Living it

I am certainly not living the life I should.  I mean, don’t we all fall so short of what we hope for ourselves and short of what God has for us? 

We talked this week about what it is that pulls us away from what we should do.  Is it that we are too busy?  Too tired?  It is too hard to do _______ (fill in the blank______?

Well, I have not arrived, by any stretch, but as much as I fail, I occasionally do something right.  So often I think I hit the mark most with my children than with myself.

(Now after the past 2 weeks or so, I am not feeling too proud as a mom, but I am not sure that is truth I am leaning on…. another issue for another day..)

Anyway, last fall our church took over the management of a local food pantry.  I have always wanted to be more involved in service projects, but with 4 little kids it is hard to be able to do too much.  With our church so involved though,and knowing nearly all the adults working there I decided to get my older boys involved. 

 

allowing truth to be truth

So, what do you do when things do not go the way you hope?  When you are investing and see nothing coming from all your work?  When no matter what, all you feel like you are doing is correction/discipline, over and over.

I am not sure the right answer, honestly.  But I know that, just as God is still working on me, I must admit and allow for the fact that God is still working on each of their little hearts too.  I was, gently, reminded today that I am planting seeds daily.  I may not see those seeds (all of them) sprout, may not see much fruit, but if I continue to plant them, one day they will sprout and grow and hopefully bear fruit!

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Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the Earth.  He does not grow tired or weary, his understanding no one can fathom.

Isaiah 40:28

(our family memory verse this week)

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Discipleship ~ Part II

So, Tuesday  I shared some of the thoughts in my head, bouncing around (I am sure there is lots of open space for such thoughts to bounce….)

What does discipleship really look like?

How do we “do” it?

To whom do we disciple?

Many of these thoughts came from reading Radical by David Platt. 

 

While reading that book, I have listened to a few great podcasts too like :

Matt Chandler and Mission of God

Michael Fletcher @ Manna ReligionX

The underlying theme in all these places has been that it is not about God saving us to Save Us – it is about saving us so that we can live our lives glorifying HIM.  I just love this.  It is not about us.  Never was.  Never will be.  Wow.  I love this!

Discipleship {Part I}

What does discipleship really look like? 

How do we “do” it? 

To whom do we disciple?

Those are a few of the questions bouncing around in my head these days. 

 

While reading Radical, and listening to David Platt talk about what it means, how Jesus did it, and how we are called not only to go and tell, but to make disciples, I am chewing on how that looks in my life. 

First, I think I am called to disciple my children.  Why?  Well, before this week I could not specifically tell you, but while I was reading Titus 1:5-9 I read why I am called to do this.

For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, ⁶ namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.

Paul tells us in Titus that to be a leader in the church you must have only 1 wife, and children who are believers and not rebellious.  Why would he say this?  Because if you do not have your own house in order, how in the world are you going to tell someone else how to get theirs in order?

{not so} Patient

Sometimes as I am teaching my kids character traits, I wonder.  Okay, I wonder a lot, but during these certain session I wonder about something very specific.

I wonder if God is putting the words in my mouth for me to hear.  Not sure I like what I am wondering about … i.e.  - Who is this lesson really for?

For example I have been struggling with how to talk to my eldest about patience, about controlling his anger and acting appropriately.  So this morning we talked about his siblings.  How they were chosen just for him.  How God can build his muscle of patience through the things he has to deal with, with regards to them.

So, as we headed out to church I thought about that.  If I tell him this stuff, and I know it to be true, why do I get so impatient with him?  And those other “chosen” siblings of his?

Character Training (Revisited)

This seems to be the year of character training in our home.  I know, this should be something we do every year, but it seems to be of highest importance THIS year.  For months it was my youngest boy.  Now my oldest boy seems to be coming to the front of the discipline focus.

That is, until Kristen shared with me some things she gleaned from Laying Down the Rails on the way home from our house. 

I own this book.  Bought it in January I think.  I looked over a chapter about that time and shelved it.  It was not my favorite book.  But I knew, would be a great resource when I needed it.

Courageous Christians

Nest year, we plan to use the book Courageous Christians for weekly study. 

Courageous Christians: Devotional Stories for Family Reading

 

We will choose one person each week and read the story in this book and we will fill in our notebook page (see link at bottom).  I hope to take a few days each week to talk about that person.  A day to introduce them, maybe write their name out on the notebook page, look at their picture, talk about when they lived and what was going on.  Then, the next day read half the story?  I like to leave them thinking and hanging a little.  I want them to want more – to finish it.  But I want them to wonder how it ends.  I want them thinking about that person, trying to guess what choices they made and the results.  For at least a day or so. 

Back to the Drawing Board

Oh, our Monday is off to a start.  Not sure yet if it is a good one or not.

The school building is on lock-down again because the kids have been disrespecting stuff in there, making messes & not cleaning up, and in general making poor choices.  This impacts my mornings because I can no longer tell them to go do their math while I clean up – I have to go over when they do.

So I need to get my act together a bit better so that I am ready to go over to school when they are, and I can take care of the kitchen at lunch time or something.  Until then, we will manage to figure things out.

Meals & Chores

Finally I seem to be getting a plan again with meals.  It has been so long since I have cooked a nice meal for these people I live with!  I am tired of throwing things together, and I am quite certain they are tired of being served like that.

Tonight I am making a real meal.  A meal that I have not made, but have had the recipe in a file for a while.  Calypso Chicken with Down Island Salas (with asparagus on the side).  Sounds yummy & I even splurged on some strawberries for the salsa!

Magnificent Mondays

It's Monday, and I think I have come to recognize that I love Mondays. Instead of the typical dread that Monday usually brings others, I feel a sense of adventure. I look at the week ahead and see a blank slate, I can determine where I want to go and how I want to do this week. I look at our school schedule and I get excited about all the reading and learning that will happen.

Today is not just a normal Monday, but also the first day of February! A double Yeah!! A whole month before us! That means a new character trait focus for us. Last month we focused on obedience, this month patience. I am excited to see where God leads me and our children as we dive into patience and what that looks like in our lives. I am following the information offered HERE for our character training.


Still planting truths in the garden of my heart. I have found some young fruit already from the truths I have been working on last month - reminding myself to dwell on scripture and when a bump in the road happens I turn back to that same scripture. So I am excited about seeing even more fruit in the weeks and months to come. This next Scripture I am borrowing from Lisa @extravagantgrace - I love this simple and profound verse.

What a great verse to kick off this month, a month of love and hearts, a month of blessings others - a month of obeying. Lisa asked this question on her blog:

Friend, what is the one thing you will strive to obey the Lord in this month, as a demonstration of your love for Him?

My answer: I want to obey my Lord by being peaceful in troubling times, turning to him first to comfort me and calm. I want to choose to have faith that he is working in all that happens and that he will use it to bring himself Glory. I hope to obey his command to have peace, trust and faith in him.

Maybe one reason why I love Mondays is I get to revisit my gratitude journal and reflect on the many things I have to be thankful for, too many to list, but here are a few highlights:

31. days of being home and enjoying the slow pace of life, school and fun
32. blessing new friends with homemade bread - that they cherish
33. feeling a part of our new church, and starting to really feel like it is our new family
34. catching up on school, but not feeling rushed, just enjoying our books and the stories we are learning
35. watching my kids continue to delight in our piano and recalling songs they learned long ago
36. sunshine - and the promise of spring
37. hearing our first bird song while schooling and knowing more are to come
38. see God's abundance in our pantry and refrigerator and remembering his many blessings
39. seeing Robert enjoy his new job, and looking back over the last year and seeing Him move in our lives in a mighty way
40. excited about seeing my brother in Oregon one day soon, praying for it to happen in 2010
41. the upcoming Whole Heart conference later this month - so excited to hear Sally and all that God has laid on her heart, to visit with friends and have time away to recharge and be energized!
42. sharing prayers on my heart with my mom who I know will pray for me - that has been such a sweet gift - reconciliation after 17 years - so precious
43. being asked to pray over my child at night - him wanting those words spoken over him and for him
44. seeing my boys love each other through words and actions
45. maintaining my calm when #44 does not happen, and disciplining in patience and love