2017: The Year of Love - Who should you Love?

I haven't posted in this series for a little while.  Partly because I've been through some unloving things, and partly because our country is in such an unloving state, and I really didn't know where to go. 

If you have been following, you will remember that the last post, "Step one - What is love?" focused on 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.  Did you do your homework?  Did you find out what love is, and what it isn't?  If you haven't done that, take a minute to look at it now.  You will also remember that love is not a feeling, but an action.

Okay.  Now we are ready to find out who we need to apply this action to.  I admit, this is a tough one.  If you have ever been misunderstood, betrayed, abused, or treated badly by anyone, you know that it is hard to love them.

But Jesus didn't leave anyone out.  Look at what he says in Luke 6.

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 

²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  

³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  

³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Did you get all that?  Love your enemies.  Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who mistreat you.  

Bottom line:  Your actions do not depend on who they are.  Your actions are a result of who you are.  You are children of the Most High God.  And He is merciful.  The prophet Daniel said in chapter 9 - 

 ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.

And James, in chapter 2 - 

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

  

Mercy triumphs over judgement.  To be loving is always better than to be right.

This is a hard lesson for these hard times.  We in the United States are feeling divided and fractured.  It seems that every group is against every other group.  Take your pick.  Political.  Racial.  Religious.  Everyone is judging everyone else based on who they think they are.  But that is not our job.  Our job is to show mercy to all.  Everyone.  Whether they agree with you or not.  Whether or not they are merciful to you.  

So here is your homework.  Make yourself a sign or a note or a memo or whatever you need to do so that you will see it often.  Write down these three verses:

Daniel 9:9

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.

Luke 6:36

Be merciful,  just as your Father is merciful.

 

James 2:13b

Mercy triumphs over judgement.

Let these words sink into your heart and your mind.  And the next time you are tempted to lash out because of something that someone else does, remember who you are.   And be merciful.

Previous posts in this series:

2017: The Year of Love 

Step one - What is Love? 

2017: The Year of Love - Step One: What is Love?

In my last post, I proclaimed 2017 the Year of Love, and I promised to come back with some ideas.  But before we get to the how, we need to understand the what.  What is love?

The word "Love" is pretty over-used these days.  We love our spouse, our children, our parents, our pets, and ice cream.  We might love our favorite TV show.  We might love the color green.  Or maybe we love roses.  Of course, we love God.  The English language doesn't give us a whole lot of options for differentiating between these types of "love."  But we really can't put ice cream and God in the same category. 

I think the biggest problem is that we treat the word Love as a feeling.  So any time we feel fondness for something or someone, we say we love it or them.  But this Year of Love is not about a warm, fuzzy feeling.  This year, we are going to learn love as an action.  Not as something we feel, but something that we choose to do.  

In order to do something, we have to have some instruction.  So here's your first step.  From 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, the Contemporary English Version of the Bible reads:

Love is kind and patient,
never jealous, boastful,
    proud, or ⁵ rude.
Love isn’t selfish
    or quick tempered.
It doesn’t keep a record
    of wrongs that others do.
⁶ Love rejoices in the truth,
    but not in evil.
⁷ Love is always supportive,
loyal, hopeful,
    and trusting.⁸ Love never fails! 

If you notice, this is a short list of what love is, and what it isn't.  So your first assignment is to get a piece of paper and make two columns.  Head the first column "Love Is" and the second "Love Isn't."  Then go through these verses and sort them out.  The passage begins "Love is kind," so the first word in the "Love Is" column would be "kind."  If you don't like this version, feel free to get out your favorite bible and look up the scripture.  

That's it!  Keep watching for the next post in the series.  And please feel free to share it with your friends.  Let's use this year to spread love!

Previous Posts in this Series:

2017: The Year of Love 

2017: The Year of Love

Happy New Year!  Isn't it funny how something as simple as a calendar change can set us in a new direction?  I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions.  In my experience, I get about two weeks in and mess up, if not sooner.  So I'm not making one this year either. 

I do have an idea, though, and I wondered if you would like to join me? 

I am declaring 2017 the Year of Love.  Now, I am not an official person who can make official declarations and make everyone comply.  But that's okay.  Love doesn't work that way, anyhow. 

Love is a very personal thing. 

So why make a declaration?  Because I need it for myself.  Last year was tough.  I have heard that statement all over the place, in all different ways.  It was tough politically, tough inter-racially, tough financially, tough even in the vast amount of iconic people who passed away.  As we pull ourselves into a new year, we are the walking wounded.  We are dragging all sorts of baggage, and limping along.

But there is hope.

I propose that we leave our baggage at the border.  Walk into this new year unencumbered by hate and hopelessness.  Picture yourself stepping over that line from 2016 to 2017 and leaving all that hate and pain and fear behind. 

I have some ideas about how we can make this happen, and I'll be writing about it soon (no, that is not a New Year's resolution to keep up on my blog!)  But since this is January 1, and also a Sunday, I'm going to leave you with a song to start your year off right.  Enjoy!

How many?

Just listen.

What Would You Do?

I just received my newsletter from Voice of the Martyrs.  It occurs to me that here in the United States, we have very little idea of what persecution really is.  We are insulated from the horrors that our Christian brothers and sisters in other countries deal with everyday.  We consider ourselves persecuted if someone wishes us "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" while we are doing our Christmas shopping.  We may see a news report from Iraq or Kenya and feel sorry for those "poor people," but then we go on with our lives, worrying about such things as what to eat for dinner and what to watch on TV.  We dress up on Sunday morning and freely go to our comfortable church buildings and smile and wave and sing a few songs, and then go home to a nice dinner and relax for the rest of the day because of course you are not supposed to work on the "Sabbath." 

But what if all of this changed?  What if your comfortable church building was burned to the ground by a militant group, and the members were chased by people who were trying to kill them?  Would you still show up the next day ready to praise God?  This is what our family in the Republic of Niger had to deal with in January.  What if you were in your home, when someone pulled your family out, asked if you were Christians, and then killed your husband when you said you were?  This happened in Hindi, Kenya last July. 

We live in a relatively safe, affluent country.  But our brothers and sisters are suffering all around the world from religious persecution, from lack of food, lack of medical care, and lack of educational opportunities.  And worse, there are countless people lacking all of these things plus the knowledge of Christ.  Can we ignore this?  Can we continue to walk around in our own little insulated bubble, living the good life, and limit our involvement to feeling sorry for "those people over there" every once in a while?

I confess that I don't pay a lot of attention to the news.  Partly because I feel that I'm not getting the whole story anyway, and partly because I can't deal with the pain of seeing so many horrifying images.  I tend to come away feeling depressed, rather than encouraged or empowered.  But when I read the stories from Voice of the Martyrs, Amazima Ministries, or Gospel for Asia, I see that there is hope.  There are people who are making a difference.  There are everyday people like you and me who are risking some of their comfort to make someone else's life better. 

I hope that if I were in a situation where I had to defend my faith, I would be brave enough to do so.  I believe that what the apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church still stands. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nore things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:35-39)

But I think the time to act is now.  Those of us who have been given much cannot go on keeping for ourselves, and squirreling away our extras in case hard times come to us.  For so many people, hard times are now.  In God's kingdom everyone has enough.  So why are things so unbalanced?  We need to take a good hard look at ourselves.  It is not enough to feel sorry.  We cannot enjoy our gifts in isolation.  Our family is in trouble!  "Those people over there" are our brothers and sisters, our parents, grandparents, and children.  They are not nameless and faceless.  Our Father knows each one intimately, just as he knows you and me.  And he is hurting because they are hurting.

I am preaching to myself, here.  I am the first to try to get the things I want without thinking of the needs of others.  And I am so sorry for acting this way.  Please pray for me, as I pray for you, and we all pray for our family all over the world.  And lets put some hands and feet on our prayers!  For God expects us to do what we can.

Who is in Control?

Don't you sometimes wonder?  Is God really controlling things in the world, or is he sitting up in Heaven watching us, to see what we will do?  Is there a reason for all of the trouble in the world?  Are humans really directly responsible for climate change?  Can we make a difference if we live differently?  Can one person cause anything to change, all by themselves?  What is our responsibility to the planet?  The country?  The state?  The family?  Our God?

Responsibility starts young!

We have been studying the book of Haggai in Sunday School.  That's not one of those books you hear about too often, but it's pretty convicting.  The Israelites had been allowed to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, but somewhere along the way they got sidetracked with their own needs and left off the building program.  Haggai was a prophet, who told them they had better get back to what God told them to do.  The striking part, for me, was that God told them He was influencing the weather for the worse.  He had sent a drought, hail, and mildew, so that all of their hard work was going to waste.  The people weren't being lazy.  They were planting their crops and taking care of them as well as they could.  But they weren't gathering in what they should have.  The fruit trees weren't producing like they should have.  Things were not going well at all.  God told them that the earth was not producing because the people were not obeying Him.

Ugh!  Do we work harder and harder, but things just get more expensive?  Do employers keep heaping on more responsibilities which we have to try to accomplish in the same time?  Does the government keep demanding more in taxes?  Does it seem like no matter how hard we work, we are ending up with less and less?  It seems that way from here.

You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.  Haggai 1:6

Does this sound familiar?  The next verse says "Give careful thought to your ways."  

What were the Israelites doing that was so wrong?  They were focused on themselves, and not on God.  They were spending all of their effort on their own needs, and disregarding what God told them to do.  Building houses isn't wrong.  Planting gardens isn't wrong.  Ignoring God is wrong, and we do it at our own peril.

We do have a responsibility.  What we do does matter.  But not in the way we think it does.  All of the recycling and green living in the world will not make a difference if we think we can do it without God.  We feel bad for the starving, war-torn nations of the world, while we worry about not having enough money to go to the movies.  If we were obeying God's commands, wouldn't everyone have enough?  

I'm preaching to myself, here.  This whole concept is bothering me.  I don't know why I was born in the United States, and not in the Sudan.  Why my family has a house when there are people living on the street.  Why I can be concerned about buying gluten-free food for my son while people are starving.  I don't know, but I think I must have more responsibility than most.  And I don't quite know what that responsibility is, because I am afraid to ask.  I am afraid that it would mean giving up the comfort that I do have.  I am afraid that more is required of me than I want to give.  I am afraid that obeying God would be hard.  So I go along giving Him lip service.  I teach Sunday School and play piano in church.  I try to stay away from things that are corrupt.  But it's still all about me.  

I read about people like Katie Davis, who moved to the other side of the world to help some of the poorest people in Uganda.  And I say, "why not me?"  But then I answer the question - I have a family.  I have responsibilities.  Who will play piano and teach Sunday School?  I can't leave.  I can't take things away from my own children in order to help children I don't know.  What kind of mother would I be if I did that?  But what kind of mother am I if I teach my kids that the world revolves around them and their needs?  I am raising another selfish generation as the world slowly spins down.

If God didn't spare his chosen people, but put them through hardship because of their self-centeredness and 

lack of obedience, why do we think he'd let us get away with it?  Why do we have the conceited notion that we are the cause and the cure of the world's ills?  Why do we go on thinking we can have it all, without paying the price?

The truth is, we are not in control.  Our governments are not in control.  God made this world, and he can destroy it just as easily.  But he won't.  Not yet.  But it's coming.  He has promised us that.

Where will you be when it happens?  Which side will you be on?  Where will you spend your eternity?  Because there will be eternity.  And where you spend it depends on what you decide now.  God promises that if you accept Him now, you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven.  If, however, you reject Him, you will be in Hell.  And it won't be a good place to be.

 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.  Revelation 20:14-15

We need to change our ways.  I need to change.  This life is fleeting, but eternity lasts forever.  All of the organic food in the world won't matter when it's all over and done with.  We have to turn away from our selfishness and pride, and turn toward God and His ways.  We have to humble ourselves, and ask for forgiveness.  

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9

 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Horses!

Learning to Ride

I seem to have a "farm animals" theme going on here, but here is our other latest adventure (other than the chickens, of course).  The kids and I have started volunteering at a local horse farm.  Actually, it is a horse rescue - they take in horses who are injured, mistreated, or unwanted, and give them a new life (more information here).  I'm loving it, because I was (am) one of those girls who always wanted a horse and never could have one!  So, as Hubby says, I can get my "pony fix."

So far, we've volunteered twice.  Last week we went for the first time and were put right to work mucking stalls, sweeping, and grooming horses.  This week we went to work again, and then the kids took their first-ever riding lessons.  They both loved it!  They learned how to put the saddle and bridle on, along with how to get on the horse, walk, stop, go backwards, trot, and steer.  Their instructor also spent some time working on their balance by having them ride with their hands in the air and their feet out of the stirrups while she had the pony on a lunge line.

Sometimes it's hard to teach kids to work.  My kids are expected to help with household chores and things, but all in all they have it pretty good.  This is real work, and they both consider it a job, even though they aren't getting paid.  They are proud of themselves when they are done.  They are also finding out that work can be hard.  But these horses need help.  They can't clean their own stalls or get their own food or take care of their own coats.  Some of them have heartbreaking stories.  My kids realize that they are doing something important.  They are caring for another creature, even if that creature can't do anything for them in return.  What a lesson to learn!

Ogres Have Layers

I love this scene from Shrek.  It shows Shrek trying to explain to Donkey that Ogres aren't what he thought they were.  They have inner lives, and reasons of their own.  He says that Ogres are like onions.    

People are like onions, too.  We all have layers, and reasons, and there are layers that are buried so deep we may not be able to see them, ourselves.  There is no way to know what another person is thinking, or to understand their motives.  We are all a combination of all of our thoughts and experiences, and what might seem logical to one person will be nothing but confusion to another. I was having a discussion on Facebook (really!) this week about sin and judgement.  I don't believe we are to judge others.  We have no idea where they are coming from.  Even those who are closest to us are a mystery.  I can't pretend to even understand the thoughts and motives of my own children.  We can hope to gain understanding by talking, but we may never agree, because our actions will always come from our own heart.  And no one knows the heart but God.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (MSG)

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,

    a puzzle that no one can figure out.

But I, God, search the heart

    and examine the mind.

I get to the heart of the human.

    I get to the root of things.

I treat them as they really are,

    not as they pretend to be."

We do pretend.  Even to ourselves.  We don't always know why we do things.  And until we can be completely truthful with ourselves, it will be hard to be truthful with others.  So many times we judge others based on our own lives and experiences, rather than theirs.  We cannot really know where they are coming from!  

Don't judge!  Don't assume!  Don't let yourself be hurt by the actions of others, especially when you don't really know why they are doing them!  Life is too short, and eternity is too long.

Families are broken.  Friendships are broken.  Churches are broken.  Marriages are broken.  Countries are broken.  All because of misunderstanding and mistrust.  Let it stop!  Being right is not worth being alone.  We can't really know what is right, anyway.  God knows.  Lean on Him.  Talk to Him.  Cry to Him.

Psalm 18

King James Version (KJV)

1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Growing Up

Just like Dad

Have you ever noticed that children can't wait to grow up, but adults wish they could be children again?  My 11 year old son wishes he was old enough to get a job, while my hardworking husband longs for the days of his youth, when life was more fun.  Why is that?  And what are we missing, while we're wishing we were sometime else?

I think I'm a bad example of adulthood.  My daughter doesn't want to grow up, because it looks like too much work.  I don't really feel like I'm working too hard, but apparently I look like I am.  So I've been thinking, how can I bring back the fun and freedom of childhood for both Hubby and me, while continuing to be a responsible adult?  And how do I teach my children to be responsible, and to look forward to growing up, but not to miss the joy they have now?

Yesterday was Hubby's birthday, 

and Rory's was just under two weeks ago.

So it's a good time of year to think about getting older.  

Besides, there's been so much snow

There's not much else to do, except shovel.  And that can really make you think about your age!

I don't want my kids to fear growing up, or to hate being a kid.  And I don't want Hubby and myself to dread all the years we have left, or regret the time that has passed.  So my new mission is to bring joy to all of our lives.  I am not sure how, but hey - where there's a will, there's a way, right?  

Any ideas would be welcome here, (hint-hint!)  How do you add joy to your life? 

Living in a Box

Pop!  Goes the Lily

Before you start to worry, no, we have not lost our home.  As I write, I am safe and warm in my office, with heat, electricity, and internet access.  But sometimes I feel like I'm living in a box.  It is so easy to get comfortable with our lives, isn't it?  Things are going along pretty well.  We go to the same places, see the same people, do the same things.  Our pastor has been challenging us lately to get out there and reach others.  My first thought is, "I don't see anyone."  So that's not entirely true.  I take the kids to their sports practices, to AWANA and to the library for storytime.  I sometimes substitute teach in the local schools.  In winter it is a little harder to see neighbors, as everyone is huddled up inside.  But I think this is still an excuse.  I think this feeling of being boxed in comes from my own fears.  I am not allowed to speak of my religion at school, but I can still show the love of Christ in my interactions with the kids and other adults there.  I can get to know the other parents at my kids' events, and forge friendships.  I can check on neighbors to make sure everything is okay during dark days.  In short, I can reach out.

Reaching out is not really in my human nature, but I know that it is in the God-nature within me.  The sermon this week was on submission - submitting to Christ.  Not just some things, but everything.  All those things I have boxed up in the basement and attic and closets of my heart, trying to keep to myself.  That would include my fears and my humanity and my need for comfort.  I need to de-clutter my heart, as well as my home, because until I get some of the junk out, there is no room for the good stuff to come in.

Boxes don't have to be made of paper or wood.  And they don't have to hold physical things.  Our whole society is becoming reduced to tiny little electronic boxes.  TV's, computers, cell phones - we retreat into them until our lives are lived as if we were avatars in some made-up world.  We're tricking ourselves into believing that we are really doing something, while the whole time our bodies are sitting still, and the real world is going on around us, unnoticed.  It's much easier to talk to people when you can shut them off if you want to, and the world looks so much more beautiful on Pinterest.  Information is at our fingertips, but how many times have you spent hours researching something on line just to realize that you don't really need it after all?  And how could those hours have been better spent?

We're only given so much time in this world.  And we really have no idea how much time that is.  I know that I need to get out of my box, and really live.  There are people out there, who matter.  They matter to God, and because of that they should matter to me.  And not just in a superfluous way, but deep down.  The kind of matter that you can't find on Facebook or Twitter or Blogger.  The kind that can't be reduced to text-speak.

So this is my prayer for this year.  That I can learn to live as God wants me to live, in the world, not in my box!

What Kids Learn When Nobody's Looking

I've been working on the homeschooling paperwork for my state this week.  I think I have finally finished it.  I have the books together, the schedules ready, and the supply lists made.  Things are humming along nicely for our planned first week of school at the end of August.

We've been "off school" for the past month, on summer vacation.  It's been good, for many reasons.  One is that I had time to figure out next year without having to worry about what we're doing today.  Another is that the kids have a break from me telling them what to learn.

So, Lily has learned to ride a bike with training wheels. Rory has learned how to make jewelry out of found metal objects and hardware.  Also how to adjust a bicycle seat.  And that he likes music from about the 1940's to 60's (he got into my old record collection!).

The hard thing is that kids learn more from what you do, than what you say.  They learn how to speak, depending on how their parents speak.  They learn how to deal with emotions.  They learn how to to treat others.  They learn how to tell the truth, or how to lie and cover things up.

Being a parent is hard.  You are responsible not only for the things you do, but for the things your children do because of you.

So what are your children learning from you, when you're not looking?  It doesn't matter how many times you tell them the truth, if you are living a lie, they will know.  You can't say "Do what I say, not what I do."  It just doesn't work.

Have you heard the song "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns?  It is one of our favorites.

  My husband and I had a discussion about it one day while on a long road trip (captive audience, you know?)  We both like the song, but had gotten different ideas from it.  I found this teaching video by Mark Hall, who wrote the song.  I think it really explains where he was coming from.

The fact is that once you have kids, your life is not completely your own.  Everything you do now affects someone else.  We tend to be more concerned about what goes into our children's mouths than what goes into their brains.  But everything we do matters.  Whether we like it or not, they are more likely to grow up behaving the way we behave, than the way we try to tell them to behave.

And it really is a slow fade.  Whether you have kids or not, it is so easy to make one small compromise at a time, until you're somewhere you never thought you would be, living a life that you don't recognize anymore.  I went through this.  I am not proud of many of the things I did as a young adult.  Luckily for my kids, it happened before they came along.  And I pray that it doesn't happen again.

Because kids learn more than you know when nobody's looking.

No Regrets

I was talking to a friend, today.  She said that she'd been a little down, because it was her mother's birthday, and her mother had been gone for 14 years.  My friend is a few years younger than I am.  Another friend lost her mother yesterday.  Another friend told me how she was sorry that she hadn't ever gotten to know her biological father before he died. Another friend lost her grandfather this week, who was really as close as a father to her.  You never know how much time you have with someone before they are gone.

A 20 year old young man lies in a hospital bed with head trauma after a motorcycle accident yesterday that nearly cost him his life.  A 12 year old boy is still mourning his father who died when he was four.  My own husband still misses his mother who passed away when he was 16. I have known parents who have lost children at a young age, and have lost children to miscarriage.    You never know how long you have.

Love Is Hard.

Relationships are precious.  When I'm at the end of my life, I can't imagine that I will really care how many books or clothes or chocolate chip cookies I have had, or how right I was.  (Yes, Hubby, I really said that!)  I think I will care how much I loved.  And how much I was loved in return.  At that moment, I can only imagine that all of the things I've worked for will fall away, and the only thing that will matter is that I have someone with me, holding my hand.  And hopefully it will be a loved one, and not a nurse who is paid to be there.

Our time on this earth is short.  And tomorrow is never promised.  I don't want to regret my life.  I don't want to look back and realize that everything I thought was important was really just a waste of time.  I don't want to reach out my hand only to find no one there to hold on to.

It is natural to want to leave something of ourselves behind when we go.  People have always tried to make their mark on the world.  I'm not likely to ever be famous.  I won't be in any encyclopedias.  Poems will not be penned in my honor.  But I will have a legacy.  I hope that legacy is that I loved.

When I was in school, our Sunday School class put on a play for youth Sunday.  It was a spoof on the Frankenstein story, with the monster giving the speech about love.  The speech was taken from 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

"Love does not give up.  

Love is kind.  

Love is not jealous.  

Love does not put itself up as being important.  

Love has no pride.  

Love does not do the wrong thing.  

Love never thinks of itself.  

Love does not get angry.  

Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone.  

Love is not happy with sin.  

Love is happy with the truth.  

Love takes everything that comes without giving up.  

Love believes all things.  

Love hopes for all things. 

 Love keeps on in all things." 

(1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New Life Version).

Love is hard.  Love cannot coexist with pride. Or the need to be right.  Or the need to have what you want.  Or the need to be safe or pain-free.

But in the end, it is all you have.  It is the only way to true life.

"Dear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God.

Those who love are God's children and they know God.

Those who do not love do not know God because God is love.

God has shown His love to us by sending His only Son into the world.

God did this so we might have life through Christ.

This is love!"

(1 John 4:7-10, NLV)

"I give you a new Law.  

You are to love each other.  

You must love each other as I have loved you." 

(John 13:34, NLV)

Love is hard.  But it is worth it.  It is worth all of the pain, and the humility, and the selflessness.  It is the only thing that really matters.  No regrets.

Do Schools Teach ADD?

This is just a question, and I'm not sure I know the answer, but here is what I observed.  As I said in this post, I recently began substitute teaching in the local public school district.  So far, I have subbed in the elementary schools which cover grades kindergarten through 5th grade.

One day, I was subbing for a teacher who split her time teaching small groups and helping in both a second grade and a kindergarten classroom.  So, I was bopping around the school all day, covering different subjects in different rooms.

During one of my "bops," I was helping the kindergartners with math.  This particular day, they were working on a practice test for the state tests they would soon be taking.  Each page of the test had about four questions on it, with instructions for the questions written in small print on the bottom of the page.  The idea was that the teacher would read the instructions, and the children would fill in the little circle next to the correct answer.  Because this was a review, the teacher had a copy of the test page on the computerized white board at the front of the class.  So, the teacher would read a question, the other aides and I would go around and check to make sure the kids were getting their papers marked, and then the teacher would call one of the students up to show the correct answer on the board.  Then, they would go to the next question.  When they were all done with the page, we would go around the room and draw a star on each of their papers to show they were finished, and then they would turn to the next page.

Needless to say, this was a rather drawn-out process.  When I got to the room, I was assigned to help four specific students.  I quickly realized that one of them needed help with each problem, reminding him to think about it, and to mark the correct circle.  One of the students was a different story altogether.  He was seated in the back of the room, behind all of the other children.  Since he seemed to spend a good portion of his time dropping things on the floor and leaning upside down out of his seat, I could see why.  He would have distracted anyone he was sitting in front of.  When I went to check his paper, however, he had the whole page completed.  And it was correct!  Now, mind you, the printed instructions at the bottom of the page were things like "Which shape is next to the triangle," and "Which picture shows 15 items?"  These were not questions that you could guess by looking at the problems, themselves.  So here was this little boy, who had obviously read all of the small print and answered the questions quickly, waiting for the rest of the class to catch up and for someone to star his paper so he could continue.

Now, what did this boy learn during math class?

He learned that it doesn't pay to know more than the rest of the class.
He learned to go into his own little world to avoid doing things that would get him into trouble.
He learned that the only way to get attention was to do inappropriate things, because no one needed to spend time helping him with the math and there were other kids who needed all sorts of help.

He also learned that I have an "Angry Birds" coffee cup, because I couldn't resist whispering with him just a bit.  Unfortunately, I had to tell him that I would not be getting him one, because mine was a gift from my sister, at which point he asked if my sister would get him one.  Probably not.

I don't know anything about this boy other than his first name and that he likes "Angry Birds," but he seemed a little familiar to me.

My son started out in kindergarten in that same school, several years ago.  His desk was by itself, near the door so he wouldn't be bothering the other kids.  He spent his time making noise to get attention from the other kids, as he told me.  Part of his schoolwork consisted of coloring pictures which started with whatever letter they were working on.  For the letter "T," he had to color a small picture of a turkey, along with other pictures, and cut them out and glue them to the paper.  He hadn't finished his work in class that day, and brought it home to finish.  He painstakingly colored each feather a different color, and did a beautiful job.

Get me out of here!

One of the last pictures my son brought home before we withdrew him from school and started homeschooling him was a picture in which every item drawn on the page started with the letter printed there.  The entire paper was colored brown.  I guess it was considered correct, but this seemed to be going downhill to me.  I suppose it was good that he finished it in class.

I don't have an answer for this.  I honestly believe that teachers are doing the best they have with what they have to work with.  There is surely a better way, but not with the way schools are presently structured.  I just wonder how many kids have eagerly gone to kindergarten to learn, and have graduated 13 years later relieved to be out of that prison?  Again, I thank God that I am able to homeschool my children!

A Fluid Life

You can't stop time!

One thing I have learned - things change. All the time. Children grow and become new people on what seems like a daily basis. My little baby girl is now 5 years old, and ready to start kindergarten. Where has the time gone?

Circumstances change, too. Earlier this year my husband changed positions at his job. As a result, his work schedule changed, and this changed the rhythm of our whole home life. Actually, we're still getting adjusted. To add to this, I went back to work part time. Because Hubby is off on Mondays and Tuesdays consistently, I was able to apply to the local school district to substitute teach two days a week. That has really thrown things off!

It has been hard for me to keep things together at home as well as they were before - my menu planning and shopping are sporadic, as are the laundry and housecleaning, and our schedule is a bit of a mess. I am having to plan further ahead for homeschool, because I may or may not be here any given Monday or Tuesday, and Hubby may have to substitute for me while I'm substituting for someone else!

Thankfully, I've noticed once again that God prepares everything in advance. Just about a month before I started subbing, I found a method for helping Rory keep on track with his schoolwork. It is a simple checklist, which includes spaces to write down assignments, chores to be done, and places to go that day. It is easier for Rory, and now Hubby, to see what needs to be done each day. In fact, Lily liked it so much that I had to make her her own version! I had also planned out the subjects for the rest of the school year, to make sure we would be able to finish everything, and had assignments planned for each subject on the days they should be done. It is much simpler to just look at my plans and transfer them to the daily sheet.

Rory has also requested to do his own laundry, on Mondays. He has done laundry before, helping with the regular laundry or washing his blankets, but this is a new step. The good thing is that it frees me up to do laundry less often, as there is less laundry overflowing the laundry sorter!

Assuming I will continue subbing next school year, I am working on a do-able schedule for the fall. One thing that has not worked well is having certain subjects scheduled on days that Hubby is teaching as well as days that I am teaching. Some of them just don't work as well if they're not done consistently with the same person. So I've decided to try a modified "block" schedule for the fall. This year, we worked on short time periods, in the hope that it would keep Rory motivated and help him to keep his attention on his work. And I think it has been beneficial. We will still do that for some subjects, doing them every day, such as math and spelling. However, certain subjects like science or history will probably work better if done in an intense block once a week. So I'll be scheduling those on certain days, trying to put the more adaptable subjects on Monday or Tuesday when either one of us could be teaching. I'll let you know how it goes!

The one thing I have learned from subbing is that I'm so grateful to be able to homeschool my kids!  That little bit of "maybe they'd be better off in school" thought is completely gone, now.  I like working with the kids at school, but I can't imagine sending my kids there every day.  I am so thankful that we have a choice!

As you've probably noticed, this new life of mine makes it difficult for me to find time to write, but I will keep updated as much as possible!  Until next time...

The Blessing of Work

Do you ever feel like you have too much work to do?  Like you just need a chance to relax?  I think we all feel like that sometimes.  It is easy to think of work as the enemy, or at least as an annoying necessity that you try to get through so you can get to "real life."

 But, what if real life is really work?

Rory, hard at work!

We here in the U.S. live in a pretty easy age in a pretty easy country.  We have tons of leisure time, as a nation.  And we use it.  We spend many hours and much money entertaining ourselves.  And we feel put-out if we don't have our "me-time."

But, what if we're not meant to have it easy?

Is it possible to be happy and working at the same time?  Is it possible to be content if we have no "down-time" from the time we get up until the time we go to sleep?  Is it possible that we're setting our kids up for a life of disillusionment?

I think we've missed the boat.  Work is not evil.  It is a gift of God.

Genesis 2:15

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden to dress it and to keep it.

Adam was put in the garden of Eden to work!  He had a job to do!  We tend to think of the garden of Eden as a paradise, where everything was done, and all Adam had to do was sit around eating grapes.  It seems that if he was to eat the grapes, he had to do something toward taking care of them.  And Eve was created to help him.  Not to sit around looking pretty.  So God planned all along that people would work.  The popular "Paleo diet" uses as its premise that we shouldn't be eating anything that the ancient people didn't eat.  Well, it seems to me that the first man and the first woman were created to be farmers.  As if the garden wasn't going to continue being beautiful and fruitful all by itself. 

I think some of our hatred of work comes from the result of sin.   

Genesis 3:17-19

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:  cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field:  in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread...

The lie of the serpent and the sin of the man and the woman made work hard.  Our sin continues to do so.  And I think it is because we work for the wrong reasons.  We're trying to get ahead, or make the rent, or save up enough to retire.  Maybe we're trying to put bread on the table, or to send our kids to college, or to buy a bigger house, or to make a better life for ourselves, or to escape the life we have by avoiding it.  The problem is that all of reasons have the same root.  Me.  The same reason Adam and Eve ate the fruit.  To be like God.  To know good and evil.  To not need anybody else, including or especially God.  

Trying to do anything in life aside from God is a sure path to failure, and that includes work.  Taking God away from work puts it into the "bad" column.  Instead of the blessing it was meant to be, it becomes a curse.  But it doesn't have to be.  There is a way to bring back the blessing.

Colossians 3:22-24

 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God; And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance:  for ye serve the Lord Christ. 

If only we can teach this to our children!  If they can see us joyfully carrying out the duties of this life as a service to the Lord, not grudgingly as an evil that must be endured, but as a blessing of our Heavenly Father, and as a way of worshiping God!  Oh, to believe it ourselves!  Can't you see how working this way would eliminate the need for "me-time" or "down-time" or "leisure-time?"  It would all be Joy-Time!  It would put us perpetually in the presence of Jesus - and Jesus calls himself the Lord of the Sabbath.  He is our rest

Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:  and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

Did you read that?  That was Jesus talking.  It's an invitation.  Not to a life of hardness and pain, but one of lightness and rest.  People tend to either believe that being a Christian makes your life easy, because God does everything for you, or that it takes away all the fun in life.  Neither is true.  Jesus won't suddenly fill up your bank account so you can retire, but he will give you the strength to do the work you were created to do.  And following Jesus won't take away all of your fun.  It will open your eyes to the joy that is all around you.  And it will expose that "fun" for the sin that it really is.  Because unless there's something wrong with it, why would following God take it away from you?  He wants you to be happy and content.  That is why he put Adam and Eve in that beautiful garden to begin with. I believe that they were meant to expand that garden to cover the Earth, along with their offspring.

Sin came in, and corrupted the earth along with the people on it.  But God was not finished.  He has provided a way back for us.  And He has provided a beautiful place for us to live.

Isaiah 65:17-25

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:  and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create:  for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people:  and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days:  for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.  And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat:  for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.  And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock:  and dust shall be the serpent's meat.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. 

Can you see it?  Can you believe it?  You can begin to live it now.   Jesus came to show us the way.  Away from the curse, and back to the blessing.  And he has promised to come back to finish the work his Father started.

John14:1-3

Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 We just have to believe, and then live like we believe.  And joyfully do the work that is set before us.

Needle Felting!

I have to share some of my creations with you today.  I have been teaching myself to needle felt.  It is slightly dangerous, especially for us uncoordinated folk, as you are poking rather quickly with very sharp needles into little things that you're holding in your hand, but unless you're Sleeping Beauty, a few poke marks aren't too bad.

I had looked into this craft a little, and gotten a book out of the library, but wasn't sure where to begin. So I did what all people who don't know where to begin get started - I bought a kit.

The kit had needles, a foam block, and felt to make a gnome.  Of course, once I made one gnome, Lily thought we needed a girl gnome too.  So, here they are:

Needle felted gnomes!

Not bad for a first attempt, huh?  Well, I made a tiny turkey and cornucopia for Thanksgiving decorations (which are in the attic with the other decorations so you can't see them now), and then some snowmen for Christmas gifts (which are with their new owners so you can't see them either).  Then, I made an owl for Hubby - he has his Mom's owl collection, and has been adding to it over the years.  I meant to make it for Christmas, but ran out of time, so I made it the other day.

Hubby's needle felted owl

And the back

I made the little nest after the fact.  I don't think snowy owls lay blue eggs, but maybe I'll make a robin sometime.  The last thing I made was a doll, which Lily has claimed.  I guess I need to come up with something to make Rory now!  Lily has already commissioned a boy doll, with longer arms, for herself.

Needle felted doll

Back view of doll

Doll with four year old!

Just so you can get an idea of the size, here's the whole group next to a 28 oz. tomato can.

So, my next question is, do you think anyone would want to buy things like this?  I need a little more practice, but I think they could be cute.  And I'm afraid my house would be taken over eventually, so I'm hoping there are others who would like them?  And if so, what in the world would I charge?  Things to consider, but until then, I'm going to have fun with my new hobby!

The Law of the Land

I'm reading a book - "Revolution in World Missions" by K. P. Yohannan, the founder of the organization Gospel for Asia.  It's changing my understanding of what I am supposed to be doing, as a follower of Christ.

So last night, I was reading this book, which is the story of how Mr. Yohannan started this organization to help Asian missionaries reach people for Christ in their own countries.  The part I was reading talked about the social gospel, and how ineffective it has been to actually reach people for Christ.  In case you're wondering, the social gospel is the idea that physical needs need to be taken care of before the spiritual needs can be met.

Mr. Yohannan related that in Asia, it has led to countless hospitals, schools, and rest homes, but very few conversions.  He makes the point that it is not easier for someone to come to Christ if he is rich than if he is poor, and if he is fed, than if he is hungry.

I began to think about the political situation here in the United States.  Christians are spending money and time trying to change the laws.  To make the laws of our country conform to God's laws.  Outlaw abortion.  Outlaw same-sex marriage.  Censor porn.  And vote for those politicians who say they will make these laws.

What are we doing?  Has following the law - even "The Law" - ever earned someone eternal life?  How is having the right laws going to make this a more Christian nation?  We are acting like the scribes and pharisees in Jesus' day.  We are trying to get people to follow our laws, but not leading them to the fulfillment of the law - Jesus Christ.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."  Matthew 23:15.  

Jesus didn't mince words.  All of the laws and the rules and the rituals were useless then, and they are just as useless, now.  

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:  for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."  Galatians 2:16.  

We are saved by grace, not by works.  

January 6, 1919, the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified.  It prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors in the united states - otherwise known as the prohibition of alcohol.  It was repealed December 5, 1933 by the 21st amendment.  From what I remember from history class, outlawing alcohol mostly turned citizens into lawbreakers.  It didn't stop anyone from drinking alcohol.

Honestly, being under the drinking age in college didn't stop me from drinking alcohol, either.  However, now that I am old enough to drink, I don't.  Do you know why?  Because I was saved by grace.  I no longer belong to that life.  I am a new creation in Christ Jesus.  I'm not saying that having a drink is wrong, but for me, it was part of a lifestyle that I no longer live.  The law didn't change my life.  Jesus did.

I started crying last night, because I saw in my mind a city full of people.  And I knew that they were all lost.  And I knew then that prohibiting same-sex marriage won't save homosexuals, and prohibiting abortions won't save unwed mothers, and censoring pornography won't save anyone from an eternity in Hell.  Only the saving grace of Jesus can do any of that.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?  and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?...So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  Romans 10:13-15,17.

All of our self-righteousness and our striving to get people to bend to our rules are futile.  More than futile:  FATAL!  While we spend our time, money, and energy trying to "take back America," millions are dying without God.  We can't save our country.  Only God can do that.  Do you think he's going to do it because we're being good Pharisees and following the law?  I don't.  I think he's watching us walk around in our insulated bubbles, trying to show everyone how to live the "right way," and he's crying.

Because for each of our perfect little families, there are a multitude that haven't been saved because they haven't called on the name of the Lord.

And they haven't called on him because they haven't believed.

And they haven't believed in him because they haven't heard.

And they haven't heard, because they don't have a preacher.

And they haven't preached, because they haven't been sent.

And they haven't been sent because we are too busy trying to fix people's earthly lives for them, all the while ignoring their eternal souls.

We are in danger of losing our rights in this country.  The rights of free speech and of freedom of religion, to name two.  If you want to change this country, work to keep those rights, and then USE THEM!  Jesus gave us a mandate.  To go and to preach.  Not to judge.  Not to make people behave.  To pray, not to prod.  Definitely not to try to make this world, or this country, more comfortable for us.

"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."  Mark 8:34-38

If you are reading this and you have never heard about Jesus Christ, or if you believe in him but figure that you are beyond help, please believe me. - God loves you.  No matter what.  

There is nothing you have done, or could ever do, that he won't forgive you for.  He wants you to live with him forever.  But you have to make that choice.  You don't have to fix yourself before he will accept you.  You just have to accept him, and he will work in your life to make you into the person he created you to be in the first place.  

You don't have to have fancy words, or be in a church.  Just pray.  Tell God that you are sorry for all of the bad things you've done.  And face it, we've all done bad things.  But you don't have to keep doing them.  Ask God to clean all that junk away.  He promises to throw it so far that he won't even see it again!  Now, tell him that you want to be with him forever, and that you want his son, Jesus, to be in charge of your life.  Believe me, he does a better job of it - I've tried it both ways, and I always mess it up, but God's way is perfect.  Now, step out into your new life, and be ready to tell someone else about it!  Because once you've given up that old, sinful self, and seen what the peace of God really feels like, you're going to want everyone else to have it, too!

Now, your new life may not be easier.  In fact, it may be harder.  But it will definitely be better.