I Peter 4:13

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And

“If the righteous is scarcely saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

1 Peter 4:12-19 ESV

God has called each of us to obey Him. As we do, some will not understand that when we say no to them we are actually obeying God. As I put aside my own will for my life (and the will of others) I sense more from God than ever.  God has called each of us to do some very specific things. The basic things in life are clear -

• Love the Lord your God with all your heart
• Love your neighbor as yourself
• The Ten Commandments

But the specific things may not be so easy to see. That's when the whole Scripture is important. Read God's Word, pray without ceasing, get godly counsel, then act. When you act on what you know to be the right thing to do, you may be ridiculed, berated or even despised. Do not be surprised, but rejoice. This isn't third world suffering such as beheadings, loss of job or family, but it is a type of suffering. You are suffering according to God's will while you are doing good.

Colossians Three

This Summer our church was charged to memorize the entire chapter of Colossians three. I had wanted to do something like that with the girls but the whole church setting about to do it added a little fire to the effort.

If I had just told my family, "We're going to memorize a large chunk of Scripture in the month of July." They would have attempted half-heartedly and stopped after I got tired of pushing. So with some very cute picture prompts from another mom we got busy.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Our friend worked really hard to create cute images like this for the entire chapter of Colossians three. For those of us who are visual, it was a great help! And for the children who don't yet read, it became their very own book. There were also some fun nights of games and review to keep everyone going, but because of my ridiculous schedule this summer, we didn't get to any of them.

Memorizing Scripture with others is a great incentive to keep it up. I told the ladies at our Bible study that I'm sure that I have more pride than love for God. Knowing that I would be reciting it with the entire church was one reason why I was able to memorize it so quickly.

To continue the Colossians theme, the ladies of our church are studying the Bible study book Colossians and Philemon: Continue to Live in Him by Kathleen Buswell Nielson and our family is memorizing Colossians four during this year of school.

Hannah, the College Graduate

She has started her life, twenty-two years ago.

I can't say how proud I am of this girl. She is diligent in her school work, loves to learn, and loves to serve God. 

Graduating from college gets lots of questions about the future. But one question that has bothered me the most has come too many times - 

"When are you going to start your life?"

That's probably a valid question for a lot of college students, graduates too, I'm sure. But not Hannah. She has worked hard to serve in our church, in a ministry near her college and our family. Besides having great grades, she participated in athletics when she was able and made life long friends.

Her graduation ceremony is Saturday, is completing her online certification course in 

Biblical counseling and has begun a "paying job" to support the ministry work she will continue. 

This theme goes along with the last post. I want to see a movement of "ordinary" Christians faithfully doing what God has called them to do. 

Why I Turned Down My Dream Job To Be a Nanny

I got this note from a young college graduate about something that I've felt very strongly about for a long time. I wanted to post it here because I think the message is important. This is important enough to say twice - You don’t have to be in Africa to “count”. Remember, God doesn’t need us anywhere. He can use us anywhere. If God says, “Go,” reply, “Here I am, send me”. If God says, “Stay,” reply, “Here I am, use me”.

It all started about a year ago when someone was asking about my life.  They were sincerely interested and we got very deep into conversation and ended up talking about the church and other ministries that I am involved with.

She told me, “You remind me of that girl Kisses from Katie…you should do something like she did.” She then asked me if I had ever been on a mission trip.

 I replied, “I like to think that the ministries that I’m involved are my mission work.”

“Ok, but I mean have you been on a real mission trip - overseas……"

People often feel called to missions overseas. “God called me to Africa”. I hear it all the time. That’s good. People in Africa need to gospel badly. 

When God calls you to go, then go.  

But when God says stay, you stay.  

What is God’s calling? We know that He calls His children to be saved, spread His gospel and then train and disciple those whom have believed (Matthew 28:19-20).  John MacArthur wrote a book called, Found: God’s Will.  In this book he explains the six things we know for certain about God’s will. 

1) We must be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4).  

2) We must be Spirit-filled (Eph. 5:16-18). 

3) Be sanctified (1 Thes. 4:3-7).  

4) Submit to God (1 Peter 2:3-15). 

5) Be suffering (1 Peter 4:19).  

6) Do whatever you want (Psalm 37:4).  

If we are truly following hard after Christ—if we are saved, spirit-filled, growing in sanctification, submitted to God, and suffering for the sake of the gospel, then we will desire to do the right thing.  We will desire the same thing that God desires for our life.  

What does this have to do with me being a Nanny? 

Leaving the interview for my dream job, I was hooked. I wanted so badly to go and work there. I told my family, “Just a warning, if they offer me the job, I’m probably going to take it.” I was planning to move really far away to work and serve God there. 

When my dream job called and offered me the job, the lady could tell I was hesitant. I didn’t even know why I was hesitant. What was I thinking? She told me not to let fear hold me back. That’s when it hit me. I was fearful to not go. I just got my college degree…I have to use it right? My reasons for wanting that job were for the adventure and opportunity. It wasn’t to serve God. 

Will there be a day when I leave and work for them? Maybe. Part of me hopes so. But, today is not that day. It is not time for me to break relationships I have made with children here. 

There is nothing dishonorable about staying home.  I love home. I love my church. I love the kids I work with.  I love my ministries. I love my family.  I can serve and honor God AND fulfill His will for my life, AND fulfill the great commission right here in a small town, working as a Nanny. 

If you are preaching the gospel, making disciples and serving the church, then you are doing REAL mission work. You don’t have to be in Africa to “count”. Remember, God doesn’t need us anywhere. He can use us anywhere. If God says, “Go,” reply, “Here I am, send me”. If God says, “Stay,” reply, “Here I am, use me”.

Scheduling Your Days

The last ladies Bible study from Proverbs.

Read Proverbs 31:10-31

I dare say most of you have grown up hearing about the Proverbs 31 lady, real person or not, she is one to emulate. She's the woman who has it all- adoring husband, precious children, beautiful clothes, land, you name it, she has it.

But what about her? A girl could think if I just model my life after her, then I could have it all too, right? Wrong.

After committing these verses to memory ten or fifteen years ago, I wanted to see how they had changed my life. Because that's one reason why we memorize scripture, to change our lives, for the good of course.

I'm a list maker, so I wrote out what my day looked like at the time and examined it next to the Proverbs 31 lady's day.  I know this isn't what she did every day, but it was a pattern. I walked step by step through my day and checked to see if it lined up with scripture. Somewhere on my blog there is the step by step ordering of my day back then.

My days were filled with many of the same things-

• Rising early to cook breakfast- read verse 15
• Walking for exercise- read verse 17
• Dressing my family- verse 21-22 (Scarlett, purple and fine linen)
• Gardening (at the time we had a big garden, but now it's just mostly my flower bed)- verse 16

But I wanted my life to be more than just doing the same things, I wanted it to have the heart change too. There has to be the heart change to go with the lists and schedules. You can't model your days after the Proverbs 31 lady without the heart examination.

Look at her heart-

• Trustworthy- read verse 11
• Does her husband good- read verse 12
• Industrious- read verse 24
• Strength, dignity, laughs at the future( no worry about tomorrow, and a joy in her life)- read verse 25
• Wisdom, kindness- read verse 26
• Takes care of her household, diligent- read verse 27

I want to encourage you to look at your days, consider how you spend them. Examine what you do on a regular basis and ask another godly person to help you look at your days. Are the days spent in vain toil under the sun, are you striving after the wind, do you look like the sluggard? Or are you enjoying the fruit of your hands, are you eating and drinking and finding enjoyment in your toil?

If there is a lack of joy or an abundance of frustrations in your days you need to do some more examining. I know I often to have to reassess my days.

First of all do you know Christ? Is He the One you turn to in praise or in need? Is He the One you want to glorify? Repent and turn from your sin, cry to Him for help.

But if you know Christ as your Savior, you can enjoy life with an above the sun perspective.  Why would we want to do that? Proverbs and all of Scripture is filled with the way to live but also the whys.

Why do we schedule our days according to Scripture?

• Read Proverbs 1:1-4 I want to know wisdom and understanding, receive instruction
• and 1:9- these words are a graceful garland around your neck
• Read verse 2:5-7

This is just the beginning of Proverbs, search the whole Bible to find other reasons why.

The third question of the children's prove it catechism asks why did God make us and all things?

• Read Romans 11:36

This goes back to the question how can you glorify God? Answer: by loving Him and doing what He commands.

• Read Deuteronomy 6:5,6

Verse six goes back to the top of what we are talking about. These words shall be on your heart. Read them, memorize them, study them, model your life by them, schedule your days by them.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Behold what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil-this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Is this why I do not remember the loss, suffering or evil that has crossed my life's path? 

Have I been occupied with joy? 

I don't describe myself as one who has great joy but I do not dwell on the disparities of life. I love my life and am thankful to God for the way things are. Yes, even the trials and great losses have brought me to a better place. I'm not wealthy and nor have great possessions, but I truly enjoy what I have.

Wealth and possessions can be in the eye of the beholder. Compared to Hollywood, I'm very poor. But to the starving nations of Africa, I am very wealthy.

But neither poverty nor wealth is what makes a person filled with joy. God is the one who keeps me occupied with joy. These are more verses from Ecclesiastes that remind me to enjoy my life because it is God's gift to me.

• 2:24-26 eat and drink and find enjoyment in work, apart from Him who can have enjoyment?
• 3:12-13 be joyful, take pleasure, this is God's gift to man
• 8:15 man has nothing better than to eat and drink and be joyful, it will go with him in his toil
• 9:7 eat bread with joy, drink wine with a merry heart, God has approved what you do
• 11:8 - if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all

It Takes a Village

- Natalie is a young pregnant mom of three children under five years old. Her husband leads the worship music in our church and isn't able to sit with her for much of the service on Sunday mornings. One morning recently, their two year old was unusually fussy. In my heart I was praying for them when I noticed another friend, Kelly, slip out of her seat to go offer help.*

- When Rachel was less than a year old, I had a friend named Lena who lived around the corner from us. She and her teenage daughters would come pretty often and load Rachel's car seat into their car and take her to play at their house.*

- Courtney is a college student who lived with us for two semesters and saw how 'real' life is in our home. A few nights ago, she came for supper and spent the night. At supper, she asked if she could cook breakfast for us the next morning.*

These are just small illustrations of "it takes a village to raise a child." I'm not speaking of Hillary Clinton's village, the one of government programs that provide assistance in any area of life. These are  programs that offer "help" that many times in the end undermine the parent's ability to parent.

I'm referring to a proverb quoted by many that spoke of how we all need family and community to raise our children. It is difficult to raise small children! I know! Mothers are often home alone for many hours every day, balancing children of many ages with housework and cooking, and that doesn't mention anything that happens outside the home such as grocery stores and music lessons. What is a young mother to do when she is pregnant, sick, having another baby, or simply stretched thin by her responsibilities? It's impossible to think she can do it all alone.

Years ago, Ray made a comment to me that he regretted immediately. I was complaining about my workload with so many small children. He said, "If my grandmother could do it, so can you. She didn't even conveniences that you have." With great indignation I told him that he didn't marry his grandmother, he married me! Later I thought about that. Why did it seem so much harder for me than his grandmother?

I think it's because of the lack of community. We don't live in a society where the women meet together to wash clothes, make soap, talk to each other, and watch each other's children. Everything we need is in our own homes or we go to the store to buy it. We live too far away for close relatives to just drop by and pick up a child for a little while or offer help. Days are gone when young families live in the same communities that they grew up in and they know everyone in town. Now, a young family can go throughout the course of many days without bumping into someone they know. Here is a very interesting article that discusses why and how we lost this community.

The problem with this kind of isolation is that we are alone. We need help! We need to cry on someone's shoulder. We need someone to hold the baby while we just go to the bathroom. We were created for community and isolation breeds loneliness, exhaustion, despair....

We need community! Since we have moved away from extended family, we have to seek community elsewhere. I think the only place for that is the church. We have a family in the church body that loves us like no other, that sees us often (or they should!), and can see when we need help. How would Kelly have known that Natalie needed help if she hadn't been involved in her life? How would Lena have known that picking up Rachel very few days was so helpful to me if she hadn't been involved in my life? How would Courtney have known that cooking a meal for me would be such a great help if she hadn't been involved in our lives?

I'm busy, too busy! I'm not involved enough in others' lives to see as many needs as I know that there are. But the needs that I do see are overwhelming, not to mention those under my own roof! I don't know how women with small children function well without others? When my older girls were very small their Aunt Amy would take them sometimes or they would stay with everyone's favorite babysitter, Mrs. Wanda. Sometimes they even went for overnights to grandparents' houses. But I still remember feeling tired, overwhelmed and sometimes like I was harming them because I didn't enjoy them as much as could have.

I didn't realize what they needed was for me to rest, spend more energy on my marriage and let others help me. This article explains well what moms really need. I know we need to pray and seek God's help, relying on His strength to do our duties. But it's hard to remember that when you have to go to the grocery store in the pouring rain, get supper ready and your two year old has decided to throw a fit.  There have been many times when I would be thinking something like, "Sure, I know I need God's help, but is it too much to ask for Him to mop the kitchen?" He isn't going to mop the kitchen, but he does give me the strength to when I do it, or he provides someone else.

Now I'm wondering how to further this village mentality...

*Names are not changed to protect the innocent, but to encourage the weary.

Privileges

O Lord God,

Teach me to know that grace precedes, accompanies, and follows my salvation, that it sustains the redeemed soul, that not one link of its chain can ever break.

From Calvary's cross wave upon wave of grace reaches me,
deals with my sin,
washes me clean,
renews my heart,
strengthens my will,
draws out my affection,
kindles a flame in my soul,
rules throughout my inner man,
consecrates my every thought, word, work,
teaches me thy immeasurable love.

How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus!

Without him I stand far off, a stranger, an outcast; in him I draw near and touch his kingly scepter.
Without him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes; in him I gaze upon my Father-God and Friend.
Without him I hide my lips in trembling shame; in him I open my mouth in petition and praise.
Without him all is wrath and consuming fire; in him is love, and the repose of my soul.
Without him is gaping hell below me, and eternal anguish; in him its gates are barred to me by his precious blood.
Without him darkness spreads its horrors in front; in him an eternity of glory is my boundless horizon.
Without him all within me is terror and dismay; in him every accusation is charmed into joy and peace.
Without him all things external call for my condemnation; in him they minister to my comfort, and are to be enjoyed with thanksgiving. 

Praise be to thee for grace, and the unspeakable gift of Jesus.

Table Sitting

Some time ago, I gave a presentation to the ladies in our church entitled, Table Sitting. Someone asked for my notes and I promised to get them to her and am just now editing them a little for others to be able read.

Table etiquette is important. My mom taught me manners, like - how to set the table properly, keep my elbows off the table, don't chew with your mouth open. I was so set on teaching my own children manners that in the beginning it became a legalistic practice of wills. I even tried to teach my own husband a thing or two. How wrong for me to presume that I could teach a grown man how to behave at the table! I forgot to enjoy my family. It is very important to teach your children to stay seated until they have been excused and not to interrupt others, but it's also a great time to enjoy the gifts that God gave you.

Every moment doesn't have to be about teaching.  Praise be to God! The psalmist just sat in praise of His God and found many things to be thankful for. How about having a time around the table to just sit and enjoy one another?

At a normal meal at our home, everyone who is home comes to the table. There may be certain times when Ray is super busy and he'll grab a sandwich and go back to his office, but usually everyone sits. There are no phones, TVs, or other gadgets at the table. If I remember to turn on music, I'll turn on very low soft instrumentals. One of the girls or I will serve up the plates mainly because we have always had small children at the table that aren't able to pass hot dishes. I would like for them to eventually learn how to do that. As far as food, everyone gets what's on the table on their plate and tastes it. I don't force eggs on everyone every morning, but for the most part, I insist they eat what I cook. We stay seated till we're done. No one is left at the table alone still eating.

As small children the big girls would always say, "I enjoyed it, may I please  be excused?" They would get it confused and it turned into, "I'm excused, may I be enjoined it?"  We have to insist on manners now, because it gets harder later.

Reading etiquette books, you could get so caught up in the rules, you would miss the point of manners. Manners is just a consideration of others. Because we love God, we must show respect to others and treat them with dignity, no matter who they are. And if we treat with dignity those we live with, then it won't be difficult to honor those special guests that show up. And it won't be so difficult to sit at a table in public with small children.

I feel strongly that as moms we are responsible to teach our children. We need to teach  them  respect and manners. I found that if my children won't obey me and respect me, with or without Ray at home, they won't respect other authority and won't respect God. Respect for me, respect for their father, respect for others begin at the table.

I used to think manners could go by the golden rule. Behave in the same way that you want to be treated. But that isn't necessarily true. Some of my girls would have no problem with another person laying on the table or crunching their ice very loudly, in fact they would love it so they could do that too. But that still doesn't show respect. Posture, demeanor, and tones are what show others respect - good posture, kind demeanor and sweet tones.

Does that mean our table times are good, quiet and kind? No, our regular family meals get very loud and very lively! We try to keep the "family meeting" type conversations for another time. Meal times may often be the only time your family is able to have a family meeting, but we will try to make it brief and upbeat if it has to be during the meal. It's probably best to call for family meetings after you've finished eating. At our table there is often uncontrollable laughter and lively debates. Ray will often read the Bible or a book that he's reading to us. Right now, we are reading a new children's book called Help Mom, There's an Armenian Under My Bed.  I'm sure that much of our family's theology has been shaped at the table. That's where we discuss sermons, books, music, relationships, life!

Practicalities of setting the table? Make it look nice. It's amazing how everyone's behavior straightens up when we sit in the dining room versus the kitchen. On special occasions, I go to extra trouble to make the table look nice. I want the girls to understand that mealtimes are important to our family and life. I like decorating the table. God made our world beautiful so it's okay to enjoy pretty things. God is creative with so many glorious colors, we should relish those colors.

Day to day- real dishes work for us because paper products are too expensive. The girls have broken very few dishes because they learned to handle them. Cloth table clothes and napkins are all we ever use. They are inexpensive and easy to make.

To decorate the table, for special occasions, the first thing I do is choose a color. That choice comes from whatever flowers are in bloom, how many people are coming, or the season. Or I might choose a theme for a party. For Adrian's birthday meal the first year he and Rachel were married I had a first knight's party. He was the first "knight in shining armor" to come along so that needed to be celebrated. For every special occasion such as a birthday, shower, graduation or such I will buy at least one roll of ribbon, or some other small trinket to decorate with. For this event, I purposely only bought two rolls of ribbon to prove that if you think futuristically about your purchases, it's very inexpensive to set a pretty table. Don't be afraid to pull things from different places in your house to decorate with. Kim might recognize some paper and ribbon from Grady's baby shower.

For Ray's mother's 60th birthday, we decorated about 12 tables with dolls, took scrap fabric to make table runners and it was very pretty. Kim's baby shower was decorated with all of Ray's old childhood toys. I loved Natalie's idea of having a children's book party for Desiree. It was beautiful, fun and so appropriate for the occasion. I use a lot of paper to make banners, place cards and other decorations. All scraps are saved so that they can be used again. If you buy ribbon, candle holders or dishes, make sure that you could use them again. Years ago, I bought these plates on the table for 50 cents each and use them all the time. You may or may not have places to store lots of sets of dishes, but if you're creative you would be surprised at how much you can do with what you have.

Buying solid colors and clear glass helps stretch your decorations. You can mix solid yellow plates for every season, black is classic and makes an occasion more formal. Thrift stores and Goodwill often have odd pieces that work well when put together. Most of these decorations will pull double duty for Father's Day this weekend. I'll add a little twine and red wrapping paper gifts and take out the lace doilies and it will be fit for the men of the house.

We don't have meals like this every week. We decorate as much as we can when someone comes over for a regular meal and our day to day meals get a set table. The main idea is to enjoy our families, teach them to respect others and lead them to worship the great God of all Creation.

End of the Spear

"My father lost his life at the end of a spear and it was at the end of a spear that I found mine." Steve Saint

I just finished reading a Jim Elliott biography to Mary and Lydia during our devotions and I cried like a baby through the last two chapters, even though this was the third time I've read it. Then I walked around in a state of mourning and weepy for the rest of the day. To make matters worse, we watched End of the Spear together the next day so they could weep with me. The story of the five men who lost their lives trying to reach a tribe in the jungles of Ecuador has been told many times and from many perspectives and it's compelling every time. It happened over fifty years ago and is so moving every time I hear it.

I've heard Elisabeth Elliott and others related to the five men in the story say how often people will approach them and tell how this single event was most influential to their being in missions. Just last week, I met one of those people. He grew up as a child of missionaries in Sweden and mentioned how he was influenced to evangelism by their story.

I would encourage you to dig into this story with your children. There are so many aspects of God's sovereignty displayed and examined over the course of events leading up to and following the massacre on an unknown stretch of beach in the Woudani territory. It was interesting the questions that were raised from the few details we learned from Elliott's biography that we read. Elisabeth Elliott also has some great books on her husband's life. A very interesting book on the events after the deaths is by Steve Saint, the pilot Nate Saint's son, who was the oldest of the children and remembers a lot of the story first hand. The book is the same title as the movie, End of the Spear. The theology of the book and movie is a little mystical, but who can say what the natives saw the day of the massacre?

The movie was a little too graphic for Mary and Lydia, but you can't make a movie about natives in the jungles in the 1950s without a lot of nearly naked men and women. And the spearing of entire families, yes- even babies, is the terrible truth of what happened before the gospel reached these people. So we spent a lot of time covering our eyes.

The Body of Christ

I am often amazed at the body of Christ, also known as, the church. Being a pastor's wife, I hear a lot of the needs that arise. I see what my husband does and get to hear of what others have done to help or serve. Just in the past month, I know of times when someone in our church body did things for others that were never publicly recognized. These aren't people assigned to do jobs, they just took it upon themselves to meet a need because they love Christ and His church, our church.
No one knew about -

• The men who did home repairs for a young family 
• Hours of babysitting for a new mother
• Meals, clothes, and instruction for an unwed mother of a newborn
• Hours of sitting at a jail
• Uncalculated amount of money to meet the needs of a family in trouble 
• Hours of mentoring done for a woman no one knows
• Cleaning done on the church building 
• Buying of supplies for the building

When our congregation sings our fellowship song at the end of each service, I really feel its truth.

One heart, one spirit, one voice to praise you,

We are the body of Christ.

One goal, one vision, to see you exalted

We are the body of Christ.

And to this we give our lives 

To see you glorified.

 One heart, one spirit, one voice to praise you,

We are the body of Christ.

by Scott Wesley Brown and David Hampton

So the next time I'm tempted to think nothing great is happening, I'll open my heart and look around and listen to our fellowship at Grace Community Church.

What a Christian Marriage Looks Like

With the antics from the Supreme Court's ruling on the definition of marriage what's a Christian to do? We can wring our hands and fret over the state of marriage in our country or we can do something positive.

Ed Hartman, author of Homeward Bound, says, "Few things more positively display the gospel than a God centered marriage."

The Supreme Court cannot rule against godly, biblical marital love. They may rule according to the whims and sinful desires of a nation, but they cannot rule against what God has ordained. When we take marriage seriously, the watching world will ask why. Some so called Christian marriages actually argue against marriage. The lack of joy among those who claim Christ could cause a lost person to run away from the institution of marriage. This sermon was a couple of weeks ago but I thought it has a timely message on what a Christian is to do.

Sarah Goes to Portland

Sarah's first short term mission trip seemed to be a great experience for her. Here is a note from her:

"Throughout the week we helped a church plant in Clackamas, Oregon. On Sunday morning, we helped them set up church and that night we went to worship at a Hispanic church's first ever service in Vancouver, Washington. Monday through Thursday we had basketball camp every morning. We taught them different skills in each station and at the end of the day they learned the gospel. Two thirds of the kids there were not in a church and I'm very thankful to have been a part of those kids hearing the gospel. In the afternoons we canvassed different areas of Portland and took notes on the culture and lifestyle of those who lived there. This is part of the ground work being done to prepare for more permanent missionaries or church planters that will come to live there. In the afternoons we did a lot of praying for the lost in the city. It is a little overwhelming when you actually see how blind the people living there are. When I asked one lady at a bakery what she thought of the "spiritual climate" in her area she said she hadn't grown up in a religious household and that she didn't really know what she thought- she'd never really thought about it. The way she talked was completely foreign to me... she didn't care at all. Everyone I've ever talked to about spiritual things either were clearly against it or were professing Christians. She could care less either way. I saw how dead in her sin she was and it struck me that I was once that way. It made me so thankful for the Lord softening my heart. Otherwise, I would still be just like her- blind and dead in sin. I am still praying for Portland and Trinity Church there. It's a lost place in serious need of the gospel."

Some highlighted pictures from a wonderful trip.

Sarah's first ever plane trip.

She fell in love with some sweet little girls.

White water rafting was so much fun.

The whole group out to eat.

Multnomah Falls and the mountains in the western US were quite impressive to Sarah.

Sarah lead a ball handling station.

Friendship are forged when you spend hours together for the gospel.

Loving by Example

When children naturally love people, they show more signs of compassion and seem to extend grace and mercy to others. But how do I get them to love others. I'm convinced that a big part of that is by my example. But how can I love others?

Colossians 3:12 says, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved..."

I have been called, made holy and am loved by God, the Most High Creator. Knowing that I can love others.

Colossians 3:12 "Put on then... compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another..."

Because I have been called and made holy and beloved, then I can put on a compassionate heart, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, and bear with others. I can do that when others haven't been compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, or forbearing with me.

Colossians 3:13 "...and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Because the Lord has forgiven me greatly, I can keep from complaining against others and forgive.

Practically, what does that look like? Compassion and kindness looks like a hug when another is down or broken, physically being there, feeling others' pains.  Humility and meekness is able to say I'm sorry and swallow pride, even when things may not be completely your fault. Patience and forbearing is understanding that we aren't all alike. We can dwell with others in unity and accept petty differences with a cheerful heart. (You know, I'm not talking about sinful practices.)

The main way to be able to live out Colossians three is knowing how I was called, made holy and beloved.

Romans 5:8 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

As I follow Christ's example, my children will see me love others, follow my example and love others. If I don't love, my children won't either. 

Affirmation

On a morning that I was feeling hurt over someone else's condemnation of me I got a note, a very God glorifying note that made my day.

I've been reading a book called Practicing Affirmation by Sam Crabtree and have been struck by the message. It's about affirming in others what you see God doing in them. We live in a lost, cynical, criticizing world, and we are called to be salt and light. How can we, as Christians, be a godly example to the world if all we do is tear each other down?

I know that we have to confront sin, but there's a biblical way to do that. Sin must be dealt with, but in general, it just isn't right to nag, nit-pick and grumble about everything. Admittedly, I would like "Pollyanna theology," the idea that there is some good in everyone, but I know that's wrong and that there is "none good, no not one." (Psalm 14:3) But there are qualities in others that God has placed in their lives that we can be thankful for. So why not point that out, especially if you have benefited directly from that?

My friend wrote,

  Your heart is beautiful.  I feel like as soon as your family enters a room, there is such grace and beauty there that no one can deny that God has his hand upon you and is working through you.  The brief encounters I have had with your family is enough to give credibility to everything you write in your blog and for me to believe that I could trust your husband as a pastor.... Thank you for encouraging mothers to train up their children for the glory of the Lord.  Your daughters are the proof that it is possible.

Now who wouldn't want to get a note like that? I realize that she doesn't see in our hearts the wickedness that only God knows, but what an encouragement! Notice that she recognizes God as the One to be praised! God is to be glorified, and when we tell others how we see Him working in their lives they will be encouraged to tell someone else, and the loving cycle may continue. Then hopefully, the watching, unbelieving, hopeless world will see and ask, "what is that Hope within you?" (I Peter 3:15) And maybe we might just be at the very tip of the idea of "enjoying God and glorifying Him" forever.

Idols of the Heart

"My life is in the hands of God. And truly I am willing to break off opium and die, but not willing to continue in sin and live." Pastor Hsi of China, page 182 Idols of the Heart. As this book has revealed the many idols of  my heart, how have I changed. I haveto ask myself, "Am I willing to break off this idol and die? Or will I continue in sin and live?"

The ladies who have read this book cannot deny the impact of probing the heart to cleanse it of idols- those things which we bow down to instead of God. Though we haven't built before ourselves golden calves and may not struggle with opium addiction, we have set our idols high. Selfishness, worldliness, laziness, pride, others' good opinions, etc. are only a small dent in the lists of idols that could have been revealed. My prayer is that I will take the time to pray and ask God to give me the strength to say, "Tough I die, I will never touch it again!" (Hsi, page 182)

This is a book I would highly recommend to you by Elyse Fitzpatrick. 

Evangelism

Often when I see a street preacher or sign holder I think, "Fanatic." But, honestly, I don't know those people or their hearts.

Whether a person shouts out and says, "Woe you hypocrites" or quietly meets in the garden to instruct. Our hearts must be about witnessing to the lost. We have to care for souls. So if you see a person holding a sign that says "Jesus is the only way" or someone carrying a cross, don't automatically think, "Nut case." Pray for them. It isn't easy to stand out and be bold for Christ. If you see someone whispering in the corner with a lost person, don't automatically think that they're up to no good. Pray for them. They could be sharing the Gospel for the first time.

There are many examples of witnessing in Scripture: Paul standing in the coliseum proclaiming Christ, Timothy being instructed by his mother and grandmother, Jesus preaching to the crowds, the believing wife who might win her husband over without a word. Read the story of Ananias, he was afraid to do what God asked him to do but he went anyway.(Acts 9:10-19) We don't have to engage in all of these methods for sharing the Gospel but we do have to be sharing.

If my theology doesn't lead me to witness for Christ then my theology is weak. I wish I knew where this quote came from but it is powerfully convicting. 

As I pray, I must be praying for a heart for the lost and for my theology to drive the method I use to evangelize.

Easter Pictures

Hannah plays the guitar at church and lead the singing at our Sunrise Service.

The picture never changes, but the children do!

Robert snuck up behind Hannah and scared her right before I snapped.

Meditate on the Law of the Lord

Two counselors were discussing a particular lady that they were in the process of trying to help. One made the comment that this lady can recall in vivid detail every wrong done against her, back to her very young childhood days. She has spent many hours and days going over those things in her mind. That is her heart meditation. She meditates on that day and night.

Scripture tells us to meditate on the Law of The Lord. If our hearts can't think of nothing but how others have hurt us, then our hearts are deceiving us. I know that when we have been sinned against it is very hurtful. But no matter that hurt, we can move on. No sin that has been committed against us is too great for Christ to forgive. We are great sinners, as Christians, He has forgiven us. Because He has forgiven us, we can forgive others.

(This is not a treatise on lawbreaking. I know that unlawful activity must be punished. Often times someone will hold onto petty arguments and disagreements for a life time.)

So what should we do with all that space in our hearts and minds? It seems clear to me.

 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,  and on his law he meditates day and night.(Psalm 1:2 ESV) 

 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.(Joshua 1:8 ESV)

The Tyranny of the Urgent

If there isn't a solid plan for any given day, I would just run around taking care of "urgent" needs, not the important ones.  Knowing how important it is the tend to my heart, that's the first quest for my day. Otherwise, I would wake up running. It doesn't take long for children to get into the habit of yelling, "Mama!" and I go running. It may be urgent that a lunch needs to be made quickly for one to get out on time, but it's more important for her to learn that she can make her own lunch and plan her time wisely to do that.  A stinky diaper usually falls under the heading of urgent and important, but if I'm in the middle of a very important math lesson, it may have to wait for five minutes.

I used to be more guilty of this than now. A few years ago, Ray asked me to stop running in the house. I couldn't figure out what he meant until he told me that I was often running from room to room. I always had bruises on the top of my legs from running into tables because I didn't slow down enough to know where I was going next. The girls sit in different places of the house to do school and I'm often working in the kitchen and laundry room, so I would rush to get things done - hence, bruises on my legs.  It isn't urgent for me to run to the next child at her every call, she needs to learn to wait patiently for her turn and to work things out for herself.

My girls are really pretty good about this now. I'm sure with more small children, I would probably still struggle with running in the house. As it is now, on my daily schedule, I wrote in a specific time for each of them so that I would make sure to take care of any needs they have. It's important for them to have time with me, it just isn't always as urgent as it seems.

Besides homeschool, there are many other urgent things that pop up. Ray needs for me to do things, the phone needs to be answered, a friend is dropping by, there is an opportunity to do something fun. Those are all good things and can be providential interruptions that God will bless, but they can also mess up the important things that God has called me to do. So I have to balance the interruptions with my schedule.

How does that happen? A lot of give and take on every one's part - we're a big family, there's a lot of give and take on everything.  Ray tries really hard not to interrupt school mornings with requests and I try not to let too many things distract me. If I keep to my daily schedule our day flows more smoothly, I get more school and chores done and everyone seems to accomplish what they need to.

I've worked harder lately to purposely schedule ahead of time fun activities, date nights, out of town visits to family and ministry related opportunities. When those things are on the calendar, I don't feel guilty when I have to say no to other great opportunities.  Every once in a while, something shows up that I can't or wouldn't say no to. My sister was in town recently and was able to stop by. Since that's such a rare occasion, I put a halt on everything to visit. It was a day that we had done what we were supposed to do in the beginning of the day and it was nice to know that I could visit without feeling guilty about all of the other things that hadn't been done. I was thankful for the time to visit with her.

There are times when I am called away to the phone or other places for long periods of time. The girls are big enough to carry on in school for a day or so without me. They know how to feed themselves, watch Abigail, get their school work done and do their chores.

With more small children urgent things seem a lot more important. Dumping milk at the table may be an urgent need to take care of in the middle of a meal, but it may not. It seems to me that it would be impossible to continue through teaching long division if there was a small child wailing in another room or running out the door. So, having small children the urgent needs will come hurling at you more, should I say - urgently, but recognizing and acting on the important ones as you can makes your day run more smoothly.