pray with our children, instruct them in the Bible, and teach them to behave in a manner that honors the Lord. As they grow, we expect them to make choices to do this without our guidance. But if we don't show them how, it is illogical to expect them to do it on their own, much like handing a 2 year old a set of blocks and expecting her to build a magnificent tower.





No matter what age your children are, it is never too late to teach them how to build or rebuild a solid life on the foundation of God's Word. You can start by building your own and living by example. God is the Master Architect, and He has an unbelievable blueprint for your life and the lives of your children! (Jeremiah 29:11)



Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me to put You in my mind and in the minds of my children. I pray that my husband and I will lay a firm, Christ-centered foundation for our children to build their lives upon. Please help me to keep this in mind and be intentional in my daily interactions, discipline, and instruction. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.




For Meditation and Action:

• What kind of faith foundation are you laying for your children?
• Are you admonishing (putting them in the mind of the Lord) your children on a daily basis?
• What is one area you can commit to working on this week to strengthen their foundation? (Set aside 'praise-only' prayer time, Choose a verse of the week to memorize and apply as a family, Select a Bible story of the week to read, retell, illustrate, etc.)