Oh The Glory!

I'm thinking of that song, "Oh, the glory of His Presence; We Your temple, give You reverence." It is so amazing to be in the presence of the Almighty Creator, to know that He is my Father and listens to me every time i speak. It is glorious to sit in the quiet stillness and hear His small voice and to be moved and shaken by how powerful it is! As i sit here tonight, i know He sits with me. He reads what i am writing. (I LOVE YOU, FATHER!) And to think that my body is His temple! How can He allow it to be that way? He knows the weakness of flesh and blood, yet He wants to dwell inside of us and prove that He is by what amazing changes He causes in our hearts! I just love the way He thinks. I love that He doesn't see me through fleshly eyes, as i see myself. He sees me as one who has been washed clean and made new through the Savior of all men! Glory! Glory! Glory! I could really dance tonight if everyone weren't sleeping:)

Why am i so taken with this tonight? Simply because every time i stop to think about it, i can't help but be just as dumbfounded as ever. There is nothing like it. No self-help ideas can compare. No entertainment can drown out the unhappiness of humanity. No willpower can cure the sickness and selfishness of humans. No religion even comes close to filling the emptiness of mankind. Mankind is so helpless, like a baby, without God on their side to help them change. But we who have called on His Name have changed and been reborn into a newness of life. The victory is won. We can live in this kind of victory every day! "No, not by might, nor even power, but by Your Spirit, O Lord."

Just a couple of days ago, i was treated very rudely by someone (give him a break, he was getting sick...he's usually very sweet...we all have our moments, don't we?). It was like everything i said was wrong. I was in a great mood, but it began to feel like his goal was to destroy me and my happy day. I wanted to just explode with my feelings and let my flesh rule me, but guess what...the Lord is my Helper in times of need. His Spirit who lives in me told me clearly, "Forgive him quickly. Respond in love and sincerity. Think the best of him. Hope the best for him. Trust My way of doing things. Hold back your self-pity. Turn it into a prayer of blessings for him." I don't know if i would have done it otherwise, but God provided an opportunity for me to get alone because just then, Gabriel woke up crying and i had to go nurse him back to sleep. So as i sat there with my little suckling, i could have wallowed in self-pity. But God gave me what i needed to live and think a different way. His way. It was truly miraculous.

You know what i really loved that day? The look on his face when i came back in the room and said sweet things to him and looked at him tenderly. I loved him truly, from the heart. I didn't have to pretend. And even though he never apologized, i knew he was sorry (Women, we don't HAVE to have an apology! Move on with life and forget about it!). But he went on to act differently towards me because he saw that i loved him more than i loved myself. And even if he hadn't treated me differently after that, God would've given me all i needed to keep on loving him no matter what. That is just the kind of sweet God He is. That is the depth of His riches. I love to know Him and want more of Him working in me. What about you? I want to testify that He will not fail you, not ever. Your flesh may cause you to fail yourself, but there is always hope when you seek after Him, no matter how many times you fail yourself.

And remember that you are His temple. Keep it clean for Him.

A Morning of Good Homeschooling

When my 3-yr-old woke up this morning, it was 6:00am and i was in no hurry to rush out of bed. I asked him to go play quietly in his room until i got up. He did!! I never went back to sleep, but i had time to lay there and pray and think. So when i did get up, i was in a good frame of mind. We greeted each other with smiles. This is my best homeschooling time with Josiah because it's usually just me and him for the first couple of hours in the morning. What did we do? We read the Bible, which is one of his favorite books. We made breakfast and talked about food. We colored pictures and talked about different animals. We have begun to write his name (his idea...i just made sure he was having fun). Reading and communicating ideas are the basis of a great education. Smiling and laughing are ESSENTIAL. If we can't have fun while being with our children day after day and doing these things with them, then what's the point? It's up to the parents to make life fun and to create a good homeschool environment for them.

Next, my oldest woke up. When he woke up, Josiah transformed before my eyes into a whiney monster. At times, he tries to make sure that it's all about him, that he gets the attention of mama, and he doesn't like it when i pay attention to Caleb. So he turns to whining and doing wrong things to get attention (i have only recently diagnosed this disease). To cure it, i simply try to make his whining get him the opposite of what he's after. So instead of giving him my attention, i gave Caleb a big hug and smile and talked to him (remember that i had just spent the last two hours totally engaging with only Josiah), and i sent Josiah to his room, explaining that he could not come out until he changed his attitude. He could not have fellowship with anyone until his heart was seeking the good of all and not just his own good. You may think that's too much for a 3-year-old to grasp, and for many i'm sure it is. But Josiah is wise in this way, and he understood. He was only in his room for like 60 seconds before he came out smiling from head to toe! He went on to play happily with Caleb for the next hour!! That is truly bliss, to see the problem, find a remedy and watch it work. The Lord is good!

So our homeschool lesson this morning had to do with sociology. Josiah learned that whining was not the way. He learned it pays off to make himself pleasant to be around. He got the fellowship he was after, but he got it in the right way.

Some days, it is the little one who is acting good and the older one who causes the trouble. Because we homeschool, we are there to detect the problems and try our best to deal with them. If you send your children off for eight hours, you don't know who they're talking to, what problems they encounter, you aren't there to guide them as to how to deal with issues that arise, etc. So when they come home, they are a mystery to you. You have a harder time diagnosing and curing because you have no idea what they've been doing and thinking all day long. And equally important, they have no idea what you have been doing and thinking all day! SO even though i have plenty of difficult times, i rejoice that we are together, experiencing all of life's joys and trials as a family. I believe that is how it was meant to be.

Again, i want to stress the importance of not burdening yourself to teach your children things like reading, writing, history, math. That isn't where you should start. Start with the heart (your own first, and then the child's), with the environment, with the attitude, and go on from there. Make your life more simple, or you will quickly get overwhelmed. And PLEASE make your husband feel at home when he is home. Make his life better, more rich, more sweet. Don't see him as only someone who needs to do his share and help you. See him as one you want to bless, one you want to love and serve and cherish. If you do, you will add to that lovliness of the home. You will be homeschooling when you do this, because the children take in so much more than lessons. They take in your frame of mind, your relationship with your husband, and how you deal with problems and disagreements.

It's up to YOU, mama!:) Change your thinking. Have fun. I tell myself this every day! It really does help.