Category: Fall

Love.Listen.Live.

8/9/2024

The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned. With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.
There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 4:32-37

Love.

At the end of Acts 3 we find the church, alive, thriving, growing and reproducing. It is in absolute unity. They are one in heart and soul. They are listening and actively obeying the Apostles’ teachings on the Word of God. They are in koine with one another, sharing generously all that they have because they are in common equality with one another in the gospel. Because of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice to bring fallen humanity back into a loving relationship with their Creator God, the Church had become a return to the paradise of God, the Garden of Eden—the Garden of Delights. It is what God has made us for—an equality and love with one another that shares and gives out of love. Everything in this Garden is for the common good of all. Their attitude toward one another is “how can we ensure that each of us is thriving and rejoicing in God’s goodness?”
The Church was a new creation. It was a new beginning, where the old, dead, stony heart of people was replaced with a living heart: one that wanted to love and please God; one that was willing even to lay down one’s own life for one another.
While the one command in the Garden to humanity was “do not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” God knew that the very reason we chose to disobey that command was a lack of love for God. As a result, God gave a new command, the greatest command of all. It was one that would give us a reason to choose to walk in obedience: love for God.
This command the Israelites were to recite every morning and evening. It was to be their first thought before starting their day and their last upon ending it:

Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God [plural\, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your physicality [nephesh\ and with all your everything [me'od\.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Because God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are One, we are to be one in our unity and love. The Church was now obeying God’s command to love Him and love their neighbor with all their heart, all their soul and all their strength, unified in its focus. When we love, we automatically choose to do things that are in line with God’s laws and commands because genuine love comes from God and aligns with His purposes for His people. Like God, we naturally start to choose what would be good and best for others, even at our own cost.
God wants our whole, entire selves—our hearts, everything that we feel and make decisions on; our nephesh (often translated souls, it more accurately is our physical body), every part of our physical humanity, desires and appetites; and our me’od, our ability in every circumstance to be wholly and completely given back to God in complete love and trust for our Creator.
While we find ourselves drawn to stay in this delightful fellowship of the Church, into this perfect Garden we see the plot begin to thicken:

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”
On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
Acts 5:1-5

Listen.

Cue the villain.
Into this Garden, this New Creation, this paradise of love and goodwill and kindness, we find evil creeping in.
The Serpent is back.
The very Hebrew letters used to spell out the serpent’s name, nachash נָּחָ֑שׁ, describe the kind of adversary we face continuously:

נָּ nun: life/son/heir/seed
חָ֑ chet: divide/cut/separate
שׁ shin: teeth/two/devour/consume
"One who devours an heir in order to divide and cut off life"

his name, satan שָּׂטָ֛ן, is similar in meaning:

שָּׂ shin: teeth/two/devour/consume
טָ֛ tet: basket/surround/ensnare
ן nun: life/son/heir/seed
"One who surrounds life in order to ensnare and devour it."

The serpent's plan not a new scheme; it’s a very ancient one. In fact, he must have thought, ‘it worked last time!’

In fact, that ancient serpent has been waiting to devour life from the beginning and continues even now. But he will never win!

...And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,...Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Rev. 12:4-11

Listening, as the Greatest Command says, involves more than just allowing the sound or voice or someone to enter our ears. It encompasses hearing, understanding, and taking action that follows through with the intent of the speaker.
The Bible tells us that we become slaves or servants to the one we listen to and obey:

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient servants, you are servants of the one you obey—whether you are servants to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Rom. 6:16

The serpent roams around seeking to find people to listen to his voice, to become his slaves, so that he can accuse us before God. In Acts 5, Ananias wasn’t listening to God’s command to love. His motivations for participating in the selling of his property, inaccurate donation and lies were all rooted in a desire to gain something for himself rather than serving the crucial needs of those around him. Just as Eve listened to the voice of the serpent and saw that the fruit was “good for success,” he wasn’t just withholding some of the value of the land. He was withholding himself from His Creator. What he was bringing to God was representing the value that he placed upon God and his relationship to Him. His giving was only as a show to everyone else. Barnabas had given out of the gratitude and love of his heart; Ananias was giving in order to get something out of them all. It wasn’t a gift of love.
While neither Ananias nor we have an obligation to sell all our property and give it all away, when we see people in need our Spirit-filled response should be a desire to ask the Lord how we can give out of the great abundance that He has entrusted to us. God wants our whole selves, nothing withheld. He wants us to listen and respond to Him in this love by giving Him our whole selves in every moment, obeying every Word that He speaks to us. This will often “cost” us, sometimes a great amount. But it is never even close to the incredibly abundant grace that He has given us.
In the Garden, the serpent came and deceived the woman, telling her that she would not die. When she decided to eat the fruit, her body, her nephesh, did not die immediately. Her spirit, however, did. When Adam agreed with her to eat, his spirit also passed from life into death. Into their bodies, their nephesh, however, death entered as a slow and inevitable process.
After they sinned, when they heard God’s voice in the Garden, they were no longer in loving fellowship with God. As a result, they were afraid and hid from His faces (panim).
In Hebrew, the word for “hide” is chabah חָבָא.

חָ chet: divide/cut off/wall off
בָ beit: house/household/family
א aleph: ox/strong leader/God the Father/first

In choosing to hide from God and wrapping themselves in fig leaves, trying vainly to cover up their own shame and sin, they were effectively causing themselves to be cut off and divided from the household of their loving, heavenly Father. This was exactly what the serpent had intended: to ensnare and to cut off life and the heirs from the inheritance of the Father.
However, at the voice of God, Adam and Eve together made a decision to come out of hiding. They presented themselves before God the Father and confessed to Him what they had done. The Word in Hebrew, “confess,” (todah יָדָה) means to cast or throw down something, to be lifted up to enter through the door and behold. It is an accurate accounting, a numbering of our sins according to how we have transgressed the loving commands of God. Conversely, the word also means to give thanks or praise. In essence, when we confess our sins to our Father, we are doing it in gratitude that He has provided forgiveness and justification through the Door, His Son, Jesus. We are casting away our sins, the ones that ensnare and enslave us, and throwing our thanks at His feet in humble gratitude as we are brought back into the household as a family member.
In response to Adam and Eve's confession, in His grace God provided a covering for their clothing. A blood sacrifice was made so that humanity could be covered, symbolically representing the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that would be given to cover over our sins for all eternity.

Sadly, Ananias did not have a heart that would receive this grace.
Ananias. His name means, “Grace of God.” It is what God intended and willed for him, but not something he chose to receive for himself.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Romans how we should not take God’s grace lightly, as if it is not costly. It is precious and extremely valuable. It is the blood of our Savior given for the world. When we continue to live a lifestyle of practicing sin without listening and obeying God, we trample the grace of God under our feet:

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
Romans 6:1

Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kind grace, forbearance and mercy, not realizing that it is his kind grace that leads to repentance?
Romans 2:4

This kind of contempt for God’s grace is the kind of evil that comes when people want the free blessings of God but are only using the Church as a way to gain for themselves selfishlessly. They think that God will not see, but He certainly does. Just as He saw Adam in the Garden, hiding, He also sees the true heart motivations of all of us. None of us can hide from the eye of His faces.
Ananias’ response to the extreme grace and kindness of God was to despise it, to withhold from God His very self, and to lie instead of to confess and thank God for His grace. As a result, he stayed hidden, separated and cut off from the family of God.

About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?”
“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”
“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Acts 5:7-10

Sapphira. In Hebrew, her name means “scribe,” or “accountant.” A saphar סָפֵר was one who would render an accurate accounting of the saphan סָפַן: the treasures that had been covered and hidden. The scribes were entrusted with the task of ensuring that the hidden, covered treasures in the storeroom or the message of the word of the king would be accurately relayed to the people.
In this part of the passage, the word “price” or “valuation” comes up repeatedly. The word is Tinos, and it means value, weight or honor. Agreeing with her husband, Sapphira purposely and inaccurately rendered an account of the value or the land. God also had given her a part, one who would accurately call to account the treasures He had entrusted to them for the benefit of His people. She, in her own turn, would choose to willfully turn away from listening and obeying God’s voice because she also lacked love for God and others.
In the advent of the Church, the spiritual rebirth and resurrection of God’s people, the deaths of both Ananias and Sapphira would represent physically the spiritual death that was already inherent inside of them. Their outward death only mirrored their inward death.
Ananias and Sapphira’s deaths were merely a physical representation of their spiritual, inward reality. They were already dead in their spirits. They had chosen to listen to the voice of the Serpent. It wasn’t about who messed up first, it wasn’t about whose idea it was. It was that they both agreed to be unified in their disobedience to God.
            In addition, God wanted to be very clear about our individual responsibility to listen and obey His voice. In the Garden, God reprimanded Adam because he “listened to the voice of [his] wife” instead of to God’s voice. To some, the curse and the fall feels like it lands unfairly on humanity because of the woman’s choice. God is setting the record straight: this time it the choice is first the husbands, followed by his wife’s agreement.
            Both of them, however, in each case, are listening to the voice of the Serpent. It goes both ways. The point of this reversal is that at the heart of it all they are listening and obeying the voice of the serpent.

Woman
Man
            Serpent
Man
Woman

They both alike despised the grace of God and refused to render a just account, a correct confession of their wrong before God. In turn, God could no longer listen to them:

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God [plural\ and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:2

Rather than coming out of hiding in truth before God, they remained hidden by their own sins, remaining disconnected and divided from the family of God.
Feet. Another word that keeps coming up in this passage is feet. It the beautiful feet who are bringing the good news of the resurrection of Jesus. It is at the feet of the apostles that the Church is laying down their rights to their physical possessions. Conversely, it is at Peters’ feet that Ananias and Sapphira fall and die, and it is the feet of the young men, no longer bringing good news, that are standing at the door to take her away to her burial.
There is another who stands at the door, the door to our heart, the seat of our affections and love. He pleads to us to listen to His voice and live:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Rev. 3:20-22

While this is a sad story, it is also crucial to understand that this time the serpent loses. This time, the life of the Church remains uncorrupted. The true Church remains in completely unity and fellowship with their Creator. This time, the evil cannot destroy and ensnare the life of the Church—yes, perhaps some were choosing to listen to the voice of the serpent, but the Church, the living Church of God, cannot be overcome. Instead, glory is given to God. Instead, we conquer in Jesus’ name. Instead, there is complete oneness and unity as The Son sits on the throne of the Father and we sit with Him on the same throne. It’s about fellowship, oneness, and love.

And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.
The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them. Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women.
Acts 5:11-14

Live.

Fear. The Hebrew letters give us a better understanding “yarah יִרְאָה .”
יִ yod: mighty work/hand stretched out
רְ resh: head/ruler/source/Prince
אָ aleph: strong leader/God the Father
ה hey: behold/worship/revelation

The first letter is “yod,” which is a hand outstretched to do a mighty work or deed; the second is resh, which looks like a head and signifies one who is a prince or ruler, originator; the third is aleph, which refers back to the Father as our strong leader; and the fourth is hey, which looks like the figure of a person with arms and hands upraised to behold and worship, revealing something to be in awe of.
In English, we often think of fear as negative. Its synonyms are to be terrified, scared, or alarmed. However, Hebrew word describes more the feeling that we get when we behold the mighty deeds of the Prince (Jesus) who has come from the Father. When we are in fellowship with God, those feelings are awe, amazement, comfort, peace, excitement and relief, worship. We are full of wonderful feelings that we have a mighty God who comes to rescue us from our enemies.
On the other hand, when we are in disobedience to God, when we are using our words, actions and provisions to hurt and abuse others, the mightiness of God becomes a terror to us. Our feelings can be very negative as we realize that the Judge of all the earth sees and knows everything we do and think and will call us to render an accurate accounting for how we have treated others and how we have treated the grace of His Son.
The Church, instead of being overcome by terror and hiding from His presence, the kind of awe and amazement that the mighty work of God in their midst in the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira brought increased growth and a dire warning to those who would, in pretense, seek to join them for evil reasons. Those who wanted to come out of hiding and take hold of the grace of God for themselves continued to join them and the Church grew mightily.
For those who chose to be in awe and deep reference and gratitude for God’s mighty works, it created even greater unity. In a deeper effect, it created a strong purity among the believers. Though “no one else dared join them,” yet more and more people were truly becoming saved and were being accounted to their numbers.
When Adam and Eve came out of hiding, they truthfully confessed to God what they had done. As a result, they received a promise of an eternal redemption coming in the form of Jesus and a covering for their shame. They were given life for eternity.
Ananias and Sapphira lied to God. There was no more redemption. There was no life for their dead spirits. They had abused the abundant grace of God.
One day we will all give an account, a rendering to God for how we responded to His grace. Do we receive it with confession and thanksgiving? Do we abuse it, as if we can use it to keep sinning in a lifestyle that says God’s grace is cheap? Do we give the count the correct value and honor and weight to God’s grace?
The apostles were preaching the resurrection life in Jesus, both in this hour and in the one to come! There is no value on earth that can ever come close to the price that Jesus paid for us, to the value of eternal life in Him forever in Paradise!

"An hour is coming and is now here when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live!" John 5:25

This week, let’s dwell on the sh'ma—to listen to his voice out of a deep love that encompasses our entire selves. Let’s embrace the life that comes from living in unhindered unity with God through Jesus!

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Help for the Harried

9/7/2021

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Mamas—it’s time!
Time for the sound of that new textbook cracking open. Time for hot coffees in the morning…and in the sleepy afternoon. Time for sweaters, warm, wood stove fires crackling, and bouquets of newly sharpened pencils.
I can’t help but get excited at all the new things we will be learning together. As one who gets easily bored learning and teaching the same things year after year, I enjoy finding things that none of us have learned before. Whether it’s studying a new way to illustrate creative writing or complex and microscopic moss piglets, the world of learning is fascinating and challenging.
On the flip side, though, there is always a bit of a dread, buried deep in the sub-conscious, of the failure that may accompany all my plans for learning. Somehow a part of our identity can get wrapped up in our children’s success--perceived as our own success--in school, arts, music, college and careers. A success defined by others.
Add to that the many unachievable public standards for learning, the judgment from other parents and the many Facebook posts of perfectly organized and color coordinated school rooms, and we homeschool mamas can quite easily find ourselves trying to the point of exhaustion to keep up with all the expectations of being the perfect woman.
But let’s pause over our coffee for a moment. Grab a chunky blanket—or, if you haven’t gotten that pinterest-worthy prize yet, as I haven’t, perhaps just a warm and cozy one will do. Because before we get too embroiled in the school year, before we find ourselves locking horns with that “unreasonable” and “stubborn” child who may really be overworked, underplayed and lonely, let’s take a look at what God says about our homeschool plans—because believe or not, He has plenty to say!
And before we get into it…before you start to feel like this will just be more for you to do, I want you to know that our Good Shepherd Jesus “gently leads those who are with their young” (Is. 40:11). He has more investment into what we are doing with our kids than we even do! As much as our hearts care, I can guarantee you that He cares more. He will not require more of us than what we have to give.
With that said, I want to take us to look at my favorite homeschool passages with which I always begin my school year. As I plan, it helps me to plan wisely, and to not get to hung up on all these helpful tools. It helps me to keep my focus on what God defines as true success for our families:

Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

Invest in variety

The first idea here in verse 1 is to not be afraid to invest in a variety of ways! God is all for your kids learning how to draw in animation. He loves it when they learn how to set up an audio recording studio. He gets excited when they are interested in beehives. Jesus loves their fascination with design, dinosaur bones, and bugs.
But secondly, and I think just as importantly, God wants us to invest in other people’s children. You see, our children really belong to God. We are just entrusted with them temporarily as a stewardship. So when we work together to help one another in homeschool, whether through co-ops, field trips, church activities, or a simple play date, we are helping to invest in a stewardship of God’s kids.
We don’t know what hard stuff will come. While 2020 gave us a bitter taste, life really is unpredictable and only our wise and loving heavenly Father knows the times or the seasons appointed to us (Acts 1:7). Perhaps a co-op you started may impact thousands down the road in a positive way, or perhaps that outing you had where you learned about native plants and their uses may save a life. Maybe the child you befriended that day at the playground was in desperate need of love and attention. Maybe that mama was at her ropes' end trying to trust God with all that she juggled and struggled. Perhaps 2020 has brought in many parents to homeschooling for secular reasons, but they may not know about the life-changing grace of Jesus!
While investing abroad in others may take longer to see a return, there absolutely will be a benefit to you and to your kids as they see you model Christ-like service to others!

Be careful what we put in

I remember sitting on my bed, silently fuming. My face, I’m sure, betrayed my inner rage and disrespect, but my lips sure wouldn’t. I was verbally respectful for the full half an hour of lecture my mother would give me, but I was pretty stubborn in my response.
But do you know what? I was listening. The Spirit of God was inscribing her words of warning, love and wisdom on my heart. The memory verses she helped me memorize echoed back the exhortations of God. The Daily Light devotional she had gifted me spoke to my convicted heart night after night.
And gradually, my heart yielded in obedience to God’s voice. Gradually the lies, the disrespect, the disobedience and stubbornness were replaced by love and admiration for my mom, along with a deep gratitude that she had stuck it out so gently and lovingly.
It might seem like our kids aren’t listening to our Bible reading or wisdom, but God’s Spirit works inside of them to recall those things when they need it.
Not only that, but what we put into our kids will be sure to come out of them, one way or another, at some point. As we pour into them, they will fill and spill out onto others.
So let’s look at what we are pouring in: what messages are our kids getting from our words, our tones, and our actions toward others, circumstances, and news? What about the video games, movies, or books? While we certainly can’t control everything our kids see or hear about, we should pay attention to what we do have a choice over, and look to make sure that those things will reflect God’s character when they resurface later.
Perhaps after spending time hearing something that doesn’t reflect God’s character-- maybe a conversation they had with a friend, or an encounter with a neighbor--it would be a good time to have a chat about what God has to say about the subject, and how we can encourage others to love God in that way.

Lean our children towards God

Our family recently survived through the Beachie Creek wildfires of 2020. The memorial of the blackened trees surrounding our property line testifies continuously to the grace of God as He spared our home and family that night.
      However, down around our creeks, there are some trees that were dangerously damaged. One in particular, near our neighbor’s home, leaned ominously over her trailer. We hired a private logger to come out and expertly take out the worst offenders. He walked through the property, marking any timber that seemed likely to fall in the event of a storm.
      As he commenced his cutting, the buzzing sound of his saw filled the air. In just a few moments, the cracking and splintering sounded through the canyon as the seventy-foot tree began to break and fall.
Devastatingly, while the logger successfully diverted the lean, the new lean that the logger had placed in his cutting brought the tree sickeningly down on the front engine of his employee’s car she had been in the process of driving up our driveway. Amazingly, she was unharmed, though I would venture to say, very shaken!
          The log, almost a year later, remains where it fell.
Mamas, whereever we lean our kids, without intervention they will likely fall. In Solomon’s proverb, the falling was not a bad thing, it was simply the direction of the tree. In our homeschooling, in our parenting, we have a unique influence over our children’s life direction and heart choices while they are young.

The time to train our children to lean toward the light of Christ is now.

Trees lean a direction naturally. When they fall they will continue in that gravitational pull and land predictably and immovably.
As the tree grows, it follows the light, and leans toward it. While trees are small and immature, it is relatively easy to train them in the direction you want it to follow, and the amount of training necessary to change its direction is very small. However, as the tree grows more solidly and thickly, it takes more and more outside pressure to change its course.
Our children’s earliest development is the time to train them to lean the direction necessary to the purpose for which they are made by their Creator: to love, honor and glorify God (Ecc. 12:1).
While our children always have choice to make about whether they will repent and make Christ their Lord, our leaning them now can save them much heartache from unnecessary consequences later in life due to wrong choices and attitudes.

Keep investing and leave the results to God

Take courage! Let's not let the scary things distract us from our work! Just as the coming storm threatens to destroy our fields after we plant, making us hesitate to use up our stored seed, so we will always face threatening situations that seem like they will destroy the work and investment we are making into our children’s hearts.
I don’t know a veteran mom who has not seen those storms rolling in:

The doctor’s diagnosis, preventing you from getting up and caring for your children in the way you believe is ideal.
The unexpected job loss that forces you to spend most of your school year packing, moving, and looking for work.
The debt you were forced into that prevents you from buying organizational tools or the “right” curriculum.
The new baby that seems to need constant attention.
The sleeplessness of trauma and grief that renders you unable to focus during your day.

All of these things are threats from the enemy. They threaten us with our inability, the uncontrollable nature of life itself, and the menacing invisibility of the forces at work to undermine, destabilize and destroy whatever we are working to build.

But just as the path of the wind is indiscernible, so the formation of a baby is hidden. Just as the development of a seed under the soil is invisible, so the work of God is concealed (Heb. 11:1-2, Prov. 25:2).

The work of God in your child’s heart is unseen, and takes faith in a God who works perfectly in the unseen. God’s work is invisible, complex, beautiful and sure.

It is this faith in the faithfulness of God that gives us the ability to sow in circumstances that look devastating. It is this faith that the Spirit uses in our lives to creative faithfulness—persistence in doing the actions to which God has called us, relying on Him to make all things grow (1 Cor. 3:7).

Make the most of every opportunity

Learning is continuous, and children are classic imitators. From the very beginning days of a baby’s life, he or she is practicing your smile. Their little minds are in a state of constant and insatiable curiosity, and the process of learning development is greatly enhanced for language, social skills, and understanding. Without even understanding the meaning behind what they are doing, they are practicing everything they see us do and say, every microexpression and tone.
Learning and growth doesn’t just happen in a cubicle during a three-to-six-hour window. They are watching us constantly-- listening when they look bored. The things we share with them, on purpose and inadvertently with our reactions, responses, attitudes, words, and lifestyles, sink deeply into their impressionable hearts.
They are learning from me just as much when I sing a Bible memory verse to them as when I react harshly when they wipe their blackberry stained fingers on their new clothes. They are learning from my disinterested face as I scroll Facebook posts while they wish to share their hearts, as much when I explain a complicated algebra equation.

Be very careful, then, how you live--
not as unwise but as wise,
making the most of every opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Eph. 5:15-16

Whether it’s the Bible, math, science, music, art, cake decorating or legos--whatever it is that you are investing in teaching your child, find ways to invest in their hearts throughout the day. Any moment can turn into a demonstration of God’s character and attributes.
In Deuteronomy God calls parents to invest at all times, being watchful for opportunities to impress the love and knowledge of the character of God into our children:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deut. 6:4-9

While this may seem daunting, it is meant to be, in fact, relieving! It means that discipleship happens both spontaneously and planned, and you do not have to organize all of it! As we walk in the Spirit’s leading, He will bring opportunities and way to talk about Him into your daily rhythms. Simply being in tune to His voice will enable you to successfully and naturally disciple in the little and big moments. By just living, learning, and loving God together naturally.
Jesus, our gentle Shepherd, not only wants to lead you gently, mamas, but he wants to “gather the lambs in His arms, and carry them close to His heart” (Is. 40:11) It is for this purpose that God created children to have a heightened ability to learn, lean into Him, and grow into a knowledge of Him and of His creation!

God wants your children to know Him intimately, to enter into relationship with Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and to imitate Him as dearly loved children, living a life of love (Eph. 5:1).

Fear God and keep His commandments

Finally, after all my planning, writing, scheduling, purchasing and investment, all of which God uses to aid us in our stewardship, I love how Solomon ends the book of Ecclesiastes:

“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:12b-14

Mamas, we can write and study and plan. We can teach and test and give homework. We can do all the co-ops and programs and transcripts and college…but there is only one question that will matter at the end of our stewardship:

Do our children know and walk with Jesus as their Lord and Savior?

In the conclusion of the matter, it is really very simple and freeing. Our mission in each day doesn’t cost any money, doesn’t require any specials tools, equipment or curriculum. It’s free, and it takes no more time than just simply living with our children and walking in the Spirit’s leading. Our mission each day is simply a restful living in the moment and walking in the Spirit, responding to those opportunities that He will open up for us to teach and train. Jesus will not fail to help you and strengthen you as you ask Him for His guidance, wisdom, discernment, and energy.
As we plan out our year, our weeks, and our days, let’s do it with just one question: Is this activity or curriculum acting as a helpful tool to learn to enjoy and grow in our relationship with God?
If it does, that’s great! If it doesn’t, we might consider scratching it out of our agenda. If it leads to our exhaustion, or makes it harder to live in love and unity because we are too tired, cranky and harried to enjoy learning about God and His creation together, maybe some of these tools are more of a distraction than a tool at all. Perhaps some of them could be adjusted in their priority level or approach so that they are more useful. While there are constantly “good” things to spend our time on, only some of them actually free us to enjoy and glorify our Creator—and those will be different for you than for me.
So let’s approach this school year, this day, with a spirit of joy and rest, knowing that whatever we give to our Creator, He will be faithful to multiply and grow into the work that He designed it to be.

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Love.Listen.Live.

Love.

Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God [plural\, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your physicality [nephesh\ and with all your everything [me'od\.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Listen.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient servants, you are servants of the one you obey—whether you are servants to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Rom. 6:16

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
Romans 6:1

Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kind grace, forbearance and mercy, not realizing that it is his kind grace that leads to repentance?
Romans 2:4

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God [plural\ and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:2

Live.

"An hour is coming and is now here when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live!" John 5:25

Help for the Harried

Invest in variety

Be careful what we put in

Lean our children towards God

Keep investing and leave the results to God

Make the most of every opportunity

Fear God and keep His commandments

Author

Archives

Categories

Love.Listen.Live.

Love.

Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God [plural\, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your physicality [nephesh\ and with all your everything [me'od\. ​Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Listen.

​Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient servants, you are servants of the one you obey—whether you are servants to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ​Rom. 6:16

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!Romans 6:1 ​ Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kind grace, forbearance and mercy, not realizing that it is his kind grace that leads to repentance? Romans 2:4

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God [plural\ and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:2

Live.

"An hour is coming and is now here when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live!" John 5:25

Help for the Harried

Invest in variety​

Be careful what we put in​

Lean our children towards God​

Keep investing and leave the results to God​

Make the most of every opportunity​

Fear God and keep His commandments​

Author

Archives

Categories

Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God [plural\, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your physicality [nephesh\ and with all your everything [me'od\.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient servants, you are servants of the one you obey—whether you are servants to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Rom. 6:16

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
Romans 6:1

Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kind grace, forbearance and mercy, not realizing that it is his kind grace that leads to repentance?
Romans 2:4

Invest in variety

Be careful what we put in

Lean our children towards God

Keep investing and leave the results to God

Make the most of every opportunity

Fear God and keep His commandments