Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Today's Lesson: Honesty

5:07 a.m.: Wake up to go to the bathroom. Realize my alarm is set to go off in only 8 more minutes, so I turn it off. I have it set so I can get up before the kids wake up and do some Bible study. I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to get up anyway, but I really want to stay in bed. I decide to lay there and just start my day with praying, which I usually do if I wake up before a child, but I continue to feel prompted to get up.

5:19 a.m.: I finally relent and get out of bed. I settle myself on the couch with my Bible and notebooks. Back to Proverbs today. Chapter 24. I got through only a few verses before the youngest awoke and the ones I wrote down were verse 26 (An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.) and verse 28 (Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, or use your lips to deceive.) How are you going to use that today, Lord?

5:30 a.m.: Wondering why in the world I was prompted to get out of bed only a few minutes before my child and only read a few verses, two of them having to do with honest answers. Of course, I also think that I would have gotten at least a little further if I had actually stayed up at 5:07 instead of waiting until 5:19.

Later that morning (around 10:30?): My daughter is confronted with a choice to tell the truth or lie. I realize that maybe my verses this morning were meant for this moment. I share with my daughter what I had read. She chooses to tell the truth.

About 5:30 p.m.: We're taking a walk and my daughter starts to pout because we wouldn't let her run ahead and be silly like her Daddy had just done because a car was coming and we wanted her to wait and be safe. She refused to talk or walk, so we decided to head home unless she changed her attitude. After a few steps back in the homeward direction, she decided to turn around and choose to change her attitude. My husband asked her if she was pouting. She said she wasn't pouting and when we thought she was, she was just looking at her babies. (She was pushing two dolls along in a doll stroller for our walk.) We called her on the lie and reminded her about doing the right thing no matter what, even if it's the harder thing to do. Hmm, this was the second opportunity to talk about honesty today.

Even though I only got through a few verses this morning in only the five or so minutes I had alone this morning, the Holy Spirit most definitely had a word for me today that applied to the circumstances that would arise through its course. Praise God that He knows what we'll go through even before we do - and that He is able and desires to prepare us.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Living a Musical

I grew up loving to watch musicals. I've heard many people complain about musicals, saying they are so unrealistic because no one goes through life singing about everything. I must admit, that in our family, we live life like a musical! We sing about so many things throughout our days, making up songs and rhymes about all sorts of things including toilet-training, getting dressed, going on trips in the car, and finding lost items. I've always enjoyed music and have come to appreciate it as a good learning tool also.

For example, the thing that prompted me to write this post, was the song, "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me." I looked up the history on this song the other day just to see if it compared at all to what I got out of the song and was sharing with my children - and it definitely does not! Here is the way I see it. The song makes me think of the devil's attempts to trick us and cause us to fall into sin. In the song, he would be the fly. We speak out against him and tell him to leave us alone. Why? Because we belong to somebody! God! So, it is like we are saying, "Shoo, Devil! You leave us alone! We belong to God!" Then the next part, "I feel, I feel, I feel like the morning star..." I did a little research on Biblical commentaries about that part this morning. The most cited verse found with a reference to the morning star in the Bible is Isaiah 14:12 and many believe that it refers to Satan/Lucifer prior to being cast out of heaven. Some believe it refers to Jesus and prophesied his being sent to earth and becoming man. Some say it is just a reference to King Nebuchadnezzar. (And some commentaries were just strange and I didn't understand their discussion at all.) Anyhow, I have always thought of Jesus when singing the "Shoo Fly..." song and that we can feel our true status as adopted children of God, brothers/sisters of Christ, co-heirs of the kingdom.

Another children's song that makes us think about Jesus is "Mary Had a Little Lamb." I'm sure many of you have heard the references to the little lamb being Jesus and him not being allowed in the school, just as religion/prayer is generally not allowed in public education nowadays. "Mary loved the Lamb, you know," why? Because "the Lamb loves Mary so." Again, looking for the history of this song did not reveal that history in its creation, but we still like to remember it that way.

Other songs that I sing often include "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" (yes, year-round) and "Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know." My daughter now sings the latter with me usually.

Another thing we like are Bible verses set to music. Some good friends introduced us to Family Worship Seeds (www.seedsfamilyworship.net) and we have memorized some verses and their scriptural location from these songs. I've also heard that "Hide 'Em In Your Heart" cds by Steve Green are good. I found yesterday (or the day before) that if you do a search for "scripture songs" you can find even more.

Finally, I believe God loves to hear his beloved sing to him, to have songs on their hearts. There are many verses in the Bible related to music, mostly in the Old Testament and primarily in Psalms. Here are some of the ones that I have found: 2 Samuel 6:5, 1 Chronicles 6:31-32, 1 Chronicles 13:8, 1 Chronicles 15:16, 1 Chronicles16:42, 1 Chronicles 1,3,6-7, 2 Chronicles 5:12-14, 2 Chronicles 7:6, 2 Chronicles 20:28, 2 Chronicles 30:21, Nehemiah 12:27, Psalm 9:2, Psalm 27:6, Psalm 33:1-3, Psalm 68:25, Psalm 69:30-31, Psalm 81:2, Psalm 98:5-6, Psalm 144:9, Psalm 147:7, Psalm 149:3, Psalm 150:3-5. There are many more, but those are just some I've written down in my notebook so far.

Many blessings on you. I pray that the Holy Spirit leads you to sing!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Tangles and Pigtails

I really don't plan to post this often, but I've been thinking about things to share for a while and want to get this page started off right.

Last night, my daughter informed me that she wanted her hair in pigtails today. I love the opportunity to fix her hair and she really is cute in pigtails, so I was game for it this morning. Then came the tangles. And then came the wiggly head that wouldn't stay still while I tried to part her hair, comb it in the right directions, and get the hairbands on.

What can I learn from this?

Sin in our lives are like tangles. They can be hard to get out of, cause pain, and require work. It's not something that you can rush through, though. You have to take your time and do it correctly or you'll just end up with worse tangles - or more pain than necessary. I can't find the reference right now because I let a friend borrow the book it's in, but I think Beth Moore shared something she learned through an experience with tangles in the hair of one of her daughters. At this time, I can't remember the lesson she was led to.

And the pigtails? Just like I was trying to make my daughter's hair look right, so our Father wants to make our lives look right. He has a good and perfect plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) if we would just quit wiggling and squirming to do our own thing our own way. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Unlike an earthly parent who might just give up on the wiggly kid's hair, clothing, or whatever else it may be that day, God does not give up on us and it is His will that will prevail (Proverbs 19:21).

Below are some other verses that I thought of in regard to this post. I'm sure there are many more but these are a few I found in a short time this morning. I've been reading a lot in Proverbs lately.

Hard work: Proverbs 10:4-5, Proverbs 18:9, Proverbs 12:27, Proverbs 13:4
Going too fast/acting or speaking in haste: Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 19:2, Proverbs 20:25, Proverbs 21:5
The Lord's will prevails: Proverbs 16:4, 9, 33; Proverbs 20:24

Spilled Milk

I am usually slightly frustrated or irritated when milk, water, or juice starts coming out of the straws of my children's cups and creating puddles on the lid, running down the sides of the cup, and dripping on the table, floor, car seat, child, etc. underneath. It's even messier when someone bumps said cup with the straw brimming with beverage because then it is slung around, causing the liquid to go further and possibly in more directions, landing on more surfaces. So, I'm usually more worried about the mess made and cleaning it up than anything else - until yesterday evening.

As I cleaned up a puddle of milk on the kitchen table, I thought about what I could learn from it and I realized that I wanted to be like that cup. I wanted my love for God and joy in Him to fill me so full that it can't help but overflow. I thought of the words "my cup runneth over" and looked up Psalm 23:5, which says "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows" (NIV '84 version).

I want what God gives me - His love, His blessings, His Word, His lessons - to fill me up so that I can not help but share them, that I won't be able to contain them no matter how hard I might try (not that I would want to contain them). I want it to show on me. I want God to be seen in my face, my eyes, the things I say and do, the choices I make - just like the beverages can be seen on the cup. I want it to spill over into other lives. I want the situations I encounter - even the hard ones - to jostle my cup and cause everything of God to be shared with many others - to go further and land in more places.

Dear Lord, I want my cup to runneth over for you today. Please fill me.

I will not look at one of the kid's straw cups sitting in a puddle with a drink brimming in the straw the same again.

Thank you for this lesson, dear Lord.


Additional verses: Exodus 33:13; Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 4:29; Deuteronomy 6:5-9; Deuteronomy 11:18-21

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Resources

Here are some resources and groups that I like. You might like to look into them if you haven't already. Some of them have e-mail groups, Facebook pages, etc. that you might like.

1. Remember Me app. for Android - this program helps with Bible verse memorization. I have really enjoyed reviewing memory verses every day and like the way it is set up to do a flashcard review and how it staggers when you practice the verses after you've been doing them for a while.

2. Crosswalk.com - I currently use this site mainly to search references in the Bible, but it has MANY more features.

3. Biblegateway.com - I read many Bible verses on this site also.

4. Barna Group (barna.org) - an organization that does Christian research. I believe they have amazing resources, although I've actually only read one so far - a book titled Revolutionary Parenting by George Barna.

5. The Institute for Creation Research (icr.org) - I've recently been introduced to this group, but am highly interested. I've always loved hearing how science proves God. So many people seem to think that science disproves Him, but this just isn't so!

6. Family Life (familylife.com) - another resource I haven't reviewed extensively, but I hear their Passport to Purity program is great. Something I hope to keep in mind for the future...

7. Focus on the Family - Dr. James Dobson and his crew have some good resources. I'm trying to read Bringing Up Girls and hope to read Bringing Up Boys afterward. I've heard good things about some of his other books, too. I hope to read more some day.

8. Samaritan's Purse - an organization that provides charitable opportunities to reach other people groups for Christ - to provide for people's needs so they will be open to hear about God.

9. Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com) - information about and ways to support missionaries and those spreading the gospel in hostile nations.

10. Smile Train - okay, so this one is more based on my interest in speech-language pathology because it helps provide surgeries to children with cleft lips and/or palates, but communication is so key to our interactions with others and first impressions can be lasting. Children in other countries are sadly left out of many social situations (school, play, etc.) due to these facial abnormalities.

11. biblecc.com - Another neat website for looking at verses online. I often read commentaries listed with the verses that help me gain insight to the verses.

My Testimony

Before getting too deep into blogging, I feel it is important for me to tell you some about my testimony. I think it shares some about what I believe and why this blog would be important to me.



I have grown up in the church. I went to a Baptist church, but also visited Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, Church of Christ, and Lutheran. After my mother remarried, my brother and I alternated weekends between the Baptist church and the Lutheran church, until my mother felt like we needed to pick one and become more established in a class, group of friends, whatever. We chose to attend the Lutheran church with my mother and step-father. In college, I went to the Lutheran church once, but decided that's not where I wanted to be. I went to an Episcopalian church for a semester. I loved the people there, but still did not feel like I was where God wanted me to be. I wanted to try the Baptist church again, but passed by the Methodist church on my walk to the Baptist church and they were about to start - so I went in. I visited there a few times and then again did not believe it was the place for me. I went to a Baptist church and it finally felt right. I began attending a Sunday School class again, which I hadn't done since high school because I was disgusted by the hypocrisy that I saw in the group I was with. I joined the church after a while and it is the church in which Clint and I got married.

When growing up in the Baptist church, I often read through the Bible during the sermon, but didn't understand much (especially when I was reading Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Numbers!). I'd hear the altar call every Sunday I was there and prayed the prayer of salvation every time, too - asking God if it was my time and wanting to be saved. I remember hearing the pastor once saying that when you were ready to be saved, you would feel it in your gut/stomach area. It would be like butterflies or hunger pains, but you would know it was different. One day, my brother and I were at the Baptist church with my mother and the man she was dating at the time. The pastor gave the altar call and I felt it. I started crying and sat down. My mother asked what was wrong and I told her I had to go up front. So I did. I was nine years old and was baptized about two weeks later (if my memory is correct).

I felt strong for the Lord right away, studied my Bible, etc. That's not the way it stayed, though. I fell away from reading my Bible, did not have a good surrounding of Christian friends, struggled with some depression, and who knows what else - immaturity, etc. In college, I started to grow again. I was reading my Bible and soaking up what I was hearing at church, seeing how God was working in my life and revealing Himself to me. The College and Career class I joined at First Baptist in San Marcos was a great group in which I had great leaders and a group of Christians with whom I could grow in my faith. I still made choices during that time that I now feel or know were wrong.

As an adult, I have continued and am continuing to grow in my knowledge of Christ. I strive to do what is right all the time, no matter how hard that may be. I know many people will not understand or agree with me about what I do or why I do it, but I am learning to please Christ is more important than trying to please men. It's hard, but I believe it is the right thing to do, and Scriptures have supported me in my belief. When talking to others, I want to have God's word as the foundation. I have my own thoughts and ideas, but I know that God does not think like I do and His thoughts are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9). If something I say does not match up with the Bible, I am not opposed to someone correcting me and I am open to that learning. If something doesn't sound right in what I say, please check it with Scripture. I am still learning and know I will never understand it all. I feel like a sponge wanting to soak it all up, and then squeezing it back out to others - not emptied but sharing it with others.

I hope this gives you an idea of where I come from and my acknowledgment that I myself am flawed and don't have all the answers. I seek God and to share Him with others, and will do my best based on that.

Praying without Ceasing


I looked up some verses on praying without ceasing yesterday because a friend posted a question about it about some clarification about not praying using lots of words and praying continuously. Here's what I found. Matthew 6:5-7 talk about not "showing off" when praying. Matthew 14:23, Matthew 26, Mark 6:46, and Mark 14 talk about Jesus praying alone and in Luke 9:28, Jesus withdraws with a few friends to pray. In Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Ephesians 6:18 we are told to watch and pray. Luke 18:1 says we should always pray and not give up. 1 Thessalonians 3:10 says they prayed night and day and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray continually. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 says Paul, Silas and Timothy were constantly praying. 1 Timothy 5:5 was meaningful to me and says: "The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help." Okay, some of my thoughts based on all this: Our prayers are supposed to be an intimate time between us and God. They are for us and God alone, not to gain approval from other people. All our decisions should be based on our seeking of God's will and would thus involve prayer, which would mean praying often throughout the day. The reason 1 Timothy 5:5 struck me is that the widow had full reliance on God and prayed to him for all her needs. If at any time of the day I feel prompted to pray, I can and do. I read part of a commentary on "praying without ceasing" and it said some things I believe. At least part of what this means is that we can pray any time, any where, in any posture, at any volume (with or without audible voice) and God will hear us. I think it is important to recognize that prayer doesn't have to be a formal event that we hold to at certain times (meal times, bed times, etc. - although these are all good times to remember God's blessings and pray for His provisions, etc.) but can be like conversations with someone we are close to. With that last part, the song "I Just Called to Say I Love You" came to my mind.