Today is Halloween, but because we don't celebrate it the word is kind of foreign in our home to the younger ones. Each year we offer an alternative celebration in the spirit of the reformers as it is actually Reformation Day, where we remember what Martin Luther did in 1517, nailing the 95 theses to the door of the Catholic church. Many reformers came after him, John Calvin, John Wycliffe, and others. It is an awesome opportunity to explain to my kids who these famous men are and what they did for us as some died martyr's deaths.
However, the irony is, the word "Halloween" keeps coming up because the little ones can't understand why we're having people over tonight, on a Monday night. So, our bigger ones keep saying, "Well, it's because of Halloween....." My youngest said, "Who is Halloween?" I guess he figured it was a new friend he hadn't met yet! I actually loved that.
As usual, whenever we have people over, I always wish we had a more finished home....baseboards, trim, holes in floors covered! But then, I had a good lesson given to me about that on Friday night that reminded me, it isn't about me and my home, it's about fellowship, friendship and serving others. When it is about me, then it is no longer hospitality, but entertainment. The Bible doesn't call us to entertain, but to be hospitable.
Since we've been at our new church, we've been invited over to one person's home as a whole family. No one else has been brave enough to have our entire family over. I suppose it is a little intimidating, ten people. It was like that at just about every church we've been to - only a few families were willing to attempt to have all of us over.
But on Friday, we were invited for dinner! Who would be so brave? An 85 year old man and his 81 year old wife. How sweet is that?! This older couple must have worked all day on the dinner they put together for us. They had so many different dishes of food, it could have been a Christmas dinner. We were all stuffed.
The fellowship was amazing. One thing the great-grandmother of 17 said to me was, "No one does hospitality anymore." She talked about days gone by where you could just show up on someone's door and be invited in for tea or coffee. She said, "That never happens now. Everyone is too busy." So true.
After church, there really is no way to get to know people. The older gentleman said, "You can't get to know people after church! You've got to have them in your home! That's how you get to know people!" He was adamant. And truly, such nice, gracious people. I really could have listened to them all night.
They were hog farmers their whole lives. To mark their life transitions, they had pictures on their walls of all the homes they had lived in. What a good idea, I thought. The first picture was of the old shack they lived in when they were first married. It had no running water or electricity. They lived there 12 years. Over time, they slowly got more modern improvements, but they put up with a lot of inconvenience for a long time! Then they moved to the farmhouse which seemed a lot cozier. They lived on 100 acres for most of their marriage. At 65, they moved to the house we visited in - custom built in their retirement years. It was so good to see their life and the challenges they must have had without them hardly saying a word about the downtimes.
That is what hospitality does - it opens up a window into someone's life and ministers to another person without even using words! Of course we did talk a lot about all their children and their grandchildren and even their great-grandchildren. They have a legacy of faith which was so encouraging, too. Even with a few prodigals they have in the following generations, this brave great-grandma challenges her great-grandchildren to live a life of faith. She knows ultimately she can only pray, which is what my mom does and my grandma did, too.
All that from hospitality. At the end of the night, because she had cooked so much, she sent us home with lots of food. What a blessing!
What did my kids do all night? I had brought a lot of young ones! I wasn't certain they would have toys, but I should have known....all good grandparents keep toys for the little ones to come! They had a whole basement full of toys, riding cars, scooters, pool tables, air hockey....! Since we left, every morning my younger ones ask, "When can we go back to their house?!" They loved visiting!
So, I was challenged to stop thinking about myself and what my home looks like to outsiders and just to keep having people over, whether my house is finished or not. I just need to keep having people over, no matter what. Knowing how blessed I felt when I left makes me want to offer that to others.
I'm not any different than Job in a way. I know the comparison may be a little bit of a stretch. But he did a lot of complaining throughout the whole book of Job. And sometimes I find myself complaining in my spirit about all that I want to change in my life or in my home or in my situation. Job wasn't complaining about the things I was complaining about. His complaints were on a much higher level, having lost children, homes, servants, animals and then afflicted by physical pain....yet he challenged God. At the end, he got quite the rebuke, basically asking, "Who do you think you are?!" God said to him, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" When I read that today, I thought to myself, "Who do I think I am that I have to have a perfect house? How dare I complain about anything?" I can be so obnoxious sometimes!
Job confessed at the end of the book that he really shouldn't have gone on and on about matters he didn't understand. He was remorseful and ashamed, "...therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
I want to be like these gracious hosts, And I need to be a little more like Job, put in my place and grateful to God for who He is and all that I do have....AND....grateful, too, for the reason there is even a reason to have people over tonight. The Reformers gave their all which is why we even have access to the Scriptures......Job says, "Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand......." In other words, "I get it, I get it! I will just be quiet now....." Me too.
Monday, 31 October 2016
Thursday, 27 October 2016
Job's Got it Right
As I read through Job now, I am encouraged. His life had taken a major turn for the worse and chapter 29 records how he longed for the "months of old" when he was "in my prime". He felt those were the days when "the Almighty was yet with me". Everything he did had the blessing of God. But then, everything changed. "You have turned cruel to me," he told God, and all was taken away.
How can that be an encouragement? Well, it does help to know the parts of the story that Job didn't know at the time, that Satan challenged God telling him the only reason Job feared God was because he was completely surrounded by a "hedge of protection" and was blessed in all that he did and had. It also helps to know the end of the story, that all was restored to Job. But, without knowing those parts of the story, I found it encouraging to hear a man of God struggle, to have questions, to feel like sometimes God just didn't hear his prayers as he cried out confused and in pain.
It is the experience of all men and women, perhaps to some extent more difficult for some than for others, but we all have a time when we just can't see the way. We, like Job, feel like we go about our way "darkened". Job checked himself and his heart to see if there was any area of his heart that challenged him, but he said, "my heart does not reproach me for any of my days". He held fast to his "righteousness and will not let it go".
This tells me so much about testing. It isn't just for the wicked and a punishment for them, but it is also for the righteous and is allowed by God for reasons they will not always understand.
I have never claimed 100% righteousness. I actually wonder how that is possible with Job to make that claim. In fact, if all of Job's friends were to come to my house and say the things they said to Job, I'd have to agree with all that they said to him, "Yup, I'm guilty of that, that and that. I deserve everything that happens to me!" Using their logic, I would have to look at any situation that I found myself in and assume it was because I was being judged for something I had done.
This is why the book of Job is so encouraging....Job gets tested even though he truly was righteous. He really didn't deserve anything that had happened to him, yet he was still tested. Really, anything that happens to me, by Job's friends' standards, I deserve and I should get what's coming to me.
All testing is relative. I realize my version of testing is hardly a test to some. I know that I am not in the slightest way being tested the way Job was, but longing to be debt-free is a type of a test, especially when I don't know the end of the story, or if there ever will be an end. It's a type of mental test and a test of faith more than anything. As I read Job, I realize I just have to go through it. I want to respond to any test God has in store for me and say like him, "But He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold."
That is my prayer for today and for my future. Perhaps this test is preparation for even bigger tests. Either way, Job's got it right. God knows the way that we are taking. Whatever the type of trial, may we come out as gold.
How can that be an encouragement? Well, it does help to know the parts of the story that Job didn't know at the time, that Satan challenged God telling him the only reason Job feared God was because he was completely surrounded by a "hedge of protection" and was blessed in all that he did and had. It also helps to know the end of the story, that all was restored to Job. But, without knowing those parts of the story, I found it encouraging to hear a man of God struggle, to have questions, to feel like sometimes God just didn't hear his prayers as he cried out confused and in pain.
It is the experience of all men and women, perhaps to some extent more difficult for some than for others, but we all have a time when we just can't see the way. We, like Job, feel like we go about our way "darkened". Job checked himself and his heart to see if there was any area of his heart that challenged him, but he said, "my heart does not reproach me for any of my days". He held fast to his "righteousness and will not let it go".
This tells me so much about testing. It isn't just for the wicked and a punishment for them, but it is also for the righteous and is allowed by God for reasons they will not always understand.
I have never claimed 100% righteousness. I actually wonder how that is possible with Job to make that claim. In fact, if all of Job's friends were to come to my house and say the things they said to Job, I'd have to agree with all that they said to him, "Yup, I'm guilty of that, that and that. I deserve everything that happens to me!" Using their logic, I would have to look at any situation that I found myself in and assume it was because I was being judged for something I had done.
This is why the book of Job is so encouraging....Job gets tested even though he truly was righteous. He really didn't deserve anything that had happened to him, yet he was still tested. Really, anything that happens to me, by Job's friends' standards, I deserve and I should get what's coming to me.
All testing is relative. I realize my version of testing is hardly a test to some. I know that I am not in the slightest way being tested the way Job was, but longing to be debt-free is a type of a test, especially when I don't know the end of the story, or if there ever will be an end. It's a type of mental test and a test of faith more than anything. As I read Job, I realize I just have to go through it. I want to respond to any test God has in store for me and say like him, "But He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold."
That is my prayer for today and for my future. Perhaps this test is preparation for even bigger tests. Either way, Job's got it right. God knows the way that we are taking. Whatever the type of trial, may we come out as gold.
Wednesday, 26 October 2016
The Wisest of Women
I never knew what a great biology class having a dog would be. I never intended to ever have the conversations I'm forced to have now that my son is intending to breed this dog. He is certainly learning very quickly about male and female dogs and how things work. Not that he didn't understand it before, but now he really needs to understand it! I didn't sign up for that!!!! Oh well, just another part of our homeschool I guess. There is just way too much science going on for me to handle outside in the kennel.......
On a completely different topic, as I've started to talk with more and more women, I've started to notice a struggle that is more common than I first realized. I hear over and over the words, "My husband is really struggling.....with work, with finding work, wishing he were doing different work, out of work, depressed by work......." I think for most women, they think it's just their husband who is struggling, but I don't think that is the case at all. Way back in the Garden of Eden, when the consequences were handed down to Adam and Eve, God said to Adam, "cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; " (Gen 3:17).
I used to think it just meant you'll have to work your whole life and it will be hard. Nope. I think it means everything about finding work, getting work, doing work....all of it will be hard. And not just for the husband, but for everyone who is related or near the husband!
We had prayed all summer for direction from the Lord for my own husband concerning his work. Then, miracle of all miracles, we were provided for with a dream job, with dream hours. The irony? It has been hard!!!! The work itself isn't hard, it's quite easy so far, but the impact of taking this job when he has another full-time contract has started to reveal itself. He's exhausted! And usually when he works physically, he gets a morning or a day to recover at home. Not now. No matter how much pain he is in, he's required to get up and go which makes his physical recovery time much longer.
He could handle all this, and wasn't complaining, but we started to sense a low-level of grumpiness! Sometimes it would go to a higher level and we thought it was a little out of proportion. Finally, last week, he and I sat down and talked about it. He was grumpy and he didn't even know why. It turns out he has a certain level of pain he just lives with all the time, early stages of arthritis in one or two of his joints. Plus, he now is constantly having to organize his time to fit everything in, which he used to have to do before, but now it is just that much more intensified. He also still has to think of all the regular stuff such as bills, home repairs, car repairs......it's a lot of responsibility being a father of 8 and a husband to a high-maintenance woman like me!!!! All this was going on in his head and affecting him without any of us really understanding. All we saw was grumpy Daddy.
How can this be?! Didn't we pray for this job? Didn't God answer our prayers? Yes and yes. But this is what I mean. Even with the Lord providing so amazingly, there is still an element of the curse in our lives with respect to RM's work. Even with the seemingly perfect job, there is still a struggle. What then?!
What I noticed was that I could react to his grumpiness and be grumpy right back at him, which I tried and it, uh, didn't work. Or, I could be what I needed to be for him, which was his helpmeet. After we talked about the challenges that have come with this new job, everything was out in the open. Adam and Eve must have done this, too. Before the curse, all was well. After the curse, Adam now had thistles and thorns to deal with, sweat and blood. He must have been a bit grumpy, too! Was Eve just as grumpy or did they make a plan on how to handle things. Did she kick in to be his helpmeet the way God intended?
Talking about his challenges was half the battle. That's what I've noticed is the most important thing about being a wife - hearing the struggles of my husband relieves almost all the struggles. The thing about the curse is that the reality of it for a man never leaves. So what do you do then? We have learned to accept the reality that life, and especially work, is always going to be hard. Even with the perfect job. We've learned to talk about everything, even something as simple as being grumpy. For some mean, grumpiness is the precursor to depression. The word "grumpy" sounds funny, but if left to itself can become something much more serious. I think this is where we, as women, can be so helpful! We can make sure we cut grumpiness and depression off at the pass just by being an ear and acknowledging how hard work can be. It didn't change my husband's difficulties, but somehow it helped alleviate his stresses by having them heard.
I've heard from a number of women lately that their husbands are struggling in other areas related to work. For these men, they are taking jobs that pay the bills perhaps but are not the jobs they wish they could be in for the rest of their lives. This is such a hard place to be and there is no easy answer for that. My encouragement to them is to a fast either on their husband's behalf, especially if he isn't in a good place spiritually, or to do a fast together if he is open to that. What we've seen, though, is that no matter what, contentment is key. Learning to be content in the situation we find ourselves in is the best place to start. We shouldn't be so shocked that our husband's struggle with finding their "ideal" job. It's another thorn, another part of the painful process.
In a strange way, recognizing the curse will make us better wives. Satan will use our ignorance of the curse and turn it into a huge battle that we need not fight on our own. In our home, the job situation has not changed, but the spirit of grumpiness is gone. My husband wasn't even aware of what was going on. Now that it is out in the open and I'm aware and he's aware of the spiritual battle, we are more equipped to handle it. We're more sensitive to the other one's needs. We're less selfish and more committed to helping one another through this transition. We're aware that Satan was out to attack us through any way he could and he was using this amazing answer to prayer to get to us!
Gratitude is also the best way to handle any struggle our husbands are having. It might be hard at first to be thankful for the struggles we see them going through, but God can and is using them in ways we don't know. Sadly, the main thing God is doing is sanctifying us through them! I say sadly, because it shouldn't take hard times to teach us, but it does. No one enjoys that process, but it is always a good thing when we are developing the character God longs for us to have. It might be really hard to find something to be grateful for, but with practice God can show us things to thank Him for and then......the miracle is imminent....my favourite saying from Ann Voskamp. I say, "practice", because we can also practice bad habits, such as being miserable and grumpy ourselves. It is easy to get really good at being an awful wife and it takes a lot more effort to be a good wife.
So, if I could talk to all those women who want out or who are so unhappy in their situations or who would like a "replacement husband", press on! The curse that came along so many years ago may not change until Christ returns, but God has given us such a great responsibility in the meantime to be the best helpmeets we can be and He's also given us His greatest resource - Himself, to help us be strong, loving and patient wives. When I was feeling this undercurrent of frustration last week and we hadn't talked about it yet, I just prayed, asking the Lord to help me to know how to be a good wife and I prayed that the wall I was afraid would form between him and I would be broken down. It was shortly after that an opportunity came up to talk about how we were both feeling. I didn't create the scenario, God did. I hadn't known how to talk about it, God worked it all out. It wasn't a hard conversation, it was a great conversation.
One of the best verses in the Bible on this topic is from Proverbs 14:1, "The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down." I want to be the "wisest of women" not a woman who tears down her house "with her own hands".
On a completely different topic, as I've started to talk with more and more women, I've started to notice a struggle that is more common than I first realized. I hear over and over the words, "My husband is really struggling.....with work, with finding work, wishing he were doing different work, out of work, depressed by work......." I think for most women, they think it's just their husband who is struggling, but I don't think that is the case at all. Way back in the Garden of Eden, when the consequences were handed down to Adam and Eve, God said to Adam, "cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; " (Gen 3:17).
I used to think it just meant you'll have to work your whole life and it will be hard. Nope. I think it means everything about finding work, getting work, doing work....all of it will be hard. And not just for the husband, but for everyone who is related or near the husband!
We had prayed all summer for direction from the Lord for my own husband concerning his work. Then, miracle of all miracles, we were provided for with a dream job, with dream hours. The irony? It has been hard!!!! The work itself isn't hard, it's quite easy so far, but the impact of taking this job when he has another full-time contract has started to reveal itself. He's exhausted! And usually when he works physically, he gets a morning or a day to recover at home. Not now. No matter how much pain he is in, he's required to get up and go which makes his physical recovery time much longer.
He could handle all this, and wasn't complaining, but we started to sense a low-level of grumpiness! Sometimes it would go to a higher level and we thought it was a little out of proportion. Finally, last week, he and I sat down and talked about it. He was grumpy and he didn't even know why. It turns out he has a certain level of pain he just lives with all the time, early stages of arthritis in one or two of his joints. Plus, he now is constantly having to organize his time to fit everything in, which he used to have to do before, but now it is just that much more intensified. He also still has to think of all the regular stuff such as bills, home repairs, car repairs......it's a lot of responsibility being a father of 8 and a husband to a high-maintenance woman like me!!!! All this was going on in his head and affecting him without any of us really understanding. All we saw was grumpy Daddy.
How can this be?! Didn't we pray for this job? Didn't God answer our prayers? Yes and yes. But this is what I mean. Even with the Lord providing so amazingly, there is still an element of the curse in our lives with respect to RM's work. Even with the seemingly perfect job, there is still a struggle. What then?!
What I noticed was that I could react to his grumpiness and be grumpy right back at him, which I tried and it, uh, didn't work. Or, I could be what I needed to be for him, which was his helpmeet. After we talked about the challenges that have come with this new job, everything was out in the open. Adam and Eve must have done this, too. Before the curse, all was well. After the curse, Adam now had thistles and thorns to deal with, sweat and blood. He must have been a bit grumpy, too! Was Eve just as grumpy or did they make a plan on how to handle things. Did she kick in to be his helpmeet the way God intended?
Talking about his challenges was half the battle. That's what I've noticed is the most important thing about being a wife - hearing the struggles of my husband relieves almost all the struggles. The thing about the curse is that the reality of it for a man never leaves. So what do you do then? We have learned to accept the reality that life, and especially work, is always going to be hard. Even with the perfect job. We've learned to talk about everything, even something as simple as being grumpy. For some mean, grumpiness is the precursor to depression. The word "grumpy" sounds funny, but if left to itself can become something much more serious. I think this is where we, as women, can be so helpful! We can make sure we cut grumpiness and depression off at the pass just by being an ear and acknowledging how hard work can be. It didn't change my husband's difficulties, but somehow it helped alleviate his stresses by having them heard.
I've heard from a number of women lately that their husbands are struggling in other areas related to work. For these men, they are taking jobs that pay the bills perhaps but are not the jobs they wish they could be in for the rest of their lives. This is such a hard place to be and there is no easy answer for that. My encouragement to them is to a fast either on their husband's behalf, especially if he isn't in a good place spiritually, or to do a fast together if he is open to that. What we've seen, though, is that no matter what, contentment is key. Learning to be content in the situation we find ourselves in is the best place to start. We shouldn't be so shocked that our husband's struggle with finding their "ideal" job. It's another thorn, another part of the painful process.
In a strange way, recognizing the curse will make us better wives. Satan will use our ignorance of the curse and turn it into a huge battle that we need not fight on our own. In our home, the job situation has not changed, but the spirit of grumpiness is gone. My husband wasn't even aware of what was going on. Now that it is out in the open and I'm aware and he's aware of the spiritual battle, we are more equipped to handle it. We're more sensitive to the other one's needs. We're less selfish and more committed to helping one another through this transition. We're aware that Satan was out to attack us through any way he could and he was using this amazing answer to prayer to get to us!
Gratitude is also the best way to handle any struggle our husbands are having. It might be hard at first to be thankful for the struggles we see them going through, but God can and is using them in ways we don't know. Sadly, the main thing God is doing is sanctifying us through them! I say sadly, because it shouldn't take hard times to teach us, but it does. No one enjoys that process, but it is always a good thing when we are developing the character God longs for us to have. It might be really hard to find something to be grateful for, but with practice God can show us things to thank Him for and then......the miracle is imminent....my favourite saying from Ann Voskamp. I say, "practice", because we can also practice bad habits, such as being miserable and grumpy ourselves. It is easy to get really good at being an awful wife and it takes a lot more effort to be a good wife.
So, if I could talk to all those women who want out or who are so unhappy in their situations or who would like a "replacement husband", press on! The curse that came along so many years ago may not change until Christ returns, but God has given us such a great responsibility in the meantime to be the best helpmeets we can be and He's also given us His greatest resource - Himself, to help us be strong, loving and patient wives. When I was feeling this undercurrent of frustration last week and we hadn't talked about it yet, I just prayed, asking the Lord to help me to know how to be a good wife and I prayed that the wall I was afraid would form between him and I would be broken down. It was shortly after that an opportunity came up to talk about how we were both feeling. I didn't create the scenario, God did. I hadn't known how to talk about it, God worked it all out. It wasn't a hard conversation, it was a great conversation.
One of the best verses in the Bible on this topic is from Proverbs 14:1, "The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down." I want to be the "wisest of women" not a woman who tears down her house "with her own hands".
Monday, 24 October 2016
Don't Let Anyone Look Down on You Because Your are Young
We got great news this weekend about the young guy who came to our farm back in September. On that day he came to speak to all the homeschoolers that were at our farm for a picnic about his aspirations to be a Christian in the political realm. He was campaigning to be the newest (and youngest) Progressive Conservative nominee for our area. On Saturday night we all went to vote for him. It would have been very easy to say we didn't have time or we were too tired. I had just come back from another seminar I had given 2 hours away, lots of driving, so I was tired and just wanted to go home. My husband was also tired and had been working hard all day. But we knew this was super important, so we grabbed the ones who were old enough to vote and off we went.
This guy was up against lifetime politicians. He really shouldn't have won if you look at it logically, but the Christian community really rallied together. He had a lot of people volunteering for him, making phone calls, writing letters, knocking on doors, including our kids one night. But, to everyone's amazement, he won! He is so incredibly articulate for being just 19 years old. His acceptance speech was wonderful and at the very end he thanked his Heavenly Father for being with him throughout the whole campaign. He is not ashamed of his faith, that was clear. So now we are praying he will go on and do great things for God.
Everyone's awake again.....breakfast to make, laundry to wash, kids to teach....the week has begun!
This guy was up against lifetime politicians. He really shouldn't have won if you look at it logically, but the Christian community really rallied together. He had a lot of people volunteering for him, making phone calls, writing letters, knocking on doors, including our kids one night. But, to everyone's amazement, he won! He is so incredibly articulate for being just 19 years old. His acceptance speech was wonderful and at the very end he thanked his Heavenly Father for being with him throughout the whole campaign. He is not ashamed of his faith, that was clear. So now we are praying he will go on and do great things for God.
Everyone's awake again.....breakfast to make, laundry to wash, kids to teach....the week has begun!
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
The God of Reverse....and Living Like the Doolittles
Our week began by welcoming a big fuzzy new puppy, (well, she's almost 2) into our lives late Sunday night. Of course because it was so late when everyone arrived and we were all so tired, we let her in the house......that was our first big mistake. We couldn't leave her in the shop with her soon-to-be-husband, as we didn't have separate living accommodations for them yet. Another big mistake. She slept through the night like a well-trained dog in our mudroom, not a peep.
I came down stairs the next morning to a dog that knows how to hug. I'm not joking. She doesn't jump up on you like she's excited. She slowly walks up to you, puts her paws gently on your shoulders and leans in for you to wrap your arms around her. I've never experienced a dog hug before, but it is the most amazing thing! She is trying to tell you how much she loves you! By the second day, we realized we'd been hoodwinked by a new dog into keeping her inside. I can't believe it! Never, in a million years, did I think I would be one of those people who keep huge dogs INDOORS! Yet, here I am, with a dog at my feet, quite happy to have her near me.
Our kids are in heaven. We went on a field trip and were away from the house for just a few hours and all they talked about was how much they would miss the dog. Again, how can a dog have so much power over a family in such a short amount of time?! So you can see, we're hooked on this new member of the family. Puppies will come shortly, I'm sure...
Any of my "neat freak" friends will no longer enjoy coming over though...It is like Dr. Doolittle's house over here. We've got two crazy kittens running around, one giant dog, all sorts of fish, a lizard, a tarantula....why not just let a cow, a horse, a chicken or even a zebra move in? Yesterday we found a dead mouse behind our couch.....what next?! I've given up my desire for spotless hygienic home....as if it is even possible now.
Meanwhile, I read the most amazing verse a day or two ago from the book of Esther. Esther had found herself in the position of power as the king's new favourite wife. But Haman, without knowing it, had sealed her fate and the fate of the Jewish people by having the king sign an edict saying that they should be annihilated. This included Esther. She told Mordecai to pray and fast for three days and that she and her servant girls would also pray and fast. What happens next is amazing.
I've often used the story of Esther as an amazing example of fasting. As a result of her fasting, she gets a plan, but, it turns out, many other amazing things happen as well. It was only upon reading it again that I made the connection to fasting and praying.
After her 3 days of fasting she decides to have the king and Haman over for a meal. This is the first answer to her prayer - she gets a plan. Secondly, she is not killed when she approaches the king. He holds out the royal scepter to her, when normally, she would have been killed for approaching without being called. She doesn't reveal the wickedness of Haman at this first meal, she waits until she has them over again. Thirdly, the night of the first banquet, the king goes to bed, but cannot sleep. As a result of not being able to sleep he has his servants read the book of deeds which reveals the fact that Mordecai was never rewarded for saving the king's life. To me, this is not coincidence, but a direct result of the praying and fasting. Why, of all nights, is the king unable to sleep? Could it be because the Lord kept him awake? So that he would read the book of deeds? So that Mordecai would be honoured?
Fourthly, at the next banquet, the following night, she reveals the plan Haman made for killing all the Jews. As a result, Haman is hung on the very gallows he made for Mordecai. Fifthly, Mordecai is then placed in a position of honour. After this, the Jews are still in trouble because the edict cannot be changed; it was "written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring". Sixthly, because Mordecai was now in a position of power, he was able to add another edict in the king's name which allowed the Jews to defend themselves! Amazing.
Next, seventhly (is that a word?), because they were able to defend themselves....and here is my new favourite verse......"on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, THE REVERSE OCCURRED: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them." (Esther 9:1b) What a great verse - the reverse occurred. What everyone expected to happen, didn't. When everyone hoped and thought the Jews would go down, they, instead, were victorious.
I believe this is all a direct result from praying and fasting. I counted seven answers to prayer. This is such a powerful book in the Bible to demonstrate the power of God and how He answers the prayers and cries of His people. I think the main thing I love the most in this story is how God reverses the situation for the Jews. He doesn't just save them, He totally turns the situation around. I believe that is what prayer and fasting can do. I've seen it in my own life, in my own prayers. Times of desperation, where we've needed God to reverse our situation, we've prayed, we've fasted and sure enough, just like in chapter 9, God has reversed our situation and has saved us from being destroyed and made us victorious. I can actually say when times get desperate now, I don't panic the way I used to. I simply get on my knees, with praying and fasting, and I thank Him now, for the opportunity to reverse our situation.
I've read Esther many times and have always loved the story. I used to read it thinking how great it was that Haman's wickedness was revealed, as if the story ended there. This time, I started to read it realizing many more things happened in the story that I had never seen as answers to prayer. This is often what happens in my own life. I pray. Things happen, but I never make the connections that God is answering my prayers. Only upon reflection am I able to see the answers. Rereading the book of Esther, I saw all the other answers to prayer that I normally have missed. Like I said, I am convinced they were a direct result of all those people praying and fasting as a nation. What if all of our families would do this? I think we would see great reversals in our lives and in the lives of others if we did this. What a powerful way to live. Our God is the God of Reverse!
I came down stairs the next morning to a dog that knows how to hug. I'm not joking. She doesn't jump up on you like she's excited. She slowly walks up to you, puts her paws gently on your shoulders and leans in for you to wrap your arms around her. I've never experienced a dog hug before, but it is the most amazing thing! She is trying to tell you how much she loves you! By the second day, we realized we'd been hoodwinked by a new dog into keeping her inside. I can't believe it! Never, in a million years, did I think I would be one of those people who keep huge dogs INDOORS! Yet, here I am, with a dog at my feet, quite happy to have her near me.
Our kids are in heaven. We went on a field trip and were away from the house for just a few hours and all they talked about was how much they would miss the dog. Again, how can a dog have so much power over a family in such a short amount of time?! So you can see, we're hooked on this new member of the family. Puppies will come shortly, I'm sure...
Any of my "neat freak" friends will no longer enjoy coming over though...It is like Dr. Doolittle's house over here. We've got two crazy kittens running around, one giant dog, all sorts of fish, a lizard, a tarantula....why not just let a cow, a horse, a chicken or even a zebra move in? Yesterday we found a dead mouse behind our couch.....what next?! I've given up my desire for spotless hygienic home....as if it is even possible now.
Meanwhile, I read the most amazing verse a day or two ago from the book of Esther. Esther had found herself in the position of power as the king's new favourite wife. But Haman, without knowing it, had sealed her fate and the fate of the Jewish people by having the king sign an edict saying that they should be annihilated. This included Esther. She told Mordecai to pray and fast for three days and that she and her servant girls would also pray and fast. What happens next is amazing.
I've often used the story of Esther as an amazing example of fasting. As a result of her fasting, she gets a plan, but, it turns out, many other amazing things happen as well. It was only upon reading it again that I made the connection to fasting and praying.
After her 3 days of fasting she decides to have the king and Haman over for a meal. This is the first answer to her prayer - she gets a plan. Secondly, she is not killed when she approaches the king. He holds out the royal scepter to her, when normally, she would have been killed for approaching without being called. She doesn't reveal the wickedness of Haman at this first meal, she waits until she has them over again. Thirdly, the night of the first banquet, the king goes to bed, but cannot sleep. As a result of not being able to sleep he has his servants read the book of deeds which reveals the fact that Mordecai was never rewarded for saving the king's life. To me, this is not coincidence, but a direct result of the praying and fasting. Why, of all nights, is the king unable to sleep? Could it be because the Lord kept him awake? So that he would read the book of deeds? So that Mordecai would be honoured?
Fourthly, at the next banquet, the following night, she reveals the plan Haman made for killing all the Jews. As a result, Haman is hung on the very gallows he made for Mordecai. Fifthly, Mordecai is then placed in a position of honour. After this, the Jews are still in trouble because the edict cannot be changed; it was "written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring". Sixthly, because Mordecai was now in a position of power, he was able to add another edict in the king's name which allowed the Jews to defend themselves! Amazing.
Next, seventhly (is that a word?), because they were able to defend themselves....and here is my new favourite verse......"on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, THE REVERSE OCCURRED: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them." (Esther 9:1b) What a great verse - the reverse occurred. What everyone expected to happen, didn't. When everyone hoped and thought the Jews would go down, they, instead, were victorious.
I believe this is all a direct result from praying and fasting. I counted seven answers to prayer. This is such a powerful book in the Bible to demonstrate the power of God and how He answers the prayers and cries of His people. I think the main thing I love the most in this story is how God reverses the situation for the Jews. He doesn't just save them, He totally turns the situation around. I believe that is what prayer and fasting can do. I've seen it in my own life, in my own prayers. Times of desperation, where we've needed God to reverse our situation, we've prayed, we've fasted and sure enough, just like in chapter 9, God has reversed our situation and has saved us from being destroyed and made us victorious. I can actually say when times get desperate now, I don't panic the way I used to. I simply get on my knees, with praying and fasting, and I thank Him now, for the opportunity to reverse our situation.
I've read Esther many times and have always loved the story. I used to read it thinking how great it was that Haman's wickedness was revealed, as if the story ended there. This time, I started to read it realizing many more things happened in the story that I had never seen as answers to prayer. This is often what happens in my own life. I pray. Things happen, but I never make the connections that God is answering my prayers. Only upon reflection am I able to see the answers. Rereading the book of Esther, I saw all the other answers to prayer that I normally have missed. Like I said, I am convinced they were a direct result of all those people praying and fasting as a nation. What if all of our families would do this? I think we would see great reversals in our lives and in the lives of others if we did this. What a powerful way to live. Our God is the God of Reverse!
Friday, 14 October 2016
Dogs "R" Us
I'm convinced that God books my dentist appointments just to get me in the car so I can hear a preacher preach on just what I need to hear.....months in advance.
I'd been reading in Nehemiah these past weeks. I love that book so much. It just so happened that when I got in the car yesterday the preacher on the radio was also preaching on Nehemiah. As soon as I turned it on, he said, "Whenever you are doing something for the Lord, expect opposition! It always comes!" He was referring to Sanballat and Tobiah who immediately started to oppose the work Nehemiah was doing when he built the wall.
Those few words helped me so much as we often experience opposition in this war against debt and in the war to raise our family. So many things coming after us to tear us down, to tell us we can't do it, to discourage us. Yet the reminder was to see how Nehemiah handled it....prayer. He immediately turned his thoughts to God and prayed and then went right back to work.
One thing the pastor pointed out that I hadn't noticed before when I had read the passage, was that they built the wall, all the way around, to half height. It was fully joined up, no gaps, just not to complete height....yet. This is incredibly significant. Nehemiah was very strategic in doing the wall all the way around first before building it up to the top. He could have had each family build the section in front of them right to the top and then move to the left or right and build that section right to the top, but he knew he needed to get the gaps closed so there was no room for anything to sneak in.
I was so excited about that. I came home and told the kids what I had heard on the radio. I asked them why do you think Nehemiah did that? They got it right away, "So there was no room for anyone to get in through the cracks or gaps?" Yes! Then I asked them, "What would that look like for us as we try to build our debt-reduction wall or our family wall?" They thought about it and then realized, "We have to close the gaps in our wall, too?" Yes! We talked about what the gaps are. Silly things that we like to spend money on because we're so weak! I encouraged them to remember when we want to spend extra money that that is like a gap in the wall that will keep us from ever finishing! For our family, it's attacks from the world that want to either split us up or tear our convictions down.
My oldest son has been very diligent in saving his money. His wall is good. He has had a vision of being debt-free from the beginning and rarely spends his money. He has a unique opportunity this weekend to purchase a female collie in order to breed with our male collie. This female dog is very expensive as she wins in competitions and dog shows and the owner intended to get top dollar for her and her pups. There was no way we were going to be able to afford this dog, but my son can afford her! He can also afford all the kennel equipment, the vet bills, the dog food. We aren't buying any of that. Whether he knows it or not, he is starting a business! A dog breeding business! And the exciting part is - he can! Why? Because he built a wall with no gaps! I told him that yesterday and explained to him how great that is. I encouraged him to understand what an opportunity this is because of the wise choices he's made. He's able to do it because of choices he made months ago, never knowing those choices would impact him in a positive way later.
We had been praying with him and for him for a way to make money for a long time, nothing was working out. He had applied to many jobs only to not hear back or the position would be suddenly filled. When this dog came up on-line, it seemed like the perfect opportunity as it allows him to "work from home"! Plus, it fills his dog-shaped vacuum in his soul! He loves dogs!!!! Being hands-free on this one is hard for my husband and I as we want to step in and do everything for him as we have all along. But this time we are standing back. He is making all the phone calls, all the emails, all the research....and all the purchasing. What a great experience it has already been for him. I thank God for this unique opportunity. The one funny thing that holds him back is that he doesn't want to become one of those crazy dog people that learn to interact so well with dogs that you lose your human skills, but I keep reassuring him that we'll help keep him "normal".
So that is a great example of a wall, well-built! As we keep working on our financial wall, our kids have learned a few lessons on the way. They want their wall stronger than ours was/is. It means they are learning from our experience which makes me realize our struggles have not been in vain. I knew that, and figured I would see that at some point in my life, but I'm glad I've seen it sooner than later.
After this weekend, we'll grow from one dog, to two dogs, to many dogs.....I am NOT a dog person, so this should be interesting. Each day I look outside and smile as our kids walk by our current collie and whisper to him, "You're getting married this weekend!!!!" He has no idea......
I'd been reading in Nehemiah these past weeks. I love that book so much. It just so happened that when I got in the car yesterday the preacher on the radio was also preaching on Nehemiah. As soon as I turned it on, he said, "Whenever you are doing something for the Lord, expect opposition! It always comes!" He was referring to Sanballat and Tobiah who immediately started to oppose the work Nehemiah was doing when he built the wall.
Those few words helped me so much as we often experience opposition in this war against debt and in the war to raise our family. So many things coming after us to tear us down, to tell us we can't do it, to discourage us. Yet the reminder was to see how Nehemiah handled it....prayer. He immediately turned his thoughts to God and prayed and then went right back to work.
One thing the pastor pointed out that I hadn't noticed before when I had read the passage, was that they built the wall, all the way around, to half height. It was fully joined up, no gaps, just not to complete height....yet. This is incredibly significant. Nehemiah was very strategic in doing the wall all the way around first before building it up to the top. He could have had each family build the section in front of them right to the top and then move to the left or right and build that section right to the top, but he knew he needed to get the gaps closed so there was no room for anything to sneak in.
I was so excited about that. I came home and told the kids what I had heard on the radio. I asked them why do you think Nehemiah did that? They got it right away, "So there was no room for anyone to get in through the cracks or gaps?" Yes! Then I asked them, "What would that look like for us as we try to build our debt-reduction wall or our family wall?" They thought about it and then realized, "We have to close the gaps in our wall, too?" Yes! We talked about what the gaps are. Silly things that we like to spend money on because we're so weak! I encouraged them to remember when we want to spend extra money that that is like a gap in the wall that will keep us from ever finishing! For our family, it's attacks from the world that want to either split us up or tear our convictions down.
My oldest son has been very diligent in saving his money. His wall is good. He has had a vision of being debt-free from the beginning and rarely spends his money. He has a unique opportunity this weekend to purchase a female collie in order to breed with our male collie. This female dog is very expensive as she wins in competitions and dog shows and the owner intended to get top dollar for her and her pups. There was no way we were going to be able to afford this dog, but my son can afford her! He can also afford all the kennel equipment, the vet bills, the dog food. We aren't buying any of that. Whether he knows it or not, he is starting a business! A dog breeding business! And the exciting part is - he can! Why? Because he built a wall with no gaps! I told him that yesterday and explained to him how great that is. I encouraged him to understand what an opportunity this is because of the wise choices he's made. He's able to do it because of choices he made months ago, never knowing those choices would impact him in a positive way later.
We had been praying with him and for him for a way to make money for a long time, nothing was working out. He had applied to many jobs only to not hear back or the position would be suddenly filled. When this dog came up on-line, it seemed like the perfect opportunity as it allows him to "work from home"! Plus, it fills his dog-shaped vacuum in his soul! He loves dogs!!!! Being hands-free on this one is hard for my husband and I as we want to step in and do everything for him as we have all along. But this time we are standing back. He is making all the phone calls, all the emails, all the research....and all the purchasing. What a great experience it has already been for him. I thank God for this unique opportunity. The one funny thing that holds him back is that he doesn't want to become one of those crazy dog people that learn to interact so well with dogs that you lose your human skills, but I keep reassuring him that we'll help keep him "normal".
So that is a great example of a wall, well-built! As we keep working on our financial wall, our kids have learned a few lessons on the way. They want their wall stronger than ours was/is. It means they are learning from our experience which makes me realize our struggles have not been in vain. I knew that, and figured I would see that at some point in my life, but I'm glad I've seen it sooner than later.
After this weekend, we'll grow from one dog, to two dogs, to many dogs.....I am NOT a dog person, so this should be interesting. Each day I look outside and smile as our kids walk by our current collie and whisper to him, "You're getting married this weekend!!!!" He has no idea......
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Pep Talk "Nehemiah-Style"
It's in the Bible! I'm always amazed at how funny Scripture can be. I read a great verse today. Nehemiah was mad at the Israelites for intermarrying, so he "confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair"!!! Wow! He was mad! But what was it that made him so mad? They forgot, such short memories, of what God required of them. God had said, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves." They didn't listen.
He reminded them of Solomon, what a great man he was. "Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. NEVERTHELESS, foreign women made even him to sin." None of us are immune to forgetting God's law, even one of the greatest kings to ever live.
Every October I reflect on our debt-termination goal with a new vengeance as it was around this time of year, 3 years ago, that we kicked it up a notch and I started the blog to track our experience. Reading Nehemiah is good as a source of inspiration. He had a goal, too - to rebuild the wall. We are rebuilding a wall, in a way. He got a lot of flack and many attacks as he went about his business, so much so that he had the men working on the wall with a sword in one hand and a tool in another. We get attacks all the time that discourage us, too.
But then, in Nehemiah 12, the wall is done and it is about to be dedicated. The leaders of Israel were brought on top of the wall. with two "great choirs". That must have been quite the moment, standing on top of the finished wall. How I long to stand on the wall! Each choir's purpose was just to sing and give thanks. Everyone in Israel joined in, "And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away." How exciting for them to have gone through the whole process and seen it to completion. The book had begun with Nehemiah upset that the walls were in disrepair. Then he was sent. He checked it out and saw had bad it was, but he didn't stay in that bad place. He just started. One brick at a time, one family at a time, one section of the wall at a time....it got done.
I needed to read that again, especially this time of the year. Our wall is still needing to be built. When October comes, I find it very hard because each time a year passes, it tends to discourage me. Yet Nehemiah reminds me to press on and just keep building our wall. One day I hope to stand on our wall with our choir and rejoice so loudly that people all around here us! Dave Ramsay is no longer on our radio station, but when he was, we talked about driving down to Nashville (or wherever he is!) and going on his show telling how we got debt-free and then doing the "Debt-free Scream" so many are famous for! We still might, Lord willing. The people who do it on the radio always do it real loud! It's always followed by the famous word, "FREEDOM!!!!!" yelled out by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart who also longed for freedom.
So, now I have permission to give a pep talk "Nehemiah-style" and keep our family on track....I'm not sure that I'll beat them up, but I might pull some hair! It's good to be reminded today of our debt-free goal and though we aren't there yet, I have to choose to not be discouraged and instead be more like Nehemiah and the Israelites and just press on.
He reminded them of Solomon, what a great man he was. "Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. NEVERTHELESS, foreign women made even him to sin." None of us are immune to forgetting God's law, even one of the greatest kings to ever live.
Every October I reflect on our debt-termination goal with a new vengeance as it was around this time of year, 3 years ago, that we kicked it up a notch and I started the blog to track our experience. Reading Nehemiah is good as a source of inspiration. He had a goal, too - to rebuild the wall. We are rebuilding a wall, in a way. He got a lot of flack and many attacks as he went about his business, so much so that he had the men working on the wall with a sword in one hand and a tool in another. We get attacks all the time that discourage us, too.
But then, in Nehemiah 12, the wall is done and it is about to be dedicated. The leaders of Israel were brought on top of the wall. with two "great choirs". That must have been quite the moment, standing on top of the finished wall. How I long to stand on the wall! Each choir's purpose was just to sing and give thanks. Everyone in Israel joined in, "And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away." How exciting for them to have gone through the whole process and seen it to completion. The book had begun with Nehemiah upset that the walls were in disrepair. Then he was sent. He checked it out and saw had bad it was, but he didn't stay in that bad place. He just started. One brick at a time, one family at a time, one section of the wall at a time....it got done.
I needed to read that again, especially this time of the year. Our wall is still needing to be built. When October comes, I find it very hard because each time a year passes, it tends to discourage me. Yet Nehemiah reminds me to press on and just keep building our wall. One day I hope to stand on our wall with our choir and rejoice so loudly that people all around here us! Dave Ramsay is no longer on our radio station, but when he was, we talked about driving down to Nashville (or wherever he is!) and going on his show telling how we got debt-free and then doing the "Debt-free Scream" so many are famous for! We still might, Lord willing. The people who do it on the radio always do it real loud! It's always followed by the famous word, "FREEDOM!!!!!" yelled out by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart who also longed for freedom.
So, now I have permission to give a pep talk "Nehemiah-style" and keep our family on track....I'm not sure that I'll beat them up, but I might pull some hair! It's good to be reminded today of our debt-free goal and though we aren't there yet, I have to choose to not be discouraged and instead be more like Nehemiah and the Israelites and just press on.
Tuesday, 11 October 2016
Reminders from the Mission Field
So I'm another year older now, but so grateful - for life, health, family. I don't feel older. I may look older, but I'm one of those people who can honestly say I feel the same as I did on the day I got married. How long that will last, I'm not sure, but I'll take it while I can!
I've been living in Papua New Guinea the last few weeks as I was slowly but surely reading another missionary story by Don Richardson called Lords of the Earth. An incredible story of sacrifice and martyrdom for a tribal people that did not know the Lord.
Amazingly, on Sunday, the pastor called up a missionary to give a quick report and where was he from but Papua New Guinea! I felt like I was listening to Don Richardson himself giving the update. He brought books with him from another fellow missionary named John Wilson. I quickly ran up and grabbed one of them. I started it last night and already can't put it down as now I know the characters in the book as they all follow from the book I just finished. Everyone knew each other, all the missionaries, all the nationals. So inspiring.
At night, with the children, we are reading the autobiography of George Mueller. We had read a biography about him years ago, but it is so interesting to read it again, but this time from Mueller's own perspective. All these books point to the same lesson - these people relied on God for everything. In addition to that, they relied exclusively on His Word. They didn't have shelves and shelves of commentaries. They only had the Bible. And it was enough.
In so many cases, these authors give example after example of instances where things just don't make sense, life doesn't go the way they hoped or planned, yet always, looking back, God was at work, using everything for His good.
I read in Nehemiah a few days ago about the Israelites again. Nehemiah recalls their whole story and their whole timeline of events from the crossing of the Red Sea to the golden calf, to the manna in the desert. He recounts their disobedience as well as their times of turning back to God. I wonder if Nehemiah is recalling it as much for his benefit as for the people he's saying it to, to remind himself that God is good, even if it doesn't appear that way sometimes. He says,
"Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, all all your people since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly."
At this point in the story, Nehemiah doesn't know how it is going to end. I feel like he is one of those missionaries, stuck with at tribe of people from Papua New Guinea, not necessarily seeing fruit from all the hard work amongst the stubborn Israelites. And he says, "Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress." (Neh. 9:36-38)
Nehemiah, who has seen God perform so many miracles and has heard about all the miracles possibly even before he was born, still is in distress. He sees himself and his people as a slave. He sounds a little discouraged! The missionaries I've been reading about also fell into great times of depression, as did their wives, and distress, wondering sometimes how they found themselves in the middle of nowhere, among a people that didn't want them there. They saw many conversions, but so many left to go! So many still slaves to their religious fetishes and not enough missionaries to go around! We, too, though we have been given much, are still not out of the pit and find ourselves crying out, "We are still slaves!" I don't want to say I'm in great distress as all things are relative, but sometimes I feel like I am. It's taking too long!
Yet, the missionaries stories, always end up telling a story of God's faithfulness. Nehemiah recounts God's faithfulness all along as well. I can tell of God's faithfulness.
This past Thanksgiving weekend was a great time to recount together as families and, later on as our family met, about all the things God has done for us, all that He has brought us through. We can only be like the missionaries, Nehemiah and the Israelites and recount the stories, trusting God for the end result. Maybe that's why I love reading those stories so much - they are great reminders to keep the hope alive. God is at work.
I've been living in Papua New Guinea the last few weeks as I was slowly but surely reading another missionary story by Don Richardson called Lords of the Earth. An incredible story of sacrifice and martyrdom for a tribal people that did not know the Lord.
Amazingly, on Sunday, the pastor called up a missionary to give a quick report and where was he from but Papua New Guinea! I felt like I was listening to Don Richardson himself giving the update. He brought books with him from another fellow missionary named John Wilson. I quickly ran up and grabbed one of them. I started it last night and already can't put it down as now I know the characters in the book as they all follow from the book I just finished. Everyone knew each other, all the missionaries, all the nationals. So inspiring.
At night, with the children, we are reading the autobiography of George Mueller. We had read a biography about him years ago, but it is so interesting to read it again, but this time from Mueller's own perspective. All these books point to the same lesson - these people relied on God for everything. In addition to that, they relied exclusively on His Word. They didn't have shelves and shelves of commentaries. They only had the Bible. And it was enough.
In so many cases, these authors give example after example of instances where things just don't make sense, life doesn't go the way they hoped or planned, yet always, looking back, God was at work, using everything for His good.
I read in Nehemiah a few days ago about the Israelites again. Nehemiah recalls their whole story and their whole timeline of events from the crossing of the Red Sea to the golden calf, to the manna in the desert. He recounts their disobedience as well as their times of turning back to God. I wonder if Nehemiah is recalling it as much for his benefit as for the people he's saying it to, to remind himself that God is good, even if it doesn't appear that way sometimes. He says,
"Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, all all your people since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly."
At this point in the story, Nehemiah doesn't know how it is going to end. I feel like he is one of those missionaries, stuck with at tribe of people from Papua New Guinea, not necessarily seeing fruit from all the hard work amongst the stubborn Israelites. And he says, "Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress." (Neh. 9:36-38)
Nehemiah, who has seen God perform so many miracles and has heard about all the miracles possibly even before he was born, still is in distress. He sees himself and his people as a slave. He sounds a little discouraged! The missionaries I've been reading about also fell into great times of depression, as did their wives, and distress, wondering sometimes how they found themselves in the middle of nowhere, among a people that didn't want them there. They saw many conversions, but so many left to go! So many still slaves to their religious fetishes and not enough missionaries to go around! We, too, though we have been given much, are still not out of the pit and find ourselves crying out, "We are still slaves!" I don't want to say I'm in great distress as all things are relative, but sometimes I feel like I am. It's taking too long!
Yet, the missionaries stories, always end up telling a story of God's faithfulness. Nehemiah recounts God's faithfulness all along as well. I can tell of God's faithfulness.
This past Thanksgiving weekend was a great time to recount together as families and, later on as our family met, about all the things God has done for us, all that He has brought us through. We can only be like the missionaries, Nehemiah and the Israelites and recount the stories, trusting God for the end result. Maybe that's why I love reading those stories so much - they are great reminders to keep the hope alive. God is at work.
Monday, 3 October 2016
It Works!
I gave two seminars again in the last two weeks on chores and scheduling. It brings in a small amount of money which is always a help and it puts me in front of a crowd which I also love! I get to meet new people which is part of the fun, too. My daughters get to be with me by taking registrations and then watching children if they need to, so it is a meaningful thing we can do together.
This past weekend I got in waaaay over my head though. I invited one of the seminar attendees back to my house for lunch as she was coming from over two hours away. What was I thinking? How was I going to clean the house, make lunch, give the seminar and then be back in time to do all that? Impossible.
This is where the seminar truly came to life. In the seminar I explain the current and future benefits of teaching our children to work through chores. I talk about the character traits it will develop, including self-denial and willingness to serve others.
When my two oldest boys found out that I was in a quandary....they jumped in and said, "We'll do it! We'll make lunch and clean the house!" Hmmmmm....what's in it for them, we all wondered! And, truth be told, they did have some ulterior motives.....Lately, as my kids are all getting older, they are noticing the opposite sex just that much more.....They care more about their hair than they ever did, more about their clothes, more about their guitar playing skills (to get the babes), etc., etc....Learning to cook and impress the ladies, was that on their minds? Can't say for sure, but I knew this lady was bringing her daughters and so did they! It was a very smooth move and an offer I couldn't refuse.....
In the seminar I made them appear much more selfless by explaining what my boys were up to while I was giving the seminar, but the truth is, they were sacrificing! I laughed so hard when later they told me how everything had really gone while we were out of the house....they'd been running around the place like chickens with their heads cut off! (And now I know what that really means, as we cut chickens heads off around here once in awhile and they actually do that!) I hoped it made them grateful for all the meals I have to pull off every single day!
My husband had taken the 3 younger boys out of the house and I had the 3 girls, so that only left the two oldest boys, 15 and 17. When we walked in after the seminar, starving, I might add, we came home to the smell of fresh pizza, homemade "life-changing" bread sticks, as we like to call them, and freshly-tossed salad. Nothing was burned, everything was spotless and it was like a restaurant. I had left the house in order...mostly...but there was still a little tidying up outside and inside I had left for them. All done. I was amazed. I really need to make them do this more often!
They were sweating buckets. It was so funny. I have no idea how they did it all. I had really left very few instructions or ideas on how to time it all. I just hoped they'd figure it out. I even made them do all the shopping for the gourmet pizza they wanted to make. They did!
It was the proof in the pudding, as they say. The benefits of attempting to train all those years was on the line....would they come through? Would all the effort pay off? I can say, and did say to the ladies at the seminar, (by faith before we came home!)....it was worth it! The boys came through with flying colours. I was so amazed at what a good job they did. The young girls and the mother who joined us were quiet and didn't say too much, but surely they noticed the Renaissance Men before them!
We finished off the meal with pumpkin cheesecake my daughter had made the night before. Again, what a blessing to me, to know I didn't have to take care of any of the food prep. It would have truly kept me from giving the seminar without feeling frazzled. I was able to give the seminar with peace in my heart, knowing what I was telling the ladies was all true....I wasn't making up the benefits. No, I was living proof that it works!
In Numbers 11, Moses, aka any mom, cries out to the Lord and says, "Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favour in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me (i.e. Why have you given me so many kids and no cleaning lady or nanny??!!)" He goes on to say, "I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me."
Is that not what so many moms feel? I knew this was true of me at many points in my life when the kids were young, but I didn't realize how true it is for so many women, even with older kids. So much so that a whole new blogosphere of mothers has started that is all about how they wish they had never had children. They hate their life. They miss their old life. They wish they had money, that they could travel, sleep, eat what they want, when they want. This community of selfish, angry, hateful mothers is becoming quite the phenomenon and by just existing it is feeding the selfishness.
I wish I could meet them all and sit them down and explain, "There's a better way!"
The Lord has the answer. He tells Moses to gather seventy men and then He promises to meet with them. He says, "And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone." (Numbers 11:17)
I gave that passage to the women at the seminar. They don't need to be among the growing numbers of dissatisfied, angry, discouraged moms. There may be other factors that are making these moms so upset with their lives, but I bet, for the most part, it's because they are burnt out. They've taken on all the kids, all their responsibilities and they find themselves empty at the end of the day. I'm sure most of them do not have a spiritual perspective either. But a lot of Christian moms find themselves burnt out, too. This cannot be! We have the ultimate source of power! We have no excuses. On top of that, the Bible gives solutions....train up a child, spread out the labour, give them work while they're young....it's all spelled out so practically in the Bible, a true handbook on parenting.
If these other moms would read it and would ask God for help, I believe they would love their lives. They could be the type of mom who would be so grateful for what her children have taught her, for how rich her life is because of children, instead of only see the things they've lost (did they really need all that they had before?). Satan is clever. He knows our selfish weaknesses and he has new strategies brewing all the time.
I only hope the children of these blogging moms never read what their moms have written.
This past weekend I got in waaaay over my head though. I invited one of the seminar attendees back to my house for lunch as she was coming from over two hours away. What was I thinking? How was I going to clean the house, make lunch, give the seminar and then be back in time to do all that? Impossible.
This is where the seminar truly came to life. In the seminar I explain the current and future benefits of teaching our children to work through chores. I talk about the character traits it will develop, including self-denial and willingness to serve others.
When my two oldest boys found out that I was in a quandary....they jumped in and said, "We'll do it! We'll make lunch and clean the house!" Hmmmmm....what's in it for them, we all wondered! And, truth be told, they did have some ulterior motives.....Lately, as my kids are all getting older, they are noticing the opposite sex just that much more.....They care more about their hair than they ever did, more about their clothes, more about their guitar playing skills (to get the babes), etc., etc....Learning to cook and impress the ladies, was that on their minds? Can't say for sure, but I knew this lady was bringing her daughters and so did they! It was a very smooth move and an offer I couldn't refuse.....
In the seminar I made them appear much more selfless by explaining what my boys were up to while I was giving the seminar, but the truth is, they were sacrificing! I laughed so hard when later they told me how everything had really gone while we were out of the house....they'd been running around the place like chickens with their heads cut off! (And now I know what that really means, as we cut chickens heads off around here once in awhile and they actually do that!) I hoped it made them grateful for all the meals I have to pull off every single day!
My husband had taken the 3 younger boys out of the house and I had the 3 girls, so that only left the two oldest boys, 15 and 17. When we walked in after the seminar, starving, I might add, we came home to the smell of fresh pizza, homemade "life-changing" bread sticks, as we like to call them, and freshly-tossed salad. Nothing was burned, everything was spotless and it was like a restaurant. I had left the house in order...mostly...but there was still a little tidying up outside and inside I had left for them. All done. I was amazed. I really need to make them do this more often!
They were sweating buckets. It was so funny. I have no idea how they did it all. I had really left very few instructions or ideas on how to time it all. I just hoped they'd figure it out. I even made them do all the shopping for the gourmet pizza they wanted to make. They did!
It was the proof in the pudding, as they say. The benefits of attempting to train all those years was on the line....would they come through? Would all the effort pay off? I can say, and did say to the ladies at the seminar, (by faith before we came home!)....it was worth it! The boys came through with flying colours. I was so amazed at what a good job they did. The young girls and the mother who joined us were quiet and didn't say too much, but surely they noticed the Renaissance Men before them!
We finished off the meal with pumpkin cheesecake my daughter had made the night before. Again, what a blessing to me, to know I didn't have to take care of any of the food prep. It would have truly kept me from giving the seminar without feeling frazzled. I was able to give the seminar with peace in my heart, knowing what I was telling the ladies was all true....I wasn't making up the benefits. No, I was living proof that it works!
In Numbers 11, Moses, aka any mom, cries out to the Lord and says, "Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favour in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me (i.e. Why have you given me so many kids and no cleaning lady or nanny??!!)" He goes on to say, "I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me."
Is that not what so many moms feel? I knew this was true of me at many points in my life when the kids were young, but I didn't realize how true it is for so many women, even with older kids. So much so that a whole new blogosphere of mothers has started that is all about how they wish they had never had children. They hate their life. They miss their old life. They wish they had money, that they could travel, sleep, eat what they want, when they want. This community of selfish, angry, hateful mothers is becoming quite the phenomenon and by just existing it is feeding the selfishness.
I wish I could meet them all and sit them down and explain, "There's a better way!"
The Lord has the answer. He tells Moses to gather seventy men and then He promises to meet with them. He says, "And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone." (Numbers 11:17)
I gave that passage to the women at the seminar. They don't need to be among the growing numbers of dissatisfied, angry, discouraged moms. There may be other factors that are making these moms so upset with their lives, but I bet, for the most part, it's because they are burnt out. They've taken on all the kids, all their responsibilities and they find themselves empty at the end of the day. I'm sure most of them do not have a spiritual perspective either. But a lot of Christian moms find themselves burnt out, too. This cannot be! We have the ultimate source of power! We have no excuses. On top of that, the Bible gives solutions....train up a child, spread out the labour, give them work while they're young....it's all spelled out so practically in the Bible, a true handbook on parenting.
If these other moms would read it and would ask God for help, I believe they would love their lives. They could be the type of mom who would be so grateful for what her children have taught her, for how rich her life is because of children, instead of only see the things they've lost (did they really need all that they had before?). Satan is clever. He knows our selfish weaknesses and he has new strategies brewing all the time.
I only hope the children of these blogging moms never read what their moms have written.
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