A fellow homeschooler in our local group has done the devotions when we have a small group meeting. I've been really blessed when she shares the devotion from what she's received from The Proverbs 31 Ministry. If you haven't signed up for their Daily Devotion via email, you should hop right on over there without delay.

Yesterday we had church at home. We listened to our Pastor on the radio. I did this because we ran out of time to get ready and my boys needed some serious "practice of sitting still". Caleb was very good in the beginning, but with about 15 minutes to go, he had to be excused to his bed. Joshua was quite the fidget master most of the service, but he did make it until the end. I have some of our Pastor's sermons on CD, so we'll be practicing the art of sitting still this week, and next week, and the week after that, and three months from now ~ well I'm sure you get the picture.

The message yesterday tied into Part 2 of our building program ~ "Arise and Build", to build a Family Life Center next to the church. We've been in the book of Nehemiah and it's been interesting to learn about this man Nehemiah and how it applies to our lives today. Yesterdays sermon was on PRAYER. Am I the only one that absolutely struggles with prayer? I am beginning to believe that it's a pride issue. Yes, the sermon yesterday seriously made my feet hurt.

Nehemiah 1:5-11 

• Nehemiah praised God
• Nehemiah confessed his sins and the sins of the Israelites
• Nehemiah talked to God about the promises God had made
• It wasn't until the last half of the last verse that Nehemiah asked for anything for himself

After we finished listing to Pastor on the radio, Joshua began to line up all their stuffed animals (Caleb was allowed to help) and Joshua was going to "preach" to them. I just asked Joshua what he preached about - "Nehemiah" (of course). Well duh on me!!!!

So how does this relate back to the daily devotion from Proverbs 31? The story is of a woman working in a grocery store and she is always so happy. A customer asked what her "secret" was. She had to be to work at 6:00 am, so she was up at 3:30 am to spend time with Him. In the email was the following quote:

R.A. Torrey once said: "The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came...Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory."

Have a blessed day!!!