LIVING EXAMPLES OF THE WORD OF GOD

Today my son wanted to do his homework in the car so he could play games when we got home. I was driving and only somewhat tuned in to him. Our conversation went something like this...
"Mom, what is 500 divided by 6?"
"83 remainder 2."
"56?"
"No, 23... Um, no.. 83 remainder 2."
"What?"

After a few more minutes of not getting the right answer, in rush hour traffic, I realized that math homework had to wait until we got home and I could show him on paper.

So many people today are bible scholars, but they miss the whole purpose of the word of God because they fail to LIVE what they know. James 1:22 says, "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only." God wants us to be LIVING EXAMPLES of the word of God, and to teach our children how to apply the word of God in their lives. My son can hear the concept of division in the classroom, but he won't actually learn (internalize) it until he sits down and practices the operation on paper. Likewise, my son can hear bible concepts about letting brotherly love continue, but he only internalizes God's instruction when we repeatedly make him share with and respect his siblings. Let us be doers of the word!

GOD'S GOT IT ALL UNDER CONTROL

Today was one of those whirlwind days. I hit the ground running getting the kids going. When I finally had a break for devotions, my head was buzzing with a myriad of thoughts and concerns and deadlines and tasks and songs and whatnot. When I was able to quiet my mind enough to pray, my thoughts shot off in different directions again. At that point God was kind enough to remind me of this poem:

"Good morning, this is God. I will be handling all of your problems today. I will not need your help - so have a good day. I love you!"

One moment I felt almost helpless, burdened by a million different things. The next moment I was able to just let them all go, knowing God had everything under control. From kids to husband to finances to work, whether tasks at hand or worries for loved ones far away, God would take care of everything in His perfect will and way. MAN, I LOVE SERVING GOD!

THANKFUL FOR SIMPLE BLESSINGS

Today we had a birthday party for my 10 year old. It was a boy's party - video games, whip cream challenge, drawing on each other's shirts (don't worry moms, I provided the shirts), pizza, cake (which the boys decorated), ice cream, presents, and lots of running around outside. A very simple party, but the boys had a blast!

In my life I experienced only 1 huge miracle - when I got saved. Yet I can't count on my fingers, let alone even remember, all the small, simple miracles God has done for me and my family. Just waking up with health and a sound mind is such a miracle. We have a roof over our heads, food on our table, comfortable clothing, transportation, lotsa love and laughter, hope, peace... the list just goes on and on and on. One song says, "Just from Jesus simply taking life and breath and joy and peace." Every day God heaps oodles of simple blessings on our heads. I am so thankful.

WARNING --- ANTS!

Living in a rural area, we have a LOT of ants around. They're always trying to make inroads into our house. I've told my children many times, "Don't take food into your bedrooms or you might wake up with ants all over you." Did they take heed to my warning? It wasn't long before my son came running to me saying ants were all over his bed. I got the bug spray and went in and his bed and walls were just swarming with ants. GROSS! I pulled back his bed from the wall and found fruit snack and candy wrappers. Unfortunately, the ants had found it first. It took me a while to get the ants under control. Then he had to help me clean up the carcasses and the food wrappers. I'm hoping my son had a big enough taste of the mess so that he will listen to me next time.

Ezekiel 3:21 says, "If thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned: also thou shalt deliver thy soul." One of the main things we regularly talk about is the necessity to serve God and not sin. If their soul is sin-free, then they are able to have a personal relationship with God and live their lives the right way. The devil has deceived so many into thinking they can have sin in their life and still please God. As parents, let us make sure our children know the truth about sin. There's no guarantee they'll choose to serve God, but we can make sure our job is done by warning them.

THE SPIRITUAL NEST

One morning my son told me, "Mom, I feel like saying 'YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'." I asked him why and he said it was because he's glad he's serving God. Wow! An unexpected shot of joy and encouragement through this mom's heart. Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." How beautiful to see some of the fruits of our labor - to know your child is forming their own personal experience with God. To know God is talking to their hearts and blessing them.

We strive to love and train our children to the point where they can leave the nest and fly on their own. I'm not just referring to when they graduate from school and you encourage them to get a job and their own place. I'm talking about leaving the spiritual nest by having their own personal experience with God. One of my goals is to make sure my children don't end up with "mom and pop religion" where they just go through the motions of serving God but don't have an actual experience of salvation. In my 20 years of serving God I've seen too many young people try to serve God while they are at home, then once they move out they stop coming to church. I want my children to have their own foundation on God, so when they face the world full-on as young adults they'll be able to stand firmly on their own two feet. So I echo my son in saying YIPPEEEEEEEEEEE, my children are on their way!

PROVOKING CHILDREN TO LOVE GOD

So many times I have heard two of my children fighting, then wrongfully scolded one child when it was the other who was at fault. So many times have I had to apologize to my children for being wrong, for having jumped the gun and made a wrong decision because I didn't take the time to analyze the situation.

Ephesians 6:4 says "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Our job as parents is to love and discipline our children the way God loves and disciplines us. We need to make sure we judge them rightly, as much as humanly possible. We need to apologize to them when we are wrong. Our children will form opinions about God through our behavior. When we discipline them, are they seeing how God would discipline them? We want them to see God through us. We want them to grow up loving the God we love.

PERMIT CHILDREN TO GO TO CHRIST

Matthew 19:14 says, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me..." Jesus was telling his disciples to stop shooing the children away. Sure he was busy dealing with religious leaders, but Jesus counted children's souls just as important. Their moms just wanted Jesus to bless them. Maybe a little girl showed him an owie for him to heal. Maybe a boy wanted Jesus to help him be brave because he was afraid of the dark.

My son has bordered on "distraught" because a video game system has not been shipped to the stores yet. He's been waiting for eons (more like three weeks) and has been asking Jesus to help the store get the game. And just like those children all those years ago, Jesus blessed my son. No, the game still hasn't arrived in the stores yet, but my son told me his obsessive desire for the game was gone. Yes, he still wants the game, but with Jesus' help he's waiting more patiently. I had thought of telling my son not to pray what I thought was a selfish prayer, but I'm glad I didn't. God has proven to my son that He's a real help.