Today my brother will be buried. He was 37 years old.
"The pathway is broken
And The signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to "
"Cause I'm not who I was When I took my first step And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet so if all of these trials bring me closer to you Then I will go through the fire If You want me to"
"It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone"
"So When the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering Your love put You through
And I will go through the darkness If You want me to "
"When I cross over Jordan, I'm gonna sing, gonna shout
Gonna look into your eyes and see you never let me down
So take me on the pathway that leads me home to you
And I will walk through the valley if you want me to"
"Yes, I will walk through the valley if you want me to"
"Yes, I will walk through the valley if you want me to"
-Ginny Owens
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
I often joke about getting a t-shirt printed that says, "I'm Offensive." I find it seriously funny that I have come to offend people and do so quite regularly. Boy do I. I make people mad. Christians say that the whole world can have differing opinions about things except for them. People get angry when we say homosexuality is sin or that we don't want to kill unborn children. We are dubbed "intolerant." I must say that we also have this mentality inside the body of Christ. If you home school or have a large family, I am sure you know what I mean. People are against you right out of the gate. When I talk about having a big family, most every Christian says that there are horrible days ahead of me. The worst part is coming. They are horrible when they. . . In the past year (Laomai is almost one!) I thought that I must have a perfect baby because I never even one day felt any of the negative things I was told I would feel. I just recently realized that our sweet little girl is pretty normal although laid back. It's just how you choose to deal with it. I choose patience and love in training her to have godly character.
I pray for that every day.
In the Captivating study we are asked if we feel like we are too much ( high maintenance ) or not enough for others. Today I was thinking about baby countenance and self-esteem. Do we begin telling our children that they are too much or not enough as soon as they are born? When we are impatient, more rude than we would ever be to anyone else, or treat them like they are far too much to deal with, I think we plant those seeds. I find myself wanting to affirm children at HEB all the time. You can tell that they are told lies by their parents (who have no idea what they are teaching their kids).
When people say negative things to me I always get into an uproar. My number one pet peeve, besides a dirty microwave, is when people say negative things about having more children. Just you wait til they get to this phase... As Christians, why do we try to discourage those who are trying to fulfill a commandment?
Be fruitful and multiply.
Why do we say homeschooling is a calling for "others" in a condescending way? I don't believe that. I believe that the Bible says to make disciples of our children. The thing that convicts me is Luke 6:40. It says
,"a student will be like his teacher."
(I am about to make angry all of my public school teacher friends and the proponents thereof.) I do not know or trust the godly character of any teacher enough for my daughter to grow up to be like them. I am in no way trying to force my convictions onto anyone. I simply think we should evaluate if we are trying to do that to others. Do we try to talk people out of doing what they feel is the best thing for them and their family? Do we try to use funny sarcasm to devalue what others may feel quite convicted about? Is our speech pleasing to God?
Our Life Group is studying Family Driven Faith by Dr.Voddie Baucham (I would rate him in the top 5 most intelligent people I know). I like him because he does not care who he offends. He studies God's word in a relentless way. I was reading his blog the other day and laughed thinking about all the people he makes mad. I thought I'd give you a snippet. He is addressing the issue of public school.
"I have asked before, and I will ask again, how far do they have to go? What do they have to do to our children before we will leave? Do they have to molest our children? They’ve done that. Do they have to beat, maim or kill our children? They’ve done that too. Do they have to fail to educate our children adequately? They’ve done that. Do they have to deny our God and his laws? They have done that too. Do they have to lead our children away from Christ and his Church in droves by indoctrinating them in Atheistic Secular Humanism? Check that one off too. When will enough be enough? When will our desire to raise our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4) outweigh our addiction to free daycare?"
Please don't think I am judging anyone who is involved in public school. I simply am placing this before you to stir your thoughts.
"An intellectual solves a problem. A genius prevents it."
- Albert Einstein
I study. I read. I study. I read. I can guarantee that if I am discussing something with you that I have exhausted all sources of information I can find on it. I want to look it up from the most original source I can find, Google it, find the Latin root, and ask my friends their thoughts. I have found out something. People don't like educated people. We want to talk in hearsay and ideaology. We want to discuss meat and never eat it. We, as the body of Christ, are largely malnourished and ignorant.
I keep looking at people around me and I am perplexed. Why is no one discipling these people? How is it that we can be in a church 30 years and no one ever shows us the way to Live this Life in Christ? Why is it that we apply the ideas we add to the Bible so freely and easily (like smoking and drinking are bad), but we miss the message of the heart of God's word? It is not a message of outward symbolism, but one of bone deep conviction. The message of God is one of desperate love and a begging to turn from all sin and be close to Him. We'd prefer to bathe ourselves in irrelevant generalities.
My heart has been pricked.
"Jesus said, They do not need to go away;
yougive them something to eat."
-Matthew 14:16
"I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel."-Ezekiel 34:14
"They are abundantly satisfied with the fulness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures." -Psalm 36:8
Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don't skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love Each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God's gift. It's all you get in exchange For the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, For there's neither work to do nor thoughts to think In the company of the dead, where you're most certainly headed."
Art inspires. I am a lover of the arts. I found myself looking at photos and paintings the other day that just ministered to my spirit. Sometimes there are feelings and passions that can be released no other way. I thought I would post a few things here and pray that they minister to you.
If you are called, you are accountable. Ezekiel 3:18
"When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood."
"God has promised to provide for you, to share His pleasure with you, to protect you, and to give you His enduring presence."
- Nancy Leigh DeMoss
"We have switched from a call to full surrender to a card of 'commitment.'"- Joseph Tson
"They are abundantly satisfied with the fulness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures."
- Psalm 36:8
"True holiness isn't cold and deadening-it's warm and inviting."
- Randy Alcorn
"You make me beautiful
You make me stand in awe
You step inside my heart, and I am amazed
I love to hear You say
Who I am is quite enough
You make me worthy of love and beautiful"
-Bethany Dillon
This just made me laugh. This is my Valentine to you,
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