God's Recipe for Godly Children

I like using a recipe because I know if I follow the steps that my food will turn out right.  When it comes to parenting, we as parents seek "recipes" to ensure our children will turn out to be wonderful, loving, godly people.  Unfortunately, we often leave it to chance or we hope that they will turn out right.  What if we knew of an actual recipe to turn out godly children? Would we follow it? Such a plan does exist and I didn't write it nor did any other person.  This plan is found in Scripture, the very plan of God Himself.  Let's examine this plan found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

The first ingredient is found in v. 5. We as parents are the key ingredient! We are instructed to be fully committed to the Lord.  You see we often tell our children that they should be living their life for Christ, when we do not do it ourselves.  They need to see wholehearted, genuine commitment to the Lord.  This means we keep our eyes solely on Christ.  This is difficult because we typically serve the Lord through a local church which is filled with imperfect people and when those imperfect people offend us we turn our backs on service altogether.  Our service to people is really for the Lord and we need to keep our focus on Him.   We need to show our children that Christ and His Kingdom has first priority in our lives.

The second ingredient is found in vv. 7-9.  We are to keep the Lord and His Word always before our children.  It says when they are at home, away from home, going to bed, and getting up.  We are to even write His Words on the walls of our house and tie them to the children's hands.  The key here is to put the Lord in every part of their lives!  A true disciple is made when they stop compartmentalizing their life.  We need to teach our children that Jesus permeates every part of our lives and He is NOT just reserved for church and Sunday school.

When we make Christ real in our lives and we stop playing games, then our children see that and want a part of it!  Children who see hypocritical parents grow up to want NOTHING to do with Christianity.  Two ingredients that seem simple yet they are so significant.  Let's stop offering our children as sacrifices on the altar of the world's agenda.  

Comfortable?

Our church is currently hosting our annual missions celebration.  Last Sunday, I heard someone ask what giving to missions through "Faith Giving" has meant to me.  My first thought was that it didn't matter what it meant to me or to our family, we give simply out of obedience.  Why should it "mean something to me"?  God is not a department store! We do not give to the Lord in order to get something! We give because this money we have is His to begin with! He has blessed us with a job and a paycheck and He can take that away at any time. 

After that initial thought, a passage of Scripture began to come to my mind: Haggai 1:3-11.  At that time the Israelites cared more about their own houses and their own comfort than the Lord's house. The Phrase used in the NKJV says that they "dwell in their paneled houses" while God's house lies in ruins.  I guess that really hit me where it hurt.  I sit and look at all the "panels" in my house and then think of all the missionaries serving so faithfully who sacrifice so much to reach the lost.  I recently had the privilidge of seeing into the heart of a dear missionary wife and mother. Her words have rung in my heart day after day.  We asked her what she would want children in America to know about their lives as missionaries.  This is a portion of her response.

"I guess the most important thing that kids can know about overseas missions is sacrifice. Many American kids know nothing of that word. I being one formally, know that life was pretty easy there in the US. We are brought up with a feeling of entitlement to the finest things in life and instant gratification. We are taught that waiting is wrong.. that is why we have microwaves and drive thru windows, etc.
When a person is thrown in the middle of a 3rd world country, it is an incredible sacrifice. Of course of material things, there is no more instant satisfaction. Things here take LONG. Even wanting a certain food is no longer a simple trip to Wal-Mart, but now I have to wait 6 months for a shipment box to come. Modern conveniences are a world away.
Then, of course there is the sacrifice of family and normalcy. Everyone and everything you once knew and loved and held as normal is gone. Every word that once flowed from your lips is now transformed into another language, which requires deep thought before you speak.
I am not complaining, because I love this life and through time have not only adjusted to the life here, but have embraced it and became part of it. But, it's still incredible hard at times, because my American brain is still in tact and the daily sacrifices do take their toll on me. The people think different, act different and the work load is incredible...this is in the middle of tropical heat. It wears you down physically, emotionally and mentally.
I would love for American kids to be taught about the meaning of sacrifice, because it really isn't a normal part of life there. Sadly, even in some churches...people even serve the Lord conveniently, as it fits into THEIR schedule. Americans are taught to never be uncomfortable. So, it would be nice to have those kids learning a whole different way of life which is a daily sacrifice.
It would be a huge blessing to have a group praying specifically, for not just the financial needs ( which most people pray for) but the daily problems that arise which attack us more than the budget we missionaries are on. Ask them and teach them to pray for our minds as well as our bodies as we have to overcome daily the struggles of being far away.  I would cherish every little prayer they offered that would help our family's emotional, mental and spiritual well being.
I appreciate you wanting to do this. I wish more kid's groups would. I want them to not have a feeling of pity on missionaries because we are "poor" and work with brown skinned people in huts, etc. I want them to see that we have a high calling, but we need their prayers because everyday, Satan wants to discourage us and make us give up."

After reading this, I am moved to do something and since right now God has not called me to leave the US, I can GIVE through Faith Giving to further the Gospel! I don't ever want to be "comfortable" in my "paneled" house while God's house needs to be built!

Backpack of Burdens!!!!!

Galatians 6:2 and Matthew 11:28
Occasionally our family enjoys hiking.  Back in the spring we would go with our two kids on some easy trails and catch bugs and enjoy nature.  We would often use my phone to calculate how many calories we had burned on our hike so we could have a piece of cake later:) Several times, my husband Jeremy, would carry our 2 year old on his back in a special hiking backpack.  Whenever Jeremy hiked with that pack on his back, he would have burned considerably more calories than I had.  I almost wanted to carry the extra weight so that my hike would be more effective towards my exercise goal. 

As a pastor's wife, mother, ministry leader and friend, I cross paths with so many burdened and hurting people.  Let's face it, our world is NOT getting better!  Today, I especially feel extra burdened with friends who are hurting, people who are making wrong choices, with an enormous task list, and the list goes on.  With this heavy weight on me, I kept asking God the same question, "how can these burdens be blessings?"  As I was cleaning a toilet at the church today (I do my best talking with God while I clean), I remembered our hiking trips and how much stronger and healthier Jeremy was becoming because he carried extra weight.  Sure it was hard while he did it and it was heavy and uncomfortable on the journey, but at the end he had used more muscles and had built much more stamina than I had!  Why can't our burdens be blessings!!!!????? They cause us to exercise the "muscles" of our faith and they build our stamina in our Christian walk.  They also give us better insight to others who are hurting so that we can love and help them in their time of burden.  Next time you feel heavy with your burdens or the burdens of others, imagine yourself on this "Christian hike" we call life and you are just getting "fit" much faster than everyone else!

Be Encouraged and Keep Perspective!

When I was a little girl I remember one Fall evening when Dad was absent as mom, my brother and I carved our annual pumpkins.  As I began to complain about Dad being gone, mom reminded me that I needed to be thankful that my Dad was actually coming home later that night.  You see, he was with a family who had just lost their Dad and the children were about our age......perspective.

I have battled some difficulties with my eyes over the last 7 years and a few times during those years they have been a source of depression for me. One such time was a number of years ago when they were particularly bad and my vision was altered until they got better.  I remember feeling depressed and sorry for myself when the Lord brought to mind a dear mother and wife who was dying from a terrible disease.  I remember being struck with the thought of how she would probably give anything to trade me "problems" just to have more years with her family.......perspective.

Currently, I find myself complaining about my husband's dirty socks, or my loads of housework, when I am reminded of my dear friend whose husband is living with terminal cancer.......perspective.

I think many times we all get so focused on our own problems that we forget about others who suffer and many who suffer much greater trials.  My grandmother used to tell me that when I felt discouraged, I should do something kind for someone else in need.  She was very wise! She was helping me get my eyes of myself and every time I tried it, it worked!  We are never alone in our suffering.  There are so many others who experience the same trials and even some who suffer greater trials than we do.  2 Corinthians 4:8-10  Even if no one can identify with our trials then we know that Jesus Christ still can!  Be encouraged and keep perspective!!!!!

The God of the Trial

I really enjoy a fresh slice of key lime pie, especially on a hot day somewhere at a ocean-view restaurant!  It is so rich in taste and refreshing.  My husband jokes that there are no desserts too "rich" for my tastes, and he is right!  This is how God's Word has been to me, so rich and so refreshing!  I have found myself anticipating my few minutes of each day where I can study His Word.  My reading today happened to take me to the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness with God's people.  Exodus 16:4-17 tells us the story of the food God provided for His people.  God sent them just enough for each day.  God sent it to them miraculously.  God consistently sent them food.  I was struck as I read and studied how God sends us spiritual food every day in His Word and it is consistent, supernatural, and sufficient!  Just as the Israelites went out each day and gathered the manna, so we must go into the Scriptures each day to study!  How nourishing His precious Words become to our weary soul.  Lately I have been "climbing mountains", bearing burdens, and "facing giants" and in this "wilderness" I have seen God more clearly than ever.  I have even come to the point where I am so thankful for my trials because of the sweet fellowship it offers with my Savior.  I have no idea what burden you bare as you are reading this, or what giant you face, but know that in your trial you are positioned in very unique place; a place to experience God on a deeper level.  Count this trial as a gift; the gift of rich spiritual nourishment and refreshment! Don't waste this time! Just like I would never waste a cool creamy piece of key lime pie, don't waste a perfectly good trial by focusing on the trial and not on the God of the trial!

Little Excuses.....Big God

God called to Moses from a burning bush and told him to go to the Pharaoh to ask Pharaoh to release God's people.  Now if we think this was an easy task then we are wrong.  You see Moses had grown up in the palace with this Pharaoh.  He had known him as a child and had probably spent time with him.  So Moses was going to have to approach a "family member" with this command from God.  Now maybe you can see why this task was so frightening for Moses.  Also, Pharaoh was the leader of the most powerful empire of that time and Moses was going to ask him to set free all of their "free labor".  I explain all of this to help us understand that this was a huge task for Moses! This was a mountain he was facing and was fearful to climb it.  Moses basically argues with God and makes excuses for why he cannot do this.  In Exodus 4:10 Moses pleads with God claiming that he cannot speak eloquently and therefore cannot go.  I absolutely LOVE how God responds to him in Exodus 4:11-12!  Who made the mouth? God asks Moses.  And then He tells Moses that HE will be with him the whole way.  I don't know about you but God always seems to call me to a task or a job or a ministry that I feel like I can't do and I start in with the excuses.  But isn't that EXACTLY where God wants us to be? Rid of ourselves, weak in our own strength so that His glory can be shown.  After all He created the mouth, the eyes, the ears, the hands, every part of us and He can use us if we are empty of ourselves!  What is God calling you to do? If it is Him that is calling, I can guarantee it won't be easy.  Don't make excuses with God just let Him lead and the things that will happen will blow your mind.  How exciting it will be to see the big things that God will do!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Sometimes we feel like we spend our whole lives waiting! We wait to finally be a teenager.  We wait to get our driver's license.  We wait to graduate high school.  We wait to get out of college.  We wait to get married.  We wait to have a family.  We wait, we wait, we wait!  I think we often are guilty of living only for the "big events" in life and we miss the day to day.  Joseph in Gen. 40:23-41:1 had to spend 2 years waiting for what he had been promised by the cup-bearer and those 2 years of waiting were spent in PRISON!  I know I often think that my "waiting" is difficult but I can't imagine having to spend those days in a prison.  I wonder in those two years if Joseph got angry, discouraged, or depressed? The Bible doesn't give us Joseph's thoughts or actions during that 2 years, it only gives us 1 verse stating that he waited 2 years.  However, Scripture does give us one small insight into Joseph's character during this waiting period.  In Gen. 41:14-16 when Joseph is finally called up to the Pharaoh's presence to interpret the dreams, Joseph gives all the power and credit to the LORD! Joseph makes sure that Pharaoh knows that the interpretation of these dreams did NOT come from him but from God, the same God that had made Joseph wait in a dark lonely prison for 2 years.  Oh the character that Joseph had.  There is no doubt in my mind that while Joseph was waiting for God to deliver him, he was spending time in fellowship with God and was trusting God to bring him through.  What are you waiting for?  What is it that you are praying for God to deliver you from?  What's next on that life list of events that you have to wait for?  Be encouraged! While you are waiting remember God has big plans for you!  Be faithful to Him in the waiting and give Him the glory when it's over! In chapter 39 of Genesis "God was with Joseph" is used 8 times.  The same God that was with Joseph is the same God that is with you!