Christmas Blessings

What does Christ's birth mean to me this year?

"If you love me, you will obey what I command.

And I will ask the father, and He will give you

another Counselor to be with you forever- the

Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him,

because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.

But you know Him, for He lives with you and

will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans;

I will come to you. Before long, the world will

not see me anymore, but you will see me.

Because I live, you also will live. On that day

you will realize that I am in my Father, and

you are in me, and I am in you."

John 14:15-20

Father God,

Thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus. Thank you

that through His perfect sacrifice I may live with you in eternity.

Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you

that through Him I may walk with the Spirit of Truth.

Father, thank you for the hope and peace that is in a life with You!

Please help me to practice the presence of the Lord daily

In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

"All this I have spoken while still with you. But

the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the

Father will send in My name, will teach you all

things and will remind you of everything I have

said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give

you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not

let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

John 14:25-27

Merry Christmas!!

National Day of Prayer

Check out the site:

http://nationaldayofprayer.org/blog/

The theme for this year:

For Such a Time As This

Bible Verse:

"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him." - Nahum 1:7

• Why a day of prayer?

Why date your husband? Why have special times with your children or friends? It helps you build your relationship, it shows God that He is important to you, it is a time of refreshment, it builds intimacy, it strengthens you, it is a time to praise, it is a time to worship, it is a time to seek His direction for your life, it is a time to ask God to choose the priorities for your life, it is a time to gain perspective.

• My list of things to pray over:

Relationship with God

My husband

Our marriage

Bookworm

Ladybug

Busybee

Homeschooling

Finances

Health

Our activities

Extended family members

Friends and Friendships

Family Fellowship Group

Homeschool Group

Church

Neighborhood at Home

Neighborhood at the Lake

Our community

Our country

Our leaders

Specific requests from family and friends

Anything else God lays on my heart

• If you have never taken a good block of time set aside for deep prayer, I highly recommend it. God has done wondrous things in my own heart during these times.

• If you feel grim about the future of our nation or are dealing with tough issues, no one will understand like our God.

• If you are struggling with a child, no one else loves them more than our Lord.

Seek His face!!

Miss Mason's Nod- Part 2

Yesterday I mentioned an article written by Charlotte Mason. Her writings have helped me greatly in evaluating our educational goals and priorities. As I mentioned, Bookworm entering the High School years seemed like a good time to think about her future and the kind of person we hope she will be.

In the article CM mentions priorities. She lists Bible and History first. I concur! Please read the article for yourself, it's very good. The link is in yesterday's post.

Last summer when the economy was failing, more natural disasters were being reported, and our country seemed to be taken to the tool shed by the world and our President, I thought about what would help a person get through all of this.

Here is my short list:
1. Know who God is.
a. Read His word.
b. Spend time with Him in prayer.
c. Memorize scripture, ponder His words.
2. Know who we are-
a. Created by God
b. Saved through the blood of Christ
c. Our Christian Heritage
3. Know who we are as Americans
a. Know why our Country was formed
b. Understand our founding fathers and documents
c. Know our own history
4. Know World History
a. "There is nothing new under the sun." History repeats, look for the cycles.
b. Study Hitler's life and understand the how of things.

I am not into conspiracies and that but I do know that the enemy has dominion over the earth until Christs' return. What better way to get a hold of a people's heart than drawing them away from God's word than through busyness, technology and entertainment? What better way to have them forget who they are as Americans and their gained freedoms than by rewriting the History textbooks ala Texas? What better way to ignore the history of the Nazi movement than to stop teaching it and to start to make negative insinuations about the Jewish people?

So in light of all of this, what are we doing differently? Here is my disclaimer: my kids can all read, write and complete math at or above grade level, lest anyone question the roundness of their education. Both girls in fact are finishing their Math in the next two weeks, ahead of schedule and Busy Bee has finished all of his Language Arts for this year.

Our Top 10 List-
Here's what we are doing to accomplish our new priorities:
1. Reading more of God's word daily- outlining chapters
2. Reading a good Bible Commentary- taking good notes
3. Reading stronger Devotional materials- taking good notes
4. Challenging ourselves with more scripture memorization
5. Hymn Study- there is a lot of solid doctrine in hymns- completing narrations
6. Worldview- this is totally new to us and has been fabulous- written narrations and discussion
7. Current Events- we are easing into this- discussion
8. History- reading more first source documents and biographies
9. Government/Economics- adding this into every year of high school
10. Discussion, lots of discussion- all through the lens of God's word

If you haven't thought about this before, I hope this encourages you to educate with eternity in mind. We are blessed at this time to have so many great tools at our disposal. As we come into convention season, you may be able to look through some good materials. You can also use the writings of CS Lewis or Francis Schaeffer for starters. May God Bless you and your family!

Miss Mason's Nod to Homeschoolers

I read this encouraging Parents Review article by Charlotte Mason about a year ago: http://amblesideonline.org/PR/PR03p279TheHomeSchool.shtml

It helped me to evaluate our priorities as Bookworm was entering the high school years. I prayed about our focus in educating our children, read CM's writings and thought hard about the challenging times that I believe are ahead for our children and their generation. I felt a real call from the Lord to go deeper with my children, to help prepare them for eternity.

If you love CM's educational philosophy and you homeschool, I highly recommend reading this article. Then come back here tomorrow and see what I gleaned from this article. I know it was written long ago, but boy is it timely given the social climate our children are growing up in.

Something to Meditate On...

We recently finished our study of the Reformation in our history

co-op. I was really drawn to the lives of the reformers.

I appreciated their heart for the Reformation and the risks

they were willing to take to improve the spiritual lives

of other believers and to improve their churches.
Martin Luther especially touched me.

Here is a quote of his that I have been meditating on:
What you do in your house is worth as much

as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God.

We should accustom ourselves to think of our

position and work as sacred and well-pleasing

to God, not on account of the position and work,

but on account of the word and faith

from which the obedience and work come from.

~ Martin Luther

I want to remember this daily. It inspires me to strive for

excellence even in the smallest activity.

When I serve my family, I serve God.

They are my mission, my calling.

Finding Victory in... Self-discipline

I have a good number of friends who struggle with organization. Most are very creative, go with the flow kinds of people. They are full of fun but also live in chaos. At times it can be difficult to be friends with them because they run late to events, forget what they are supposed to bring or wait until the last minute to try and pull things together. This can strain our relationship but I do love them dearly!

They often ask me how I can stay organized or for tips or copies of my schedules. Then they try it for awhile with good intentions and eventually it falls by the wayside. I try to encourage and have even tried to make excuses for why things haven't worked. The bottom line is it is a lack of self- discipline.

Organization is one area of my life where God has gained the victory. I give Him the glory for this because without Him I wouldn't be able to do it. It is a commitment I have made to the Lord. It is something I have to practice everyday. On days when I don't feel like cleaning or cooking or homeschooling, I am reminded of the commitment I made and the disappointment I would feel if I didn't follow through. I try and picture God's face while He watches me loafing instead of fulfilling my responsibilities. It helps me stay on the right track. I want to put a smile on His face and not a tear in His eye.

I do struggle with self- discipline in other areas. I am a work in progress. I don't beat myself up over it, I just resolve to do better the next day. God gently reminds me of who I am in Him and that He has equipped me to fulfill His calling.

Webster's defines self-discipline as "Training and control of one's self and one's behavior, usually for personal improvement."

I think we often want to do better but we wait until we feel like it. Well friends, we can't wait. We need to make a commitment. We need to make the hard decision and follow through. I need to make this decision in the area of computer time. I am committing to cut back on recreational use of the computer and using that time to add to my bible reading/devotion/prayer time and helping my younger children with their time with God.

I want to grow as a child of God. I want to improve day by day. I'm thankful that He reveals areas that need improving and then gives me grace to correct those areas. Do you have any areas where God has been nudging you towards self-discipline?

I would love to pray for you if you're struggling in an area of self-discipline. God has put it on my heart lately. I know it's not easy, I have resolved that I will need to work on one area or another everyday of my life. As soon as one is conquered another will be revealed. Don't let it defeat you, it is a way to grow to be more Christ-like.

I like to think of it as God making an investment in me, He cares enough to show me where I need to improve and then asks me to share with others, giving Him the glory. We can all be used to encourage if we are willing to yield ourselves to his teaching, rebuke and ultimate victory. I am believing God for victory over self-discipline for me and for you!