FAMILY PHOTOS

Earlier this fall, my friend Tiffany took some photos of our family. She is an amazing photographer! (If you are looking for a good photographer, let me know!  I'd be happy to pass her info along!) She followed us around here on our property to capture our family the way we are. This is where we live. This is the home that God has placed us in for now, and we are thankful. This is just a sampling of so many pictures.  I so wish I could post ALL of them! Thank you, Tiffany, for beautifully capturing our life as we are in 2010.  I am extremely grateful!!

LADIES BIBLE STUDY DINNER TEACHING-- Part 1

There are two passages on my heart to share at the ladies dinner coming up next week.  I'm going to focus on one of them tonight.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (Amplified Bible)

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord]. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then] You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.


The emphasis again, is on the Word of God.  Here, He is commanding us to be teaching His Word!  We are to teach it with PURPOSE!  This takes mental effort.  Teaching (I'm especially referring to our children, here...)  does not just happen.  We must make it happen.  It needs to be of utmost importance in our day!

We need to teach it so that it PENETRATES their hearts!  I want my children to grow up loving God because of how much they know about Him and His Word. I want them to see how amazing He is, and love Him for it!  I don’t want to have to send them away to camp or a youth function to get them excited about God. I want them to be excited about God every day because they have learned that He is worth knowing and being excited about!

We need to be DILIGENT to do this.  We need to figure out methods to teach our children:  prepare lessons; take advantage of teachable moments at home, in the car, at the store, etc.; study the Word as a family; listen to teachings yourself when they are around listening.  Whether you think they are or not, they are listening!  Pray for wisdom and that God will give you ideas and opportunities.  He never ceases to amaze me with how He does this!

We are to teach them REGULARLY.  The Word of God is not to be talked about casually and infrequently, but rather with REPEATED DISCUSSION!  Every moment of every day is a teaching opportunity!  It should be one of our main topics.

I also see in this passage that we are to use WHATEVER METHOD it takes to get the point across!  The call to bind the hand, forehead, and doorpost makes this clear!  This also includes ourselves!  Use whatever method it takes to saturate our minds with truth from His Word!  For Christmas, we just got the NKJV on MP3.  The kids are enjoying this!  (and so am I!)

A final thought...  Before we can teach it, we must first have this ourselves!  A passion for God and His Word must first be in our own hearts and minds before we can penetrate the hearts of those we are entrusted to teach it to.  Love God with everything you have and sharpen your own minds, and use WHATEVER method it takes to do this!  There is so much wisdom to be found there -- more than we can ever gain in a lifetime of studying it!

The best way to teach children is by example.  They will catch your passion!  It must all start in my own heart. 

Please don't misunderstand me....  I have SO far to go with all this!  I beg God daily for wisdom to teach my children, for this truly is my heart's desire!  I desire a passion for Him that is contaigous to those around me, especially my children!  The great thing is, I know I can trust Him to hear my cry and answer.  What a faithful God He is.

Abiding In The Word of God

The passage of Scripture I read tonight was 1 John 1-5. 

It was the scheduled reading in the new program I started. 

It is also ironically, the new book we have started at the shelter, and also the book I have encouraged several people to dive into this week. 

I LOVE how God works!

My journaling tonight from that book led me to this thought: 

Abiding in the Word --> Keeping His commands --> Assurance of salvation! 

Where does it ALL begin?  Abiding in the Word!

Not only does the book of 1 John give us the tests of assurance of salvation,

but as believers, it also gives us the key to living it out! 

We cannot begin to walk in obedience without the strength that comes from God.  We get that strength from reading/studying/meditating on/ABIDING in the Word of God. 

If His Word is constantly on the forefronts of our minds,

it will be so much easier to walk in obedience! 

(Not to mention it tells us what we need to be obedient to!)

I believe this is the ultimate test of assurance of salvation: 

Are we abiding in the Word of God?

I'm not saying we aren't saved if we are not (I cannot judge that!  That is between you and God!), I'm just saying it can give us a greater confidence of our salvation if we are!

If we are abiding in the Word of God, we will then be able to do all of the other things John lays out for us as the tests of our assurance:

1)  Are we walking in the light? (1 John 1:5-7)

2)  Are we sensitive to sin? (1:8-10)

3)  Are we keeping His commandments? (2:3-6)

4)  Do we love the brethren? (2:9)

5)  Do we love the things of this world?  We shouldn't!  (2:15-17)

John 8:31-32 also speaks of this: 

"If you abide in my Word, you are my disciples indeed. 

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

If we are abiding in His Word, we can be assured that we are His disciples.  Knowing the truth, will help us to walk free!  Free of our sin!  Free of our guilt!

It all starts with abiding in the Word of God. 

Lord, help me to be faithful....

There is nothing more important!

I leave you with a quote to ponder...

"This book will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from this book!"

Good night, my friends!

THE TRUE GOSPEL -- Please don't water it down!
Even if you think you know what the Gospel is, may I encourage you to read all the way through this post.  Lay aside the marbles you have been taught (see post below about marbles), and look with an open mind and an open heart to what the Scripture says the Gospel is.

Point #1 -- God is good. We are not. We need a Savior. If we have broken one of the commandments, according to Scripture, we have broken them all. We are dead, just like the dry bones talked about in Ezekiel 37. We have no life in us. We cannot bring life to ourselves no matter how hard we try. Religion won’t even do it. You can go to church every Sunday of your life and still go to hell if your heart is never regenerated. (Deut. 32:3-4, Ps. 18:30-31, Rom. 3:23, James 2:10)
 Point #2 -- God is just. He cannot overlook sin. Someone has to pay the price for your sin. We deserve the same death Christ received and separation from Him for all eternity. Out of the abundance of His love, He sent JESUS, but that doesn’t automatically mean because Jesus died everyone gets into heaven. It doesn’t even mean “good” people get into heaven. Because, remember the bones??? Because of our sin, we are dead. That’s the bad news. (Zec. 9:9, Rev. 15:3)


The good news is this! Jesus died in our place and offers us salvation. We don’t receive it, however, by going to church. We don’t receive it by praying a prayer, necessarily. Many lost people have prayed a prayer at one time in their lives, and yet show no evidence of salvation in their lives. We don’t receive it by being a good person, because on the scale of comparison, I cannot compare myself to people (like I so often do), I am compared to Jesus Christ. Unless we can live a life as perfect and sinless as He did, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (John 3:16, 1 Cor. 6:9)

The good news is... because of what Jesus did for us, we can receive HIS righteousness.  So that, when God looks at us, He sees His Son.  What a beautiful, perfect, amazing gift.


Most pastors and teachers at this point, when someone says they want to receive this gift of salvation, will lead people through a few simple steps, have them say a "prayer of repentance", and pronounce them saved. This is NOT what Scripture teaches. We need to hold all things up to Scripture, and I have looked. Nowhere in the Bible does it talk about this prayer. What I say to you tonight, I encourage you to search it out for yourselves in Scripture. Ultimately it is not what I say, what your pastor or church says, or what your parents have taught you that matters. It is what Scripture says – the very words of God – that matters. Have you ever searched that out for yourself and not just relied on what someone else has told you?

We cannot look to a time in our lives when we have prayed a prayer and let that prayer give us assurance of salvation. Scripture says we are to “Examine ourselves. Test ourselves to see that we are in the faith!” (2 Cor. 13:5) It doesn’t say, “Did you pray the prayer?” If we have been saved, our lives will look different than they did prior to our salvation. I have told you many times, it is not our works that save us, but it is our works that demonstrate that we are saved. You can find the tests of assurance of salvation in the book of 1 John. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life…” (1 John 5:13). This is the reason he wrote the book! He wouldn’t have needed an entire book on it if the only test for ourselves was, “did you pray the prayer… and were you sincere?”  People who have prayed a "sinners prayer" and look nothing like 1 John says a believer will look are lost.

Ezekiel 36 talks about God taking our heart of stone out and giving us a heart of flesh. This is what He does when He gives us salvation and regenerates our hearts. The only thing required of us is complete surrender. Not good works… just laying everything down. When we do this, we are giving ourselves completely over to Him. We become a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Our lives are no longer our own. As a preacher once said, “The Gospel is free, but it will cost you everything.” The result? We will not be able to restrain ourselves from doing those good works, and someday, we will inherit the kingdom of heaven!


Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Let’s take a brief look at repentance and believing -- the two things that demonstrate our surrender.


1. REPENT:


• Repent means to turn. To CHANGE. If I’m walking in one direction, it means I completely turn and walk differently. I do a new thing. Whatever sin I am living in, I walk away from and as God reveals other things, I continue to turn from them towards Him.

     o This is true in our lives as a whole. Before my heart was regenerated, I lived one way. After that day, I turned and started in a whole different direction as a NEW CREATION. (2 Cor. 5:17)

           The result? I now am disturbed by sin. It bothers me. That’s the Holy Spirit doing His job!

           I see the righteousness of Christ and desire that.

     o This is true in individual areas of our life that God reveals to us that need change. This changing process will never end! It’s called sanctification.

     o Repentance should be a daily occurrence in our lives. It is not a one-time thing.


• Is repentance a reality in your life? Do you continue to repent… to change… to become more like Christ every day? Do you hate the sin you once loved? Not just that you know that it’s wrong and shouldn’t do it, but do you HATE it? If this is true, this is great evidence of your conversion.


2. BELIEVE:


• Are you believing in Christ? This means that you SEE the promises of God in Scripture and believe that they are true.

• Faith is believing the promises of God.

• What are some of the promises we are called to believe? Scripture is FULL of them. If we truly BELIEVE in them, we will walk IN OBEDIENCE to them! Thus demonstrating the “new creation”.  Our obedience is what demonstrates our belief!
 *** If these things ARE true in a person’s life, there is great evidence of conversion. Our lives must LOOK different. “Old things will pass away. Behold all things become new!” Sin will bother you! You will desire righteousness. 


*** If a person says these things with their lips, but nothing has changed in their lives, and they go on living life like they always have -- that person needs to do a serious heart check and cry out to God. Eternity is at stake, and there is nothing more serious to be concerned about. Throw yourself on Him. Ask Him to change you, to regenerate your heart.


*** I remind you of this verse in Proverbs 14. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” If your idea of the Gospel is different than that found in Scripture, it’s time to re-evaluate your view of the Gospel according to the Scripture. See what is the TRUE Gospel, not your marble of what the Gospel is.

WORTH EVERY MINUTE!

GLORY TO GOD.... IN EVERY DETAIL OF OUR EVERY DAY!

I have been bombarded lately with thoughts of what it means to bring glory to God.  The Westminster Catechism asks it this way:

 What is the chief end of man?  I am made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

The kids and I have spent lots of time talking about what exactly this means.  Bringing God glory is to conform to the Word of God in every part of our lives.  (The only way to do this is to STUDY it and KNOW it... see post below....) 

I have been pondering this idea with Evan, with the Bible study ladies, and with friends.  It is what is to be our main focus of every moment of every day.  We SHOULD be pondering this!

A friend of mine at Bible study challenged us to think about it this way.  Make a list of all the things you do in your day.  Wake up, make breakfast/coffee, take a shower, commute to work, clean the house, whatever it is, and then ask yourself....

What does it look like to bring glory to God as I wake up?

.... as I shower?

.... as I dress?

.... as I make breakfast?

.... as I drive somewhere?

.... as I scrub the toilet, do laundry, whatever? 

Can I better bring God glory in all the daily things that I do?  This was challenging to me, and has caused me to re-evaluate my thinking on many things. 

For example...  Do I wake up and praise God for a new day, asking Him to guide my every word and step.  Lay myself at His feet, before I even get out of bed?

In the shower... I can practice memorizing Scripture, pray for people, sing and worship God.

As I dress... does the clothing I wear bring focus to my face, or to my body?  Does what I put on bring God glory, or have I conformed to this world?  If you aren't purposefully thinking about your wardrobe and bringing God glory in it, then you probably have conformed to the world and need to repent.  

On a commute... I can worship, sing, praise, pray... and maybe put my cell phone down to do these things. 

As I cook/clean... I can thank God for my house, laundry, children, and food to eat. 

Do you see?  God wants to be a part of every detail.  Not just some things, but ALL things in our lives. 

The chief end of man is to glorify God!  How are you doing in the details???  Ask God to show you how to bring glory to Him in every detail of your day!  He will!

LET'S GET THE MARBLES OUT!

I had a dream.  It was a crazy dream, but one that I couldn't just roll over and go back to sleep with. 

I had to get up.  I had to write it down. 

This is taken from my dream.

Picture a beautiful clear vase.  A big one!  It could hold a huge bunch of flower.  But instead of flowers, picture marbles inside.  Marbles of every size, every pattern, and every color.

We all have marbles that we add to the glass jar.  Mine might be red -- yours blue.  Our marbles define our experiences in life.  They may even APPEAR to be pretty when they are all put together.

Let's say that each marble represents a belief that we have-- things we were taught growing up, our background, our traditions, ideas we gained from reading or listening to someone speak or share THEIR ideas with you that you thought sounded good. Wherever we may have received that marble, each one represents beliefs that we have conjured up in our own minds and accepted. 

I am reminded of the Proverb... "There is a way that seems right to man, but it's end is destruction."

Many people think their marbles will get them into heaven, but will someday be shocked when they learn they are wrong.

What would happen if we dumped out all those marbles? 

They would be everywhere and we would have a huge mess!

My friends, this is what we have today in our world.

A mess.

This is what we get when we venture away from the ONE source of TRUTH.

A disaster.

The Word of God is not a marble.

The Word of God has stood the test of time. 

That word, "inspired" literally means "breathed out". 

It is an amazing gift given to us by the Creator of the Universe so that we may KNOW Him.  Not just guess who He is and make another marble. 

Most Americans believe in "god".  But it is a "god" they have created with their own marbles.

Some say, "My 'god' is too loving to send THAT many people to hell."

or

"I am better than THAT person.  I must be fine!"

Many just don't think the Bible is important enough to pour the kind of time and energy it takes to read and understand it.  "I'm too busy!  I'll read this other book instead.  It's written by a 'Christian'."

Marbles. 

People's own ideas.

Disaster.

Some day we will stand before a righteous and holy God, and He will say, "What have you done with my Son?"

"Oh, I love Jesus."  We might say back.  "I went to church.  I lived a good life.  I wore Christian T-shirts.  I was always kind.  Never hurt anyone."

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."  (Matthew 7:21-23).

This is serious stuff.

The only way to know the will of the Father is to study the Scriptures. 

That's why He gave it to us!

We can't guess what His will is

because then we are just creating another marble.

The only way to know Jesus, the REAL Jesus, not the marble we make in our heads, is through God's Word.  It takes time, energy, and effort.  You must have a desire, and if you don't, beg God to make you hungry to study it. 

It's the only way to know Him!

In my life, for a time, it meant I didn't read anything else.  I didn't have time!  I still don't!  I have oodles of books that I have never finished because I have to choose the BEST from the pile in my limited time.  Rarely do I get to read other things, and when I do, I must line it up with the Scripture to be sure that it is truth!  If it doesn't line up, throw it out!  The Word of God is our ONE source of TRUTH.  Get rid of your marbles.  Repent of your own ideas!  Let God fill you with truth.  Because it is the TRUTH that will SET YOU FREE!

And God's Word is the only place to find that truth.

Many people say they have a "relationship" with Jesus.  But if we hardly know Him -- the REAL Jesus, how can that be so?

I cannot get to know a person by what someone else says about that person.  I can get a few facts, but to know who that person really is, I must spend time with that person talking and listening. Both QUALITY time and QUANTITY.  Asking questions and listening carefully to the answers. 

Time spent in the Word of God is never wasted.

It needs to be the HIGHEST priority of our day.

Blessings, my friends.

(BTW, if you live in our area and would like to be a part of a Bible study, please let me know.  There are 3 different ones to choose from: ladies on Wed., one at the shelter on Thurs., and one in our home on Sun.  We would love to have you join us!)

LIFE UPDATE:

Bible studies:  Still pressing on!  The ladies study on Wednesday has been such a blessing to me.  1 Peter has lots of challenges!  We will be finishing that up before Christmas and having a Christmas dinner before diving into a new book of the Bible after the new year.  The shelter study continues to be unique each and every week.  Please pray for God to work miracles and CHANGE LIVES!!  Sunday nights are such a personal blessing as well.  There is nothing like studying the Word of God with fellow believers!

Hand accident:  I am healing up well.  The bone is probably 75% healed over.  I have, however, developed scar tissue under the joint by the fingertip and am completely unable to move it from my middle knuckle.  I continue to do PT at home (not as often as I should) and am planning on one final (hopefully!) surgery after the new year to have the pin removed and the scar tissued scraped out.  Would appreciate continued prayers for complete movement again.  This has been quite a journey...

Homeschooling:  I feel like God has given me a fresh vision for homeschooling, something we all need now and again.  My friend, Camille, recently sent me a book by R.C. Sproul Jr. called "When You Rise Up".  This book has inspired me to take a fresh look at our goals, which has actually relieved a LOT of the pressure I was feeling.  Character is more important than ANYTHING, and upon praying for renewed direction in how to teach our kids, I came across this from Paul Washer, where he is not only teaching children, but giving parents guidance as to where our focus needs to be on teaching our children.  We have once again been encouraged to rise up to the REAL reason we have chosen to homeschool our children.  We all need that fresh vision every now and then.... and yes, we do press on in all subject areas enjoying the challenges each day brings.  Thank you, Lord for your wisdom! 

Farm Life:  It was a tough fall.  We lost a hog (10 days before butcher) and a calf all in the same week -- really cold temps and pneumonia to blame.  Also, our beautiful spoiled horse (Dixie) got a MAJOR cut on her neck last week.  A vet bill later, she will be fine, but her main juggler vein in her neck was very close to being cut.  She has a long healing process ahead of her.  We sold all our goats (with no regrets) and have already experienced a LOT of winter over the past couple of weeks! 

Visitors:  Evan's family joined us for Thanksgiving and Christmas over the Thanksgiving holiday.  We had a nice time playing games into the evenings, eating way too much, and sharing pumpkin pie at the shelter on Thanksgiving night.  There was plenty of snow outside to play in and run off some energy, which was good!  Thanks for the sacrifice of coming out and being with us.  We love you all!

Reading:  My book list on my side table has grown lately thanks to many really good suggestions and gifts from people.  Though I am probably in the middle of most of these (I have finished some), I would HIGHLY recommend each of these:

* The Bible (must be first!)
* Morning and Evening (Charles Spurgeon)
* Knowing Scripture (R.C. Sproul)
* Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret (Dr.& Mrs. Howard Taylor)
* The Knowledge of the Holy (A.W. Tozer)
* Valuable selections from the writings of George Muller
* When You Rise Up (R.C. Sproul Jr.) -- a homeschool book I would HIGHLY recommend
* The Attributes of God (Paul Washer)
* Reckless Faith (Beth Guckenberger)

Barn Progress:  I know, I promised you a picture, but the very next day is SNOWED a LOT!  We have 4 out of the 6 panels completed and are just waiting for a "melt" so we don't slide off the roof trying to finish it.

I could go on, but I'm sure I'm boring you by now, and it's also that magic "3:30" time to get serious about dinner!  :)  God bless you all!  Persevere in the Word.... time there is NEVER wasted!!

PSALM 119:114  "YOU ARE  MY HIDING PLACE AND MY SHIELD; I HOPE IN YOUR WORD."

CHANGE: My Thoughts For Today...

Change is one of those things that can be looked at in either a positive note, or a negative.  When my heart was regenerated, that was the BEST change ever.  The day I said "I do" to my wonderful husband that God had chosen for me was an AMAZING change.  The day I looked each of my children in the face for the first time was also a BEAUTIFUL and very EXTREME change in my life!  :)  The day I went from being a mom of little preschoolers to a commitment of more purposeful homeschooling was a change, though that change came more subtly.

Sanctification is change.  A wonderful change, that I praise God for daily, and beg Him to continue that change in me. 

Hard times cause a person to change.  When I lost Josiah, that was a big turning point in my life.  I changed forever, but I praise God that He has used that for His glory.

Moving to Montana caused me to change.  I went from one culture to a very different culture in rural Montana.  I have changed to living happily in a new culture after a couple years of difficult transition, but in that process, I am not the same person that I use to be.

God is always in the process of change.  My desire is to change every day to become closer to the image of Jesus Christ. 

I have changed the most in the past 8 1/2 years.  In that season, our days have mostly been spent away from our family and long-distance friends.  Sometimes, I feel like they hardly know me anymore....  I am not who I once was.

"I now ask you, my dear reader, a few questions in all love, because I do seek your welfare, and I do not wish to put these questions to you, without putting them first to my own heart.  Do you make it your primary business, your first great concern, to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Are the things of God, the honour of His name, the welfare of His Church, the conversion of sinners, and the profit of your own soul, your chief aim?  Or, does your business, or your family, or your own temporal concerns, in some shape or other primarily occupy your attention?...."  (George Muller)

So you can know my heart, no matter how long it has been since we have seen or chatted with each other, this what I am striving for...I still have a long ways to go. Praise God I don't have to do it on my own!  My prayer is that you are striving for this change in your life as well.