Fire

  You know, I have always heard about how we are like a fire and it is better to be in community as believers so you don't fizzle out, but yesterday a new fire analogy came to me.
  The kids and I were at my mother-in-laws house and were enjoying a campfire.  The kids were being very good with the fire and were throwing just about everything in that they were allowed to.  After a while they got in to throwing dead grass and pine needles in.  After a whoosh of flame from some dead grass I asked Josh which he would rather be in his Christian walk: grass that burns quick and hot but than dies quickly away, or coals which burn good, long and strong?
  Than I realized I needed to ask myself the same thing.  Do I jump up and burn bold and strong for a minute only to fizzle and be used up like grass on a fire?  Or, do I keep the embers glowing so that when the wind of the Spirit blows I am able to light others for Him. 
  Which are you?

Trees and kids

  I took a trip with the kids and my mother-in-law out to visit some family in western Minnesota last week.  On part of our 4 hour ride I saw some trees.  Maybe ten trees all in a line, which is not unusual for this part of the state, and all staked.  What I noticed about them is that they were fairly new trees.  As I thought about it I realized that it was very important to stake trees when they are young.  When they are young and able to be changed in their direction is when you would stake a tree. No one would try to make a crooked full grown tree straight, it's too late.
  Than I thought about my kids.  I need to train them, to stake their character when they are young.  I must pull on them and mold them while they are malleable enough to do so.  It is very difficult to change the direction of an adult, but much easier to change a child.  "Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it", now has a very new, very real meaning to me.

My own responsibility

    I have been trying to teach my kids lately to focus on their own responsibilities.  I have heard a lot lately "Why do I have to do this?  He's not working!" or "Why can't I do that?".  I have heard a lot about the other kid.  I am trying to teach them that they need to be responsible for their own actions, not the actions of anyone else. I say "What did I tell you to do?  Than worry about that, not about your brother or sister."
   As I was thinking about this training for my children I thought about what an important lesson this is for adults as well.  Often we are so concerned with other people that we don't take care of our own responsibilities.  We worry so much  about what they are doing, how much work they have, how much fun they have, that we aren't listening to our Father about what we ought to be doing.  If we would just listen and obey many things would go better. 
  I also tell my kids "You are not responsible for your brother's/sister's actions".  I need to remember that as well.  I am not responsible for others actions, not even my children's actions.  That doesn't mean I have no responsibility towards them at all.  I am responsible for my actions of influence.  Am I influencing my children for God or not?  I will answer to God for that.  Have my children followed God well?  That is their responsibility, they will each answer to God for their own walk.  
  This is the same thing with my kids.  Is Josh influencing  Caleb by being cheerfully and promptly obedient or by throwing a fit when asked to obey?  Is Hannah influencing Josh by responding quickly and cheerfully or by grumbling and complaining?  And again am I influencing my children by doing my work cheerfully and willingly or do I procrastinate and complain?
  We each need to listen to God and follow through on our own responsibilities. How are you doing?

Being God's kids

   So, I'm about to have baby #4 and I'm being a little impatient.  I was talking to God about the timing.  "Come on God, it's about time don't you think?"  And then he taught me an important lesson about himself.  I was talking to him about how it will be nice to have all the worries of the labor and delivery over, how I am looking forward to having my body back, and than thought about after the birth.  I told Him, "Now I know that having Esther doesn't mean all my problems will go away, but having her in my arms would make it al worth it".  He let me know that is exactly how he feels about everyone in the world.  He goes through labor pains to bring each child into his kingdom and he knows that just having us as his children won't make everything better, but having us in his amrs is much better than not having us with him.  No matter the grief my kids give me, I have never thought that it would be better to not have them as mine.  No matter how much grief we give God, never does he think it would have been better for us not to be His.  Let's rejoice at our position in him as his children and then do our best to make Him proud.

Teaching Obedience

  In Sunday school this week the youth were learning about the fact that our sins seperate us from God.  On thing the speaker said made me think of my training for my kids.  He said that our sins are a direct assult on God's Character, who He is, His Holiness.  I had several thoughts about this. 
  The first thought was that when our kids disobey, or sin against, us, it is a direct assult on the position God has given us as parents.  I have a hard time requiring immediate obedience from my kids, but if I realize that letting them disobey me for a time means I am letting them disregard the position God has given me before them, I need to demand prompt obedience.  One very wise woman I know says delayed obedience is disobedience.  I need to remember this as the mom and require my children to obey right away, every time.
  The second thought I had was the way we train our children to respond to us now is the way they will respond to God in the future.  We are training them to either listen to God and obey Him right away, every time or to ignore Him untill the time seems right to them.  I need to remember the bigger picture as I am training my children that it is not just about having well behaved children, or industrious children, or children who take care of others, but that raising children is about raising the next generation of God's people.  Will my children be obedient followers of their Lord Jesus or will they be luke-warm christians, ineffective in what they do?
  Well, I hope this encoourages other moms to step up their expectations of their children, but most of all I pray that God would help me change so that my kids will be effective in God's kingdom now and in the future.

The one with the power

   I have a very cool Sister-in-law and for my sons birthday she gave each of the kids a remote control car!  They loved it!  Especially the fact that they all got presents even though it wasn't all of their birthdays. So, the last few days have been full of cars racing around our home, tears when one breaks and fighting over the ones left.  Well, the little one finally got a chance to control both of the remaining cars at the same time and was having a blast.  He put them head to head and asked me which one I thought would win the fight.  Well, I could see that only one was turned on and he only had one controller, so I said, the one with the power.  God struck me as those words came out of my mouth that the only ones who win in life are the ones with the power, His power.  Wow!  A second later Caleb was trying to switch which one would win and grabbed a new controller.  The problem was it was the wrong controller for the car that was turned on.  Even if we have the power to win our battles with Satan, which we all do as children of God, we cannot win if we are not listening to the right Controller.  So, I will challenge any who read this to make sure you are connected to your power source, the Holy Spirit, and make sure you're listening to the right Controller, God the Father.

You are treasured

   I looked back at some notes I had taken from a women's conference I attended at the beginning of January.  There was a note I had written down that reminded me of being a parent.  The speaker said ," You don't have to DO anything to be treasured."  I really like that.  I like how it speaks to us as children of God as well as speaking to our relationship with our kids.    Every mother I know deeply treasures her children.  This treasuring is not because the kids were great that day or because they did well in school, but because they belong to her.  We need to remember this principle when we think of our relationship with our heavenly Father.  He loves us and treasures us, not because we are being good or successful that day, but because we are His. 
  I was also reminded of this principle recently when teaching some 7th grade girls about the Bible.  We did a very quick 4 week overview of the Bible.  When we got part way through the Old Testament, they were a little put off by God's promise to His people. 
   Deuteronomy 30:15  "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.17But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess."
  They were surprised God would destroy His people.  This two way covenant, you do your part and I'll do mine, is not what we are use to.  See, we live in the New Covenant!  In this covenant, or promise, it is one sided.  God says "I will love you no matter what".  God has always loved His people, but now, with our sins atoned for, we are allowed to go before God like we would our own father.  In a sense He is saying "You don't have to DO anything to be treasured, I already did it, now you are mine."
  What an assurance that is!  God treasures us and wants good things for us.  Why do we not trust him?  Why do we not feel treasured?  It is because we accept the lies of the Deciever says "You are mine, I have bought you with a price, I love you with an everlasting love."  Wow!  I am His no matter what I DO.  I am treasured because I am His . . . and so are you.

Feeding our Little Ones

   I was talking with a friend today about what to feed babies when.  It can get a little confusing at times.  Who do you listen to?  What is the right way?  I was thinking about what I told her and how it relates to the Christian life. 
  When you start feeding a baby "solid" foods, you need to make sure they can digest the food.  God gave us a nifty way to know if a little one can digest food, they get teeth!  Imagine that.  God made it so that when a baby can eat, he can actually digest the food.  God is pretty smart.  We need to be on the look out for evidences in peoples lives around us to know if they want to be a part of Jesus' life.  The evidence for this can be obvious at time and sometimes not so obvious.  One good clue is that they ask questions.  People who ask questions about God are usually more willing to hear about Him and how He can be a part of their lives.
   The second thing that you have to do is make sure you give the baby foods in the right order.  Even though it is popular to start with grains, they are typically more allegenic and harder to digestfor a little one, even rice cereal.  Many parents also like to start with fruits.  The kids usually is very willing to eat something so sweet and it is easy for them to digest, so it is perfect, right?  Not really.  If you start with sweets, the child has a tendancy to desire more and more sweets.  They may only accept fruit because it is so good, or something mixed with fruit.  All they want is the good stuff, een when they get older! :)  I like to start with vegitables, mostly sweet potatoes.  They are great for new eaters!  Not too sweet, easy to digest and full of good vitamins essential for a growing baby.  You can also adjust the cosistancy to the needs of the baby and when they get a little bigger, just cube it and let them use their fingers. :)
  We need to be carefull of what we "feed" to new believers just as much as what we feed to our babies.  If you give them 'grains' right away they may find it hard to digest and turn away.  They may also have an aversion, or 'alergy', to things of God.  If we only teach the 'sweet' stuff, they may think that Christianity is going to be a snap and they should always get nice things.  They may avoid anything difficult or 'not sweet'.  But if we start with the basics, the Gospel, we will give them nutients for their bodies.  They will learn to eat the good things of God as well as things that are good for them.  They will learn that not everything is always sweet, but it is good.
  So, We need to be careful what we feed young Christians and when we introduce 'solid' foods, just like we do when we have a new baby.

God Has a Plan and is in Charge of that Plan

My kids are always trying to tell the others kids what is going to happen during the day. But, they are very young, They don't know what I have planned and have little influence or sway in what actually happens. So asking my 6 year old what we are going to do on any given day isn't a good idea if you want to actually know what we are doing. Now, sometimes she knows. But, the only reason she knows is because I have told her and she has listened and believed that what I said was true and that I had the power to make those things happen. This is just like us with God, except much bigger and more concrete. God doesn't just plan out a day and leave it up for change, He has planned all of eternity! Also, He has the power to carry out that plan. I may make plans for a day, but than something comes up and I change my plans. God has never had to change his plans because of something that just “came up”.  The problem is that we don't always know what God's plan is for us. Well, when my daughter wants to know the plan for the day, what does she do? She asks me about it because I know more than she does. We need to do the same thing. Go to the One who knows more than we do.

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.