Social media can paint a pretty picture of perfection. Allow me to shine some truth in this area…there are NO perfect marriages! The grass isn’t greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it. We are all humans, filled with imperfections. Remove the false ideas from your mind, shower your spouse and marriage with grace, love, and forgiveness! No picture looks the same, paint your masterpiece with God’s help and leave comparison to the athletes.
I have the pleasure of being part of the launch team for Lisa Whittle’s new book, I Want God. Tonight I want to share on the section about “More Than Popularity.”
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. Luke 6:26
“When we give ourselves away to other people, we can never fully give our whole selves to God.” What did these words mean. I thought we were to give ourselves to help others, to serve and invest in others. Yes, this is true, but that is not what Lisa is talking about here. No, she is talking about us getting to a place where we secretly, down deep, hunger for approval, for spotlights, for recognition and when we come to this place, we set God’s words aside and seek out our own agenda. “Popularity never lets life be about simple things because it serves a bigger agenda.”
“God didn’t create people to become other people’s gods. He knows that when we become other people’s gods we will not fight the same, love the same, risk the same. He knows we won’t preach the same. He knows we will settle and become watered down people. He knows it will make us dilute bitter-tasting truth so people can swallow it better. “
“We live in a culture that says Make me popular, while Jesus says Become less. It’s a daily fight to want God more than ourselves.” Talk about putting yourself in check. Whose’s agenda are you seeking?
God help us to see through our own selfish desires. I pray you break our need for attention and approval. I want you! I Want God!
*Click here, to preorder your copy of I Want God by Lisa Whittle
“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember;
involve me and I’ll understand.” -Chinese Proverb
If you are homeschooling more than two grades at a time, I encourage you to read the nine reasons to have older siblings teach their younger siblings, listed below.
1. Hearing the same statement from a different person can trigger a light bulb.
2. Having the older student teach is reaffirming they know the information.
3. The child is more apt to remember the information they are explaining to their brother or sister.
4. It frees mom/teacher up to help another child needing special attention.
5. It creates stronger bonds between siblings.
6. It boosts the child’s confidence when they are able to teach a subject to their brother or sister.
7. It promotes creative thinking in the child that is helping their sibling.
8. It encourages independent learning from mom/teacher.
9. It creates special memories!
I couldn’t believe what I heard, Robin Williams died…suicide!!! Robin Williams was amazing actor and brought so many smiles to my face as so many others. Only God knows what this man was dealing with inside himself, the battles, the demons. To us he seemed happy and joyful, but down deep he was searching, he was missing something very valuable…God! Money, popularity, fancy toys, and big houses can’t fill the void in your life. There is only one that can complete you, the one that formed you. He gives us life and life to the fullest.
Starting early, we have taught our children to read God’s word, to pray, and to seek his face in time of trouble. We have emphasized, he is there for you at any time…he loves you and wants a relationship with you. We know if they don’t have their own personal relationship with God the father, then they too will search all their life for something to fill that void! One of the ways we encourage Bible reading is JBQ. We have had days in the past, where one or two of the girls didn’t want to study, but after encouraging and not giving in, they can’t wait for this season to start!
Here are some Quotation Questions they will be working on this year:
-“Acts 3:6 …Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
-“Acts 16:31 …Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household.”
-“Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
-John 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
-“Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
-Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
-“Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
-“Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
-“1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
-“1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
-Mark 16:15 …Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
–Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
*Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) was created and designed to help children develop a love for the Bible and an understanding that its truth can guide their lives daily. Junior Bible Quiz offers a fun, exciting way to motivate children to understand the all-important truths in God’s Word. Through cooperative learning, children work together on teams to learn and understand the questions and answers from the Bible Fact-Pak. Then using cooperative competition the children meet with other teams for a fun quizzing match. There are twenty questions in a match, with two teams of quizzers trying to beat each other to the buzzers to get the first shot at the answers. It has been said that JBQ is the fastest growing discipleship program in children’s ministry.
Have you ever said to yourself, “Why did I marry this man? What did I see in him? He doesn’t even love me and I don’t think I love him either.”
If the answer is yes, then picture with me this: Does the leg say to the body, “I don’t like the direction you are walking, therefore I’m going to find another body to belong to.” Or does the body say to the head, “I don’t like how you think, so I’m leaving to find another head that agrees with me.” No, because they are one. Ephesians 5:31 says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” The term “one flesh” means that just as our bodies are one whole entity and cannot be divided into pieces, so God intended it to be with marriage. There are no longer two individuals, but now there is one entity (a married couple)…Therefore, how can we separate from our body?
I know there are challenges in marriage. Some of our deepest emotional wounds can come from our spouse. They are the closest to our heart and know how to reach places that should not be reached, but that is not a reason to gruesomely pull “the body” apart.
When these thoughts come into your mind, you must stop them immediately. Do not feed or meditate on them…Instead, pray and replace them with promises of God’s love and truth.
My prayer today is for the married couples that are suffering, the ones that are ready to throw in the towel. God I ask you to speak to their hearts. I pray forgiveness takes place, pride gives in, and walls are crushed. Only you know the personal struggle each couple is facing this week, give them the strength to press on. Allow healing to take place where words have ripped them to the core. You are a miracle working God, not just in our health, but in our marriages and these marriages are sick…they are depleted and exhausted. I pray for a breath of fresh air and an amazing amount of love to wash over these marriages today. In Jesus Name Amen
*The above blog is not referring to emotional or physical abuse. Please talk to someone if abuse is happening in your marriage.
We need more of God, but we do not really want Him. The truth is, until the want matches the need, nothing will ever change. Needing without wanting is just a really good idea that never sees light. (Excerpt from Lisa Whittle’s new book, I Want God)
*Do you want Him or just need Him? Something to think about this weekend.
To PREORDER Lisa’s book, I Want God, CLICK here.
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” -Benjamin Franklin
Fourth day into our homeschool year and things are running smoothly. This would not be the case, if I hadn’t spent time planning out our daily schedule. I have been homeschooling for four years, but this is my first year to teach three different grades at the same time. I knew that I would need a game plan. After searching online, I found Daily Homeschool Schedules by Confessions of a HomeSchooler…Erica has even posted a Word Doc that is editable. I was able to download the schedule and customize it for each of the girls. I then put each of their Daily Schedules in a paper protector and they are able to cross off their assessment once completed. If they finish early, they can take those extra minutes for free time or choose to work ahead. I plan to share each of the girls schedules in the future. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment.
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. Prov. 21:5
2014-2015 School Year Curriculum
The Artist (4th Grade):
Bible: Apologia “Who is God”
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Science: Apologia (Zoology 1)
Writing: IEW Ancient World
Grammar: First Language
Reading: Sonlight Collection
Read-Alouds: Sonlight Collection
Spelling: Spelling Power
Writing: Handwriting without Tears
Spanish: Rosetta Stone
Activities: JBQ & Piano
The Singer (2nd Grade):
Bible: Apologia “Who is God”
Math: A Beka
Science: Apologia (Zoology 1)
Grammar: First Langauge
Phonics: A Beka
Reading: Sonlight Collection
Read-Alouds: Sonlight Collection
Spelling: Spelling Power
Handwriting: Handwriting without Tears
Spanish: Rosetta Stone
Activities: JBQ & Piano
Little Hummingbird (Kindergarten)
Bible: Apologia “Who is God”
Math: A Beka
Science: Apologia (Zoology 1)
Grammar: First Langauge
Phonics: A Beka
Reading: Sonlight Collection
Read-Alouds: Sonlight Collection
Handwriting: Handwriting without Tears
Spanish: Rosetta Stone
Activities: JBQ
Spiderman/Hulk
Run, Jump, & Run Some More…hehe
Four weeks off and we our back at it. Yesterday was our first day of school and it went great! I had individual schedules laid out for each of the girls which helped the day run smoothly. I’m very optimistic about this school year and I am very excited about having all three girls together for the first year.
I had special goodies on their desk when they entered the school room this morning! Just a few simple things, but stuff that brings huge smiles to their faces.
A big THANK YOU to The Johnson Family…we ALWAYS need pencils. I can’t remember how many times I heard last year, “I can’t find a pencil!”
I often get asked, what does your toddler do when you are teaching the girls? Well, he’s all over the place, but one of his learning activities consist of the Preschool Prep Company Presents “Meet the Colors”, “Meet the Shapes”, “Meet the Numbers” and “Meet the Letters” DVDs.
I pray everyone enjoys their school year and don’t forget to HAVE FUN!!!
Marriage is made up of two people from different upbringings, personalities, ways of thinking, and maybe even different cultures. With all that going on, you add financial strain, pressures of work, a house to maintain and a couple of kids to raise and you have a pressure cooker ready to pop, unless…you have God at your center.
At the top of a pressure cooker is a regulator. The regulator releases the steam from inside the pot when it has built up. God is our regulator.
A couple of days a go my feelings were hurt by my husband. At that moment I could have exploded, put up a wall or even left the house, but I didn’t. Instead, I went to my closet and cried out to Jesus. I allowed Him to regulate the steam that was built up inside of me. I allowed God to remove the “me” out of the situation.
If ever you think you can handle your marriage on your own, be careful. It will be only a matter of time before you see an explosion! Don’t wait until it’s too late…ask God to be the regulator in your life and your marriage. Allow him to remove the steam and for healing to take place.
From The Committed Heart 