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Unbelievable Prayer

November 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Life has been a huge struggle for many years for my family and me. Today hasn’t been any different. Things have not been good financially. And in my finite mind I don’t see a way out. I love word pictures so I often picture our family inside an enclosure with cement on all sides and we just keep running into the walls in hopes to find a secret compartment or door to open, but it never does and we are only getting bruised up and damaged.

What does this have to do with prayer? Well, everything. In the good and in the bad, we are to be praying to God. Pray without ceasing. This is where I am at. I have always prayed, but have I really. Do I believe when I pray? I never doubt that God can do things, but I doubt that He will. I have allowed my families circumstances to get the best of me and I have allowed fear to overtake me. Is this what it means to be broken? Maybe.

I was reading my devotional, Streams in the Desert, by L.B. Cowman, for the day and it was appropriately on prayer. God has a sense of humor! I want to quote parts of the devotional; because I couldn’t say it any better than she did.

“Prayer is the link that connects us with God. It is the bridge that spans every gulf and carries us safely over every chasm of danger or need”. (pg. 412, Steams in the Desert) No one can ever take this away from me. I am so grateful for that. Everything else may go, but my connection to God will never be stripped from me. Now if I could just remember that every single day.

“In your prayers, above everything else, beware of limiting God, not only through unbelief but also by thinking you know exactly what He can do. Learn to expect the unexpected, beyond all that you ask or think”. (pg. 413, Streams in the Desert) Wow, this quote hit me hard. I know that I limit God. I only see what is obvious or feasible in my own mind. Sure I see Him do wondrous things for others, but that surely can’t happen in my own life or the life of my family. Like I said above, I believe God is capable, but I truly doubt that He will do anything in my life. I have limited God and this isn’t okay.

This has been a struggle for some time in my life and until God is through with me, I assume it will always be something I have to be guarded against. I must always remember that I serve an amazing God and that nothing is impossible for Him.

Wrestling prayer can wonders do,
Bring relief in dire straits;
Prayer can force a passage through
Iron bars and heavy gates.
Frederick William Farrar
(pg. 413 Steams in the Desert)

Filed Under: Encouragement, Family Life Tagged With: ,

Finding Rest

October 12, 2009 By 2 Comments

This past week and even today, I have had unrest in my soul that I can’t even put into words. Circumstances and issues just seem to keep flying in my face and there seems to be no rest from them.

I have had many a break down and have gone through a good share of Kleenex. I find myself in a panic. Anxiety builds up. My husband was right when he told me I paralyze myself, because I allow all of the “stuff” to overwhelm me, instead of just moving, even if it means baby-steps.

Finding RestI need rest. Life just seems to be crushing me and wearing me out. I am in a daily battle just to keep my eyes and heart focused on the Lord. There has to be some light.

Well, there is. God always has a way of bringing me back to Him. I was reading Matthew 11 today, and was reminded in verse 28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Boy how I needed that. It was a reminder that no matter what happens or doesn’t happen, God is always there.

Are you weary? Are you burdened? Guess who can give you the rest you so desperately need? GOD can and will. He’s waiting.

Filed Under: Encouragement, Family Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Parent Involvement Matters

March 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I am truly concerned about my children’s education. And I don’t believe I am alone. Many families have decided to homeschool their children. I applaud them. I am not there yet, although I have been looking into all of the curriculum available. We just aren’t in a place to afford it.

I don’t like the way I see things heading here in the U.S. As a conservative and a Christian mom I want to preserve our heritage as believers and Americans. My children can’t receive that in the public school setting. It’s my husband’s and my responsibility to ensure that our children learn what is true!

As parents, we must be completely engaged in our children’s lives at home and at school. We did not have children so others could teach them right from wrong. We cannot drop our children off at daycares, public schools or private schools and expect that they are being taught our values, morals and ethics.

In today’s educational environment we must take an active role in educating ourselves as to what is being taught in the classroom. I must confess, I often wonder if they are being taught anything at all. The way they teach anymore seems to lead to chaos and confusion. Do they even teach the fundamentals anymore? You know, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Oh and how about spelling. Heaven forbid we circle a misspelled word in red and have the student look the word up in a dictionary and spell it correctly.

Things sure have changed and they haven’t changed for the better. Take for instance teaching children how to read. You might be excited to see your child come home and read some words, but do you really know how they are being taught to read? It probably isn’t by using phonics. Our children are taught to guess, to think about what would make the most sense, to sound out the first part of the word and then finish it with what they think fits. Whole language at it’s best.

I saw this effect my oldest child’s reading ability and I wasn’t about to let it happen to my other two, so I preceded to reteach my oldest and then teach my younger ones how to read. I used Turbo Reader by Phyllis Schlaffley. It was easy and precise and my children can read excellently. Unfortunately, my oldest got a bad taste for reading and still struggles, but I hate to imagine where any of them might be had I not intervened.

We must be involved and educated ourselves. Parenting takes hard work, but it is so worth it.

Filed Under: Education, Family Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Gifts from God

March 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Being a parent can be very discouraging and scary, but at the same time it can and should be rewarding and a blessing.

I am always looking for little gems of wisdom to help me as a mom. I don’t like psycho babble or “modern” ways of relating to and disciplining my children. I am all for the tried and true ways.

I always strive to hold all that I read and learn up to the Bible. God, after all, is the author of life and Creator of all. He will guide through His Word and I also believe that He uses many great men and women to proclaim the truth and give us those little gems of wisdom.

I came upon a small booklet written by Dr. David Jeremiah, How to Encourage Your Children, that had some great little gems of wisdom.

Four Ways to Encourage Your Children

1. Focused Attention: Make each child a priority in your life, no matter how busy your life.
2. Individual Affirmation: Every child needs to know that they are unique and special.
3. Genuine Appreciation: Don’t walk around looking for what they do wrong, but for what they do right.
4. Physical Affection: Love your children in a tangible way letting them know that they are important.

This is just a very condensed version. I would recommend reading Gifts from God by Dr. Jeremiah. It is a very good book on remembering that our children are precious and encourages parents in raising godly children.

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