If You Don't Teach Them, Who Will?

A friend of mine told me after our first child that my mission field was my children.  I knew it, but I just didn't think it was enough.  I mean I had dreams to live.  Places to go.  Someone to be. Throw in a few more years and a few more kids and I certainly found out which someone I was going to be!  It was then that life seemed a little out of control.  4 kids.  Are you kidding me?  God, you trusted us with 4?!  That's when the view of our children became more than somebodies you have, they were gifts from the hand of God, so what are we going to do with these gifts?! 

If God is important to me, it is my job to impress His importance on my children. They ARE my mission field!

Deuteronomy 6:5-9  ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ 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. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I take my roll as a mother very seriously.  I'm not even great at it...which means I'm definitely not claiming our children are perfect because they are not, (hang around for a bit, you'll see, we're normal. Usually a mess.) but God has given me a passion for raising my children to know the Lord and impact the world for Jesus. Even imperfect, He can use us.

Children impacting the world for Jesus. That is not something I can make them do.  It's not up to me to make sure they are being perfect and making perfect choices.  But it is up to me to do my part in telling them how good God is, what He has done, why they matter to Him, why He needs to matter to them, the importance of reading their bible and praying, staying close with Him, telling them Oh, How I Love Jesus and leave the rest up to God.  They need to know these things.

Your kids need to know these things.  We live in a generation that God is whomever you chose it to be...and that's not right.  There is ONE God who matters. One God who made a way to enter Heaven.  Only ONE who wanted you here and gave you life. No other god did that.

If your children (or you) don't have a cemented understanding of who God is, they will easily turn to the left or to the right.  Joshua 23:6  We need to exercise in the Word of God so we build spiritual muscle - so we can know who He is, what He has done and how to stand firm against the evil one. 

If you have chosen Him, you have a responsibility to teach your children about Him.  Don't take that lightly.  If you don't teach them, who will?

Joshua 24: 14-15 "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.....but if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.....but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Sometimes we need a different lens

The other day I was driving my kids home from a birthday party when I was struck by the beautiful sunset.  Orange, red, yellow, all surrounded by blue sky and a V shape of clouds pointing. 

I've been counting each gift from God I see, and this was definitely one to note.  Beautiful sunset pointing "this is the way".

I happened to have my camera with me but the beautiful sunset was cluttered by buildings, poles and wires, so I changed direction and went to a hill to try to capture it.  By the time we got to where I thought would be a great view, the sunset had changed.  It was hazy now, and greying fast.  I took the picture anyway knowing that it was a gift from God, I had noted it after all, so I was going to enjoy it anyway. 

I raised the camera, rested it on my cheek, my eyes focused as the lens extended my sight.  The canvas was amazing. Brilliant. Heart warming.  Reds, oranges, gold's.....a full color gift from God.  Who else can paint such a breathtaking picture?  Who else can take the greying of the world and make it vibrant and lovely?  Who else can give such heart warming gifts such as personalized painting just for me, yet anyone who looks up can enjoy it as well?  That's my God who can.  He can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary if we are willing to look. 

Life is hard, sometimes.  Sometimes uncertain.  Sometimes dull.  Sometimes it needs a different lens.  Not one you or I can produce, but one he can.  And if we will only look up with that lens on....you'll see a gift - one straight from God.   Count your blessings.  You'll be amazed of what He's given! 

What are we waiting for?

An answer, that's what.  The list of prayer requests seem unending.  Yours, mine, ours....We're in need of answers.  I've been relentlessly bringing them before the Throne of God asking, waiting, willing.  Health concerns, marriages, fears, people needing salvation, all worthy of time before the Lord.  I persist. 

I am thankful for His will.  His ways.  That He sees the big picture and I am privied to only part of it.
I am thankful for hard times.  For times when I have to drop to my knees and beg for strength.  It is in those times, I believe,  mountains are moved.  I search the scriptures - for nuggets of hope.  Tasting every word I read, looking for something, some word from Him.  I am where he wants me then.    Finding my strength from The Almighty.  He guides me in those times.  I have hope.  Excitement that My God is talking with me.  Sometimes showing me bits of  His plan.  Encouraging me to stay the course and stay in with Him.

I always find it curious how he changes my heart; steers me closer to his heart during these times.  My emotions and attitude flip as fast as a cupped book whose pages flip past the thumb.  I can hardly keep up with what He does in those times. I think that is what I love the most about our times together.  His ability to change the impossible. 

Anger mushes to tears by His loving words reminding me of what He is like, and I am to be like Him.  Sadness gives way to hope because He is able to do more than I could ever ask or hope for and he is my Comforter.  Loneliness and Not good enough are confronted and Truth tells me I am a daughter of the King and he chose me, sent His Son, Jesus, to die for my sins because He thinks I am worth something.  Lack of confidence is reminded that nothing is impossible with God and to keep my eyes open that I might not be deceived and hiding behind pride. 

I walk away from my time with the Lord renewed, invigorated, longing for more.  Thankful.  I serve the Almighty God whose plan was set in motion the day he breathed life into Adam.  He knew we'd mess up.  He knew we'd need a Savior.  He knows we still need Him now.  And He still lets me see a glimpse of what He's up to.  How exciting!!!  What are we waiting for?  Him.  Perfectly always, Him. 

It's a New Year, Today's a New Day. Let the Adventures Begin!

The anticipation of a new year has really intrigued me this year.  I've been thinking about what I should be focusing on this year as last year seemed a bit out of focus.  (I mean, I hardly was able to sit idle long enough to think about anything except meeting deadlines, work, making it to the kids sporting events or not forgetting something I - or my children - volunteered me for!) 

Thinking this through really drug me through some disappointing places.  Places that should have had higher priority ranking but instead, found I had put the more important areas of my life farther down on the list than they should have been.  I had succumbed to people pleasing, anger, and focused way too much on cleaning my house, (Which is a HUGE laugh in itself as I have 4 kids who could win awards for wreaking havoc on a clean home in only moments!) and not near enough attention on My Lord, My Husband or My Children.  **Insert Sigh**

The great part is that It's a New Year, Today's a New Day!

I get excited when I get something new.   New pens - UH!  How I love new fancy medium point pens! Smooth in delivery, no goopy puddles of ink, rich in color and the ones with a grippy handle...those are the best!  A new jacket is another - doesn't happen often, so when it's finally time to upgrade, man, it's exciting!  A new bible thrills me!  It's like a brand new word search.....I get to underline all of those passages that mean so much to me all over again.  And so I'm feeling this same way with this brand new year ahead of me.  I get to have new goals to aim at.  I get to shift my priorities again to get them where they should be.  I get a clean start with each new day. 

As this New Year takes off, I know I have to do some things differently so the same pattern doesn't occur from last year.  The crazy part is, we all are living life and some things we can't necessarily change.  At least not right at this moment.  But I think if we are honest with each other, we all have areas that could be tweaked so that our priorities lay in the right order.  As for the goal we're aiming at this year, I can't quite see clearly what mine looks like yet,.  I was reminded this morning when I spent some time with God, that "We don't know specifically what next week, or eternity will look like.  We are moving toward destinations we cannot see 'For we walk by faith, not by sight.'  2 Corinthians 5:7.  Walking by faith means seeing life differently: trusting the God we cannot see (1 Peter 1:7-8) for that which He has yet to reveal."  Dr. David Jeremiah

I especially love what John Blanchard had to say about walking by faith:

"Walking by faith means being prepared to trust where we are not permitted to see." 

I just need to take one day, one hour, one moment at a time.  Keeping it in check.  Remembering my priorities.  God, Husband, Children, lotsofothergreatthings.  Asking God to direct me each step of the way.  In faith. 

I hope you can take a moment and review your past year.    What are you aiming at for this year?  What's got to change?  Let the Adventures Begin!