Posted in Encouragement

The Lord has blessed my husband and I in recent months with some very dear friendships.  We have made some new friends and renewed some older friendship we hadn't realized the value of before.  There is nothing like a good talk with a likeminded brother or sister in the Lord to lift spirits and renew outlooks.

One of the wonderful friendships the Lord has sent my way is with a lady who I have known for just over a year, but who I feel I have known forever.  Lyn is a blogging buddy who has become a real-life friend.  She and her family lived just two towns away from us, but we didn't "meet" until after she had moved all the way to Virginia and we both started blogging!  My family recently had the tremendous privilege of meeting this dear lady and hear sweet family face-to-face.  Her children played with mine, her husband and mine got to talk theology and politics, and she and I spoke of common struggles, both major (see her most recent blog entry) and everyday (she's raising a passle of little blessings, too).  What a blessing to know these wonderful people.

There have been other friendships the Lord has brought to us lately.  There's the hidden treasure of fellowship with folks we've known for years and didn't realize were just as lonely as we had been.  There are the friends who, though they live in the next state and we've only met in person once, have through prayer for one another become so very dear to our hearts.  And there are of course the oldest, dearest, closest friends who have become dearer and closer through shared vision and trials.

I know I've said before how blessed and encouraged I am by true fellowship with likeminded Believers.  Those who follow Christ wholeheartedly often walk a lonely road.  We need one another.  We need the encouragement and accountability of others who take the Scriptures seriously.  Praise the Lord for the gift of friendship.

Posted in Encouragement

This past weekend, we had the blessing of having a visit from some very dear friends, the Linders, who live in New Hampshire.  Fellowship with likeminded believers is a gift of the Lord, one I have realized the rarity of in recent years.  Deep, meaningful friendships that uplift and spur one another toward righteousness are hard to come by in today's culture.  Praise be to the Lord when we find friends who lift our thoughts to Him and encourage us in this journey of life.

Posted in Encouragement

     Weariness of soul.  We have all felt it.  Late nights tending sick children, grief over the death or illness of a loved one, trials, struggling to have victory over a certain sin.  How do we keep going in the midst of soul-weariness?  Where do we find the strength?

     "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."  Matthew 11:28-29

"Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.  Who passing though the valley of Baca (meaning Tears) make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.  They go from strenth to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." Psalm 84:5-7

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust."  Psalm 91:1-2

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Psalm 42:11

"And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea,...and thou shalt take thy rest in safety." Job 11:18

     The Lord tells us in His Word to look to Him for strength and rest.  When we trust Him to be our strength and bring us rest, He blesses us and carries us through the difficulties and trials, giving us the rest we so desperately need.  May your soul find rest in Him today.

Posted in Encouragement

When my oldest child was a toddler, and then into his preschool years, he was very energetic and needed a lot of "hands-on training."  There were days when I wondered if raising him would ever get easier.  He was, as they say, a "handful."  Frankly, for the first four years of his life, I was exhausted.  Now, though, when I look at him, I see the early signs of a young man I can be very proud of.  He is thoughtful, polite, funny, and confident.  Today, there was a circumstance that was trying for me, and my son was right there to give me the encouragement I needed just when I needed it.  I was so proud of his sensitivity and compassion.  Moments like these seem to come more often as the years have gone by.  Moments like these give me great hope.

Parenting is hard work.  Homeschooling is hard work.  In the early years, it seems as if there is very little pay off for all the time and effort invested.  And yet, there is hope for those who are faithful and consistent in the everyday, day in, day out training and teaching required in raising and homeschooling young children.  The pay off really is coming.  The truth of God's Word is that if we "train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old, he will not depart from it."  What a blessed promise on days of discipline and diapers and messes!

With each child God sends to my husband and me, there comes those early days of intense training.  Each one has had to be taught to obey, to say "please" and "thank you", to behave nicely in public places.  Child-rearing is a work in progress.  The days can be long, but moments like the one today with my son make all the work worth it.  And the thought of spending eternity with my children keeps me going on the longest, roughest days.

Raising little ones is hard, but I realize they don't stay little for very long.  Some day they will be grown and I will look back on these days with fondness (I think).  It will be worth it.  It's already beginning to pay off.

Posted in Encouragement

True hospitality is becoming a lost art.  While I wouldn't say I personally have that particular gift, I do love opening my home to others, and try to do so on a regular basis.  As I write this, I can think of a handful of Christians I know who I would say practice hospitality as a matter of course.  In fact, most of my friends could be considered very hospitable ladies.  One of these ladies, whom I have long observed and appreciated as someone who truly has and uses the gift of hospitality, is Maine Mommy Deb.  I remember her and her husband hosting lively youth activities in their home when I was in my teen years.  She is forever opening her doors to welcome friends and even strangers.  In our church, for many years she was known as the lady to host missionaries for dinner or overnight.  She always had visiting singing groups into her home for meals.  Yes, she is truly a lady with a generous, hospitable spirit.

She and her husband were especially generous to host my husband, myself, and our children in their home this past weekend.  As a family, we were so blessed by this lovely time of fellowship.  Her family and mine took the opportunity to share and compare what our children had learned through our study of Unit 1 in Year 3 of Tapestry of Grace.  (Both of our families are using the same year plan in Tapestry this year.  It's amazing the differences in application and implementation that can result from using a flexible curriculum of living books such as Tapestry of Grace.)  I must say, I was impressed with her very talented daughters and the results of their hard work since the beginning of this year.

Now that I have gushed enough and completely embarrassed this dear lady, let me explain why I have shared this.  I want to encourage and inspire others to do the same as this giving and generous family.  Through the simple act of hospitality, we can be a great blessing to fellow Christians, as well as being a testimony to those who are not yet believers.  Let us use the opportunity before us to take the time to open our homes in hospitality.  By doing so, we can be a tremendous blessing, and will in turn be blessed ourselves.

Posted in Encouragement

This past weekend, my husband and I took our four children out for dinner at a favorite restaurant.  We had a nice meal, and the children were fairly well behaved, though we had the occasional behavioral challenge during the meal, especially with our three-year-old daughter.  (Taking several young children out to eat at a restaurant is an interesting experience.  We have learned to ignore the curious glances and blatant stares.  We just go about our business, praying before we eat, keeping our children as quiet and calm as possible.)  As we were finishing eating, out waitress came over to our table.  "Something really nice just happened.  The people that were sitting at that table over there just paid for your meal.  They said your children were so well behaved, and that they missed the days when their own children were young, so they wanted to do something nice for you.  They wanted me to wait to tell you until they had left.  Also, they said to tell you to go ahead and order dessert."  The waitress grinned as she told us this news.

Wow!  That one really shocked us for a minute.  What a wonderfully sweet and generous thing to do.  My husband and I were greatly encouraged by this simple but significant gift.  It is so rare to find that kind of generosity these days.  We were incredibly blessed by this act of kindness--even the children were excited by it.  Later on, after we had left the restaurant, we bowed our head as a family, thanking the Lord for these kind people and asking Him to bless them for it.  We filed it away in our memories, so that some day we may do the same for another young family.

God knows just what we need when we need it.  He knew I needed this bit of encouragement to boost me up in preparation for trials to come.  He knew the children would want to stop at my parents' home to tell them the story, giving us a chance to visit with my father.  The reason this visit was special is because two days later, my father was in the hospital with chest pains.  He is experiencing complications resulting from the bypass surgery he had over a year ago.  It is difficult to see my daddy go through this kind of pain, but God is in control and knows what is best.  Sometimes it is hard to trust, even though I know it is the right thing to do.

God is so good.  His gifts are so abundant.  His grace is always sufficient.  His mercy is new every morning.  His strength is always available.  His love is my sustaining power.  His Spirit is my comfort.  I serve an amazing God who does amazing things.  I couldn't make it through this crazy ride we call life without Him.

Posted in Encouragement

It's been one of those days.  Yep, one of THOSE days.  You know, the kind that starts out with mom oversleeping and waking up to the sound of children arguing in the next room.  And it only goes downhill from there.  Then comes the whining and demanding.  "What?  You mean you want breakfast?  Didn't you just eat yesterday?"  Then of course, we had to deal with--ehem--less that cooperative attitudes about schoolwork.  And mom was a bit grumpy, too.

One of the true blessings of homeschooling is the fact that your children are with you all the time.  One of the drawbacks of homeschooling is that your children are with you all the time....There's not a lot of breaks from things like the bickering, the bad attitudes, and the whining.  However, the resulting intensive training is extremely effective.  The Lord is using my children to refine me daily.  He is forcing me to grow up by putting me in a position to be an example to my children.  My children so often reflect the areas in my own character that I know need work.  In addition to being an excellent mirror of my own flaws, it is simply impossible to ignore my children's needs and still be considered a good mother.  There is no halfway in Biblical parenting.  There is also no room for selfishness.  They have to come first.  I must serve them and care for them, but in doing so, I am becoming more of the person God would have me to be.

It is truly a privilege that God would deem me worthy to raise children for His glory.  It is also a very good thing that days like today are balanced with days of sweet parent-child fellowship and that even in the midst of a day like this, there are moments like my daughter putting her hand on my cheek and saying, "I love you, Mommy."  So, I guess there's still hope--hope for me to be a good mommy, and hope for my kids to turn out okay someday.  There is even hope that I will make it through the rest of today....

Posted in Encouragement

Steve Walden shares a very encouraging post about the importance of discipling (he calls it "withnessing") our children.  It is a very good reminder for this mom who tends to forget that what I do everyday has eternal significance.  Raising and training children is the greatest mission field any parent has.  As Steve says "Sow richly, and reap a rich reward."  True words. 

Posted in Encouragement

I have been so blessed by Crystal Paine's blog on the Biblical Womanhood site.  She is a fellow homeschool grad who, like me, was married young and has never had to work outside of the home.  I feel a certain kinship with her because of this.

Crystal is a very gifted writer who daily shares her heart with her blog readers.  Her honesty and her obvious love for the Lord, her husband, and her small daughter are encouraging.  Recently, she had a post I found particularly interesting.  She wrote in response to a recent comment made by another blogger about her (Crystal) seeming to be sad and discontented in her role as wife and mother.  Crystal's response was wonderfully articulate.

Why is it that many women who do not stay home with their children find it so hard to understand how fulfilling it can be?  I have never had a job outside of my home.  I didn't even go to college.  Do I feel I am missing out on something important in life?  Not at all.  My greatest joy comes from serving my family and raising my chidren.  I have been at the center of their lives since the Lord sent them into our family.  They have a secure home where they know how important they are to their father and me and also to the Lord.

I feel so very blessed to be able to spend my days making my home a place of beauty and peace for my husband and children.  There is so much satisfaction in lovingly serving them.  Learning how to be a godly wife and mother takes so much of my energy and focus--it truly is my career.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Posted in Encouragement

God really knew what He was doing when He put my husband and I together.  I tend to be a bit pessimistic, while my husband is usually very upbeat.  Often, when I'm feeling down about something, he will make a joke to cheer me up.  I don't always appreciate his efforts at the time, but I realize that he has a certain insight into life that he wants to try to share with me; the fact that joy is necessary in life and that not much that happens to us worth being depressed over.  The Lord knew I needed someone like that to help me keep my perspective right. 

My husband always seems to know just what to say to make me laugh.  In fact, most of the time, he makes everyone around him laugh.  He jokes with good friends and perfect stangers alike.  His voice immitations are uncanny.  He once called our pastor's wife, pretending to be our pastor, and she didn't know the difference until he confessed!  This afternoon, he came home to find me weary and discouraged.  With his wit (and a candy bar) he encouraged my spirit and helped lift my burden. 

At times I am amazed at the miracle the Lord has done in my life and in our marriage.  We have had some really rough patches.  Praise the Lord that He is faithful, even when we aren't.  I know from experience that God answers prayer and that situations that seem hopeless can be turned around by His power and for His glory. 

Seeing the good in life and the blessings from the Lord is the only way to make it through the difficulties of life (and we all have those).  Trusting in the Lord and learning to laugh are important lessons I am still being taught.  I am so thankful that the Lord and my husband are patient.