Jun. 12, 2009 - How Much Does God Do?

This morning I was reading Hosea 11:1-9.  God mentions how much He did for Israel and yet Israel continued to turn their back on Him.  The verse that caught my attention is verse 3 (NIV)..."but they did not realize it was I who healed them".

I wonder how much God does for me and my family every day....the protection, the blessings....and yet I don't even realize it!

I am determining to realize it by praising God more throughout the day.   I want to remember to thank Him when something goes "right".  I also want to remember to praise Him even when something doesn't appear to go "right".

I don't want God to have to say of me, "All these things I do for this family and yet they don't even take a moment to realize it".

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Sep. 5, 2008 - Legacy Prayer for My Children

I recently read the passage of Scripture John 17 in which Jesus prays a lengthy prayer in wrap-up of His earthly ministry.  This takes place just prior to His arrest.  What struck me, though, is the portion of His prayer dedicated to His disciples (John 17:6-19). 

Jesus was a parent, in a sense, to the disciples.  Read it for yourself and see what similarities you can draw in comparing Jesus and His disciples with you and your children.  With that in mind, He left us a perfect example of how we can pray for our children. 

I have written my own personalized prayer for my children by using this passage as my "template".  I have titled it "Legacy Prayer for My Children".   Some of the specific wording of my prayer will change as the children grow and mature.  My four children are quite young. I am not anywhere near "sending them off" yet, which is the point that Jesus was at with the disciples at the time of this particular prayer.  It didn't require much adjustment, however, to tailor this prayer to my current season of life but at the same time including my mission for where I want my children to be when I do eventually send them off.

I am not going to publish my "Legacy" prayer on my blog because I want to challenge you to come up with one of your own.  Pray it regularly for your children. You will be asking God to accomplish great things in your children. At the same time, it will also serve as a compass for how you choose to live each day and set your priorities! 

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Jul. 2, 2008 - The Names of God

Recently, our pastor preached a sermon on prayer.  He mentioned about praying the format of A.C.T.S.  I have heard this format countless times in my life but have never really stuck with intentionally praying exactly this way. 

In case you are not familiar with praying ACTS:

A - Adoration (praising God for who He is)

C - Confession (of sins)

T - Thanksgiving

S - Supplication (presenting requests)

A few weeks ago, I decided to teach the kids to pray this way.  It has brought me into a deeper understanding of God and who He is.  I highly recommend that you give this a try.  I've changed the order of the letters.  I use this for presenting specific requests to God.  Here are a couple of examples:

(1) We would like more children.

C - Confession - Hopefully we have already confessed our sins immediately upon realization.  If so, we pray "Search us, God. Make us aware of our secret sins....."

A - Adoration - We choose a name or character of God that corresponds with the request we want to present.  "God, you are the Creator and sustainer of life......"

T - Thanksgiving - "Thank you for the 4 children you have given us so far......"  If we cannot think of an answered prayer that corresponds with our new request, then I have the children look for evidence in God's Word, an example where God answered a similar prayer for someone else"

S - Supplication - "Bless us with more children"

(2) A teen friend asked for prayer during a week of "boot camp".  Each day we prayed something different.  One day it was for peace among the teammates.

C - Confession

A - Adoration - God, you are Jehovah-Shalom, a God of peace....

T - Thanksgiving - Thank you for the peaceful country you have chosen us to live in.....

S - Supplication - Bless Sarah with peace among her team.  Give each a spirit of cooperation....

I found a Names of God wall chart that I would like to purchase.  It would be great to have on hand for prayer.  There are quite a few books and studies on the topic, as well.  If you're familiar with any that you highly recommend, let me know!

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May. 7, 2008 - Don't Be That Person

Wow!  I just found a verse (Heb 6:4-6) that speaks of the Christian that was once experiencing the goodness of the word of God and His power, shared in the Holy Spirit, and had at one time been enlightened.  This person once loved and obeyed God, was not a babe in Christ (prior verses).  If this type of person falls or drifts away from God, he is said to be "crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace". 

 Crucifying the Son of God all over again!!  Can't possibly get any stronger than that!  I don't recall ever hearing, reading, or paying any attention to that verse before.  I will never forget that verse now!

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Nov. 19, 2007 - O Come Let Us Adore Him

Dr. David Crandall, of Answers in Genesis, was the keynote speaker at a weekend conference at our church last week.  (He is such a dynamic speaker.)  He gave a brief 3 point outline at one point in the conference that still lingers with me today.

The 3 Responses to "O Come, Let Us Adore Him"

I. O Come, Let Us Destroy Him - those who sought to discredit Jesus; even to kill him.

II. O Come, Let Us Ignore Him - Jesus was born in Bethlehem, only 6 miles from Jerusalem, the hub of the religious community.  The very one they were waiting for was only steps away and yet they didn't recognize him for who he was.

III. O Come, Let Us Adore Him - The very first missionaries? The shepherds immediately went out to tell the good news.

My first thought was: O how could they not see that the very one they were waiting for was born, and only 6 miles away!  I would have rushed right over!

But then I thought: Would I have? Really?  Wasn't it just yesterday that I "ignored" him?  I didn't talk to him much.  I rushed through reading his Word.  Bad as it sounds, I'll call it what it really was: I had more important things to do.

I frustratingly try to do things of my own strength. I so often don't seek his help to train my children.  I forget to seek his counsel in planning my schedule.  On and on my thoughts went.  Yes, I am too often guilty of ignoring him, too.

Now the question is.....what am I going to do about it?

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Nov. 1, 2007 - A Good Day - It's All in Your Perspective

Today is a good day.

It is filled with life.

The life God has given me to cope with.

To contribute to.

I wouldn't want to miss a single moment of it.

Thank you, God, for this good day.

Psalm 118:24  "This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it".

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May. 21, 2007 - Psalm 147:10-11

I read Psalm 147:7-11 this morning. You should really take the time to read this short passage.  Here's how it spoke to me:

Our finances (lack of) do not allow the kids to participate in soccer, piano lessons, dance classes, gymnastics, etc.  My husband struggles with this more than I do.  He feels they are missing out and being "left behind".  This past weekend brought it back to his mind once again as we went to the piano recital of our neighbors.

I do not see the necessity of these extra curriculars.  First of all, I don't have much desire to have the calendar filled up with obligations to be here and there and everywhere. Secondly, to me they are not necessities. Most certainly, if we had the money I would be signing the kids up for a thing or two.  But I realize that God's purpose can be accomplished in our lives even without the extra curriculars, especially since He has not given us access to these "extras".

Psalm 147:10-11 (NIV)  "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."

More important to God than skill in sports, excelling in math, accomplished in music, ahead in reading, etc......is that we fear him, hope in him.

My husband may be struggling with feeling these extras or accomplishments are necessary. But these verses make me realize that I'm not filling my time with enough spiritual training in the children.  It's what delights the Lord the most and yet I'm falling short.  I teach my children about God and prayer and obedience. But if I evaluate my day honestly, I can see that it is a minor part of our daily lives instead of a major part. 

Today, I will begin to look for ways to implement spiritual training in every possible opportunity.  It's going to become foremost on my mind starting today.

Now, let me also say that Scripture is clear that we are to do everything "decently and in order" (I Cor 14:40) and "to the glory of God" (I Cor 10:31). We should work toward excellence whether it be schoolwork, sports, music, or whatever opportunities that God allows you to participate in.  Just don't let spiritual nurturing in your children be anything less than excellent! If spiritual nurturing is taking a back seat to other accomplishments then it is not to God's glory.

By the way, I took piano lessons for 10 years.  I can teach Chloe quite a bit and for FREE!  I've been teaching Chloe basic soccer skills for FREE.  I also asked a neighbor boy to give us some "lessons".  How fun! and FREE.  A neighbor girl has taught Chloe some simple gymnastics, too.  Just need to be resourceful!

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