Friday I went to a worship and prayer for the new schoolyear, which was held at the home of another homeschool mom. The devil sure tried to talk me out of going, trying to deceive me into thinking that if I have the time I should be working on getting my schedule planned as school was a mere three days away (we're taking a vacation in Sept., so we're starting early to compensate). Thankfully I have a husband who is wise to the devil's schemes and stayed with the children and sent me and my plate of scones on our merry way. I just have to share with you what an incredible blessing this time was.

First of all, I knew no one except for the woman hosting, and even then I didn't know her that well. It made no difference. I felt very welcome and comfortable. One woman came and set up her keyboard and led the worship music and then we had a time of spoken worship and different prayers, including our family, husbands, children, and ourselves. Then we just sort of started discussing things and questions of getting order and discipline into our homes. There were so many things I was supposed to be there hearing and I thought I'd share a few things because they may be blessings to you as well.

1) Get up in the morning and get that time with the Lord! That is probably the most important thing you can do that will affect your entire day, not to mention your life and the lives of your husband and children. Now, I knew this one before I went there, but hearing it again really solidified the importance of it for me. I don't want to start my day without Him because I want everything to be in His hands, so I need to lay it all before Him.

2) Make your home a haven of joy and peace. There should not be any yelling. Did you get that? There SHOULD NOT BE ANY YELLING!!! It might feel good to get it out at the time, but I for one usually feel awful when I yell and lose that self-control. What an ungodly example. Yuck. The one woman made a great point when she said, "Since God tells us to have a meek and gentle spirit, then when we yell, we are going against God." Yes, even when we are correcting sin, we are trying to overcome evil with evil and as the Bible says, "A house divided against itself cannot stand". As difficult as it may be, don't cave in. Leave the room if you have to, but don't succumb to the devils ways of handling things.

3) Train your children to respond to you the first time you say something in your calm voice. Don't let them ignore your requests until you scream at them. If you have to, take them by the hand and walk them to where they need to be (the dishes, trash bag, shoes on the floor or whatever) and calmly say, "You know, I asked you to do this and you are not obeying. Please do said request now please." And a sincere smile and a thank you go a long way. I know if you are like me, you may have years of mis-training to correct. Don't give up. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, remember?

4) Sit your family down and ask them what sin is evident that you need to work on. This isn't a time to lash back with "well, yeah, that's because you never listen..." The woman who suggested this said she wasn't expecting what her family said and it made her realize things she either didn't notice or that she didn't realize how it impacted her family. And be prepared to take these to the Lord and work together on them.

5) This next one was a biggie for me and really hit me hard. Hard in a good way because it was truly God's wisdom pouring out and I felt such a burden lifted. When your child disobeys, do not look at it as a sin against you. It is a spiritual battle between God and the enemy. We certainly need to address that sin with rebuking and reproofing, but that is why we need to refer to the first point I made and make that prayer time to start your day. Then continue with it throughout the day and end your day that way. You will not regret it!

I felt so refreshed when I left this prayer group. It impacted me so much. Two of the mothers spoke about how they were in a mom's prayer group for seven years that used to meet every other Friday or something like that and what an impact it made. She is now seeing the fruits in her children in ways that she couldn't have even dreamed of. I felt and still feel a strong pulling by the Holy Spirit to begin one myself, as this meeting was only for praying over the new schoolyear and will not continue to meet. The devil will have me believe that I can't afford to miss one day of school work a month for this, my house will never be clean enough, or that it would be too hard with the children around. Already my husband has offered to take the children to breakfast and/or the library if need be. And I do think I would need him to as I don't want the children hearing the requests for them or other people's children. So, with that said, I'm still praying that the Lord would work out all the logistics as I prepare to open my home to this. Wanna come? The scones are fresh and the coffee's hot!

Jennifer :)

P.S. One more point I wanted to share -- there were 9 women there. I thought for sure that I was the only one who screamed at their children (though I've gotten so much more patient because of the Lord) and how humiliating it would be if people knew that about me. Wrong. Yet another one of the devil's failed attempts. Every single one of them deals or dealt with it and moreover are there to pray about it. If that describes you, you are not the only one.