God Cares

Too often I find myself thinking when I go through a hard time that “God Doesn’t care”.

It is so difficult to look at hard times and realize that the majority of them were created by choices I made.

It is such an awesome thing to realize that even though we make these bad choices and have consequences from them, Jesus willingly takes the blame we place on Him, and lovingly puts the pieces of us back together!

What an awesome Father we have!

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Visible Learning

My kids are still at an age where they think I know a lot. Not everything, but a lot. I’m one of the ones they come to with their questions, and it still surprises them when I don’t know.

Yep, they’re still young.

I can remember how it felt at times, though. I wondered if I would ever know some of the stuff my mom knew. I struggled to learn in school and life, and she just seemed to have so much knowledge already! Even in those times I didn’t want to acknowledge her wisdom, I definitely recognized her knowledge. It was a scary thing to become a mom myself and wonder how I would ever just know things.

But, I can look back over the years of parenting and realize that I have learned. I have definitely learned a lot.

And, so, my children see the things that I just “know” and marvel much as I did as a child.

I think I’ve mentioned before that my mother was always visibly learning. She was always taking a course or reading a book. To this day she loves to learn. But, it was obvious to me that she gained her knowledge because she truly worked for it. As I watched her, I wasn’t sure I would want to put as much effort into continuing to learn as my mom did, but I was always proud of her knowledge.

My children are not as old as I was when I really started noticing my mother’s learning. But, something happened the other day that made me realize it’s not too early to start.

I have been lately convicted of the need to get back to Scripture memory. Not just the girls’ school passages or the weekly Acteens verse, but personal and steady Scripture memory. So, the other day as I was standing at the kitchen counter assembling a chicken pot pie, I placed my little two-ring binder on the counter in front of me and began practicing a passage from Philippians.

Olivia was intrigued.

“What are you learning that for, Mommy?” she asked curiously.

“Just because,” I answered. I explained to her that I needed to memorize Scripture because it helped me to live it better. To my delight, she thought that was neat. And I was encouraged to be a visibly learning mom.

As I begin to make a conscious effort to visibly learn in front of my children, I pray I will be promoting a legacy of learning that they will adopt as parents some day.

After all, it’s never too late to learn something new.

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Why Does He Seem To Ignore Some Prayers?

I’ve got a confession to make.

Yesterday I felt a little hurt and angry with God.

I’ve already confessed it to Him.  Today I just want to share about it with you.

Have you ever been mad at God?  Have you ever just felt hurt and disappointed with Him?

I sure hope I’m not alone.

A few days ago, I sat in a woman’s prayer group and experienced an instant and wonderful healing.  I don’t throw thinks like that around lightly.  My back had been hurting a lot and was hurting when I arrived and after prayer it was pain free.  I was rejoicing – so happy to be able to walk and sit and turn and feel none of the usual pain and discomfort.  I breathed ‘Thank you Jesus’ over and over through the next few hours and days.

Then… the next night I felt a little numbness in my toes on one foot.  And the next day the numbness spread up into my lower leg and there was a dull pressure.

I immediately prayed over it.  I thanked God for healing my back and prayed for healing of the nerve that was probably being aggravated at the moment.  I prayed and prayed.  I pulled out scriptures on healing and prayed through those.  I thanked God again for the healing in my back and believed He would take care of the symptoms in my leg.

But… it seems like He didn’t.

That day the numbness continued and increased.  I started to have trouble moving my foot and stumbled a few times while out shopping.  I continued to pray about it.

The next morning… things changed.  The numbness turned to intense pressure and pain.  Hour by hour the pain got worse and I started to get really worried.  I prayed.  And I prayed.  And I prayed.

And I got upset.

God, why when you responded to quickly to prayers for my back – do you now seem to be ignoring my prayers about my leg?

No answer.

It hurt a LOT.  Seriously a Lot.

A big dose of Ibuprofen didn’t help.  No position of rest helped.  The pain intensified until I was wiping tears away.  Finally, I decided to go to the hospital for help.

I drove in to town – crying openly.  I felt so let down by God – and I was telling him so.

Why?  Why?  It would be so easy for You – but now I’m going to ER where I’ll have to spend hours and hours and a huge bundle of money… I don’t understand it!

No answer.

Hours later, with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve irritation and a prescription for pain medicine, I was driving back home.  Glad to have some relief – but still emotional about the whole thing.

It felt like my Father in heaven was ignoring me – leaving me to hurt.

And that hurt my heart.

It’s the next day now.  I’m no closer to an answer about it.  One day God moved to heal me of pain and another day He did not.  I don’t know why He did and didn’t.

I don’t understand.

But here’s the thing… I don’t really have to.

God never promised me that I would understand everything He does.

So I, like a little girl, have to trust my Father – even when I’m hurting -  even when I’m confused.

And I will.

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Teaching

My oldest child baffles me on a regular basis.  She doesn’t think like I do.  She doesn’t act in ways that I can predict.  She doesn’t process information in a way that I can comprehend.

Sometimes that means I am delighted with her creativity.  Seeing some of the things she is able to concoct in that precious mind of hers is amazing to me!  Her ideas are much more unboxed than mine.

There are other times, though, when her way of thinking and doing things causes me a bit of consternation.  As a homeschooling mother, it is my job to make sure she is properly educated.  Not just to state or federal standards, but to God’s standards.  His requirements upon me as a mother can sometimes seem a bit overwhelming when dealing with child who is difficult to teach.

Don’t get me wrong – she’s a very smart child.  But, her learning styles just baffle me, and I wonder at times how I will ever get the information into her!

I imagine that’s true of many parents.  Not just homeschoolers, but anyone who accepts that we are mandated by the Word of God to train up our children in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Some days we just don’t seem to be making headway.  Sometimes they just don’t get it and we don’t know what else to try!

We had just such a series of days recently.

Our problem was a math lesson.  Actually, a series of math lessons.  My sweet girl is very good at math.  She grasps the concepts easily and learns well.  But, her creative spirit gets easily bored with completing her lessons.  A lesson that should take 30 minutes – 45 at the most – sometimes takes her as much as three hours!  And, when it takes that long, it is very obvious that her focus is far from math because she misses so many problems.

And that’s just the problem we’d been having for about four days.  I was at my wit’s end!

So, of course, in my mind the solution is to hammer into her that she should just learn to sit down and complete the lesson, start to finish, and within a certain time frame.  That’s what she’s supposed to do, right?  After all, isn’t that the type of ability society expects?

That’s where the Lord stopped me.

I’m not supposed to be teaching her to follow society’s dictates.  I’m supposed to be teaching her to fall in line with the Word of God.

Now, math is important.  And, if the lessons are not done with timeliness, then we have problems in many, many other aspects of our day and our learning experience, whether related to school or the rest of life.  But, God did not create her to be able to sit and work through a math lesson from start to finish without some sort of diversion.  She’s creative!  She’s energetic!  She’s not easily tied down!

My job is to teach her how to take the personality God gave her and apply it to the demands of life.

That means a lot of help from the Lord to give me ideas on how to help her progress through a math lesson.  And, He’s given me a few ideas and then had to beat me over the head when I create a brand new rut with those ideas.  (I like ruts – I learn best with ruts.  My daughter, on the other hand, breaks down in ruts!)  He’s still showing me how to use those ideas to complement her amazing personality.

What it all boils down to – and what I have to continue to be reminded – is that I am not teaching her math.  I’m teaching her to acquire knowledge.  To chase after understanding.  To hunger for wisdom.  To have a willingness to learn even if it’s something as tedious as math.  To discover ways to learn, even if it means being a little creative and going against the grain of society’s expectations.  And to apply all learning to the glory of God.

And I’m here to tell you, that little reminder from the Lord made an immediate impact on something as menial as our math lesson!

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Peaceful Christmas

It’s the Christmas season!  What does that mean for your family?

For so many families it means much chaos.  Has the decorating been done yet?  How many parties do we have this week?  Shopping done yet?  Are you kidding?  That’s a laugh!  They might not even get wrapped this year!  Peace on earth, goodwill to me seems a little far-fetched sometimes, doesn’t it?

I remember as a child loving the song “Silver Bells.”  It seemed to present the most idyllic and perfect Christmas scene.  There was still the hustle and bustle of the season, but everything seemed peaceful somehow.  Even in the middle of the push to do what needed to be done, there was still the cheer and joy of the season.

I don’t know that Christmas has ever looked like that in my memory of our society.  It just doesn’t happen!  Instead, we are stressed to the max trying to get everything accomplished because, after all, that’s what’s expected of us.  Meanwhile, that’s what we are teaching our children as well.

I’d like to share a challenge that has been on my heart for several years.  Can we choose to live out peace before our families during this season?  I know, it seems a difficult thing to even consider in the midst of all of the chaos.  May I share something that has really helped me?

Prayer.

Yes, I can almost hear the shock over cyberspace. The, “Well, of course prayer helps!” statements.  But, stop and consider it with me for a minute.  If you are anything like me, there are some things that you’ve never considered praying about!

• Decor – have you ever considered praying over your decorations?  What does your home reflect when you decorate it for Christmas?  What focus does it bring to your children?  Pray that the Lord will show you 1) how to decorate your home with peace and right focus in mind and 2) what decorations you might be able to pass along to someone else to promote the same focus in their own home.
• Busyness and parties – we frequently hear the statement, “I just can’t do them all!”  Have you thought about praying over every invitation, guiding your children to do the same with theirs, and asking the Lord to guide you to the point of knowing how to fulfill the demands placed on your time during this season?
• Gifts – this has been the biggest one for me!  I really hate trying to come up with what to get people.  I’m not really all that good at it.  But, when I pray about it, a couple of things happen.  First of all, I have a renewed heart of prayer for the people I am trying to gift.  Last year every time I prayed for a gift for my brother and sister-in-law, I was overwhelmingly burdened for their salvation.  They were both saved this year!  Can I tell you what an incredible delight it was to pray over a gift for them this year?  I was reminded continually to thank the Lord for their salvation and the beauty it has brought to their lives!  Secondly, the practical side of it kicks into place.  I get ideas!  Great ideas that people love!  Other times, the Lord lays on my heart to not give a gift, but another idea comes to mind that will honor that person.  And, to top it all off, prayer saves us money because we are much better stewards of what He has given us to spend.

The most beautiful part of all of this is what my children are picking up.  They are making comments about Christmas that make me realize they are learning what it means to have a peaceful Christmas season.  I just love that!  They are not starting their lives addicted to the chaos.  Rather, they are learning to focus on Christ and on the beauty of joyful giving.  That makes all of the struggle of changing my perspective worth every minute.

As you move through the Christmas season this year, I challenge you to consider what your children are learning from you and compare it to what God would desire that you teach them.  Do they line up?  Are they compatible?  I pray that all of us may learn to have a peaceful Christmas season – and that the peace would spill over into every other day of our year!

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Commitment

I have very obviously been on a bit of a blogging break, both here and on my own blogs.  I have missed it so much!

Last summer we were offered the possibility of moving to a new house.  We were excited – the house we had been renting was in pretty rough shape, and we had hopes of being in a better situation.   Then, it looked like the opportunity was going to be lost.  We were fine with that, trusting that it was in the Lord’s plan.  A couple of months later, the opportunity opened back up again!  The house would be available after all, and work was being done to ready it for our move.  We discussed a date, were told that date would be fine, and we began preparing for the move.

Three days before the actual move was to take place, however, we were told by the man doing the work that the house would not be ready for our move date.  I would be lying if I said we weren’t frustrated!  We were practically surrounded by boxes.  We had left out what we would need for the last few days, nothing more.  But, we determined that it would be okay.  The move was supposed to be on a Saturday.  Monday morning we were supposed to be leaving for a three-day convention, with the kids going to stay with their grandparents.  We wouldn’t even have to be in the house.  And, we were promised that the new house would be ready before we returned home on Wednesday.

It wasn’t.

When my husband went Thursday morning to check the progress, it was as if nothing had been done!  We had to move by that weekend – we had no choice.  But, even Friday evening we weren’t fully certain the move would take place the next day.

When all was said and done, we did get to finally move that Saturday, one week late, allowing some last-minute things to be finished after our move.

The whole situation has really been a learning experience for me, though.  I was so very frustrated with this man who continued to make promises that he did not keep.  Some delays were beyond his control.  Others were caused by decisions he made.  My frustration was less for myself, though, and more for my children.  You see, as he made commitments to us, we were making commitments to our children.  We were telling them to just hang on until thus and such a day, and we would surely move then.  After the third date change, they didn’t know what to believe and we didn’t know what to tell them.  How could we encourage them when we were so frustrated ourselves?

And through it all, I realized something about myself.  I loosely commit to so many things with my children.

“Let me finish this, and I’ll get you that snack.”

“Put that on my sewing table and I’ll be sure to fix it.”

“We’ll play that game tomorrow, okay?”

It might be big things or little, but I make commitments to them all the time.  And, to be honest, I’m not very reliable in keeping them.  Even if I am reliable, I’m not always prompt.  I chastise my children when they nag or stress me about something they want.  But, in truth, would they nag as much if I was truly trustworthy?

I have been convicted of the need to be a mother who does not make commitments lightly, and to be one who keeps those commitments I do make.  My children need to be able to trust me explicitly to be a woman of my word.  And, I need to be teaching them by example to be children of their word as well.

A trustworthy mother – yes, that is my goal.

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Sunday Worship: How Deep

How Deep by Sovereign Grace

Let’s worship our Savior today!

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More to Love

No, this isn’t a commentary on the Fox TV show “More to Love” (although, as a plus-size woman, you could really get me going about that show!).  And for those of you that have no idea what I am talking about:  Don’t worry about it!  You aren’t missing anything!

One of my favorite things to do as a blogger is to share with you fantastic and interesting things I have found on the web.  My interests are so varied, eclectic even, that you never know what I am going to introduce you to (although you can always be assured that it will be rated G)!  I hope that you find something of interest and perhaps even a new favorite!!

Global Response Network – This missions ministry is all about awakening people to living the “normal Christian life”.  I encourage you to listen to the video on the home page.

Secret Keeper Girl – An awesome site dedicated to encouraging girls in modesty, surrounding herself with wise friends and recognizing her Godly beauty.

Adventurous Living – Susan has started a new blog series on the names of God.

Bible Cafe for Women – They are getting ready to start a study of Beth Moore’s updated “Breaking Free”.  It ’s not too late to join before they get started!

Have a blessed weekend!

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Help in Time of Need

Every single one of us needs encouragement.  We aren’t created to go it alone.  We need someone to come up alongside of us, take our hand, smile from their heart and either with words or the comfort of their presence, reassure us that we are not alone and that we will make it through whatever we are dealing with.

I can think of nothing better than Scripture to offer to a friend in need of encouragement.  If there is something, some action, that I can do to help, I do that as well.  But Scripture is there in the middle of the night when no one else is.

So I offer this to you today, with love in Him.

Psalm 46:1-3, 7 NASB

¹God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
³Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

⁷The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

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The Potter & The Clay

I hope that the image of Ron DiCianni’s painting The Clay that was posted yesterday stirred your heart as much as it has mine since the first time I saw it several years ago.  Since then, it has become the image in my mind when I think of submitting to the Father.

You turn things around!  Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? – Isaiah 29:16 NASB

Can you say it with me?  OUCH!  These words spoken to the people of Israel through Isaiah can make you stop short (Grab your Bible and read Isaiah chapter 29 for context)!  In essence, God is saying, “You’ve got things wrong!  You, the created, are telling Me, the Creator that I do not understand you?  Or that you are equal with Me?”

On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? – Romans 9:20-21 NASB

Paul is challenging the Romans in this passage about questioning God’s sovereignty.

It sounds so very foolish, doesn’t it?

Yet we do this so often, thinking we have the right to question God or to dismiss Him as some remote, uninvolved, dense deity that cannot possibly help us in our situation.  Not convinced?  Have you ever done or thought the following:

• God, You can’t possibly know what I am going through!
• There is no way this situation can turn around!
• I hate my (insert body part or personality trait here)!
• I’ll do what I please, thank you very much!
• What did I do to deserve this?
• God, You can’t possibly expect me to do ____________!  There is no way!
• Why was I even born?

Do any of those hit home?  Questioning God or demoting Him to water boy in our game of life is so backwards!  If you were to sew a quilt, would it have the right to question why you put this pattern next to that pattern?  Or question the weight of batting used to fill it?  Or question the use for which you made it?

Let me encourage you to resign from the position of the Potter and accept the position of the clay.

Neither you nor I are qualified in the slightest for that job.  And really, do we want that responsibility?  Do we really want to stand before God and present to Him what we have accomplished with ourselves or with the decisions we have made without consulting Him and expect Him to be pleased?

The One who created you knows best.  Let Him mold you into the vessel He desires.  Then you will stand before Him in the beauty of His grace with the marks of His hands on your life.

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