Devotion Time

We are studying the book of Matthew. I thought this was a sweet scene in our home tonight so I went and grabbed the phone for a picture (camera still not working). Sorry for the grainey looking photo, but this made me smile tonight.

Back to School? Already?

It seems like summer just began, but we start school in just a little over 2 weeks. It is SO HOT here that we might as well do a morning of school work and then SWIM in the afternoons. I have been coloring boundary maps for a geography game and I need to have our new wall map laminated. And if you notice Wal-Mart's big school supply sale, let me know! I like to have all that ready when we start if possible.

I am a little nervous about starting a new curriculum. It feels like moving to a new town. I am excited but it will be very different than what we have done before. One of the books I am excited about using with My Father's World is called Window on the World. It is just the sort of thing that Jason loves so I might save it for him for family devotion time if he wants to use it. A couple of times a week, we'll read about a certain people group around the world, look at the photos in the book, find where they live on the map, and pray for them. (Specific prayer requests are listed in the book for that group.) Jason and I were saying last night that we don't want this to just be an assignment. We want to approach this resource with the excitement and faith that God will hear our prayers for those people and that maybe one day we will see the fruit of that in Heaven.

Uh Oh...A Political Post

I don't like conflict. That's probably why I usually avoid watching political debates. However, this year I have struggled with making a decision and our state's primaries are coming up SOON! So I watched the debates this year. I have also watched several interviews with the candidates on You Tube, plus read a bunch of articles about their views and voting records. I felt it was necessary since I was undecided. I noticed that the candidates had plenty to say about many things. But something bugged me.

I think something needs to be put into perspective.

The candidates and the media talk a lot about foreign policy (and they should). Some focus on how many of our military have been killed in Iraq. There is blame all over the place. I am so thankful for our military. They serve us in ways I'll probably never understand. The sacrifice their families make is enormous. But I do think we need to remember that our nation has a VOLUNTEER military.

I dug around a little on the internet for a few statistics about another issue. Did you know that well over a million babies are killed every single year by abortion? You can look here for one set of statistics. That means since the war on terror began that well over 6 million children have died. About as many Jews who were murdered during the holocaust. They did not have the chance to volunteer.

The candidates want a strong military or a strong economy or any number of other things. Besides the fact that every single one of those babies had value and dignity because they were made in the image of God, do any of the candidates realize that the 40 million babies killed by abortion may have assisted us in building a strong military, a strong economy, or may have figured out how in the world to slow global warming? If you really want to take care of our nation, then life must be valued and protected.

I know many people think Christians are single issue voters. I am not. But this issue is crucial. It comes first. You are automatically eliminated as someone I can support if you are not pro-life. Once you are eliminated, then I can move on to the other issues and the other candidates. And believe me, I have. I have studied the pro-life candidates and their views on foreign and domestic policy, their personal character (yes, that matters too), their ideas about education, the economy, immigration, and a ton of other issues. And I have almost made a decision. Almost.

I thank God that He is in control of this election and our nation no matter who is elected. I pray that my decision will honor Him and that the outcome will bring Him glory.

The Blessing Jar

I made mention of our Blessing Jar in my New Year's Eve post and my sweet friend Leslie asked about it in the comments. Since I have been lacking in blog-worthy ideas lately, I appreciate a chance to respond! So Leslie, thanks for asking!

I am sure this idea must have come from the Five in a Row boards because I am a great copycat. Basically, our jar is just a big pitcher. We try to record as many blessings as we can on little pieces of paper (whatever is handy, not pre-cut fancy slips or anything!) throughout the year and drop it in the jar. We read these to each other as a part of our New Year's Eve celebration. It was a joy to remember the free dishwasher and dryer that friends from our homeschool group gave us last January...or the time Jason almost backed over Mary Evelyn in the driveway -but didn't because for some odd reason his trunk was open - and he stopped to get out and close it just as she was running across the driveway...or the time we went rollerskating as a family for Rachel's birthday...or the day Betsie finally reached 20 pounds...etc. You get the idea.

There are little everyday blessings like a child doing school with a sweet attitude that day or another child being very helpful without being asked or hearing from an old friend. Sometimes at family devotion Jason or I will pass out an index card to everyone and we'll all record at least one or two blessings. We do this when we have been a few weeks and kind of forgotten that we have a blessing jar! It's a nice way to keep Thanksgiving going all year long. Afterall, we are told in scripture to give thanks always, not just in November! 2007 was the first year we did this. It was an easy little project that we could all do and we found it to be a blessing in itself.

Sick of Slavery

I hate debt. I hate that because we have debt we cannot save as much money for the future as we'd like. I hate that we can't give as much as we want to give. I want our debt gone and gone for good. I hate that my husband has to work many hours a week to pay creditors.

Jason and I are working to pay off all of our debt. We've been at it for a while. Some of it is from our very costly adoption. Some of it is from a hugely expensive repair made to our nearly 40 year old home...one that we did not foresee and really could not help (except that we had not saved money in anticipation of the inevitable emergency!). Some of it is from our selfish impulsiveness. This time last year we had 7 debts to pay. Now we only have three left. (Plus a mortgage) I am so thankful that at least some of it is gone. We hope to be debt free in about a year.

I want to share a quote with you. This is from the great missionary Hudson Taylor and can be found in this book. "To borrow money implies, to my mind, a contradiction of scripture - a confession that God had withheld some good thing, and a determination to get for ourselves what He had not given." Ouch, ouch, ouch. His contemporary, George Muller, was able to care for thousands of orphans in his lifetime without going into debt for even a penny...ever.

A few years ago, I didn't like being in debt. I knew it was bondage. However, now it is a conviction to no longer use debt. I no longer feel like I can borrow money and honor God at the same time. And I am broken that I have participated in living beyond our means and not been content with God's provision.

But God is so merciful and so good. First of all, He has blessed us with enough. We have more than we need to live and can put extra toward debt. This is a huge blessing. I have a husband who agrees with me and is good at managing money. It is not an uphill battle with him...we are in agreement about the nastiness of the debt monster in our lives. And God has provided His word to guide us, along with many other helpful resources. He has also granted forgiveness and a huge desire to GIVE...which is a great motivation!

One of those helpful resources is Dave Ramsey. Not everyone will like his style, but we have appreciated the simplicity of his babysteps. We have learned a lot from him, but his first baby step has been the most helpful so far. Having a small emergency fund has kept us from further debt while we pay the rest off. And since we don't like to mess with that fund, we constantly reevaluate whether something is truly an emergency or not! Earlier this year my dishwasher broke. We decided this was NOT an emergency and we could wash dishes in the sink...so we did. And then we were blessed with a FREE dishwasher about 6 weeks later from someone who wanted a quieter model. We saved money and let me tell you I REALLY appreciated the dishwasher after weeks of not having one! What a kind Father we have.

I look forward to being debt free. And when that happens, I look forward to praising God and honoring Him with any abundance He gives us.

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PS...The Teasuer Principle by Randy Alcorn is another awesome resource that will help you see the beauty of giving away what is God's (and not ours) in the first place!

One Thousand Gifts...Big Blessings Today

Our church is going through the book of Luke, verse by verse. We are in Luke 10 right now. So a few of my thank yous are based on the teaching I heard this morning.

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194. I rejoice that my name is written in Heaven...Lord forgive me for not always being mindful that this is miraculous!

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195. I am thankful that God is sovereign over everything. No trial or pain can come to me that is not under His control...and He loves me. This is so comforting!

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196. I am thankful that His name is going out all over the world and people are coming to Him in places that used to be untouched by the gospel. There are more Christians in China now than there are people in England. I pray for those Christians often...that they will somehow reach Betsie's birth family and some of the people who helped us adopt her.

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197. Tonight we are having dinner with some old friend, Bryan and Michele and their boys. I am thankful for this! We have only seen them once or twice in over four years because we live in different cities now. But there was a time when we saw them a few times a week. They were the kind of friends that you called on Friday night and said, "What are we doing tonight?" We never had to call and say, "Would you like to get together?" It was understood. And we had a regular Christmas tradition too, complete with gifts and a nice meal. They were a reference for us when we adopted. Bryan and Jason held each other accountable for many years. We prayed for each other as we moved from apartments to houses, babies being born, job changes, graduations, marriage issues, financial issues, health issues, and extended family issues! Then we moved. We've been in touch, but we rarely see each other. Well, tonight we are meeting at a favorite restaurant and I can't wait!

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I think that paragraph should count for a few gifts, don't you? (friends, fellowship, accountability, food, tradition, etc. Yep, I will start with 201 on my next list. Hey...it's my blog!)

Shhhhhh.........

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3

That's one of the verses I read this morning...it's one I am trying to remember throughout the day. I heard a sermon the other day (on Walk in the Word) and learned that when Scripture talks about us grieving the Holy Spirit, it is often linked with our words. (See Ephesians 4 for one example.) Is God trying to tell me something? Maybe I just need to be quiet today and speak only what is absolutely necessary or only when I am going to say something edifying. Otherwise, I am praying that God will truly set that guard over my mouth. I think my mouth could use a guard.

The Law of the Harvest

Reaping and Sowing...

This seems to be a recent theme in my thoughts lately. Recently one of my children was having trouble getting along with one of her siblings. I brought her into my room and drew a picture of a garden for her. I explained as I drew that if a farmer plants corn, well, corn is what comes up. There is no way that farmer can plant corn and expect carrots to pop up at harvest time.

Elizabeth George says in A Woman After God's Own Heart that we are what we've been becoming. In other words if you are healthy, it's because you have been doing things to stay healthy. You are reaping what has been sown. If you are out of shape, you probably have not been sowing seeds of regular excercise. I know that in a fallen world there are people who are sick not because of their own choices, but many of us have made choices that have caused us to have less than perfect health.

The law of the harvest applies to every single area of our lives: finances, health, relationships, etc. It seems like it would be a good idea to consider what kind of harvest you hope to have later on and then plants those kinds of seeds now. I hope to have a strong marriage that is as enjoyable in the retirement years as in our newlywed days (moreso actually). What seeds need to be sown to reap that kind of harvest? I also hope to have close relationships with my daughters. When I enter heaven I want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Have I done anything today toward that end?

I listen to Walk in the Word as a podcast. Recently, James MacDonald was teaching about this principle of sowing and reaping too. He made a point which I have been considering...you reap in a later season than you sow. The farmer plants in the spring but he harvests in the fall. I can see this in my life now. The good and the bad in my life is because of choices I have already made. This can be great news though...I can plant seeds now that will reap a harvest of righteousness later. I can choose how to spend my time, how to speak, what to eat, how to spend my money, etc. Yes, there are consequences for poor choices, but there are also rewards for wise choices!

Galations 6:7 says Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. But don't we live in a culture where it seems like people get away with stuff all the time? Don't many live like God can can be mocked? I am taking God at His word, believing that one day everything will be set right. Those seeds of both righteousness and wickedness will be harvested.

Something else I see in Galations is that we should not lose heart. I've never lived on a farm, but as a Little House on the Prairie enthusiast, I think I can say that farming is very hard work. There is a lot to sowing seeds and keeping the fields in good shape until the harvest. Maybe that is why we are encouraged in Galations 6:9 by these words, Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. It is hard to keep teaching my children when they don't seem to be understanding. It is hard to return a kind word for an unkind word. How many times have I said, "I am tired of this!" But God tells us to keep going...the harvest will come up.

So I am going to keep praying for a good harvest...good fruit...in my life and in the lives of my loved ones. I am asking God to help me remember these principles from His word. And I am asking Him to help me believe it too. I will plant the seeds, but I am trusting God to do the rest. He will be the one to send the rain and the sun. And I will enjoy the harvest in due time.