Our lesson on Ezra...

We had Bible lesson the other day and the topic was Ezra. I've never really paid much attention to Ezra. Perhaps it had never come to life for me. But it did this time.
Ezra was an Israelite of the captivity from Babylon. The temple had already been rebuilt 60 years previously and 80 years had passed since their slow return to Jerusalem.The reigns of  Nebuchanezzar, Cyrus, Darius, Ahasuerus, and now Artaxerxes had come to pass. We have now read about Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Esther, and now Ezra. He was to go to Jerusalem to teach the people. Getting permission to go, he finally gets there and there is so much joy at seeing his people and his land. The punishment for sin had brought them into slavery and now they could begin anew. But then the princes come to Ezra with distressing news. The people had married foreign men and women.

Wasn't it the foreign women who deceived Solomon's heart and drew him away? This may not seem so distressing, I mean Israel was led captive and not many were left. Most left had gone to Egypt. But it was. They disobeyed God's command. Took in what seemed harmless with a twist of deceit to the heart. What harm would a goodly woman or man be though they be foreign?

The New Testament warns us about such things.  II Corinthians 6:11-18 tells us about such separation. A separation much more than mere physical.

"....Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? ....v.17..Wherefore, come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,....."

At the evening sacrifice, Ezra fell on his knees raised his hands up to the Lord. They had sinned and Ezra thought all was well. That they were off to a good start. His heart could make no excuses but only plead for mercy. All he could do was beseech the Lord for the people in humility. 

This is the heart God is looking for. The godly sorrow that it takes to reach God's heart. Our churches are full of goodly piety. Some even preach against sin.But they have or are in the process of joining themselves to foreign wives and husbands- the world. They have accepted the world and what is seen as normal. Deceived themselves into thinking they could espouse a little of what is foreign to God and that God would overlook it. That a little compromise with the world isn't so bad. Bigger churches are pleasing to God, so they think, because living out the blessings of God with no Uriah spirit is showing how good God has been instead avoiding the very appearance of evil. All a form but no heart in the matter. Or a little heart with a little form but not a complete surrender.

Oh, how Ezra must have felt! He cried ,"We are before you in our sins. We cannot stand before you because of this."  


Let us remember Ezra and reach God's heart. God is not mocked even when we allow ourselves to accept sin, harmless as it seems. He sees within us and our affections. He knows whether we are following others or following God. These are sober thoughts but we are not playing games. Heaven is not make believe and hell is real separation from a loving God. "Depart from Me, for I never knew you..." are real words that I don't want to hear said to me or my loved ones. So Ezra must be taught and will be taught from here on out. Maybe we won't forget his cries and will avoid the sin of marrying the world.

A Few Thoughts on Being Set Free

I've been thinking about the song He Set Free.  One of the stanzas goes something like this-

                 Once like a bird in prison I dwelt
                 No Freedom from my Sorrows I Felt
                 But Jesus came and listened to me
                 Glory to God, He Set Me Free....

There was a thought I heard that has been profound to me. I can't quote it word by word but it has gone through my mind over and over with its message. Since I came to Jesus and made Him Lord of my heart, I can't tell you how many times I've heard this song. And I would in my heart and mind sing the praises of being set free from the sin that had me bound. Yet in  the last decade or so I've seen a freedom that comes in Christ manifest itself overtime. It falls in line with the thought that manifested its truth to me.  Here it is:


Free to serve the Saviour because I want to.
Free to do right not because I have to.
Free to choose Jesus and all of His loves.
Free to go to Him with no fear or qualm
Free from the task master, the Law.
Who led me to the Saviour to serve Him with Love.
Free to Obey His Spirit who is writing His ways in my heart.
Free......

               

A Peaceful Confirmation

The thought recently settled in my heart.
"This baby inside me pleases God. "
You may think this is a strange thought but it brings peace to my heart. I hear so many 
"Are All those your children?"
"One, Two, Three, Four,....."
"How do you do it, with all those children?"
Blah, Blah, Blah...."I even had a man laughingly tell me he would commit suicide if he had that many children!


But the voice of God isn't saying this. There is a sweet restful peace within my heart. A reassurance of God's approval. A loving thought of this precious gift entrusted to us by God. 

A Word With Solomon....

  Having boys growing up on you is not easy. Being a parent in general is no easy task. Whoever stated the fact that parenting doesn't come with an instructions manual had it right. The only one I've found that comes close is the Bible. But even then, God gave us a lot of leg room. Sometimes it is easier to read word by word what to do about a certain situation then it is to seek for wisdom and guidance and then have the faith to follow through with God's direction. Solomon must have felt this way too and so I've been thinking about his life and ours.

 His life saddens me sometimes. To think that he may not have made it to heaven brings me to ponder on those things that weighed him down. He loved. He loved foreign women. He loved how they made him feel and how they looked.  He loved gold and all his cups were made of gold not silver because silver was not worth anything in his sight. He loved wisdom and had so much of it that he finally reasoned within himself about the futility and vanity of life without seeking God foremost. But his loves took his heart. They dimmed the vision and allowed him to deceive his heart!

   My older son and I had a conversation about being real a week or two ago. About serving God in earnest, without playing church. We spoke about the fruits of the spirit and works of the flesh. How hard it is to strive at being good in our own flesh! It is even harder to live in the Spirit ( I mean by this,doing the things which are pleasing to God) while feeding the flesh. We as humans learn very quickly how to feed the flesh, but sadly know little about dying to it. We feed it food, pleasure, satisfaction, material possessions. We love. We love the beautiful things. Desire wealth to make us blessed, and love those who love us best. But like Solomon our loves would separate us from His love. Rob us from our First Love and cause us to be just as idol worshipping as Solomon and Israel became. They mar our vision of Christ and fill our ears with so much sound that we can't or won't take the time to hear Him. All the while dulling us into the notion that all is well and Christ reigns, when the truth is that He can't abide because there is no room.

  Our conversation led me to this final point. We can't live by works because they fail us but we can't live without them either because that would not be faith. So we must live by Faith. Faith that God will save us. Knowing God will strengthen us. Looking to God who will lead us. Faith cannot be separate from our actions. Our works show our faith.They make us get up and seek God. Did not works show the faith in Solomon or any other man we are told about in the Bible? The righteous gave forth actions of obedience while the unrighteous brought forth works of disobedience. Both in faith. Some in a faith unwavering in a God that does not fail and cannot lie;others placing their faith in temporal things, the pride of life, and their merits.

   Solomon left us many words to ponder, and some of the instructions needed for parenting. Words of wisdom and truth that will last through the ages. What did hinder you Solomon? You did run well. And his words come back in wisdom and say, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."  Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14

It's In The Little Things That God Builds Our Character

(Someone posted this on a digest that I occassionally read.)

A Christian

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston , Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area.

When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself,
'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.'
Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'
When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change '
The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?'
'Yes' he replied.
'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.'
When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.
This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test!
Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.'

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Revisiting Samuel

Tonight my 8 yr. old asked me a question.
He asked, "How do you know it is God talking to you about getting saved? What if I only want to get saved because I don't want to go to hell, but it's me and not God speaking to me?"

This is a deep question. It's deep because I don't know all the answers to it. And the answers I have may not be the ones needed. It's deep because I truly want the children to go to God looking for the Saviour. I also don't want to get in the way. I could jump at the opportunity, but it would be I jumping and not him. I want it to be their moment with God. Their decision. Their act of faith and their start of a relationship with Almighty God. If God is visiting his heart, then God is dealing with him and therefore knows better than I how to deal with him as an individual.

He wanted to talk about God, salvation, and about his soul. So we talked.

This has been our prayer over the years. That their heart would be tender to hear God. That they would begin to seek the Saviour because they begin to sense the need for Him. That there would be a concern for their soul.

Samuel was a child when God visited Him. He didn't recognize the voice of God.
I have tender thoughts about this account. Perhaps because it is such a beautiful picture of the grace and love of God.
Eli, who was not in the will of God, directed Samuel to go back and lay down, but he told him that if he was called again he should answer, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." God called again, and Samuel answered.

He and I took a little, private time to pray tonight. I prayed out loud for God to keep his heart tender to his dealings. And that if He was drawing him to get saved, that God would give him assurance and faith to believe in Him and trust Him.
He prayed that God would help him and he prayed that God would let him know whether it was His calling to Him he was sensing through out his day. My heart wanted to pour buckets of tears out to think of God's faithfulness to deal with my children, but I saved them.

Maybe God will keep calling, and my son will answer. This is what I'm going to pray about tonight. Those tears a better spent alone with God.

Celebrating a very Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. The children were so excited they made sure to let him know.

They waited anxiously, undecided whether to turn the lights on or off for their surprise.

They really wanted to have a hot dog roast with lots of ketchup, chips, cake and marshmallows over a patio fire, but I finally convinced them that it was too cold for the outdoors.

They helped set the table, and dinner was set and ready as he walked through the door. Instead of the roast, we had Jalapeno Chicken over rice, biscuits and dessert!

10yr. old played the piano and we all sang Happy Birthday. Then he blew out his candle and we all sat down for dinner.

Daddy loves banana pudding so I made him a banana cream trifle. (Same thing ,except I made the cake in a larger pan than normal, added peanutbutter chips and chocolate chips. When cooled, I cut it into small cubes and replaced this for the vanilla wafers. )

I think he was surprised and touched by it all.

What I've been up to....

The new year has begun and I've been going over the last year. I find myself reviewing thru my mind what went on.

• My boys have grown up a little more this year and opened my eyes to see have much different girls are to boys.


• I've matured a little more this year. Really, I have. I can tell. As time goes on, I've noticed that what I thought was maturity really was baby steps. I've physically, spiritually, and who knows how else grown this year. Yeah!


• I got pregnant. This will make #6


• We paid off a lot of land next door to us.

I'm sure there are many more things that could be put down in review, but I'll spare you.

So what am I up to now?

I've been doing some research on the early roots of American Protestants. Why, you might ask? Because I'm intrigued at where the so called Christian faiths of today came from and specifically where and why they've changed. You might think that it was a cultural thing, but I think it was more than that. Besides, even if man changes, God doesn't- and so neither does his word. There are people that put so much stock in what their preacher says, which by the way sometimes trumps the word of God, yet why does he answer the way he does, and where does he originally get his theology? It should be always from the Bible, but then you go back to whether they are fundamental or modernized. Whether they are Catholic or Protestant. Pentecostal or Baptist. Armenian (branching from John Wesley's Methodist) or Calvanistic. And so on and so on and .... Religion can be worn by anyone, but having religion is not walking with God. Religion therefore in my humble opinion is not something we should rest our confidence on. Because religion changes according to the tide. Clear as mud?

What else have I been up to?

Well, I made bread today. Here's the baby. He seems to always want to help me in the kitchen. Making bread is his favorite.

I'm also wanting to check out a book I heard about last night on the radio program Haven Today, about the 5 Languages of Love. From what I heard, people have different ways of expressing love and if perhaps you don't relate then they have a hard time understanding that you love them.

For example: Some people feel loved when they get a gift. That's how they know because you took the time to get them something special. Others might see your love when you do an act of love- like your husband cleaning the dinner dishes everynight for you. Others might consider you loving them if you spend quality time with them, while some want to feel your touch.

Which one are you?

I think I'm the spend quality time with me type, but I need to get the book and read it to learn a little bit more about it because I'm not sure. Gifts don't do much for me and I really don't like to be ignored by someone who I love. I'm not too touchy, and as for acts of service - well they're greatly appreciated. This should be fun, since I think I have my husband all figured out!

What we did for Christmas-2008

Monday, I prepared 2 loaves of pumpkin bread with chocolate chips. I also made a new recipe called Braided Sausage and Cheese Bread. I made two loaves of that too. This was all in preparation to go out of town. We drove about 5-6 hours to the Creation Museum in Kentucky (20 min. or so from Cincinnati, Ohio) It really took us a little longer to get there because as we entered the suburbs of Cincinnati, they had just had an ice storm come through and traffic was at a crawl or even stopped. So Tuesday we didn't make the Museum but did make ourselves comfortable at the Clarion compliments of a very good price from Priceline.


Above is a picture of a dinosaur in the Garden of Eden. If God created all land animals than the dinosaurs were there too.

Adam is naming all the animals:On Wednesday, we made our way to this outstanding museum which was packed because as a gift to the community and anyone who wished to come, admission price was free on Christmas Eve. By the way, this was all made possible by Answers Through Genesis.

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.(Picture above)

Adam and Eve after they sinned and God covered them with skins. A reminder of the verse that tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. (Picture below)

This is real science at work! The children enjoyed seeing all the different dinosaurs. It was nice to present it to them in a truthful form with a correct timeline in mind. Not millions and millions of years ago!

The next pictures are small scale models of Noah's ark. The second picture shows the earth almost drowned by the water. Those are people on the rocks or tips of the mountains.

There were a lot of theaters with very moving, thought provoking 10- 30 min. shows about dragons, dinosaurs, Noah's flood, and human reasoning(evolution) and how it contradicts science and the Bible.It even showed informaton on the Scopes Trial and America's slow departure from Bible truths that have made schools what they are today. It included a 2 hour tour through creation, the fall, the flood, and finally the last Adam, Christ and God's redemptive plan. The planetarium had a beautiful star presentation about the star that led the wise men. There were also live Nativity characters you could talk to.

As I watched God's beautiful story unfold in such a well presented and public place, I was reminded how much I love the gospel story. If you ever get a chance to visit, it will be time well spent.

Christmas was again a reminder of my Saviour. A memory to the children of why He came to earth.

We ended the day on Thursday, with an evening dinner with my parents at our home.

Hope Your Christmas was also a soul moving reminder of why we need Him.

May your New Year be filled with thoughts of Him and so much more...

A Post For Me to Remember

Usually I write my posts with my children in mind, since I hope to one day give them these journals in CD form, but this post is really for me.

Homeschooling has its ups and downs. It has given me the opportunity to learn about myself in a way that perhaps I may never have given myself the chance to learn. One thing that I have learned is that I really enjoy teaching. I'm not talking about handing over a workbook and saying, "Here you go, finish page so and so..." But I'm talking about really teaching.

I've discovered that I like teaching most things relating to Language Arts, specially English. I enjoy teaching other subjects, some more than others, but English has inspired me! From seeing pretty handwriting to hearing them laugh while they enjoy reading, to correcting grammar, and listening to them recite poems. It is like seeing a flower bloom in slow motion, and I love the scenery.

It almost follows my belief in a quote I read that says "Excellence is not an accident." Neither is good penmanship nor is quality,thoughtful writing.

I've replaced a few books on my sidebar for some books that I believe come with excellence in mind. One is First Language Lessons. This is really a good beginning grammar book. The author does a very good job leading a parent in teaching grammar. The further we progress in this book the more impressed I am. We are in the first couple of weeks into the 2ND grade material or the second half of the book.

I would have never realized I enjoyed teaching about helping verbs and that I would relish in hearing beautiful poetry being recited by my kids. That proofreading sentences and seeing cursive flow would actually motivate me in our homeschooling. I thought I was more the medical type. Boy, was I wrong! My husband even mentioned it to me one day. He said, "You know, Linda. You really like to teach them..."

Yeah, I guess I do. When the laundry is not piling high and I can come up with good dinners and can keep my house in order - those are the best days for me. But I've had days where I just wanted to go somewhere and bury my head and cry. Where I thought perhaps this task we had undertaken was going to be too hard. That is why I'm writing this post. Because I know I will have long days again and I want to come back and read this. I want to remember what I have really liked about homeschooling. I want to encourage myself to know that these years will soon be gone and what I instill in them now will not so easily be removed because I have loved teaching them to love to learn. And they will not go away empty or void. Some things can be forgotten, but there are some things love writes within our very soul.

There is no doubt in my mind that God will be faithful to write within their hearts things that only these years could have inspired within their mind and soul. That is my prayer for homeschooling my children.

So Linda, when you read this again someday soon, dry your tears and thank God in heaven for His faithfulness to you. Thank Him for giving you a love to learn and for instilling within you the love to teach. These are priceless tools in homeschooling.

Detour into the Valley of Humiliation

Early this morning my 7yr. old and the 5 yr. old were sitting together in the recliner listening to an Adventure In Odyssey called Pilgrim's Progress Revisited. We really like those episodes. I can't quite recall what I was doing but the story started talking about the valley of humiliation. Christian was going through the Valley of Humiliation.

What exactly is the Valley of Humiliation? Is that where we make a total fool out of ourselves and God removes any pride left over?

I'm not sure I can define it well, but it stirred some memories which I would classify as in my valley of humiliation folder. I haven't lived long and really don't know if this would qualify, but as a Christian we must all pass through some of these.

I was in my Sophomore year in High School and had been saved about a year. Some schools are good and some are not so good. This one happen to be in the not so good with a few exceptional teachers category. The class I was not doing so good in had a teacher that was probably a good in his prime, but as of late had a sleeping disorder and yet was still employed and teaching the present subject.

That day we had an exam. As I was turning in my test my teacher must have been having a good dream because he was past the stage of dozing. He also must have fallen sleep before he put away the test with the answers. So there it was laying out before me- The answer sheet and I could tell, even upside down what the answers were and mine were not right! I decided not to turn my test in and disturb the teacher's rest and went back to my seat. After I changed my answers, I turned in the test and returned to my seat. As soon as I sat down, a classmate of mine looked at me and said,

"I thought you said you were a Christian?" Do you sense the silence in the air?

This was probably one of my first Valley's of Humiliation. It was as though Satan himself was taunting me. But it seemed more like the Lord was looking straight at me. I had done more than just sin. I had brought shame to the name of Christ.

I left the class by letting the teacher know, and asking him to just give me a zero on it.

I went home and wept. How could I go back to school? Those were my thoughts. How could I continue to try to live like a Christian when I had failed the Lord and brought shame to the gospel? I called my pastor for advise and he very wisely comforted me and thought the best course of action was to apologize to those I thought perhaps had seen it. And that's what I did the next day. I told them I was sorry for what I had done- for the example I had set. They have no idea how sorry I was to have misrepresented the Lord. Most scoffed at it and thought it was silly. The classmate who ushered those words said,

"You're really serious about this Christian thing."

Life went on and I survived that Valley, but I learned a great deal about repentance and humiliation before the Lord. These Valleys of Humiliation are not pleasant, but they are needful. They make us realize that without Christ's help and an honest and sincere heart we cannot please God. They help us see the subtleness of sin, our weaknesses, and how our righteousness is as filthy rags.
These are lessons that turn dross into gold.

What kind of Nut am I?

I'm not sure what kind of nut I am, but taking this quiz was interesting since I'm not sure about some of my answers. You can read my results below and take the quiz yourself if you'd like.
I definitely feel like a nut lately since I feel like literal roller coasters come in more than just wood and steel. Some days life is just great for me. You know, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and even if it wasn't that would be okay. And then you have those days when blue is a melancholy color and green seems to be someone else's yard and quite out of reach at the moment. I have found myself sitting out on the porch in the dark thinking deep. Kneeling over my recliner praying to God and leaving my cares to Him who cares for me. Writing my silly roller coaster post as tears ran down my face from laughter. An ironically, playing Guess my face with my two little girls. Up and down, up and down. Happy, Sad, Happy, Mad, Happy?
There is one consolation in this moody body of mine. I was sleeping the other night and clear as could be the thought/verse hit me: "Peace have they whose mind is stayed on me(God)." Now, either God was telling me that I needed to get my mind on things above, or He was reassuring me that there was peace regardless of the emotional storms that rage within me. The thought woke me up and drove sleep away for a bit. Both conclusions helped, but the fact that God knows our needs and remembers us is not to be forgotten.

So what kind of nut am I?
The kind that is desperately dependant upon God.

You Are a Hazelnut

You are very unique and distinct. You may even freak some people out. Most people don't really know how to interact with you. You get along best with anyone who is super sweet. But you really do get along with almost anyone. You just need a chance to wow them.

What Nut Are You?

The Twinkle in Their Eyes

We use Weaver for our Bible. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it is way too deep so it has to be tailored. But it is moments like the one I'm about to tell that I need help with,so I've stuck with it.
We were reviewing reverence. We had previously talked about the kind of respect the children of Israel had at Mt. Sinai when they saw the thunder and lightning. We had already read the story found in Exodus 19. I really wanted to review this but what more could I say? Then I looked at the "Thought of the Day" found on the top of my book and it read:

"We treat God with irreverence by banishing him from our thoughts, not by referring to his will on slight occasions...
by Rushkin

So begin our story about Samuel.
"Samuel heard the voice of God calling...but he didn't know it was God. Samuel was little like you. Imagine hearing the voice of God. One day you may hear Him too. Little Samuel went to see what Eli wanted. God must have sounded like an older man because Eli was old. Eli sent him back to bed, and it happen again. Samuel must have thought Eli was getting really old! But Eli recognized God, yet God wasn't speaking to Him. Maybe Eli had been banishing God from his thoughts. He told Samuel to go back and answer. Little Samuel could have said,"I'm going to count sheep or something." But he didn't. He obeyed and went back and answered, "Speak, my Lord, for thy servant heareth." And so begin a beautiful relationship between Samuel and God."

This is where I saw the twinkle in their eyes. Oh, that God would give my babies faith like Samuel. ..that God would come often into their thoughts!