Summer School?!?!

So, about two weeks into summer, and I decided my boys both my boys and I will not make it all summer with no routine or schedule.  So after some encouragement in revamping our chore charts, and being very firm with daily reading requirements...I decided we are going to accomplish two things...first we will have family devotions every morning just like we did while in school.  What the boys don't realize is teaching the Bible is my passion so this always took an hour during the school year, and it may end up taking more during the summer! Second, we will have some adventure every day that makes them laugh, learn and appreciate what the Lord has given us!

I do not use a bible curriculum...not yet, I think as they get older I may do something more structured...but what I do it daily as I study in my personal quiet time, I ask the Lord each day before I start reading to teach me great and unsearchable things I do not know (Jer. 33:3) then I write up a lesson for my boys for that day.  Sometimes, as I teach through it I'll notice they need to stay in a specific verse for the week...sometimes just a day.  Whatever their need is...I try to meet it with God's word.

Specifically I was in John 17 this morning and I came to verse 17 and was stuck again.  I really really LOVE this verse!!!  "Sanctify them in truth, your word it truth!"  John 17:17

I could go on and on and on some more about why I love this verse, but mostly because it is a gentle reminder that God's word is powerful, absolute truth, active in our lives and relevant for our needs.

So, I created this short lesson for the boys this morning, I've got an extra boy, one of my precious nephews gets to 'tag along' this morning...my plan is:

1.  Read John 17:17
2.  Discuss what Sanctify means (dedicate to God, cleanse internally, to purify by renewing the soul)
3.  Ask, "How can I as a believer proclaim Christ and His gospel if I am not in the word myself?"
4.  Ask, "What is devotion?"  "Why is devoting time to the study of God's word important?"
5.  Discuss what the Word does (although not exhaustive...this is where I'm pointing them: Sanctifies, encourages, strengthens, and purifies).

Then, we will read through 1 Thessalonians 4:18 (encouragement),   Psalm 10:17 (Strengthen), Titus 2:14 (Purify) and Reread John 17:17 (sanctify).

Then I found a free crossword puzzle maker online and made one for the boys to complete, obviously my 4 year old will need some assistance...but I'm praying this will be fun, engaging and that the Word will accomplish that which He sent it out to accomplish (Isaiah 55:11)!

Here is a copy of the answer sheet...you can print both I just thought the answer sheet showed how cool that tool really is!

Happy Summer All!!!!

A few more creaks and creases...

So, it's not a huge secret...I wear them on my face...the tiny wrinkles that surround my eyes. They've replaced the fresh smooth skin of my youth.

It's totally okay with me. Honestly, the most amazing and beautiful woman I ever knew went to be with Jesus with a face full of wrinkles.

But it is easy to look in the mirror and get discouraged. Sometimes I wonder if my husband cares about my wrinkled eyes. Although he always says I get better with age...

When I walk up the stairs my knees kind of sound like wrenches. Seriously. They don't hurt they just don't sound "new." I've definitely put some miles on them!

But today I was reading in 2 Corinthians and my heart was so refreshed by this word...


"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16.

Why am I encouraged? Not because I've got louder knees than I used to or the tiny wrinkles that surround my eyes are any less visible...but rather because God's word is true..and in His amazing grace He renews my heart afresh each day in His word, through prayer and just because of who He is!

I hope this blesses your heart as it does mine. As the years pass and our outer bodies deteriorate God absolutely renews our heats and minds daily as we seek Him! I'm so blessed by Psalm 19:7-11

"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

His truth, His word...this is my
Hope! This is where my heart runs when trouble lurks when doubts come..when life overwhelms...this is the comfort I soak in, His unfailing word, glorious truth....unsurpassable strength.

I am so thankful for my Redeemer!!

The blessing of an open mind.

An open mind.   Depending on the culture around you, or how you were raised  that can be a good thing or a bad thing.  I'm not going to offer my two cents on the phrase.  I don't believe in stirring up strife.  But I will say, I didn't always think of being called open-minded as a compliment.

The older I get the more I experience the reality of God's work in my life.  "For the wisdom of the world is folly with God."  1 Corinthians 3:19

So, how fitting it is that the Lord impressed on my heart to pray for an open mind for myself, my husband and our boys. 

Every time I read through Luke 24, I am overwhelmed with awe.  Can you even imagine walking along the road, only to have Jesus, the Son of God, walk along side you and explain the Scriptures personally to you?  I can not.  It seems to unfathomable.  Yet because of the cross and by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit...we can readily call to Him, and He will answer us and teach us great and unsearchable things that we do not know (Jer. 33:3).  We can come before His word and ASK Him to speak to us.  We can expect that He will. 

So, as I was reading through Luke this morning, I stopped and confessed to the Lord that I do not passionately pray enough for an open mind.  I want Him to open my mind to His word.  I want my boys to have open minds and hearts to His word.  I (we) can pray His word back to Him....I honestly believe it is so powerful to pray Scripture back to our Heavenly Father.  This morning, during our Bible study I was sharing this verse with the boys:
 

"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures"  Luke 24:45

My sweet six year old, who at four, asked Christ to save his soul, looked at me and said, "Mommy...do you think God actually opens our minds?  Or really He probably just hides His word in us?  If He actually opened our brains it might hurt."

I love how the Lord uses my children.  Constantly  and in more ways than I deserve...and silly me thought that just actually having them was the blessing....I think it goes far beyond their physical presence in our families.

I looked in the original Greek to get a better grasp on an "open mind"  I found two definitions that truly blessed my soul.  In this verse, when Luke tells us that Christ opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, it can mean:  "to open one's soul or to rouse in one the faculty of understanding or the desire of learning."

The desire to study, to learn, to memorize God's word...is a stirring deep within our soul from our Creator.  It is God Himself meeting a need that He created within us.  So when or if you look around at others and get discouraged and think that they must be "super spiritual" because they are in God's word constantly...or they pray constantly.  They aren't.  They are no better than you.  Rather, they are simply relying on God for the passion and desire for His word.  They are relying and trusting God to open their minds to His word.

Over the years the Lord has richly blessed me as I've prayed His word back to Him.  Specifically, when I pray over studying His word, I often cry out these verses (I hope it blesses you today):

"Call to Me and I will answer you and teach you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3


"Show me your ways LORD, teach me Your paths."  Psalm 25:4

"Keep me from deceitful ways, be gracious to me and teach me your ways."  Psalm 119:29

This morning I discovered this one:

"Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”  Ex. 33:13

I read this this morning:

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. And the stripped Him, and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after weaving a crown of horns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail Jesus King of the Jews!" And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. And after they mocked Him, they took His robe of and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. Matthew 27:27-31 NAS

Dear sisters, this is Our Lord! This is OUR Savior! If you name the name of Jesus, this is what He who created you endured for you. The passage above is just the beginning of His crucifixion. He endured quietly the treatment above to save YOUR soul from Hell, eternal separation from Him. Let us choose then, while we can on this earth to SEEK Him daily. I hope you can tell by now from following my blog that the Lord alone has given me an intense passion for women to embrace bible literacy and application. Please DO NOT MISS this, ladies. God has written His word to teach us about Himself, He is the great Teacher! Christian books, blogs, bible studies all these things are wonderful supplements that the Lord has allowed in our culture, but NONE can take the place of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are all sufficient and in His word we will find an amazing Savior who endured the crown of thorns, was beat on His head by a reed and spat on by those who rejected Him, that one day we can stand before Him and not be rejected!

As I read this this morning, I was mindful of the fact that Christ endured this because through and through I am a sinner. Even as I am being sanctified daily by Him, I am still a sinner, and will never be made perfect until He calls me home. Thus, I should be constantly seeking Him, in His word because His word is "living and active and sharper than any two edged sword piercing as far as the division of the soul and the spirit, both of joins and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. If we are not in His word, we will not rightly judge our thoughts and intentions, we will not know whether our motives are pure, because Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, not even one" (NAS). I am saved by His infinite grace, and if you name the name of Christ you are too...but that doesn't mean we are to stop at salvation and just let it ride. We are to passionately pursue Him, we are to cry out to God to bless us with an insatiable hunger for Him, His word and prayer. God wants us to desire Him, He created us to desire Him. Over and over in my life I go back to a quote by John Piper, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." How can we be truly satisfied in Him if we are not in His word? How can we awaken to the amazing love story of our Lord in the pages of scripture, and humble ourselves before Him if we are not seeking to know Him through His word? How can we expect God to change our situation or circumstances if we are not willing to seek Him and know Him, that we would live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ (Phil. 1:27) being mindful that our citizenship is in Heaven (Phil. 3:20).

Ladies...SET YOUR alarm! Get up before the kids or stay up past them, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to be in the Word of God. Meet daily with your Savior! Not out of tradition or habit but out of LOVE. We are to "love the Lord our God" love Him and know Him. I've been thinking a lot about this, I would not have married my spouse having only spent 10 minutes a day with him for a few years. I wouldn't have known him well enough, and yet so many of us ask Jesus into our lives, which is by far a more important decision than accepting a marriage proposal, and fail to give Him at least 10 minutes a day. Another challenge for us as women is found in Deut. 6:6-7, as mothers we are commanded, "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." How then can you teach your sons diligently if you do not know the word of God yourself? Your children will learn how to apply God's word by seeing you live it out for yourself.

Sisters...He was mocked for you and I, He endured for you and I. He went to the cross to redeem us, unworthy sinners in desperate need of a Worthy, Holy and Perfect Savior. He set out resolutely for Jerusalem with the knowledge of our souls in His mind. He knew we absolutely needed Him to endure what was before Him, and He did. He endured it, and was gloriously resurrected that we can call Him Savior, and so we sinners can, "see how great LOVE the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God; and such we are." 1 John 3:1