The Begining of a Nation

   As people increased in number they also increased in wickedness. Pretty soon people were so evil God realized he needed to start over. But not quite all over. There was one man and his family whom God saw as righteous. One man who lived up to the plan and lived in unity and harmony with God, Noah. So Noah his family and a whole bunch of animals spent nearly a year on a very large boat while God flooded the rest of the earth. At the end of the flood God made a promise to never flood the entire world again and gave us the rainbow as a symbol of His promise so that we can remember every time it rains. We need those types of reminders, God does not. Pretty soon things went wrong again (you'll hear that a lot throughout the Bible). This time however, instead of the people being wicked in a way you would normally think, they became proud. Pride is every bit as evil as any other sin and definitely more sneaky. In their pride the people thought, “let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens”. They thought that through their own power they could become great and make a name for themselves. God knew that they would only get worse if allowed to continue in this way, so He “confused their language” and “scattered them over all the earth”. Now the people were not one people, but many. In all these many people God would choose one person to grow into one nation to bring the whole world back to Him. That one person was named Abram.

   When God called to Abram He gave Abram a promise: Follow me where I lead you and “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. . .and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” This was God's plan to bring everyone back into unity and harmony with Him. But, Abram needed to trust God, to show that he was in unity with God's plan. To show this he went to a strange country with his wife, took the poorer country when there were too many people between him and his nephew, and he prospered because of his faith in God. There was one thing though. God said he would be the father of many nation, but he had no children. God gave him a symbol that he could see every night to remind hims of the promise. God said his offspring would be as numerous as the stars. Now every time he looked into the night sky he could remember God's promise, God would remember even without the stars. However,  Abram had a little trouble with his wife. She thought that Abram should start his line with a servant because she didn't seem to be able to provide him any offspring. So he listened to his wife. He had a child with the servant Hagar. God spoke to Hagar and told her about the son she would have and to name him Ishmael. But God told Abram that this was not the child promised to him. There would be a son born of Abram and Sarai. When Abram was 99 years old God changed his name to Abraham, his wife's name to Sarah and said that the promised son was on his way. Soon Abraham and Sarah gave birth to there first born son, Issac, the son of the promise.

Genesis (Beginnings)

Over the next couple weeks I'm going to try to write an overview of the Bible.  There is a group of girls who want to know more about the Bible and this is my attempt to teach it to them.
Part 1

In the Beginning God. That's how the Bible starts, in the beginning God. God was before anything else was, and He had a plan. God wanted to make a world to show off his glory and he wanted people to view this world recognize His glory and love Him. God's plan was for the people He created and loved to live with him in unity and harmony. So, in the beginning God created. He created everything! Plants, animals, the universe, but most importantly, He created people. He created man, “in His image He created them, male and female, He created them”. Not only did he create them, but he loved them and put His life into them. He than did the hardest thing for one who loves another, He gave them the choice to obey or disobey Him. He could have created the perfect garden without the infamous tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but He didn't. He could have let them do whatever they saw best in their own eyes, but he gave them a rule, one rule to test their love for Him their trust of Him. And they, thinking they knew better than the one who loved them and created them, chose to disobey this one rule. And the world fell apart. The world fell to pieces, but not God's plan. He still had a plan for the people he created to live with Him in unity and harmony, it would just take a little more work. So, He initiated part 2 of His plan: redemption. This redemption would not be easy for God or for His people. Both would need to suffer for it to be complete.

Getting deep with God

  Ok, I know I haven't written for a while, but this blog may explaine it a little.  I have recently realized that I have been in a holding pattern with God for quite some time now.  You know, very comfortable, happy with the way thing were.  But God, He's only ok with that for so long.
  Several people have asked me for advice recently and usually I can pray to God and he says cool things, exactly what that person needs to hear.  But lately I haven't been getting the answers.  So I broke down one evening and talked/yelled to God about it.  He basically told me that He was not the problem, I was.  I kept asking Him to bail me out, but I wasn't comming to Him every day just to be with Him. 
  Now, I don't know about you, but I would get pretty frustrated with my kids if the only time they talked to me was when they needed something.  And I think I would be hurt if they thought they never needed to spend time with me and we would still have a great relationship.  Now my God is not petty.  He isn't just trying to manipulate me into spending time with Him by not helping me.  He wants my best.  More than I want the best for my kids, more than I want the best for me.  And, he knows what that best is.  He knew that the best thing for me wasn't to say something great to those people seeking help but for me to turn back to Him, aknowledging my desperte need for Him.  He knew it would be best for me to spend more and more time with Him and less time thinking about myself. 
  So, I'm spening more time with my Lord now and something interesting is happening.  I haven't felt super giddy or overwhelmed by Him like I have before.  I feel surrounded by Him.  It is the differance to me in being married for a year and being totally in love with my husband and feeling giddy when I'm near him to being married for almost 10 years and knowing I love him more than I could express.  It is a deeper love, more intimate.  A love born from a deep understanding of the person you have spent so much time with.  This is how I want to love God, deep and contstant.
  I pray that God continues to speak through me to you and to others, but more than that, I pray that I might know Him in a deep and intimate way.

Trusting God

  Last week I got to take my kids swimming in a "big pool", one that gets over their heads.  We have been working with them to learn how to swim and it has been so much fun.  They are learning so quickly and are so eager to try new things!  The one thing that slows things down is trust. 
  When I hold them up in the water, I try to hold them as little as possible so that they learn to float or swim without me.  So I have them lay and I put my arm under them.  What I want is for them to relax, know that I have them and do what they need to do without fear of drowning.  What happens is they cling on to me so tight that they couldn't swim or float if they wanted to.  I say "Trust me, I won't let you get hurt."  But they refuse to listen.  I'm their mom.  What am I going to do watch them as they drown when there is something I can do about it?  NO WAY!!  I will hold them up!  I may let them go under a little every now and then, but I won't harm them.  I may let them be a little afraid so that they know the power of water, but I won't let them be overcome by the water.
  Our Father in heaven is just like that.  He wants us to relax in his arms, knowing that He is in control and will never let us drown.  He may let us go under water every now and than, but he won't let us come to ultimate ruin.  He may let us be afraid, but it is so that we learn the power of the enemy.  If we cling too tightly, we will never know what we can do with Him behind us.  We will be content to be safe in his arms.  The problem is that when we step into the water with Jesus, He doesn't ask us to be safe!  He asks us to take on the world!  Just as it is exhilarating to know you have successfully swum by yourself for the first time, it is wonderful to know that you have stepped out in God's power to do his work and you haven't drowned yet. :)
  So, relax.  He's got you close.  Trust Him, He won't let you down.

God really wants our best

  So on Saturday I got to go grocery shopping alone.  Whoohoo!  When I returned my lovely hubby had gotten the kids to wash ALL the dishes.  I was very proud of them so I wanted to give them each a popsicle.  I grabbed three and went into the dining room.  Hannah saw me first and received hers and than Josh his.  Caleb however was playing.  So, I called his name "Caleb".  He, not knowing I had a treat, ignored me completely.  So, I called a little more forcefully "Caleb!" - deliberate not looking at me, fidgeting and general wanting to do his own stuff followed.  Than I raised my voice and said "Caleb! Look at me."  He finally looked up.  It took him all of 5 seconds to decide he liked what he saw and when I offered the popsicle he took it quickly. 
  As I thought about this incident later I was reminded that I want to do good things for my kids, but sometimes they don't let me.  And if I want to do good for my kids, how much more does the perfect God in heaven, my loving Father, want to do good for me!
  The Bible says that God works all things to the good of those who love Him.  We might not think it is good, but He knows the bigger picture!  For all we know He is standing there with his arm outstretched waiting for us to look at Him so he can give us the particular blessing He has for us.  The first problem of looking at Him is often hearing Him call our name.  We are so busy and there is so much noise about us.  If we will just slow down for two minutes, or 10 or 20, He will speak!  But even if we do hear we are often too into our own "play" to look up.  And when He calls again, we squirm in our seat and look down even more pointedly so that we do not see what He wants.  Sometimes we think he wants us to do something difficult, sometimes we just don't want to be bothered.  Whatever the reason, we refuse to look up. 
  Then, He needs to get a little more forceful "Look at Me" He demands.  Will we look? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  If we do look up we often see the wonderful things He has for us, like a popsicle on a hot day.
  Will you take the time to hear His voice today?  Will you look up to see what He has for you?  I hope so.

Calling His name

  So I was out in the garden today weeding, which is a little crazy because it is 100 degrees outside, and I heard my kids yelling for me.  I was a bit annoyed.  It wasn't a "someone is in danger" cry or a "I need you right now" cry just a "I want mom and don't want to lok for her" cry.  So, I went inside.  Two were upset at the third that the third wasn't doing his fair share of work.  I remedied the situation and went back to my weeding, fuming that I was 'summoned' for not a great reason in my book.
  And then I thought about how they know that if they call I will come.  And it wasn't a bad thing.  They have the assurance that their Mom loves them and is there for them, even for the little things.  And I prayed that someday they would know what a privalage that is.  To have someone in your life you can depend on. 
  After opening communication with God He took me further in to the thoughts I had.  Hopefuly one day they will depend on God the same way they depend on me.  To know that He is there whenever they call.  And Him even more than me!  I could be too far to hear or to busy to answer, but NOT God!  Hopeing that they would learn this of God made think I need to learn this of God.  How often is the first person I cry out to Not God, but a friend or my husband.  It is good to go tho others for advice and comort, but He should be first.
  I pray that we would learn to call His name first and that we would know without a shadow of a doubt that he will come to us, just like I attend to my kids needs.

Welcome to my blog

So, I've been thinking about blogging for a while.  I have a friend who keeps teling me I should, and I would like to share things to encourage others.  So, here I am.
  The purpose for this blog is to share with you all the things I learn from my kids to which God gives me a spiritual application.  I am amazed how much I learn about God and our relationship with Him from my children.  I hope you learn with me.