Come, Follow Me (Part 1)

May 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

What is a calling?

A call is an urging to go in a certain direction or do a certain thing.  It is often something heard or felt deep within.  A call is an instructing to follow in which obedience is expected.  It can be related to when a mother or father calls their child to come to them.   However, there are also spiritual callings in which our Heavenly Father calls us to do His Will, His purpose, for His glory.  Have you heard His call?

My first call was to Christ and to follow Him as my Lord and Savior.  As a young teenager, His Word became a joy to my soul and a light for my path.  I read His Word joyfully, began to learn what it meant to follow His commands, and began to grow and change in order to be more like Him.  This changing of my heart, mind, and actions to reflect His is a gradual, life-long process.  As imperfect and sinful, His call to me was sure.

In starting my walk with Christ, my next call was to prepare to teach.  Before Christ, I do not think it is what I would have pursued as a career.  Having had no prior experiences with children and my long history of being extremely shy, quiet, and reserved, I think I surprised my family by going to college to pursue teacher training.  I could relate well to Moses’ response to God in Exodus 4:10 when he was called to lead the Israelites out of the land of slavery…

Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

But then, in Exodus 4:11-12, God reassured Moses and gave him strength to follow, just as He did for me!

So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?  Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

Yes, ‘slow in speech’, I could and can relate well!   Due to my weaknesses, I often doubted that call, but again and again, God reassured me.  Although challenging, I knew preparing to teach His children was what God desired for me to do.  As a young believer, His call was sure and I obeyed.

My next call was much easier for me to say yes to.  I was called to marry my high school sweetheart!   Sadly though, I wasn’t prepared for what this call involved.  Even after 18 years, I am continuing to grow and learn how to faithfully fulfill this call and my role as helpmate, supporter, etc.  As young, inadequate, and naive as I was, there is still no doubt that my husband is the one God placed in my life to marry.  The call was, once again, sure.

Then came the call to motherhood.  I don’t think I looked at becoming a mother as a calling, but looking back, it definitely was! At first, having children was just a giving up of career, time alone, and pursuit of outside interests – just something I was expected to do. (And, my husband reminded me, I thought I would be soooo bored!  Ha!)  Gradually, as our first child became a toddler, I began to see the need for and opportunities for learning at home – both academically (a carry over from my professional training) as well as spiritual and Biblical training. As I began to instruct our first child, God placed a great desire to pass on His words to her through Bible memory at a young age. It is around that time, that I began to view my role as more of a calling. With each year and with each additional child God has given us, the importance of discipleship and training has intensified. This is my in-home ministry and call to embrace for His glory!  And, yes, the call is sure.

Linked to the call and many roles within motherhood, is the call to share His Word.  That is why the Joyful Heart Tunes (Bible Memory in Song) and the preschool curriculums were created and are now available on my website.  It is also why I have a blog.  Certain blog posts, such as ‘Mom, Mama, Mommy’, ‘On the Front Lines’, and ‘God’s Word Will Not Return Void’  were written even when I didn’t think I had the time because I just could not ignore God’s urging me to stop and write what He wanted me to share.  Each writing also helps me to solidify and reinforce what Christ has been teaching me.  This is another sure calling.

It is encouraging to look back and see how God has orchestrated everything in my life!  Now, I am beginning to sense another call.  In part 2, I’ll share about this new urging that is gradually building from my Lord.

Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of God's Word, The Joy of Missions

God’s Word Will Not Return Void

May 21, 2011 by 1 Comment

I mentioned in my last post that I am excited to be using a simple method for studying the Scripture called S.O.A.P.  Here is an example of how it has worked for me.

S. – Writing out the Scripture
       Isaiah 55:10-11

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

O. – Writing observations from the Scripture

    1. God sends water (rain and snow) to earth.
    2. The water makes everything grow.
    3. The water helps to yield (produce) seed for the sower (to plant another crop in the future) and bread for the eater (to sustain and nourish now).
    4. Thinking of planting seeds – It takes a long time for a seed to sprout, grow, flourish, and produce new grain.
    5. God says His Word is like water that makes everything grow.  It nourishes the believer now and produces spiritual maturity over time.  Like the seed for the sower, He in turn gives them the ability to share the gospel (His Word) with others.
            

A. – Application  (What do I do with what God has shown me?)

Helping our children to memorize Scripture, training them in His Ways through the study of His Word, and praying the Scriptures for them is not done in vain. We need to be more faithful in these areas.  God’s Word provides nourishment for them – to help them grow.  It takes time and patience for the seed to sprout.  We don’t see the work and growth that takes place underground.  So don’t grow weary nor give up! We have the promise that His Word will not return empty.  It accomplishes what he desires.

P. – Prayer
Dear Jesus, I pray that, as the children grow, You will use the Scriptures they are hiding in their hearts, at their tender ages, to guide and direct their paths and that they would remember and hear Your Words speaking to them- providing them protection and comfort.  Help us to be diligent in sharing the gospel and Your Words with the children.  Remind us and put a burden on our hearts to pray the Scriptures and use Your very Words to lift our children up to you regularly.  I pray that, as You help us to be faithful in training our children, You will use Your Word and the power of Your Holy Spirit to bring each of them to a saving faith in Your Son.

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My son, keep your father’s commands
   and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Bind them upon your heart forever;
   fasten them around your neck.
When you walk, they will guide you;
   when you sleep, they will watch over you;
   when you awake, they will speak to you.
Proverbs 6:20-22

 

I pray that we may one day see each of our children walking in the Truth…

walking

Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of God's Word

I’m Excited About S.O.A.P!

May 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Over at Good Morning Girls, they have organized and begun a 12 week study on The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.

GMG-MOM-Button-200
As part of the study, the leaders have chosen Scriptures that pertain to mothering, children, and raising the next generation that correlate well for participants to read and meditate on each day.  For instance, this first week, we have studied Psalm 127:1, John 15:4-5, Matthew 6:33, 2 Timothy 1:5, and Proverbs 6:20-22.  The format for studying the verses is pretty simple – but impactful.  They are using the S.O.A.P. method.

S. – Write out the Scripture passage for the day.
O. – Write down 1-2  Observations from the daily reading.
A. – Write down 1-2 Applications from the Scripture reading.
P. – Pray over what you learned from the day’s passage.

Each day, I have been amazed at what God has shown me in these verses – just one or two verses each day!  As the week went on, I found myself more and more excited and eager to meet with my Lord and have Him teach me from His Word.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.
(John 15:4-5)

Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of God's Word

Come Awake

April 22, 2011 by 1 Comment

easterfeltbd I snapped this photo as two of our girls were joyfully singing parts of ‘Christ is Risen’ after they retold the Easter story with the felt pieces.  Priceless!

portions of ‘Christ is Risen’ by Matt Maher…
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death.
Come awake. Come awake.  Come and rise up from the grave.
Christ is risen from the dead.  We are one with Him again.
Come awake. Come awake.  Come and rise up from the grave.

Oh death, where is your sting?
Oh hell, where is your victory?
Oh church!  Come stand in the light!
Our God is not dead.  He’s alive! He’s alive!

 

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4)


Jesus said to her,
“I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
(John 11:25-26)

Happy Easter!

Filed Under: Easter, The Joy of Children, The Joy of Holidays

A Blank Page

April 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

For those of us who speak and read the English language fluently, there are thousands of Bibles available to us.  In our home alone, we have at least one children’s Bible for each child, a handful of smaller sized Bibles for quick reference, and many full size Bibles – in various versions such as NIV, NKJ, and ESV.  But what about other cultures and languages?

A blank page.  That is what John 3:16 looks like in many languages.

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I’ve recently blogged about our experiences with the My Father’s World Exploring Countries and Cultures curriculum.  I mentioned that we have been enjoying reading the YWAM biographies on missionaries (from the Christian Heroes Then and Now series) that MFW has chosen to use within ECC.  The very first YWAM biography used in the curriculum was on Cameron Townsend.  The kids were intrigued by his life and how God had placed it upon his heart to translate the Bible into every language.

A few weeks ago, in our Hero Tale readings, the focus was on William Tyndale.  I was also able to find a Torchlighter video on Tyndale at the translation stepslibrary.  After viewing the video,  we completed a related worksheet on translating for kids.  The kids began making connections to Cameron Townsend and his start of Wycliffe Bible Translators.  All of the kids were interested in learning more, especially our five year old son.  I then remembered that, earlier in the school year, I had come across free online lessons from Wycliffe on Bible translation.  So, in an attempt to encourage our son in his new interest and to expose all of our children to the important work of Bible translation, we took a two week hiatus from MFW ECC to devote to learning about the Steps to Bible Translation.

 

The online downloadable lessons are free and easy to follow.  The only thing that I was missing was their recommended resource called ‘My Volcano Adventure Resource CD‘.  Fortunately, we were able to borrow it from a friend of ours.  The CD had audio of John 3:16 in other languages, audio samples of a language that uses both speaking and whistling, short video clips with true stories of the impact of Bible translation, etc.  Our friend also let us borrow the accompanying leader’s guide.  It had a LOT more ideas.  I incorporated a few ideas from the guide for Bible memory and additional activities, but I ended up mostly following the online lessons.  In my opinion, the online lessons seemed more focused and centered on the translation aspect.

translation(Above: ‘Alphabeti Spaghetti’ from lesson 5
in Wycliffe’s Steps to Bible Translation)

So, what did we do?  We planted seeds and learned how Bible translation is a long process.  It takes much time and prayer.  We were reminded of the 10/40 window and how there are over 2,000 language groups that do not have John 3:16 or any other portion of Scripture in their own language.  We prayed for Bible translators and for those still waiting for the Bible in their own heart language.  We learned about the International Phonetic Alphabet and caught a glimpse of how difficult creating an alphabet and translating languages might be.  We saw the importance of learning to read and of hiding God’s Word in our hearts.  We became more grateful for the access we have to God’s Word in our own language.  We memorized Hebrews 4:12 and had ‘sword drills’.  We caught a vision for the need for everyone to have the Bible in their own heart language.

Wycliffe Bible Translators have launched the Last Languages Campaign.  Their goal is to have a Bible translation project started for every language that needs it by the year 2025.

Please pray for Bible translation around the world.  

“Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will never pass away.”
(Matthew 24:35)

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Filed Under: Curriculum We Use, The Joy of God's Word, The Joy of Homeschool, The Joy of Missions
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