"Do all things without murmurings and disputings" (Philippians 2:14).
Is your homeschool infected with the whining disease? Like the early stages of most health problems, you may not recognize its symptoms at first. When assigning schoolwork, especially in your child's least favorite subject, this dreaded disease usually starts with an exasperated sigh. Next, it spreads into a short question such as, "Do I have to do this assignment?" If not diagnosed and treated early, the whining disease finally takes over your homeschool completely until you hear things like, "Why do I always have so much schoolwork to do? I don't want to do this!"
Whining, grumbling, murmuring, and complaining all stem from the same, sinful problem-rebellion. In Numbers 12, God reveals His attitude towards this deadly disease when dealing with the murmuring of Miriam and Aaron. Thinking they knew better than their brother, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses and said, "Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us" (Numbers 12:2b)? God heard their whining and quickly applied His cure. Calling all three to the tent of meeting, He defended Moses' leadership and struck Miriam with leprosy for seven days.Are you allowing a whining, rebellious spirit in your homeschool? Unfortunately, children are not the only ones who can become infected with this disease. Parents, too, can find themselves easily complaining to God about the sacrifice and work responsibilities involved with homeschooling.
Don't allow a negative spirit to destroy your homeschool family. Like Aaron, confess your foolish complaints. Pray for the joy of homeschooling to be restored in your home.
Father, forgive me for murmuring against Your plan for our family. Teach me to treasure each day with my children and give me a thankful heart for both the blessings and responsibilities of homeschooling. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Rainbow
Here is a picture of a rainbow that Anthony spotted and ran back in the house so we can all have seen it. It was an amazing display of our Lords promise to us!!!
Beauty and the Word
Here is our PIG. We are in the study of "Beauty and The Pig" By DOORPOSTS.
Stephie with her PIG HEAD
"As a jewel of gold in a swines snout, so is a fair woman which iss without discretion" Proverbs 11:22. Stephanie and I completed our "pig" Head today. We are doing the DOORPOSTS Study of "Beauty and the Pig" Here are pictures of our PIG!!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
STORING UP TREASURE
1 Timothy 6:19, "Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."
The above Scripture encourages us to lay up in store for the time to come. In the context, it is actually speaking to those who have riches in this world, exhorting them to be rich in good works and generous to the needy. But I do believe this message is for all of us. I think it is one of the greatest exhortations we can have, don't you?
Every moment of our lives we should be "laying up in store" for the eternal kingdom. We cannot take any material possessions out of this world. It is all vanity. 1 Timothy 6:7 says, "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." We will only take what we lay up in heaven.
We need to remind ourselves again of Matthew 6:19-21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will you heart be also."
I have always been challenged by the statement,
"Life is a dressing room for eternity."
Everything we do and say, either builds for this world, or for the eternal world.
I think we will have a lot of surprises in heaven. I remember reading about a man of God who had a vision of the eternal realm. He said that he saw that the people who were closest to the throne of God were mothers and intercessors. Our liberal society does not have time for these ministries. Even the Christian world does not always affirm them. They don't receive the limelight. But they are powerful in God's eyes.
Dear mother, I want to remind you that as you sacrificially pour out your life for your children, as you mother and nurture them in the ways of God, as you pour out your heart in prayer for them--you are laying up treasure for eternity! Your mothering is never wasted. It builds for eternity. You are preparing your children for the heavenly realm. And you lay up heavenly treasure for yourself as you do it.
You may feel inferior because you think you are wasting your education as you lay down your career for motherhood. You may feel sorry for yourself because you are not making money like your neighbor who is choosing her career over motherhood. You may feel insecure because you don't feel that you are accomplishing great things in your home.
Don't listen to these deceptions and negatives. As you mother your children in your home, you are in the perfect will of God. You are building for eternity. You are laying up store for the time to come.
You are building a big mansion for yourself up there! This is certainly not a waste of time!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
ANTHONY Is HOME!!!!!
Anthony arrived safely into Laguardia airport last night at 7pm. Thank you for all your prayers and the Lord has truly protected him. He did not arrive in his uniform because of security reasons. He looks great and we are all glad he is home. The Lord surrounded him in all areas. Out of 3 of his AIT teachers 3 of them were Believers!!! God is so AWSOME!!!
The name of the LORD is a strong tower, The righteous run to it and are safe.
My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me.
The name of the LORD is a strong tower, The righteous run to it and are safe.
My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Basic Needs of a husband
In many ways, the needs of a husband are the counterpart to the needs of his wife. God made the woman with a view to male needs (Genesis 2:18), and thus He equipped her with just the proper resources for meeting those needs. So just what are the needs of a husband?
1. A husband needs someone who depends on him. God has given to the man the responsibility of leadership in the home. There is something about the dependence of a wife which calls to the manliness of her husband. His very malehood wants to provide, to nurture, to care for, and to protect; and he finds satisfaction and fulfillment in meeting the needs of his wife. Even as the husband can misuse his strength to dominate, so the woman can misuse her weakness and dependence to manipulate. Many are the women who have used their tears, their headaches, and their whining to play upon the malehood of their husbands in order to get their own way. Such "weakness" gets old fast. A wise wife allows her husband to be her provider, but does not control him from beneath.
2. A husband needs someone who accepts him as he is. Everyone has a basic need for acceptance, and inasmuch as marriage is the deepest level of human friendship, it has the most potential for meeting that need. It likewise has the greatest potential for rejection. Nagging criticism and discussing a husband's failures with others are probably the two most common ways a wife signals rejection of her husband. Acceptance, as noted earlier, does not necessarily mean complete approval. It does mean recognizing a person for who he is, as opposed to fighting that reality, and supporting him in becoming all that God intends him to be.
3. A husband needs someone who encourages and supports him. In describing His intentions in making a wife for Adam, God said, "I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18). The woman is a "help." This does not mean she is a tagalong, someone who comes in handy at times, but that she was designed to fill a necessary role as man's mainstay. Her mind, her will, her energies are hers to use, not in competition with him, but in union with him to complement his mind, his will, and his energies. Certainly, much of the wife's potential to encourage and support depends upon the husband's willingness to talk and work together. But a wise wife will recognize that every husband has weaknesses, and she will not allow her support and encouragement to mope continually at the foot of his failures. She will instead clearly ally herself with him so that both his strengths and his weaknesses are improved by her presence in his life. A very practical way in which a wife can encourage her husband is by her gratitude. Her smile, her expressions of thanks, her willingness to find joy even in difficult circumstances will fill one of the most basic needs in his life.
4. A husband needs his wife's womanhood in the home atmosphere. "Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands" (Proverbs 14:1). "The aged women likewise . . that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home..." (Titus 2:3-5). While the husband is responsible for leadership in the home, he is inadequate by himself to build the home. He needs the womanhood of his wife to establish an atmosphere of order, beauty, cleanliness, and care. Contrary to modern thought, homemaking is not a dull, servile work for lower-intelligence women; it is a full-time, lifetime responsibility which demands creativity, intelligence, and management skills of the highest caliber. The womanhood of a wife is in many ways the heart of the home and, as such, is the fulfillment of her husband; and the career-minded wife leaves a void both in her home and in her husband which nothing can replace.
5. A husband needs someone who is faithful. "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her" (Proverbs 31:10,11). Fidelity is imperative on both sides of the marriage relationship. Even as faithful love stirs the sweetest emotions in human relationships, so unfaithfulness stirs the bitterest emotions. There is probably nothing so devastating to a marriage as the realization that a third party has invaded the sacrosanct realm of intimacy. Wives need faithful husbands; husbands need faithful wives. A godly wife will guard her manners, her speech, and her appearance, reserving her womanly charm and beauty for her husband alone. "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works" (1 Timothy 2:9,10).
Understanding one another's needs in marriage is the first step love takes toward meeting those needs. If we focus on our needs rather than on those of our partner, we may easily stumble in self-pity rather than move ahead in love. Much of the success in marriage depends upon the willingness to give ourselves to meeting the deepest needs of one another. This is the exercise of love, and love is the cement of marriage.
1. A husband needs someone who depends on him. God has given to the man the responsibility of leadership in the home. There is something about the dependence of a wife which calls to the manliness of her husband. His very malehood wants to provide, to nurture, to care for, and to protect; and he finds satisfaction and fulfillment in meeting the needs of his wife. Even as the husband can misuse his strength to dominate, so the woman can misuse her weakness and dependence to manipulate. Many are the women who have used their tears, their headaches, and their whining to play upon the malehood of their husbands in order to get their own way. Such "weakness" gets old fast. A wise wife allows her husband to be her provider, but does not control him from beneath.
2. A husband needs someone who accepts him as he is. Everyone has a basic need for acceptance, and inasmuch as marriage is the deepest level of human friendship, it has the most potential for meeting that need. It likewise has the greatest potential for rejection. Nagging criticism and discussing a husband's failures with others are probably the two most common ways a wife signals rejection of her husband. Acceptance, as noted earlier, does not necessarily mean complete approval. It does mean recognizing a person for who he is, as opposed to fighting that reality, and supporting him in becoming all that God intends him to be.
3. A husband needs someone who encourages and supports him. In describing His intentions in making a wife for Adam, God said, "I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18). The woman is a "help." This does not mean she is a tagalong, someone who comes in handy at times, but that she was designed to fill a necessary role as man's mainstay. Her mind, her will, her energies are hers to use, not in competition with him, but in union with him to complement his mind, his will, and his energies. Certainly, much of the wife's potential to encourage and support depends upon the husband's willingness to talk and work together. But a wise wife will recognize that every husband has weaknesses, and she will not allow her support and encouragement to mope continually at the foot of his failures. She will instead clearly ally herself with him so that both his strengths and his weaknesses are improved by her presence in his life. A very practical way in which a wife can encourage her husband is by her gratitude. Her smile, her expressions of thanks, her willingness to find joy even in difficult circumstances will fill one of the most basic needs in his life.
4. A husband needs his wife's womanhood in the home atmosphere. "Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands" (Proverbs 14:1). "The aged women likewise . . that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home..." (Titus 2:3-5). While the husband is responsible for leadership in the home, he is inadequate by himself to build the home. He needs the womanhood of his wife to establish an atmosphere of order, beauty, cleanliness, and care. Contrary to modern thought, homemaking is not a dull, servile work for lower-intelligence women; it is a full-time, lifetime responsibility which demands creativity, intelligence, and management skills of the highest caliber. The womanhood of a wife is in many ways the heart of the home and, as such, is the fulfillment of her husband; and the career-minded wife leaves a void both in her home and in her husband which nothing can replace.
5. A husband needs someone who is faithful. "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her" (Proverbs 31:10,11). Fidelity is imperative on both sides of the marriage relationship. Even as faithful love stirs the sweetest emotions in human relationships, so unfaithfulness stirs the bitterest emotions. There is probably nothing so devastating to a marriage as the realization that a third party has invaded the sacrosanct realm of intimacy. Wives need faithful husbands; husbands need faithful wives. A godly wife will guard her manners, her speech, and her appearance, reserving her womanly charm and beauty for her husband alone. "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works" (1 Timothy 2:9,10).
Understanding one another's needs in marriage is the first step love takes toward meeting those needs. If we focus on our needs rather than on those of our partner, we may easily stumble in self-pity rather than move ahead in love. Much of the success in marriage depends upon the willingness to give ourselves to meeting the deepest needs of one another. This is the exercise of love, and love is the cement of marriage.
Fishing contest!!!
Steve had to work yesterday, so we did not go to church today and we went down to our lake for a fishing contest. It was a great family day!! The kids look forward to it every year!! Stephanie won second place for her age group and Peter won third place for his age group. Rebekah and Rachel were fishing for a while but then decided to play in the sand at the beach. So no place for them. They all received prizes for participating. This is one of the blessings that we have here at our lake community. See the pictures below....
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