Purpose in it All

Purpose in it All

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,

but you will restore me to life again

and lift me up from the depths of the earth.

You will restore me to even greater honor 

and comfort me once again.

-Psalm 71:20-21

I love scripture. It meets me where I am at, and reminds me of where I am going. It shines light on who I am and how HE sees me. The Word gives direction (Psalm 119:105), wisdom (James 1:5), and insight (2 Timothy 2:7). It is so specific to my life and allows me to see His perspective. As I meet with Jesus, in that quiet place, there is fresh insight because HE sees the whole picture.

Five years ago, my son was born with a birth defect. One that would alter the rest of his life. Four in every million children have it. As I sat holding my newborn, I was at a loss and wondering why me. My husband shared John 9:1-3, which encouraged me to use this situation for His glory. I began to look at every doctor appointment, surgery, and nurse as a ministry opportunity. I searched for ways to share Christ as we entered this new sphere of influence. God reminds us there is purpose in it ALL (Romans 8:28). Tragedy to triumph.

Our trial is not just about us, but those we will rub shoulders with, as we walk through our experience. God weaves ministry into our daily routine. As we cling to Truth, we have something different. A bright light that others are drawn to. We must be renewed daily in order to spill truth into the lives of those neighbors we encounter on a regular basis.

As the chatter in this life is loud, we must set aside quiet time to hear the Lord speak. His plan. His purpose. The trajectory of our life will change. Our hope restored. Our eyes opened. Our lives a true reflection of His Spirit overflowing. When we take our eyes off ourselves, and find our focus back on the cross, we become a vessel Jesus is able to use.

Name one 'hardship' you need restoration with. Bring it before God and ask Him to restore you.  

Be still and know that I am God. -Psalm 46:10

Is there time in your daily schedule to be still and quiet before God?

Have you seen God weave ministry opportunities in your day? If not, pray you would see Him in all areas of your life.

Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom

Commit your plans unto 

the Lord and they 

will succeed. 

- Proverbs 16:3

A friend recently sent me this blog link and it was a breath of fresh air. It reminded me of who am I, and where I want to be as I homeschool my kids. I can get caught up in my many failures of the day, instead of focusing on the call HE has on my life and being obedient to walk it out in faith. Trusting. Praying. Believing. I hope this link encourages your heart too!

http://thechaosandtheclutter.com/archives/2216

Note: If your kids are in public school...that is awesome too! We need missionaries out there spreading the love of Jesus. We must always remember to keep our eyes open, watching, as HE is always placing ministry opportunities before us. 

Ladies, remember not to put your convictions on another. We very lovingly can do this and be unaware of the pressure we place on a friend who chooses differently than us. Pray for wisdom. He will reveal truth for you and your family and however that looks - specifically in making educational decisions :)

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.

JEHOVAH JIREH

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? - Matthew 6:26

As a mom, some weeks can seem so mundane and then other weeks the Lord will teach me many lessons all at once.  This past week was the latter. It started as my husband's old car was "going" and we began praying for a new one. Simultaneously,  my parents were looking for a new car, and getting rid of their old truck.  And in comes... the blessing of God. We got their old truck just at the right time.

Jehovah Jireh, God my provider, had the timing align so perfect that as we were in need HE had someone else step up to meet it. Sometimes we are afraid to ask the Lord for things because we think it is such a huge request. But I want to tell you to step out, ask, watch and be blown away at how the Lord supernaturally provides for you.

It was five years ago I became a stay-at-home mom. It was definitely a challenge to go from two incomes to one, but it has been the most amazing time of our lives. We have seen miracles. Yep. Each time we pray and He meets the need, I am reminded that HE still does miracles today. 

SO what is your "miracle"? What is that thing you are in need of? 

Have you prayed about it? Have you laid it at His feet and trusted in His wisdom?

The Lord is not a geenie, but He is a father that loves you and wants to help you along in this journey of life. There have been times I have prayed and had to wait or it hasn't been the right time. Then there have been times the answer is no, but that is where trust comes in. I must believe HE knows best and can see what is up ahead when my vision is limited to today.   

"for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
 - Psalm 107:9

Pray. Trust. Believe. Ask. Knock. Praise Him for the NOW. Seek Him for the future.

A Wise Homemaker

Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
⁴ By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches. 

-Proverbs 24:3-4

The job of a the mother, as a homekaker, is a tremendously fulfilling career, and a crucial responsibility. So many women today have bought into the notion that it isn't enough and that they need to seek fulfillment outside the home. But there is nothing more fulfilling than the role to which God has called mothers. Many women who have bought into the social pressure and have achieved corporate success are now realizing what they have lost by being out of their homes.

"Through wisdom a house is built." It takes real wisdom to create a home. "By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." It takes wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to be a homemaker; but it is one of the most fulfilling careers imaginable!

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I came across the above commentary as I was doing my daily devotion in Proverbs. I was encouraged and convicted too! Encouraged as I was reminded of my value as I sacrifice the luxuries of this life for the "riches" I am hoping to impart in my children. Convicted because as I look at my friends, past and present, many have shared they must go back to work, and I have missed opportunities to remind them of the truth stated above. 


There is value in staying home. It is a sacrifice. It does cost something monetarily, physically, spiritually and emotionally. 

I think in those moments we are questioning whether to stay home or not, we must ask ourselves what the motive is for going back to work. Is it to get the new car, bigger home, new wood floors (my dream for our rental home someday!), name brand items, going out to eat, vacations ect.? Some days I think I need those things because the world tells me I will be empty if I am without. Those items will break, rust and be on a hill buried someday. You won't look back at your life wishing you had worked more. 


Five years ago I stepped down from full-time teaching. I pushed pause on my profession to invest in the lives of my little people, who will impact the world. Has it always been easy? Ummm no way! Our finances were literally cut in half. Sometimes I wish we had more. We will. Just not now :)


This season is one of stretching the dollar & coupon cutting as we watch Jesus supernaturally provide for us. Countless stories are hidden in my heart (maybe in another blog post) of how the Lord blessed us with exactly what was needed at the perfect time. 


Every time I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I am reminded of our simplistic life but it is well worth it for the reward that we will reap someday.


I am not throwing stones, and I don't know your personal circumstance. Each situation is different, but I would just encourage you to seek His face on EVERY decision you make as a mom. Then you can stand firm because HE alone made those hard decisions for you and it will be a memorial for you to look back on in days to come.


Pray. Seek. Ask. HE will give you the wisdom needed.


If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. - James 1:5

Education at its Best

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

I do not want to be a fool! I don’t want to do foolish things, and I don’t want to my kids to act like fools! I want wisdom, I crave understanding, and I desire to do what is right and best for me and my family. Many of you may know that I am in the process of homeschooling my four year old. Being that this is his preschool year, I am doing a hodge-podge of various curriculums to make sure that this year is fun and challenging for him. There are so many curriculums to choose from, and while I experience great freedom in selecting one that suits him best, I want to be careful to put Christ at the center of his education.

One curriculum that I really like for building a Biblical foundation for learning is My Father’s World. I by no means want to seem like I am advertising for them. There are pros and cons to this curriculum, and I often find that I have to supplement it with other things like math, phonics, etc. However, one thing the preschool and kindergarten curriculum really emphasizes is building a firm foundation in God’s word as well as exploring God’s wonderful creation. For example, one lesson is about leaves—there are science projects, art projects, songs, and letter recognition activities that center around leaves. BUT the one thing that stood out to me was this activity.

The gist of the activity is as follows: Go outside and collect a branch with multiple leaves on it. Bring it inside and talk about how the leaves are nourished by the nutrients in the branch. Then, we are supposed to talk about how the branch in our lives is God and his word, the Bible. We are supposed to remain connected to him so we can grow. The next part of the “experiment” gets really good. Next, we are supposed to ask our kids what they think will happen if the leaf decides it want to do its own thing and leave the branch. What if the leaf doesn’t want to be obedient anymore? What if the leaf thinks it can do better on its own…without anyone telling it what to do?

Notice here, we are just supposed to ask and not supply the answer. After they supply their own answers we pull a leaf off and observe. At first it looks just like the other leaves—healthy. As the week goes on, we observe the leaves on the branch versus the leaf by itself. Naturally, the lone leaf starts to shrivel and dry out. The other leaves that are connected to the branch still look pretty healthy. Then we discuss how when we decide that we know better than God, or we want to be God, or we don’t want to listen to God and the parents he gave us (i.e. we want to do our own thing) we suffer natural consequences for our rebellion. So while we are learning about leaves, enjoying God’s beautiful creation, and creating leaf collages, and making textured leaf paintings and drawings, and learning about the letter “L’, we are also learning how God holds everything together and that we should stay connected to Him.

I just want to encourage you to reflect on what the Bible tells us: No education is complete without knowledge of the Holy One. Our children’s every day education needs to point them to the awesomeness of an all-powerful Creator—thus giving meaning and relevance (i.e. what does this have to do with me?) to their education.
My agenda in homeschooling is to bring up kids with strong character, strong family support and relationships, and a love for learning. This is the route of schooling that God has placed on my heart. Your path may be a bit different, and that is OK. God may have directed you in a direction that looks far different from mine. I love that our walk with the Lord is so personal. So that being said, your kids may be in a public school, a charter school, a magnet school, a Montessori school, a secular private school, or a Christian private school. Whatever schooling route the Lord has placed upon your heart, I would encourage you to put Christ at the center of your child’s education—regardless of whether or not their school does so. This may require a lot of extra work on your end, but I guarantee you that you will reap the benefits of this and they will too.

Some Biblical Principles to consider:
Math—God is constant. Just as 1 +1 is always 2, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Science—True science points to a highly intelligent, omniscient Creator.
Literature—God uses stories to teach us his truths
Grammar—God’s word is perfect. Clear language helps us better express His truths.
Social Studies—History tells us His story. When we veer from God’s plan, big messes happen (which we should not repeat). When we stay close to Him, beautiful milestones are left behind for others to follow.

These are just a few ideas. I encourage you to add to these and put them into practice.

Prayer:
Dear Father,
Thank you for the knowledge of you, the Holy One. May we seek your face in all things and put you at the center of our children’s’ education. Please guide us in the path of truth, and draw us closer to your heart. Change the way we think so that our thoughts please you. Help us make disciples of the next generation. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.