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I was hoping that I would have had things rolling a little better by now, but alas, life has busily marched on with an unfinished website. The inquiries and purchases that have been made are definite incentive to update! Sooo, I have scheduled the major website update for February. On a different note, I am finally a truly published writer!! Talk about incentive Writing has been put on a higher priority list now. Reject articles will appear here and on our family blog where I hope that many will be encouraged by my rejection...ha. |
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How could we have been a part of that ministry? Aren’t the sheep supposed to hear His voice? They need us on July 1st. Is this just a coincidence? My children are going to dislike me because I’m so unkind. Are we sure we should really be home educating? Some decisions fall under commands or principles in scripture, yet there are others such as, “Which home should we buy?” that are not so well-resolved. Ever wish for the crystal-clear email from God? “Dear Andrea, I know that you and your husband have been wondering whether or not I want you to move. Well, for the time being…” or, “Dear Andrea, Yes, the right decision was made. You did, indeed, hear Me…” Throughout a lifetime, we may question whether we are hearing the Lord’s voice. A portion of life is spent in the status quo of decisions already made and the other part devoted to “waiting upon the Lord”. Although an email for the former or the latter is just a dream, we can in reality face these challenges and take hold of the opportunities for growth. After being involved with a particular ministry for several years, we became aware of error in the ministry and ourselves. After leaving, we lamented the ignorance of our former choice. “How could we not hear the Lord’s voice?” However, He has proved we were right where He wanted us. The ways in which the Lord has used our former experience is remarkable. In the last year, my husband has served as an interim pastor in two separate churches. At the conclusion of our work in the first, we communicated plans to stay for an additional month and a half, taking us to June 30th. God’s future plans for us were unclear. We began to ask the Lord for direction and within a few weeks received a call asking if Joe would be willing to interim at a different church beginning July 1st. The quick answer for the future situation was prayerfully considered and then accepted. Over my years of home educating, true confessions reveal a sarcastic streak, years in developing, and yet to be fully purged from my soul. Joyfully I can say that overcoming and purging are in marked progress and this home education arena in which I find myself has been the major training ground used for His refining work! Examples could also be given that reveal lengthier wait times, or complete changes in direction of original plans. Disappointment lies in trying to count on situations to be alike in the way they play out, whether comparing them to our own prior experiences or to others. For instance, the young couple deciding to move to California sold their house the first day it was on the market, so surely it was God’s will. We then might conclude in error that because our home has been on the market for eight months, it must not be God’s will. Circumstances do not necessarily determine whether we have been or are being discerning. Considerable time may pass before we see what God had intended through a difficulty. Quite possibly we will never know. Knowing that many reading this are probably well-versed in prayer, the encouragement is to be patient in prayer. Scripture doesn’t say that the peace that passes all understanding comes from making the right decision, but “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4:7. The peace is not in the answer, but in God having the request and our thankfulness for the opportunity to trust Him. Read scripture passages and good biographies giving example of God’s divine leading. Talk to missionaries and others with stories of God’s leading. These are sure to encourage and give the reminder of Jesus’ words, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me...” John 10:27. Without sounding trite, the need is to take decisions one day at a time. Will we continue wasting precious time fretting and worrying about the coming decisions? I-don’t-know- what-to-do-because-my-husband-is-planning-to-have-his-own-business-and-we-still-have-debt-and-we-are-also-ministering-to-so-many-folks-that-it-makes-my-head-spin-and-what-about-getting-all-of-this-homeschool-stuff-done-by-the-time-they-graduate….whew! We can decide to dwell there, or we can go forward. Going backward is not an option. Planning is good and yes, at times decisions need to be made quickly, but if God’s plan is clear for today, do it! Consciously think of, or write down, ten things God desires of you today. Function excellently in what He has assigned. We don’t have to look in the inbox for an email that will never arrive. Pray, figure out the priorities, make the most of the situation, and always determine to go forward in the strength of the Lord. |
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Before his ministry this morning, my husband quoted from Pilgrim's Progress...... A Toast to Women (As spoken by Gaius) Gaius: "Hear me as I speak these few words on behalf of women to take away their reproach, for as death and the curse came into the world by a woman, so also did life and health. God sent forth His Son made of a woman. Yea the women of the Old Testament coveted children, and why? So that they perchance might become the mother of the Savior of the world, and thus help undo the sin of their mother, Eve. And I will say again when the Savior was come, a woman rejoiced over Him before either man or angel. I read not that a man ever gave unto Christ so much as a piece of bread, but the women followed Him and ministered to Him of their substance. Twas a woman that washed His feet with tears and annointed His body to the burial. They were women that followed Him from the cross and that sat across from the sepulchre when He was buried. They were women that were first with Him at His resurrection and women that brought tidings first to His disciples that He was risen from the dead. Women, therefore, are highly favored and show by these things that they are sharers with men in the grace of life. Yea, in these days the mother who trains her children for Christ is as truly working for God as is the minister in the pulpit." Christiana: "Thank you, friend Gaius. Sometimes it seems to us women that we accomplish so little." Gaius: "Nay, it is not so. Though the results of her work are not apparent, angels of God are watching the careworn mother; noting the burden she carries from day to day. Her name may never receive the honor and applause of the world as may that of husband and father, but it is immortalized in the book of God. She is doing what she can, and her position in God's sight is more exalted that that of a king upon his throne. For she is dealing with character. She is fashioning minds." TO GODLY WOMEN!! |