Counter Cultural Mom

Best Caramel Corn

2011-10-23T22:16:00.000-04:00

I found this great recipe for Caramel Corn last week. It got rave reviews and now everyone is craving it. It's super fast and easy, too, so I can make it whenever we need a yummy snack!

Here are some of the comments this recipe generated:

Our 11 year old was skeptical and didn't want to even taste it. But once he did, he kept coming back for more. He remarked "I don't like the kind of caramel corn you get at the fair, but this homemade stuff is pretty good!" Not that we've ever been to a fair or bought caramel corn anywhere....I'm not sure where he came up with that one!

Keep your hands off my caramel corn!

Oldest son (teenage boy): "MMMMMMMMM" (pops handful into mouth), "MMMMMMMMMM" (another handful), "MMMMMMMMMMMMMM" (more chewing noises)....., "I love caramel corn!"

11 yo: "I love MOM! Having mom is like having infinite caramel corn, because she can always make more!"

9 yo, always the business man: "This stuff is awesome, we need to package it and sell it!"

I can't wait to see how much they love this adaptation, Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans and White Chocolate!

Blind Spots

2011-09-14T12:50:00.000-04:00

I read this fantastic article yesterday about blind spots we may have as Christian parents. The original article is directed to homeschoolers, but I think every Christian parent would benefit from a thoughtful and prayerful reading of this article.

It is always a temptation to rely on our formulas to bring about fruit in our kids' lives. We need to be faithful to raise our children in a godly way, but never forget that "it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." (Phil. 2:13).

May they see us living out our faith in dependence upon Christ. May we live among them as humble sinners in need of a Savior, not as Pharisees, relying on our righteous rags.

Take a few minutes and read this important article!!

Updated Value of Motherhood

2011-09-06T13:47:00.000-04:00

I'll be sharing my updated talk The Value of Motherhood tonight (September 6th) at the Mommy's Jammies Night for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. Listen live for free at 9 pm EST, with a Facebook party to follow. I'll be giving away a subscription to My Audio School as a doorprize. You'll find the details about joining us here.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones

2011-08-10T00:35:00.003-04:00

Our pastor preached a beautiful message on Sunday which referenced my dad, Bob Franklin, and Beth Pettit, both of whom passed into glory on Thursday August 4th. I have taken much comfort from his words, and the Lord has been encouraging us each day with small mercies, even though the cross we are bearing feels so heavy right now.

My dad died in a motorcycle accident in California. He had just been to Canada and was on his way to Yosemite. Someone told me that they are praying that we will be cared for by God's people on every step of our journey. I wanted to record a few ways I have felt God's tender care for us this week.

*Pastor Boyd shared that Christians are never alone in their death. It has brought much comfort to know that my dad wasn't alone on the road at the time of his accident. The Lord was with truly with him. Jesus was interceding for him even at the moment of his death, and the Holy Spirit was with him as he crossed the river into Jesus arms.

*My dad decided to get a blackberry and text messaging the week before he left on this trip. He still hadn't really figured out how to use it, but he had some texts on his phone from me and from my sister. The coroner contacted me first through text, then called me when I didn't immediately respond. If my dad had not decided (after years of us begging him to get email and text!) to get a blackberry before this trip, it would have been much, much harder for the coroner to know who to contact. We were able to be notified within 24 hours because of my dad's decision to join the digital age.

*I learned that the coroner who took care of my dad's body--and who called me with the horrible news--is a Christian. It blessed me so much to know that the Lord sent a brother in Christ to minister to my dad's body, and to my spirit.

*We have been putting together photos to show at the visitation. I have been beside myself because I couldn't find any recent photos of my dad with my children. Much of what I could find was taken many years ago, and my two youngest children weren't in any of the pictures. We spent a lot of time with my dad, but he was always the one holding the camera; not typically the one in the photos. We took all the time we spent with him for granted, and didn't prioritize snapping his picture. But I found a photo that was taken a few months ago with all the kids in it, even our new baby. What a blessing. Thank you, Jesus! I don't even remember taking it, but I know the Lord ordained that photo. Our children were so relieved when I found that photo.

*Today my aunt sent two precious photos of me with dad at my wedding. I had never seen these photos before and they mean so very much to me. Also, a local photographer who had taken some pictures of my dad two years ago sent me all of his proofs, to use as I wish. Pictures mean so much to us at this time, and her generosity really touched my heart.

*We got dad's camera from the coroner today. I was praying last night that there would be a good picture of him on it, and that we would get to see some of what he had seen in his travels in Canada. What a joy it was to find the best picture I have ever seen of my dad. It looks like he got a tripod and took several pictures of himself with beautiful scenery in the background. Also, there are hundreds of photos of scenery. The last picture was of the road and his bike, and according to the time stamp on the camera, it seems to have been taken less than two hours before he died. The photos right before that one were of a whale. I'm sure my dad was thrilled to see and whale and snap several pictures of it. He loved nature and loved getting good pictures!

*Most encouraging of all have been the many testimonies from dad's friends and acquaintances. We know dad was the boldest witness for Christ that any of us have ever known, and that continues to be a theme. We pray the Lord will be magnified and the Gospel clearly proclaimed in the funeral service. Dad always pointed to Christ in his life, and we want to honor Christ in his death. Pray with us that his memorial service will bring glory to the One who meant everything to my dad.

Please pray for us, that the Lord will give joy in the midst of the tears, and that He will give special grace to my husband as he prepares a eulogy that will honor my dad and bring glory to Christ.

Updated Sibling Loyalty Talk

2011-07-12T08:50:00.000-04:00

Here is my recently updated talk on Sibling Loyalty, which I gave at this year's National Biblical Parenting Conference in Atlanta. Updates reflect new strategies for dealing with older children. We continue to see much fruit in our children's relationships with one another. I pray you will be blessed as you listen to this talk!

Parenting Vision and Strategy Conference

2011-01-17T15:19:00.000-05:00

I'll be giving my talk on Building Loyalty Between Siblings at the Atlanta Parenting Vision and Strategy Conference in March, put on by the National Center for Biblical Parenting. I hope if you live in the Atlanta area that you'll make time for this excellent conference! Click on the linked button in the sidebar of this blog for more details.

More info about the Conference:

Parenting Vision and Strategy Conference Promotion Video from Scott Turansky on Vimeo.

Parenting Tip video: Showing Honor to siblings and parents

Parenting Tip video: Blaming

From the archives: Is Wiping Noses Spiritual?

2010-12-13T09:49:00.000-05:00

Life is CRAZY right now around here. It's a whole lot of just putting one foot in front of the other, climbing a mountain of haircuts, doctors appointments, schoolwork and basketball practices. It's easy to feel like you aren't doing anything meaningful when every day is so full of the mundane. I needed this reminder from CounterCultural Mom's archives today...I pray it will encourage you, too!

Martin Luther said that, “what you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God.” How can this be? Wiping noses (not to mention rear ends) gets pretty old after awhile. Sometimes a Christian mother’s heart grows weary of the work her calling demands, and she doesn’t feel very spiritual.

How can we maintain a vision for the holiness of the calling God has given to the Christian mother, particularly when that calling doesn’t feel very spiritual?

We need to remember that our faith is about fact, not feelings. Our culture places such an emphasis on what we feel. We think if we feel spiritual, then surely we are spiritual! If we feel un-spiritual, then that must be true, as well.

Are feelings the authenticator of truth? The Bible says in Jeremiah that “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” The truth is, we cannot rely on our feelings to tell us whether what we are doing is spiritual. We must rely on that one thing which never changes: God’s Word.

Let’s look at the Proverbs 31 woman. When we look at the passage, it is full of her work and sacrifices. Not one mention is made of whether she feels “spiritual” when she “gets up while it is still dark”, “provides food for her family”, “sets about her work vigorously”, or “watches over the affairs of her household”. Her feelings are not why she is rightly looked to as a model of the Christian woman. Her obedience is.

Obedience in the Christian life is both a privilege and a spiritual duty. Therefore, the Christian mother can always know that if she has been obedient to the Lord in serving her family, then what she does in her house “is worth as much as if [she] did it up in heaven for our Lord God.” And that is spiritual.

Family Worship During the Advent Season

2010-10-25T17:35:00.003-04:00

Do you have a desire to start family devotions? Are you looking for some ways to turn your childrens' hearts toward the Lord during the upcoming holiday season? The Advent season begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving!

In my podcast Preparing Hearts for Christmas, prepared for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo, I share encouragement and practical tips for implementing family worship during this special time of year.

It's not too early to start planning for a meaningful Christmas season!

Want to read more about this topic? Here are the posts I refer to in this message:

Christmas Devotional Books

Books for teaching Christmas hymns

Journaling During the Holidays

The Jesse Tree

Using an Advent Wreath

Devotions to use with the Advent Wreath

Instructions for making an Advent Wreath, and links for purchasing one online

Advent Calendars and Nativity Sets

What we do for New Year's

The Advent Book

Music Reviews for my favorite Christmas albums: Your King Has Come and A Midwinters Eve

Family Devotions During Christmas (also includes Preparing Hearts for Christmas podcast)

Introducing.....

2010-09-05T20:29:00.002-04:00

"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2:5

"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord gives grace and glory. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:10

Keeper Grace Evert

born 9/2/10, 8 lbs., 20 1/2 inches

Half Way Grown

2010-08-07T19:09:00.000-04:00

We have a tradition in our home. When each of our sons turns 9 years old he knows that sometime that year he will receive his very own sword during a ceremony in which we celebrate that he is half way grown.

During the ceremony dad reads a charge to the celebrated boy, praising him for qualities of excellence we see in his character and challenging him to continue growing in godly manhood. Dad also chooses a scripture verse to share which he feels exemplifies important points about that boy's character.

We purchase these beautiful swords from Vision Forum. We prefer the William Wallace sword, as there is plenty of room on the blade for engraving. Before presenting the sword to our son, we have the reference to the chosen scripture verse engraved on the blade along with a Latin phrase which encapsulates something we appreciate about that particular boy....for example, "honor" or "strength".

After reading the charge, dad has the boy kneel down and he "knights" him with the sword on each shoulder. Then it is the rest of the family's turn to each share something they appreciate about this special boy.

After the ceremony dad mounts the sword on the wall in the boys' bedroom as a reminder of those things which we appreciate about him, as well as an ongoing challenge to conduct himself as one who is now half way grown, and well on his way to manhood.

Favorite Summer Recipes blog carnival: Vietnamese Chicken Salad

2010-07-04T23:09:00.000-04:00

This post is for the Favorite Summer Recipes blog carnival on Mentoring Moments. If you have a favorite summer recipe you'd like to share, please email it to Kellie at mentoringmoments@aol.com by July 7th for the blog carnival, which will run July 12.

My absolute favorite thing to make and eat in the summer is Vietnamese Chicken Salad. The friend who gave me this recipe says it is "woman-y". It certainly seems that way in my house, because I'm the only person who will touch it.

Which is just fine by me!

It calls for a few specialty ingredients. Believe me, it will be worth it! Sometimes my husband takes the boys out for a "boys night" and I enjoy preparing this yummy meal for myself. It's also great for "girls night" if you want to invite some friends over to share it with you!

If you are making this just for yourself, you may want to cut this recipe down to make a smaller portion. In truth, this is more than a recipe; it is a meal in itself. There are 3 components to it: the chicken salad, the rice noodles and the matchstick vegetables.

Here are instructions for each part:

Chicken salad:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp. minced ginger (I substitute about 1/8 tsp dried, ground ginger but fresh is probably tastiest!)
1 tsp. minced garlic

Boil the chicken in the chicken broth and shred the meat, reserving the broth. Process the remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth and mix with the chicken. Chill in the refrigerator.

Rice Noodles:
reserved chicken broth

1 bag rice noodles from grocer's Asian food section
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp peanut oil
2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves, diced

Cook the rice noodles in the leftover broth; drain noodles. Mix together vinaigrette ingredients and add to the drained noodles. Chill in the refrigerator.

Matchstick vegetables:
Serve Vietnamese Chicken Salad and Rice Noodles with matchstick vegetables. Cut red onion, carrots, cucumber and red pepper into long thin strips.

Sometimes I can't wait for the "chill in the refrigerator" step....I have to eat it right away. But then I always put the leftovers in to chill and they are even better the second day. And the third.

OK, I admit it. I never halve the recipe. I always make the full batch and then just eat it every day for lunch and dinner until it's gone. Yummy!

Supermom and the Ice Cream Bombe

2010-06-04T23:56:00.001-04:00

Superheroes of the Faith

Are you perpetuating the myth of Supermom? I am guilty of doing so. I play Supermom when someone says, “I just don’t know how you do it all!” and I just smile instead of answering, “I don’t do it all!”

I also perpetuate the myth when I put the women I admire on a pedestal. In my mind, their sins must be few and far between, whereas mine loom large. Their devotion to God is always passionate, while mine is fickle.

The funny thing is.....

You can read the rest of my post here, on Mentoring Moments for Christian Women

Ice Cream Bombe recipe

I love making ice cream cakes in the summer! It's simple, and it doesn't heat up the kitchen, and everyone just loves them! Check out my easy, fun recipe here, on Mentoring Moments for Christian Women.

While you're there, look around! We have a large staff of Christian women writing for Mentoring Moments. Some of us are young, others are grandmothers; some are married, others are widowed. All of us are passionate about encouraging other women in their Christian walk. We changed our look and our format several months ago. If you haven't stopped by in awhile, I hope you'll visit us today!

It's a......

2010-05-14T21:55:00.000-04:00

Girl!

The Dr. and ultrasound tech were only 90% sure, so although we may be buying pink, we won't be taking the tags off just yet. We are still in shock!

Protecting Your Marriage

2010-04-26T10:08:00.001-04:00

Many of us are like the foolish woman who tears her house down with her own hands. In this podcast, I share about ways women sabotage their marriage, and encourage you to allow God to transform you into a wise woman who builds her house.

There are several posts following this one which link to resources on this topic, as well as other posts I've written about marriage.

Posts and Podcasts relating to Protecting your Marriage

2010-04-21T00:40:00.002-04:00

Articles about Marriage:

I mention a few books and websites in my talk on Protecting Your Marriage. All of the links for those can be found in this post on my CounterCultural Mom blog.

Sarah's Daughters

Redefining Marriage

Encourage One Another

Sacrifice in Marriage

A Bigger Thump

Our Family Rules

Safety on the Internet

Advice for a Lasting Marriage

The Discontentment Highway

It has been a joy and a privilege to write for Mentoring Moments for Christian Women. The group of women writers gathered there is truly special. Check out our section on Marriage for a host of great articles!

Mentoring Moments for Christian Women: Marriage

Secrets to Contentment

A frustrated perfectionist shares about her journey to contentment. Topics include marriage, children, homemaking, body image and finances.

Posts about Contentment:

Keys to Contentment

Choose Your Own Adventure

Like a Weaned Child

The Ripple Effect

The Testimony of a Godly Woman
If we love our husbands and children, in actions and in truth, the Lord will use it as a testimony to them, to the world, to our own hearts and to the ages

The Multiple Personality Mom
As women, we often experience a wide range of emotions on any given day. To our husbands and children--and even to ourselves--these mood changes can seem like multiple personalities. You may meet some of your "other selves" in this encouraging, allegorical podcast

For more podcasts and articles, please visit my other websites!

CounterCultural School

Mentoring Moments for Christian Women

Sarah's Daughters

2010-04-20T22:20:00.000-04:00

When my husband and I got married 18 years ago I proclaimed in my vows, “I joyfully submit my life to yours”. I know I raised my voice a few decibels so everyone in the church would hear my intentions! At 20 years of age, I didn’t understand the full ramifications of what I was agreeing to do. I thought submitting to David would mean letting him win if we had a disagreement, always giving him the biggest brownie and generally letting him have control of the television remote.

Over the years I have come to realize that submitting to my husband means so much more than that. To be a submissive wife means honoring his wishes even when they conflict with mine, seeking to meet his needs before my own, and crucifying my pride. In short, it means loving him more than I love myself and proving it in word and deed.

It has not been easy for me to become a submissive wife. A gentle and quiet spirit is not really part of my nature. If only the holy women of the past had made themselves beautiful with a passionate and opinionated spirit. Then I would have it covered! Choosing to yield to this man feels risky. What if he doesn’t do things my way, and I think my way is clearly best?

The command to submit to my husband is difficult because it brings me face to face with so many of my sins. I am prideful, thinking I know better than my husband does. I worry he will make a mistake, instead of trusting God’s sovereignty over our lives. I often want to be served, rather than to serve.

It helps to remember that submission to my husband is also submission to the Lord. We are encouraged in 1 Peter 3 to be like the holy women of the past, who put their hope in God. Let us be known as “Sarah’s daughters”, women who “do what is right and do not give way to fear,” 1 Peter 3:6.

The heart of submission is not found merely in letting my husband make the important decisions. It is much more radical than that. The heart of submission is in choosing to lay aside my right to “be all that I can be” in order to help him “be all that HE can be”. It was a real turning point in my marriage, and in both our lives spiritually, when I began helping my husband implement his vision for our family instead of trying to get him to implement mine.

Many times when we think about our own marriages we are tempted to consider which excuses we can raise so as not to heed God’s Word on this matter. Each woman reading this is married to a sinner, so surely excuses abound. Our heart, however, needs to be bent in the other direction. We should be considering how we can do more to follow this teaching, rather than less.

What is one step that you can take toward being more submissive? I highly recommend Martha Peace’s scripture-filled book The Excellent Wife. This book is a valuable aid to the Christian wife. Mrs. Peace addresses common struggles faced by all married women, as well as difficult issues such as what to do when your husband is in sin, how to live with a non-Christian husband, handling anger, and much more.

For more about this topic, listen to Molly’s podcast The Testimony of a Godly Woman, which can be downloaded from her Countercultural Mom blog at http://www.counterculturalmom.blogspot.com.

Resources for Protecting Your Marriage Talk

2010-04-20T22:19:00.003-04:00

This resource list goes with the message Protecting Your Marriage, which I'll be giving this week for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. If you miss it, don't worry! I'll post it here on my blog soon, too.

Only a very small fraction of my talk focuses on the topic of s*x, but most of the resources I suggest are about that topic! I guess that's because I've found very little on this topic which is both helpful and biblical, and so I want to highlight those few gems that are out there.

I only mention a few books and audio podcasts in my talk Protecting Your Marriage. Here are the links to those suggestions.

S*x and the Supremacy of Christ by John Piper can be downloaded in audio, video or as a book for free.
free pdf book download
audio/video Part 1 and Part 2

The book is obviously longer than the audio. The entire 2004 Desiring God conference was dedicated to this topic, and there are many more free audios available.

One I have listened to which was very good is Carolyn Mahaney's message S*x, Romance and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Wife Needs to Know.

Several years ago I went to an Intimate Issues conference led by Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus, and found their book by the same name to be helpful at that time. I don't remember much of it now, and no longer have the book on hand....but some may find it useful if they are struggling in this area.

Other links mentioned in the talk:

We are using Covenant Eyes internet filter to protect everyone in our home from unwanted images on the internet. They also offer accountability. Use this link or my promo code CounterCultural to get 30 days of free service.

Covenant Eyes internet filtering and accountability

More about our experience with Covenant Eyes and internet filtering

One of my favorite books on marriage is The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. It is very biblical, full of Scripture, challenging and encouraging at the same time. Every Christian wife should have a copy!

New Audio Seminars on Marriage and on Dyslexia

2010-04-20T22:19:00.000-04:00

I'll be speaking twice this week for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. First, on Wednesday April 21 at 1 pm CST, I'll be sharing on the topic Protecting Your Marriage. We'll talk about ways women sabotage their marriage, with a view to growing in grace as a wise woman who builds her house, rather than being a foolish one who tears it down with her own hands.

Then on Thursday at 10 a.m. CST I'll speak on the topic Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child. This practical seminar is full of ideas and resources, as well as encouragement from our own journey down this path. I'll also be giving away one free subscription to My Audio School as a doorprize during Thursday's talk.

Each session will last about an hour, and will be followed by Q and A. You can phone in to listen, or log in online if you'd like to hear these preview sessions. Here are the details:

Join Us Live Online at http://www.Talk-a-Latte.com/chat (The room is closed except during the live sessions. The chat-the room will be open about 15 minutes before we go live. No password needed to join us while we are recording.)

OR here are the call-in details if you prefer to phone in:

Phone Number: (724) 444-7444

Call ID: 38181#

Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

2010-04-04T08:56:00.003-04:00

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

Dinner according to Poor Richard's Almanac

2010-03-20T22:35:00.000-04:00

In a house full of boys, there is always a race to get the last pork chop, last pancake, or last scoop of mac and cheese. Never mind that I always make plenty, and we frequently have left overs....the boys seem to live in mortal fear that someone else will get more food than they do.

Tonight at dinner our ten-year-old started loading lettuce and tomato onto a second hamburger before he had even finished eating his first one. When my husband asked him why he was busy constructing a second burger when he still had half a burger on his plate, he answered, "Always plan ahead. That's what Ben Franklin always said....'Look ahead or you will fall behind.'"

Apparently he was listening when we read about Ben Franklin earlier this week. But somehow, I don't think that's what Ben meant by his famous saying!

A Bigger Thump

2010-03-10T23:46:00.001-05:00

When our youngest son turned four years old, he had one thing on his mind. He was so excited on his birthday that finally, at long last, he could make a bigger thump.

He practiced all day, jumping up and down, and glorying in the sound of his big, loud, four-year-old thump.

Isn't this what we are all striving to do? To make a bigger thump? Each of us wants to have an impact on our world. We want to know that our life made a difference.

Sometimes it doesn't feel like our daily life makes much of an impact, especially when it is spent caring for young children and being a keeper at home.

Yet in God's economy, we are making a very big thump, indeed! When we love our husbands and children, as we are instructed to do in Titus 2, God will use it as a testimony to them, to the world, to our own hearts, and to the ages.

Tiramisu Bread Pudding

2010-02-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I tried a variation on this Tiramisu Bread Pudding recipe that I found on The Kitchn. I was dying for Tiramisu, but I couldn't find Ladyfingers ( a key component) at my grocery store. I stumbled upon this recipe which uses bread instead, and I have to say, we loved it even more than regular Tiramisu!

It's hard to get some of the specialty items called for in their recipe, so I made some substitutions. I have to say, this bread pudding got rave reviews all around, from adults and kids alike. For the original, decadent recipe, check out the post on The Kitchn. Here's my slightly less decadent version:

Bread Pudding:

12 slices toasted white bread
2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream or half and half
1/2 cup brewed coffee, cooled
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
6 oz. chocolate chips

Toast the white bread, and then tear it into chunks. Put it in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Bring the milk and half and half just to a boil, then remove from the heat.
Combine the eggs, coffee and sugar.
Slowly whisk in 1/4 of the hot milk mixture. Whisking in a little at a time will help keep the mixture from curdling.
When the mixture is well combined, slowly add in the rest of the hot milk, whisking constantly.
Add in the chocolate chips and stir until they are melted.
Pour everything over the bread, pressing down on the bread so that it soaks up the chocolate mixture.
The original recipe suggests letting it steep for 30 minutes, but I popped mine straight into the oven.
Bread pudding usually does best when you put the pan inside another, larger pan filled half full with hot water. This keeps the eggs from scrambling. I took my chances and omitted this step and my recipe turned out fine.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes at 350F.

Tiramisu Cream

While the Bread Pudding is baking, mix up the cream sauce. This is a very broad variation on the original recipe, but I can't get mascarpone cheese in my town, and I didn't have any heavy whipping cream that night. I also don't like using raw eggs in recipes. Suffice it to say, my recipe probably wasn't gourmet perfection like the original, but we thought it was wonderful.

2/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 package neufchatel cream cheese
1/2 small container Cool Whip.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and salt, beating well. Fold in the Cool Whip.

Assembling the pudding:

The original recipe says to refrigerate the pudding until firm before assembling the layers. We simply couldn't wait, however, so I served this dish warm. It was delicious and no one could get enough. We never got to try it cold, so I'll just have to make it again sometime!

Whether you chill the pudding, or just let it sit until it's not too hot to handle, here is how to assemble the layers:

Cut a slice of bread pudding and plate it. Then, with a good knife, carefully cut the pudding in half so that you have a bottom layer and a top layer.

Spread the bottom layer with some of the Tiramisu Cream. Sprinkle some cocoa powder over the cream.

Place the top layer of pudding on top of the cream, and spread it with more Tiramisu Cream. Sprinkle the top layer with cocoa powder and serve.

Enjoy!!

Sauerkraut + Cleaning = ????

2010-01-19T21:43:00.000-05:00

"Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me." Psalm 66: 16

Our youngest son is turning 5 this week. The moment they placed him in my arms
I told my husband, "I want to have another one right away!" But that has not
been the Lord's will.

After almost 5 years of hoping and praying to have another baby, I got a wake-up call this fall when I realized I'll be turning 40 soon and time is running out for me.

The past few months have been an emotional time of soul searching and renewed fervency in prayer for another baby. We have also been praying for peace to accept the Lord's will, if the answer is "no." My husband and I have both drawn strength from the hymn,

"Whate'er my God ordains is right, Holy His will abideth.
I will be still whate'er he does, and follow where He guideth.
He is my God, though dark my road, He holds me that I shall not fall.
Wherefore to Him I leave it all."

Last week we learned the happy and surprising news that I am expecting baby #5!! My husband was beginning to become suspicious of all the cleaning I've been doing. I wanted to believe it was because I finally got fed up with dust and had turned over a new leaf. He also noticed that I've been cooking all kinds of new dishes, many that I've never even eaten before, such as sauerkraut and Low Country Boil. Although I hardly dared to hope, it turns out that he was right. We are amazed and humbled by God's goodness, and feel so very blessed.

I always appreciate the comments and emails from so many of you, letting me know you are praying for me. That is one of the very best things about blogging! If the Lord brings me to mind, I covet your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby. The Lord has been giving me great peace to this point, enabling me to rest in Him, which is a great blessing.

As I'm sure you can imagine, people are already speculating whether this will be boy # 5 or our first girl. You might be interested to know that a girl has not been born into my husband's family for about 70 years, and my youngest nephew was baby boy #13 for our family! Needless to say, we're not holding our breath for a girl!

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name." 1 Chronicles 29: 13

Clean

2010-01-14T00:14:00.000-05:00

Once school starts, it is hard for me to find time for any cleaning beyond the daily maintenance needed to keep things running around here. The washing machine never seems to stop, and neither does the dishwasher. But when it comes to things like dusting and organizing drawers, I find it hard to keep up.

My mother-in-law is here for an extended stay this winter and she and I decided to tackle the beast during our last week of winter break. She's been washing walls, woodwork and windows while I've been cleaning out closets, knocking down cobwebs and dusting ceiling fans and furniture.

One day we kicked up so much dust around here that three fire alarms kept tripping all day, blaring a "combustible materials" warning! My husband has been teasing me that I turned the house into a grain silo by disturbing the dusty status quo.

But now it is done. The whole house looks clean, all at the same time! I had forgotten what that looked like, and what it felt like.

I often feel overwhelmed during the school year with the magnitude of tasks that are being left undone, with no time or energy at the end of the day to tackle them. For me, this is the hardest part of homeschooling. It's not the kids or the lesson planning that gets to me. It's the feeling that I'm never quite on top of the housework that leaves me frustrated at the end of a long day.

But this week, our first week back to school, has been very peaceful. I feel rather caught up, for the first time in....well, a very long time. It feels good!

All I want for Christmas

2009-12-23T23:27:00.000-05:00

I'm worried that my 7 year old has scurvy.

What else is a mother to think when a child loses 3 teeth in less than 24 hours? Two on top and one on bottom. He had previously lost his other top front tooth, so he was already looking pretty gummy. The picture at the top of this post was taken right after he lost the first one.

This is what he looked like 10 minutes later, after he lost the one on bottom.

The next day he lost a third tooth, but the pictures of that didn't turn out too well.

This next picture was taken exactly one week later. Two of the three lost teeth are already starting to grow back in!

Whew. I guess he doesn't have scurvy after all.

I had to preserve this memory for posterity's sake, though. We'll want to remember this on his 16th birthday, right? Or when he gets married. So we recorded this little Vlog of the adorable toothless boy singing an old Christmas favorite....

Christmas Past

2009-12-17T09:41:00.002-05:00

The Sound of Music was always my favorite movie while I was growing up. So when I got the opportunity to be an exchange student to Austria my junior year of high school, I eagerly jumped on a plane. I spent the year living in a tiny little village nestled among the Alps.

I found some of their "backwards" ways rather amusing. Although the school I attended was for college-bound youth, I was placed in the "Home Economics" track. Everyone in my all-girl class would presumably grow up to become intelligent, college educated housewives. Every week we learned about the proper way to set a table or how to measure ingredients. Each school week culminated in the preparation of a meal of several courses, which we would sit down and eat together.

Oh, to relive those days! I had no idea then that I would grow up to become a college-educated housewife. Why didn't I pay more attention to the recipes? I was more interested in skipping class to go skiing.

One thing I will never forget is the Christmas preparations. My host mother got up about 3 a.m. every single morning for about two weeks so that she could do the Christmas baking. Every day a new variety of cookie was prepared. Long before any of us sleeping children awoke, the cookies would be packed away in tins and placed in an unheated storage room. No one was supposed to touch those cookies until they were served! Every weekend we gathered with family and friends for coffee, pastries, meats, cheeses, fruit and nuts. During the Christmas season, these delicious Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne), Linzer Eyes (Linzer Augen) and Vanilla Crescents (Vanilla Kipferl) would be added to the mix.

I had no conscience, though, and couldn't help myself from sneaking into the storage room as often as possible to steal fresh cookies.

I often cook Austrian food. My family loves it. I don't remember all the recipes I learned to make in Austrian Home Ec, but the ones that stuck with me are true gems. Although I've never tried a daily 3 a.m. baking marathon, I still enjoy incorporating Austrian cookies into my holiday season. This year we made the Vanilla Crescents. Our youngest son enjoyed working the sifter to give them all a good coating of powdered sugar.

One bite takes me right back! Where's the coffee?

all photos copyright Molly Evert

Comfort in a bowl

2009-12-14T13:20:00.000-05:00

I've been sick. It always seems to happen this time of year. I thought this year would be different, since I remembered to get my flu shot and I've tried to stay away from crowds. My hand sanitizer is frequently used, especially at Walmart. But it happened anyway.

It probably has a lot to do with the great PUSH required to finish our school semester while getting things ready for Christmas!

At any rate, when I am sick, there is one thing which brings me great comfort: this very special Mexican Chicken Soup (Pozole De Pollo). I first made this soup for our Mayan Feast when we were studying that ancient culture, but it quickly became a favorite. Now, when I am sick, I can barely survive without it!

It's so easy, too. This is all you'll need:

Whole chicken or several chicken breasts (I prefer boneless breasts for simplicity)
Chicken broth (2 large cans) or chicken flavor instant bullion (10 cups)
Several fresh garlic cloves
1 to 2 tsp. Oregano
1 to 2 lemons, freshly squeezed (or equivalent in lemon juice)
1 can hominy, drained (this corn product was found in the Mexican foods aisle at Walmart)

Condiments for topping the soup:
Cilantro
lime or lemon wedges
tortilla chips
diced green onion

Other people like adding fried flour tortillas, sliced radishes, diced avocado, or iceberg lettuce wedges to this soup, but for me, nothing compares to the cilantro-lime wedge-tortilla chip-green onion combo. It is pure comfort.

To prepare the soup:
1) Put the chicken, broth, garlic, oregano and lemon juice in the crockpot and simmer all day. When the chicken is done, remove it and shred the meat.
2) Put in the can of drained hominy and allow the soup to cook for another 30 minutes or so. Serve with your favorite condiments.

Decorating the Mantle

2009-12-12T14:05:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun to do a whimsical mantle decoration this year. We love watching the Nutcracker every year during the Christmas season, and this mantle reminds me of The Land of Sweets.

Candy cane striped candles anchor the greenery, which has been lightly sprayed with "canned snow". Candy ornaments are stuck among the branches, with many dangling down. The four gingerbread cookies are each painted with the names of our four sons.

I've collected these ornaments over time, but I believe you can find some ribbon candy ornaments and gingerbread-inspired ornaments at Cracker Barrel.

The children love this festive, fun mantle decoration and so do I!

Home-Spun Holiday blog carnival

2009-12-05T23:02:00.001-05:00

This post is part of the Home-Spun Holiday blog carnival being held at Mentoring Moments for Christian Women. I've written two posts for this carnival.The things we do just for fun are on Counter-Cultural School, and this post is about two of the things we do to focus on Christ's birth during the Christmas season.

Our family tries to have family worship daily, and during the Christmas season this time is very special. Each night the boys take turns being the Advent helper, lighting (and blowing out) the candles, reading The Advent Book aloud to the family (which tells the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke), and choosing what Christmas hymns will be sung that evening.

We still do our Jesse Tree, mainly for the benefit of our youngest son, Cal. Then my husband shares some thoughts about our Scripture passage for the evening. These times are, for us, the highlight of the entire season. In fact, it was our celebration of Advent that eventually led us to begin daily family devotions all year long. You can read more about that here.

Every year on Christmas Eve, each person prepares something for our family Christmas program. Last year our boys read the Christmas story from Luke 2. My husband and mother-in-law taught us a Norwegian Christmas carol from their family tradition. My step-father sang, my mother recited some Scriptures she had memorized as a young girl, and my brother-in-law led us with his guitar in singing Christmas carols. My sister read a poem, and I shared a devotion I had written for the occasion.

One year, our oldest son sang O Come All Ye Faithful in Latin. That was the year when everyone was supposed to prepare a musical number to share. Afterward, we gathered around the piano and sang Christmas carols together, and then I played Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. Every year is a little different, but it is always memorable.

What are the simple things you do to make the season special for those you love? If you write a post about it, please join the carnival at Mentoring Moments! It will run from December 6-12th.

Twelve Days of Christmas

2009-11-30T23:56:00.000-05:00

I've been very busy writing this season, though you wouldn't know it to look at my blog! Instead, I've been working hard writing and editing the Mentoring Moments 12 Days of Christmas series. This year, to celebrate our site makeover and our new format, we'll be extending the 12 days series and publishing fun and meaningful holiday articles all month long.

If you haven't subscribed yet, I hope you'll go to Mentoring Moments for Christian Women and sign up, so you don't miss a thing! It all starts today! This year, our devotional series will be focused on the names of Christ as reflected in some popular Christmas carols. There are also lots of wonderful party ideas, recipes, decorating tips and activities for kids coming your way.

We'll be hosting a blog carnival on December 6th, so if you have a blog, please consider writing a post and submitting it to the carnival. The topic will be on simple, inexpensive things you do at home to make the holidays special.

To subscribe, go to Mentoring Moments and look in the right sidebar for a place to enter your email address.

Grateful for Nothing

2009-11-14T14:23:00.001-05:00

I have nothing to be grateful for this year.
Nothing that I know of, anyway. We had no major illnesses requiring miraculous healings. No job loss, no house fire, no broken bones. Nothing whatsoever interfered with the normal, peaceful rhythm of our lives.

What I mean to say is that life has gone along as usual this year, and that is the “nothing” that I’m thankul for.

The Lord is always actively intervening on our behalf, even though we often aren’t aware of His protection. I caught a glimpse of His hidden work recently, as our family was narrowly spared from disaster twice in one month.

You can read the rest of my article at Mentoring Moments for Christian Women.

While you are there, check out our new site a bit. We've just undergone an "extreme makeover", changing our format, our look and increasing our writing staff. Our annual 12 Days of Christmas series is coming up quickly and it is going to be fantastic. I've had the blessing of working to put the series together, and each writer has contributed wonderful devotions, party ideas, recipes and more to make the series very special. If you sign up on the site for a subscription you can get all these wonderful posts right in your email inbox!

The Voice of Experience

2009-11-07T21:52:00.000-05:00

This summer we were blessed to be able to take our sons to the ocean. They had the opportunity to swim as well as snorkel, and to learn how to ride the surf.

I love the ocean. My husband does not. He doesn't like its unpredictable nature, with its strong waves and abundance of living creatures. But we both agree that our children should have the chance to decide for themselves how they feel about the ocean. They may end up loving it as much as I do, or they may join my husband's camp...but we feel strongly that they should make their own decision, based on their own experiences.

We want to expose them to a wide variety of foods, hobbies, cultures, reading material, arts and people so that they can begin to form opinions about who they are and what they like as individuals. They don't all like the theater, but we still take them. They don't all enjoy strange foods, but we still try them.

And they don't always appreciate learning about other cultures or sitting through concerts or trying new hobbies, but we do it anyway. Sometimes they are pleasantly surprised by something they did not think they would like. Other times, it is just as bad as they thought it would be.

But either way, we are trying not to let our own prejudices and predispositions get in the way as we guide our children through their own discoveries about life.

Nathan Clark George in concert

2009-10-18T15:58:00.003-04:00

Hey, west Georgia residents! I'm excited to announce that Nathan Clark George will be performing in LaGrange on October 25th. Both concerts are free to the public. Nathan will have CDs for sale, and a freewill offering will be taken.

If you've listened to any of Nathan's music before, you know what a treat this is going to be! He is one of my all-time favorite Christian singers. Nathan was voted the Acoustic Artist of the Year twice in a row at Indie Heaven. He writes music based on the Scriptures as well as on life, and his soulful music is refreshing. I hope to see some of you there!

Here are the details:

1:45 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church in LaGrange. Click here for the church website and click on the link provided to get directions.

and

7:00 p.m. on the LaGrange College Campus (601 Broad St.) at the Boopie (formerly known as The Pitt). The Boopie is is located on the bottom floor of the Student Center (also called Turner Hall), which is the building between Henry and Boatwright Dorms.

Visitors to the campus need to park in the commuter parking lots, which is located at the foot of the new clocktower connected to the LaGrange College bridge. To access the parking lot, turn left onto Forrest St. from Vernon St., then take your first left into the parking lot. Walk across the bridge and go up the stairs alongside the library; you should be facing the cafeteria. Turn left and the Mabry Gibson Student Center/Turner Hall will be down a flight of stairs. Once inside, go down to the bottom floor to the Boopie (formerly the Pitt).

Click here for a detailed LaGrange College Campus map.
Turner Hall is #15 on this map.

Directions to LaGrange from Atlanta or Montgomery:

Take Interstate 85 and use Exit 18*.

From Columbus:

Take Interstate 185 North to Interstate 85 South and use Exit 18*. From Exit 18 off I-85: Drive into town on Lafayette Parkway (Hwy 109 W). Follow Lafayette Parkway through 10 stoplights. At the 11th light, turn right on Park Avenue.

Desperate Women conference

2009-10-05T08:58:00.002-04:00

I'm excited to announce we have been invited to speak at the Desperate Women Conference in Lawrenceville, Georgia, November 13-14th.

The event is open to the public and will kick-off with a concert Friday night with grammy nominated gospel singer Antonia Lawrence, break-out sessions with MMCW staff on Saturday, and a women’s expo throughout the weekend.

I hope that some of you who live in the greater Atlanta area will be able to join us. I'd love to meet you! Our hosts, Women on the Move women’s ministry, has special pricing at the Hampton Inn at Sugarloaf. The hotel offers free breakfast on Saturday morning—let’s all plan to meet for bagels and coffee!

For conference details, including topics and to register online, click here.

Worship and the Reformation

2009-10-03T16:30:00.009-04:00

I just finished reading Douglas Bond's new historical fiction book.
The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin

I was so encouraged to read about the influence Calvin had on the reformation of music. Up until that time, you may recall, the Scriptures and the music of the church were both in Latin. So was the Sunday sermon. The common man had no access to any of it.

All of this changed with the Reformation. As the Word of God was translated into the language of the people, the Gospel began to spread like wildfire. For the first time in a long time, people heard the Bible preached in a language they could understand. The Reformers insisted that people must also be able to praise God in their mother-tongue.

Calvin believed that words set to music have an incredibly powerful influence on the human soul, whether for good or for evil. He encouraged the newly translated Psalms to be metrically versified, like a poem, and set to music for corporate worship. Other Reformers, such as Martin Luther, wrote scripture-based hymns, and composed music which could be sung congregationally by untrained lay-men.

This spirit of marrying scriptural, theologically rich words with accessible music lives on today through the new hymn writers. My devotional life has been deeply impacted in the past year through the music of Indelible Grace, a group of musicians who are setting old hymns to new music.

The words of a hymn are far more important than the music. Yet I believe, as Calvin did, that a well-crafted tune is a vehicle to drive those God-exalting words more deeply into my heart.

Some people approach the hymns as sacrosanct and untouchable. I disagree. Throughout history, the fathers of our faith have embraced music that was new in their day. Why shouldn't we do the same, if the words glorify God? If we truly believe the music is merely a vehicle for the words, we shouldn't be afraid of test-driving a new tune now and then.

In fact, I'm so excited about what Indelible Grace is doing that it has inspired me to begin writing my own tunes to accompany old hymn texts. We've been learning them in our family worship.

Last week, Kristen left me a comment that her family recently learned the hymn No, Not Despairingly. I found the words but not the music, so I wrote music for it myself today, and we'll be learning this one next week in our devotions.

Here are recordings of the tunes I wrote for No, Not Despairingly and Praise Him, Praise Him.

No, Not Despairingly
No, not despairingly
Come I to thee;
No, not distrustingly
Bend I the knee:
Sin hath gone over me,
Yet is this still my plea,
Jesus hath died.

Lord, I confess to thee
Sadly my sin;
All am tell I thee,
All I have been:
Purge thou my sin away,
Wash thou my soul this day;
Lord, make my clean.

Faithful and just art thou,
Forgiving all;
Loving and kind art thou
When poor ones call:
Lord, let the cleansing blood,
Blood of the Lamb of God,
Pass o'er my soul.

Then all is peace and light
This soul within;
Thus shall I walk with thee,
The loved Unseen;
Leaning on thee, my God,
Guided along the road,
Nothing between.

Praise Him! Praise Him!

Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O earth, his wonderful love proclaim!
Hail him! hail him! highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to his holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard his children,
In his arms he carries them all day long:

Praise him! praise him! tell of his excellent greatness,
Praise him! praise him! ever in joyful song!

Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins he suffered and bled and died;
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail him! hail him! Jesus the crucified.
Sound his praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong:

Praise him! praise him! tell of his excellent greatness,
Praise him! praise him! ever in joyful song!

Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav'nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Saviour, reigneth for ever and ever;
Crown him! crown him! Prophet and Priest and King!
Christ is coming! Over the world victorious,
Power and glory unto the Lord belong.:

Praise him! praise him! tell of his excellent greatness,
Praise him! praise him! ever in joyful song!

Lord's Day Hymn: Jesus I Come

2009-09-26T22:00:00.003-04:00

I wrote about the song Jesus I Come a year ago. So why am I writing about it again? I guess it's because this is where I live.

My sins are ever before me, and daily I am reminded of how far I fall short of God's glory. Yet daily he assures me of the hope I have in Christ!

The kids and I just memorized this hymn last week. Each week we pick a new hymn to focus on, talking about the words and what they mean and singing it every day during our morning devotions.

This hymn was different. It didn't fit with our usual format. Perhaps it's because I couldn't talk about the words without crying. On Monday morning as we began learning this hymn, I was convicted that I needed to confess my sins to the children. Through tears I asked forgiveness for being so crabby lately, so impatient, and so selfish.

My children were quick to forgive, as they always are. But that wasn't the end. Soon, some of them were crying, too, and everyone began confessing their sins to one another. They had been rude, disrespectful, unkind.

What a joy it was to repent together, to forgive and be forgiven, and to remind these precious children of the grace that is ours in Christ.

"You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2: 9

Click here to listen to this song.

Jesus I Come

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night
Jesus, I come; Jesus I come
Into Thy freedom, gladness and light
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of my sickness into Thy health
Out of my wanting and into Thy wealth
Out of my sin and into Thyself
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm
Out of distress into jubilant psalm
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come
Into Thy blessed will to abide
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love
Out of despair into raptures above
Upward forever on wings like a dove
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come
Into the joy and light of Thy home
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of the depths of ruin untold
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold
Ever Thy glorious face to behold
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Gifts of Love

2009-09-07T14:00:00.006-04:00

My four year old gave me all these great gifts for Mother's Day this year.

I particularly like the Sheriff's badge. The marker-stained wadded up Kleenex is pretty cool, too.

I didn't need these things. The kids know I'm in charge, even when I don't wear my shiny new badge.

But I loved these gifts, because I love my son. Not the other way around. He couldn't buy my love with these trinkets. Their only worth lies in the relationship we have with one another.

I love to see him loving me, and his little gifts mean more to me than great riches from a stranger.

That's the way it is with the Lord. All the time, money and sacrifice we lay on His altar mean nothing to Him unless He is our Father. We cannot buy His love with Kleenexes and badges, nor with time served on committees or money given to the poor. The One Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills doesn't need those trinkets from us anyway. He is the One Who bought us, at the cost of His Son's precious life.

But He delights to receive our offerings when they are the overflow of a child's grateful heart. Let us not work to earn the Father's love, but instead let us serve a Father who first loved us, with thankful hearts.

"To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." Mark 12:33

A Service of Worship

2009-08-30T15:16:00.004-04:00

I was blessed recently to attend a conference at which Michael Horton was the keynote speaker. His book In the Face of God has been one of the most influential books I've read.

I picked it up at a critical time in my life, and the Lord used it to change my direction. It was one of those times when "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" and I took the one less traveled by, the one that has made all the difference in my life.

At the time, we had recently left the mission field and returned to the States. We were looking for a church where the Word was faithfully preached, but I had another criterion, as well. I felt tired and dry and I wanted a church that would move me emotionally, one where I could "connect with God" during worship.

I wanted the worship service to minister to me.

The Lord used Mr. Horton's book to remind me that worship is meant to be the response of a grateful heart, not the means of stirring up that gratitude in the first place. As we listen to God's Word and reflect on all that He has done for us in Christ, how can we fail to be moved emotionally?

We should not need a particular tune or a certain pastor or a special musical number to cause our hearts to worship. Instead, we need to come to grips with the punishment our sins deserve and the grace God has lavished upon us in adopting us as sons.

I was reminded again today of all that I have to be grateful for. And the Lord did minister to me. But it wasn't through a carefully crafted "worship experience". Instead, He fed my soul with "the richest of fare" through His Word and through the bread and wine of communion. I, in turn, responded with worship, the overflow of a grateful heart.

The Discontentment Highway

2009-08-09T19:52:00.002-04:00

Several years ago I was shocked when a close friend had an affair and left her husband. We had gone on mission trips together, prayed together for the sick, worshiped together. It was truly a relationship “as iron sharpens iron” for many years.

So I could not understand how she got from point A to point B....how does a committed Christian fall into such great sin? Then I realized she did not go from point A to point B.....it was more like point A to point X. She got to point X by way of a series of smaller sins. She had been driving on the Discontentment Highway, probably never realizing where it was leading her.

Sin deadens us when we give in to it, and one sin often leads to another sin, and so on until our conscience is seared so thoroughly that we can find ourselves doing things we would never have imagined ourselves capable of. In this case, anger over problems in the marriage led to a deep discontent. Discontent led to bitterness, and then to hardness of heart. A once-faithful Christian wife began to feel justified in her sin, and the rest is sad history.

We know that, as sinners, we will fail every day, and so will our husbands. If you refuse to forgive your husband, every day will you’ll find new things to blame him for. Don’t let that happen! Get off the Discontentment Highway, and choose to walk the Path of Forgiveness.

I share more about the relationship between discontentment, temptation, and sin in my new podcast by the same name. It is the first message in my series Temptation and the Married Woman. You will find lots of scripture to challenge and encourage you along with practical tips for dealing with temptation.

My summer project

2009-07-18T12:01:00.002-04:00

I've been very silent this summer....because I've been working on a new website. Click here for the details.

Or click here to go straight to the new site!

Advice for a lasting marriage

2009-06-22T23:14:00.002-04:00

I was sorting through some old papers recently and came across a stack of brightly colored note cards. Dearly loved women from my past wrote these cards for me at my bridal shower. Some have recipes, others scraps of wisdom or helpful tips. The thoughtful advice from seasoned matriarchs and the practical counsel penned on that day are just as encouraging now as they were then.

In fact, the notes speak to me more today, after almost 18 years of marriage, as I now know for myself what it means to have a loving, fruitful marriage. I'm so grateful to the Lord for putting so many wonderful older women in my life as I entered into marriage. Their examples still bear fruit in my life today.

Here are some of the notes I received in June 1991:

* Remember to show and tell each other often how much you love, respect and appreciate each other. Give each other lots of compliments. Don't criticize each other. Try not to correct each other, especially in front of other people. Take control of your thoughts. As much as possible, replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Be happy!

* Hold hands when you are having a "disagreement".

* Marriage is not 50-50. It is 100% of effort by each person.

* Try very hard to set aside time just for you and your husband, especially after you have children. Go on a date or do something special, at least once a month. You won't regret it!

* Never end the day with a grudge.

* "Never, never, never give up." --Winston Churchill

* Start out your marriage the way you want it to be. It is difficult to change after the pattern is set.

* First of all, keep your eyes upon the Savior who gave His life for all. Be sure to read His word every day and let it be a pattern for your lives. Don't ever let the sun go down until you've forgiven each other if you've had a bit of a quarrel. Tell each other "I love you" every day. We have a little thing between us that we squeeze each other three times, and that means the same thing. Have fun.

* Support each other as you encounter life's challenges; this will make you strong in each others' love.

* Put your arms around your husband and tell him that you love him (and count to 10 before you let go), as many times as you can, during the day.

* Take long walks together. Walking is the best time to talk.

* Remember to keep your friendship alive. Your husband is your best friend. Let the Lord be the Lord and the head of your home. I know this is your desire.

Some of these women have gone to be with the Lord now, after decades of faithful marriage. Others are getting older, but are still holding hands, hugging and taking walks with their husbands. As for me, I am grateful to God for 18 wonderful years with my beloved.

I'm planning to attend two July weddings this summer. The brides were both little girls when I said my vows. I offer them the same advice that was given to me: Laugh together. Walk and talk together. Forgive each other. Keep Christ as the head of your home. Read the Word. Pray together. Remember that you are each others' best friend, so always take time for each other. Give 100%, all of the time. And Never, never, never give up!

We have a winner....I think!

2009-06-05T00:28:00.002-04:00

Mary Jo, you won the random drawing for the Nathan Clark George CD. Congratulations! But I don't have any way to contact you....you didn't leave me an email address or a Google user name. If you see this post, please contact me about your CD. Otherwise, I'll choose another winner from the original entrants.

Music Give-away! Win a Nathan Clark George CD

2009-06-02T10:44:00.004-04:00

In honor of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo I am doing two give-aways this week! Over on Counter-cultural School I'm giving away one free ticket to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. Read all about it and enter to win here.

Here on Counter-cultural Mom blog I'm thrilled to be giving away the last of my Nathan Clark George CDs. I've already given out one of his CDs, as well as the DVD documentary and Live Concert, which has excellent music and details the life Nathan and his family live, homeschooling their large family on the road in an RV.

Nathan was named Acoustic Artist of the Year recently, and the CD I am giving away, Pull Up a Chair, won the Momentum Award Album of the Year at Indie Heaven.

If you didn't read my review when I did my last Nathan Clark George give-away on Counter-cultural School, you can read the full review here. Nathan is one of my favorite artists, and I'm pleased to be giving away this wonderful CD.

You can order the DVD, CD, or listen to samples of the music from Pull up a Chair here. Or click on the playlist to hear some of Nathan's music.

Leave a comment here to be entered to win this CD. If you put a link with the contest URL on your blog, on your Facebook page or if you tweet about it on Twitter, you'll get extra chances to win (four opportunities per person if you do everything!) Just leave me an individual comment for each entry, please, along with the URL to your blog post or letting me know about your FB post or Tweet.

Contest ends Thursday night at 9 pm EST. Winner will be announced on Friday.

The Ultimate Homeschool Expo

2009-06-02T09:21:00.002-04:00

Last year, one session from The Ultimate Homeschool Expo changed our homeschool forever. I listened to Terri Johnson from Knowledge Quest Maps share about how they use historical feasts in their homeschool. As I listened, I decided then and there to incorporate historical feasts in our coming school year.

What a joy it was! We made so many fun memories, from our Egyptian Feast to our Passover Feast, and all the feasts in between. Turns out we did 10 feasts last year!

Just as important, this message was very freeing for me. I've always felt bad that I'm not a crafty homeschooler and that I couldn't get excited about hands-on activities. The idea of holding feasts changed my perspective on how I homeschool....why not work from my strengths more often instead of always fighting against my weaknesses? That change in attitude has given me a lot of joy this year, and it has spilled over into my approach to hands on tasks, as well. Turns out, I can enjoy hands-on after all, if we make Cookie Dough maps instead of Salt Dough, or do Decoupage instead of weaving.

I'm giving away a ticket to this year's Ultimate Homeschool Expo over on my Counter-cultural School blog. Click here to read more about the Expo and to enter for a chance to win!

The Worst Day of the Year

2009-05-26T00:32:00.002-04:00

I found this old post tonight in my unprinted drafts....I decided to publish it as a "better late than never" kind of thing...

Today was the day I have been dreading....the worst day of the year. It was not what you'd think.

No annual physical, no spring cleaning in the children's rooms, no fillings at the dentist would get me down like this.

I know I am pathetic. The day I dread, above all other days, is our homeschool group's annual Valentine's Day Skating Party.

Memories of past skating parties floated through my thoughts as I lay in bed this morning, steeling myself for the day, and ticking off the reasons in my mind why I dread this day.

First, it must be known that none of my kids can skate. The skating party, for me, is a whirlwind of lacing up skates and taking off skates. By the time I have put skates on three kids, one has decided to remove their skates. Five minutes later, skating jealousy sets in and the child in question wants to put their skates on again.

Then there is the tug of war. I walk around the rink with my arms stretched out (one child holding my left hand and a chain of two kids attached to my right) while experienced skaters whizz by on either side. We take four or five steps before someone falls and I must find a way to support the two children on my right hand while dragging the one on my left side back to his feet. Then the two on the right hand trip over one another and we start the tug of war again. Inevitably, our littlest has to go to the bathroom when we are at the furthest opposite corner of the rink. I ask myself, "Will we ever make it in time?".

Every year I have looked enviously toward the mothers at the snack bar. They laugh and talk about curriculum over Diet Coke and cupcakes while I try to adjust the baby skates so that the wheels only roll forward.

I knew my attitude was bad, and I determined to adjust it. Why am I always so frustrated and annoyed at the skating party? The answer is just as pathetic as my attitude. It's because I want to sit and drink Coke and talk with my friends while my kids take care of their own needs.

On no other day of the year do I expect this. My days are full of caring for their needs, and I am glad to serve them. So why should this day be any different? I decided in advance that I would not even dream of sitting down to chat, or of doing anything other than putting on skates, playing tug of war, and taking off skates.

As it turns out, everyone had a wonderful time, including me. Changing my expectations changed everything! When I expected to enjoy myself, I felt put out by my tedious duties. But when I expected to serve, I was able to enjoy serving, and able to appreciate the stolen snatches of conversation, the chance to sit down for a few minutes and the joy of being with my children.

Ultimate Homeschool Expo: Tune in on Tuesday

2009-05-18T16:19:00.005-04:00

It's that time again! The Ultimate Homeschool Expo is about to launch. If you aren't familiar with this, it is awesome! You can buy a ticket to this virtual conference and listen to dozens of audio recordings with leaders in the homeschool community, shop at the virtual vendor hall, get some goodies in your mommy grab bag and enjoy fellowship with other homeschoolers in the conference room....all from the comfort of your own home! You don't even have to get out of your pajamas if you don't want to.

I'll be speaking twice this year, and you can tune in live for free to my preview talks--or to any of the other preview talks. Or, you can grab a ticket and get access to everything the UHSE has to offer.

I've prepared two new talks for this expo. Tomorrow (Tuesday, May 19th) I'll be speaking at 1 p.m. CST on the topic Temptation and the Married Woman.

Then next Tuesday, May 26th, I'll be speaking at 10 a.m. CST on Choosing the Best Books: Building Your Home Library. I'd love to have you join me!

You can log in online to listen from your computer, or you can phone in to listen to the messages. We'll be recording on blog talk radio.

Here are the details:
Call-in (Call in on your phone, cell-phone, or SKYPE):
(347) 205-9175

Or log in on your computer.

Redefining Marriage

2009-05-15T23:33:00.002-04:00

A vocal minority is seeking to redefine marriage in the United States. As Christians, we believe that marriage is meant to be between one man and one woman....but do we know why? Let our thinking be informed by Ephesians 5:31-32, which 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.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.”

Our culture is confused about the purpose of marriage, and this gives rise to the current controversy. Marriage’s primary purpose is not for our edification, sanctification or pleasure. Nor is procreation the ultimate goal. These are, of course, vital parts of a biblical marriage. But Paul tells us here that marriage is even more than this. It is no less than a representation of the relationship between Christ and His church, and a witness to the beauty of the Gospel.

Marriage must reflect the union of Christ and his church accurately. Polygamy indicates that Christ can have more than one bride. Adultery communicates that Christ is not faithful. Divorce insinuates that Christ’s covenant with His bride can be broken. Premarital sex suggests that Christ can be intimate with His bride without making any kind of lasting commitment to her. And homosexuality implies that there can be two brides, or two husbands. Every perversion of marriage is an affront to God, as it presents false testimony about Christ.

Christ laid down his life to redeem his bride, and they have become one flesh. He loves, leads, and purifies her, and she submits to Him willingly.

The world is watching. We need to be repenting every day of the sin within our own marriages, which veils this glorious Gospel. The church needs to stand for the sanctity of a creation ordinance which is about more than mere freedom of choice or personal preference.

John the Baptist was killed for defending biblical marriage. Are we willing to take a stand?

For a more in-depth presentation on this crucial topic, I highly recommend Jordan Lawrence’s podcast The Battle for Biblical Marriage, which can be downloaded at Behemoth.com from the album Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy 2008.

Are Feminism and Christianity Compatible?

2009-05-12T13:30:00.002-04:00

Feminism has undergone a radical shift since its inception. During the Suffragist movement, feminists primarily wanted women to have equal rights under the law. Women were concerned with getting the right to vote and to own property. They wanted to be protected under the law from abusive husbands. Their goals were largely practical and protective in nature.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a new incarnation of the feminist movement. Those decades are often referred to as the time of “women’s liberation”. Women continued to press for removal of the glass ceiling in the workplace, but their demands took on an increasingly sexual nature. Sexual freedom and promiscuity were said to empower women. Women’s Liberation became tied to reproductive rights, and access to birth control and the right to an abortion were key issues.

Radical feminism gained momentum during the turbulent ‘60s and ‘70s, and it has taken some of their earlier goals to the logical extreme. Today’s feminism is virtually unrecognizable when compared to the Suffragist movement. “Third wave” feminists are pushing the boundaries on abortion rights, the nuclear family and the definition of gender.

Are feminism and Christianity compatible? It depends on what you mean by “feminism”. Today's brand of feminism is an unbiblical worldview. A Christian woman should not put her own rights above those of the unborn. She should be a lamp on a stand as she reflects biblical womanhood.

The radical feminist sits on the throne of her own life. The Christian woman knows that Jesus is the One who rightly belongs there.

“What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14

What Planned Parenthood Doesn't Want You to Know

2009-05-12T13:21:00.003-04:00

Most American Christians know that Planned Parenthood pours a great deal of money into lobbying for the removal of legislation on abortion. They proudly admit that they offer birth control to minors without parental knowledge. Planned Parenthood wants the American public to believe that they are a community service organization, helping poor and oppressed women and children. If you go to their website you’ll see a building that resembles your local public library.

Planned Parenthood doesn’t want you to know about their shameful past. Founded in 1916 by eugenicist Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood originally existed under the name The American Birth Control League. It is well-documented that Sanger’s goal was to create a “race of thoroughbreds.” She wrote about her goal to eliminate what she called “reckless breeders” by placing contraception in the hands of society’s “undesirables” in her book Pivot of Civilization. To Sanger, these meant the poor, the feeble minded, the deaf, immigrants and African-Americans.

Her publication Birth Control Review often carried articles written by Nazi officials, and the link between her goals and the Nazi extermination of “undesirables” is obvious. The ABCL changed their name to Planned Parenthood after World War II in order to distance themselves from this association. A rose is a rose by any other name...and so is a blight.

Planned Parenthood continues in its racist traditions today by placing 78% of their clinics in black or Hispanic neighborhoods. Statistics show that an African-American baby is three times more likely to be aborted than a Caucasian one. In the past 35 years, abortion has claimed more than two-and-a-half times as many black lives as the next 5 leading causes of death. Thanks to a recent Executive Order, our country (through our tax dollars) will soon begin funding abortion in a host of other countries, primarily in the Third World. Planned Parenthood is pleased, as I’m sure their founder would have been.

For more information on the link between abortion, eugenics and race, read John Piper's When is Abortion Racism?

Or Abortion and Race at Abort 73, or watch this video about Margaret Sanger.

"More children from the fit, less from the unfit -- that is the chief aim of birth control." (Birth Control Review, May 1919, p. 12).

Do Feminists Want Equality?

2009-05-12T13:17:00.002-04:00

While I do not agree with all the principles of the 19th century feminists, they did have some noble goals. The right to own property—rather than to be property—is a right that I am grateful for. We were created male and female, in God's image, and we have equal value.

Like any human institution, the Feminist Movement was prone to weakness. Whenever people become consumed with their rights they can easily go astray. Somewhere along the line, the Feminist Movement lost its way, as the focus changed from getting equal rights for women to gaining superiority over men. The feminist attitude began to resemble a song from Annie Get Your Gun: “Anything you can do, I can do better! I can do anything better than you!”

I spent several years living in post-communist Eastern Europe, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was able to see firsthand the “utopia” that gives women complete equality with men. It isn’t as pretty as the picture the radical feminist media paints on the nightly news. I saw women with shovels digging ditches alongside men. I saw visibly pregnant women standing on crowded subways while healthy young men refused to give up their seat. I saw a culture that, in the name of equality, gave no deference to women in the workplace or in society.

American feminists are aware that this is the result when a patriarchal society legislates feminism. And they want no part of it. Equality isn’t their endgame, after all. Superiority is what they are striving for. They want to have all the rights that men have without the incumbent responsibilities. They want to pick and choose which equalities they want and which responsibilities they don’t. A popular feminist slogan says “Women who seek equality with men lack ambition."

Give-away on Counter cultural School

2009-05-08T23:52:00.002-04:00

This week I have a contest on my Counter-cultural School blog. I'm giving away the DVD Top Ten Questions about Genesis and Creation. This video lecture is presented by Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis. For details on how to enter, click here. The contest ends May 13th.

Wake Up Call

2009-05-07T22:11:00.003-04:00

Warning: Not for children, adult subject matter

Recently I rented an excellent movie from Netflix. The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women borrows its title from a tract written by 16th century reformer John Knox in protest of the reign of queens. Mary I was in power at that time and she was persecuting Protestants. The title was borrowed for the DVD to blast today's "monstrous regiment of women", the liberal feminists.

There is much I could comment on from this video, and perhaps I'll find the time to do so soon. Not everyone will agree with all parts of the video, but it is full of important information about the feminist agenda. One part of the video has haunted me, and that is what I want to write about today.

There is a brief segment in this video in which an abortion is seen being performed onscreen. Thankfully, a 5 second warning was given before the footage was shown. Personally, I could not bring myself to watch it. I did not want to watch it. I'm not even sure if I feel it was appropriate that they showed it.

I skipped the DVD forward to the next scene, and then rewound for about 3 seconds so as not to miss the beginning of the scene. And it is that 3 seconds of film that has haunted me. Having performed the abortion, the doctor is shown wrapping the baby casually in a white piece of paper, as a butcher might do with a steak.

How can I explain what my heart felt during those few seconds? I can only explain it as a dawning horror: there, on the table, was a baby. A baby!!!

I know what abortion is. I believe life starts at conception, and therefore every abortion takes the life of a baby. But the baby in the video looked just like one of my newborn babies might have looked. Fully formed. Perfect. Real.

I wanted to jump into the television and grab that baby and hold it. I wanted to shout, "Stop! Don't do it! Give the baby to me!" What I saw on that screen was not a statistic. It was not a disembodied soul. It was a little person, whose life was taken away mercilessly.

The feminists use sterile words like "pro-choice" and "fetus". They don't want to call this what it is: the Holocaust of our time. Since 1973, there have been over 49 million surgical abortions performed in this country.

This is equal to the population of the following states:

What are we going to do about this?

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

What I've been up to

2009-05-06T19:35:00.005-04:00

Last weekend I attended a homeschool conference. It was fun to catch up with old friends and to meet a few new ones!

I heard one phrase again and again when talking with old friends. People kept saying, "I don't know how you do it all!" This post is for them.

I've said it before and I say it again: none of us can do it all! This week I am working on some writing projects. Mentoring Moments articles and two new podcasts are keeping me in front of the computer during most of my free time. I'm also starting to plan for our next school year and doing a bit of summer school with the boys.

Guess what I'm not doing?

Here's a clue:

Wait, let's pan out a bit further.

Yes, this is my poor husband...sleeping beside that giant mound of laundry.

I took those photos last night, right before going to bed. Earlier in the day I had put all that laundry on the bed so that I would remember to fold it before going to sleep. It didn't work. I just pushed everything onto the floor when I tumbled into bed at 2 a.m.

I did manage to get to it today. Here is what my bed looked like at 11 a.m. this morning, after I folded and put away all that laundry.

Too bad it didn't last....by the time lunch was over, we were back to this.

None of us can "do it all". Let's quit pretending we are, and give ourselves some grace, ladies!

Nathan Clark George contest

2009-05-06T19:30:00.003-04:00

This is a small sampling of one of my favorite artists, Nathan Clark George. I posted a review of his newest CD, Pull up a Chair, on the Mentoring Moments blog. We'll be giving away a copy of this excellent CD next Monday. To find out what you need to do to win, read my post here. Later this month I plan to give away another copy of the Pull up a Chair CD and a DVD by the same name...right here on Counter-cultural Mom. So stay tuned!

Lord's Day Hymn: Jesus, what a Friend for sinners

2009-05-03T14:13:00.004-04:00

One of my family's favorite hymns is Jesus, what a Friend for sinners. This song often brings tears of gratitude to my eyes, as I think about how good the Lord has been to me, a sinner.

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." 1 John 3:16

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and often failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

"For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." 2 Corinthians 1:5

Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night overtakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.

"When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior," Isaiah 43:2

Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He has granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." Ephesians 1: 7-8

Listen to this song here.

How do we choose a church? Part 3

2009-04-27T23:06:00.003-04:00

A few years ago I discovered a secret that has had more impact on my spiritual life than anything else I have ever done.

Care to know what it is? It is not Quiet Times. It is not praise and worship. It is not fasting, or even prayer. These are all very important in the Christian life, but none of them has brought about the same measure of spiritual growth that I have seen in my life since I began regularly and consciously listening to the preached Word.

I am blessed to sit under an excellent pastor every week, who gives us real meat to chew on from the Bible through his expository preaching. Our church worships twice on Sundays, morning and evening, so I often have opportunity to hear two excellent sermons each week. During the past few years, I have intentionally begun listening to sermons on tape during the week...sometimes they are sermons that I missed on Sunday due to a sick child, and other times they are teaching tapes that I purchased from Vision Forum or Ligonier Ministries.

This seems so simple, yet many are neglecting it. Too many Christians choose their church home because of children's programming or worship style, and they are not growing as they should. When choosing a church we must always prioritize the preaching of the Word first.

Are you hearing the Truth, week in and week out? Christians should not join themselves with churches which malign the truth, either doctrinally or in practice.

Are you being fed meat, or are you still getting milk every week? The teaching should be accessible to the youngest child, that even he can be encouraged and challenged, yet it should also feed the most mature saint in the congregation. It takes an able, gifted pastor, called by God, to meet those stringent requirements. Are you attending a church like that?

John Calvin wrote about preaching in his commentary on Ephesians. He said, "Those who neglect this means and yet hope to become perfect in Christ are mad. Such are the fanatics, who invent secret revelations of the Spirit for themselves, and the proud, who think that for them the private reading of the Scripture is enough, and that they have no need of the common ministry of the church."

God has ordained that His church will be brought to maturity as His living and active Word is faithfully preached. We read in Ephesians 4 that this is the reason God gave us pastors and teachers! His purpose in doing so was to equip His people to serve, to unify them in their faith, and to build them up in knowledge about Christ, so that they would reach Christian maturity.

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4: 11-13

For more on this topic, please read my posts How do we Choose a Church Parts One and Two.

Perseverance of the Saints

2009-03-29T15:48:00.009-04:00

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The Lord has been faithfully ministering the truth of these words to my heart lately. I used to read these words as if they were written about my love for Christ. No matter what happened to me in this life, I would never stop loving Him.

I trusted that He was able to make me stand, faithful, in the face of any pressure.

And while I still believe that He will make me stand, I am realizing lately that these words mean so much more. It is not my love for Christ that can never be severed: it is His love for me.

He is the husband who passionately woos and pursues His bride. I am the bride, who loves Him because He first loved me (1 John 4:19).

Our God is the Father, who zealously guards and protects His little ones. I am a child of the Promise, born not of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God (John 1:13).

He is the Good Shepherd, who gives His sheep eternal life. I am the sheep, whom no one can snatch from His hand. (John 10: 27-29)

He is my "surety", the One who makes himself legally responsible for the debt of another. (1 Peter 2:24) I am the debtor who can never repay, falling deeper and deeper in His debt with each day that passes.

He is the victorious Lamb, who purchased souls for God at the cost of His own blood. (Rev. 5:9) I do not belong to Christ because of what I have done for Him. I belong to Christ because He ransomed me at an exhorbitant price. (1 Cor. 7: 22-23)

He is the One who sustains the relationship we share, even though I am a covenant breaker. He is the One who will remain faithful to me forever, though I am prone to wander.

God's elect will persevere unto eternal life, not by their own merits but because He will hold them fast. Nothing can cause Him to cease loving His church.

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands," Isaiah 49:15-16

The Love Of Christ - Derek Webb

The Love of Christ Is Rich and Free by William Gadsby, music by Sandra McCracken

The love of Christ is rich and free;
Fixed on His own eternally;
Nor earth, nor hell, can it remove;
Long as He lives, His own He’ll love.

His loving heart engaged to be
Their everlasting Surety;
’Twas love that took their cause in hand,
And love maintains it to the end.

Chorus: Love cannot from its post withdraw;
Nor death, nor hell, nor sin, nor law,
Can turn the Surety’s heart away;
He’ll love His own to endless day.

Love has redeemed His sheep with blood;
And love will bring them safe to God;
Love calls them all from death to life;
And love will finish all their strife.

He loves through every changing scene,
Nor aught from Him can Zion wean;
Not all the wanderings of her heart
Can make His love for her depart.

At death, beyond the grave, He’ll love;
In endless bliss, His own shall prove
The blazing glory of that love
Which never could from them remove.

Which never could from them remove.

Mentoring Moments Monday: The Lie of Feminism

2009-03-16T23:10:00.004-04:00

The new issue of Mentoring Moments for Christian Women is up, with a new look for spring. This month we tackled an issue I feel very passionate about: the lie of feminism. I wrote three articles about Feminism for this month's e-zine.

I hope you'll click through these links and read the various articles, all of which are found on the Women of God page. In Are Feminism and Christianity Compatible? I write about the metamorphosis of Feminism from a suffragist movement to what it is today. Can today's Christian woman be a Feminist?

Do Feminists Want Equality? gives some insight into the Feminist movement's ultimate goal. Living in post-communist Eastern Europe in the 1990's gave me a glimpse of what life is like in a country where women are truly treated as equals in every regard.

I hope you'll page down to the bottom and read my article on What Planned Parenthood Doesn't Want You to Know. I'm sure it will shock and enrage you, as it did me, and it is all true. There is a video about Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger, which I've posted alongside the article. I've also put some links up which give more information about the link between abortion, eugenics and race.

My heart is very grieved over these issues, and I am thinking and praying about what I can do to make a difference.

You've Got to be Kidding Me!

2009-03-09T23:29:00.003-04:00

It's the little things that get me down.

Tonight I accidentally stabbed my hand with a pencil, and drew a drop of blood. "You've got to be kidding me!" I shrieked out the words, followed by my second favorite expression: "Great! That's just great!" (said in a way that communicates this is not actually very great).

I was alone in the room. No one was there. Who was I talking to?

I've always thought these verbal interchanges were between me, myself and I. Lately, though, the Lord has been convicting me that I'm actually complaining against Him.

Who controls the little things, like whether it rains on our picnic? Who could have prevented my children from getting sick on our vacation last week? Who could have reminded us of daylight savings time before we missed Sunday School, (where my husband is a teacher)?

When I say "You've got to be kidding me!" I am actually saying, "God, I deserve better than this. I know you are capable of more. Is this all you've got for me today? I expected a different outcome."

I believe in God's sovereignty entirely when it comes to the big things in life, and I am usually very willing to take the good times with the bad. But I need to repent when it comes to the little things.

God never promised to work all things to my satisfaction. Instead, He's working them all to my ultimate good (my sanctification) and to His glory.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Contest on CC School!

2009-02-24T23:54:00.002-05:00

I'm giving away a free Vision Forum CD album on my CounterCultural School blog. Head over and check it out before the giveaway ends on February 27th!

Bloggy Interview

2009-02-24T13:43:00.005-05:00

Angela at Dancing With My Father contacted me recently about doing a "blog interview" for her. It was so much fun! I enjoy reading Angela's blog for her contemplative posts and beautiful photos.

And if you want to learn a little more about me, such as how I got started blogging and where I find inspiration, check out the interview on Angela's blog!

They Did Not Love Their Lives

2009-02-22T23:20:00.008-05:00

"They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death." Revelations 10:11

I love my life.

I love it so much, that I've been worrying about it lately. Worrying that things will change.

It feels as if everything is hanging in a precarious balance. The economy is bad, and the press predicts that it is going to get worse. How will it affect us? Will power-hungry bureaucrats legislate away my freedoms? Is the President going to start nationalizing things, turning us into socialists overnight? Are days of Christian persecution coming? Will it be in my lifetime, or in my childrens'? How bad can things get, and how long will it take to get there?

When I'm honest with myself, these are my deep, dark fears. But the Lord keeps encouraging me not to give way to fear, and reminding me that this world is not my home.

Our hope does not rest in preserving the life we love. Its foundation is our love for Christ, and our conviction that everything we do today for His sake will be rewarded in the life to come.

We must walk boldly into the future, whatever it holds, knowing that God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, both for our true good and for His own glory.

And what if my worst fears came true? Do I love Him enough to suffer loss for His sake? To endure persecution or hardship? Will I trust Him, even when I am tested? By His grace, in faith, I can answer "Yes". "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

We must be like those saints who "did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death".

My children and I recently read a brief biography about Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna in 100 AD. He was martyred by fire for not recanting his faith. His persecutors wanted to nail him to the stake, so he would not run, burning, into the crowd.

But Polycarp said, "There is no need to use nails. My God, who gives me strength to endure the flames, will give me strength to stay in the flames without the security of your nails."

He embraced everything that came from his loving Father's hand, even a painful martyr's death. May we be strengthened in our resolve that "to live is Christ", trusting (like the Psalmist) that "my times are in your hands".

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6: 67-69

Accountability in the Blogosphere

2009-02-16T22:49:00.003-05:00

The internet has made it easy for teachers--good and bad--to share their words with the world. It is easy for even a sound teacher to get sloppy from time to time. And there is always a temptation to portray oneself in a better light online than what reality would bear.

Not every blogger needs an accountability structure. But what about the ministry-focused blog, thrust out into the blogosphere for public consumption? I believe these blogs should maintain a higher standard.

If you are seeking to use your blog to encourage other women and to minister to their spiritual needs, do you have any accountability structures in place? Do your friends "in real life" know about your blog? Does your husband ever read it? Is your pastor aware of it, and does he have the address? Is your blog appropriate for all ages? Do you take time to ensure that your teaching is biblical? Do you ever use your blog to slander or gossip about Christian leaders? Are you painting a picture of yourself that looks different than the one your friends and family see every day?

These are questions which the "ministering blogger" would do well to consider. I recognize that my readers and listeners have placed their trust in me, and I take that very seriously. As the Scriptures say, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly," James 3:1.

For this reason, I have had the following accountability structures in place since the beginning of Counter-cultural Mom.

Blogging
1) I never publish a single post on Counter-cultural Mom that has not been first read and approved by my husband, my first line of defense. He checks for tone and theological accuracy. He often suggests topics for me to blog about, and we frequently discuss ideas for the blog. If he does not like a particular post, it is not published.

2) Let us not blog in secret, dear sisters! I have several friends IRL (in real life) who read my blogs. They know whether I'm practicing what I preach, and will call me out on it if I'm blogging hypocritically.

3) My pastor and church elder board have full access to my blogs and podcasts, and check in as often as they care to. They know that if they find something they feel is heretical or untrue, it will be immediately retracted. I do not presume to teach men. When my husband and elders read this blog, it is only to provide oversight and accountability.

4) I do not maintain this same standard with Counter-Cultural School blog, where I am sharing about practical matters. Some of my real-life friends read the blog, and that is important accountability, so that I am not tempted to portray our homeschool in an untrue light. But my husband does not read any of those posts before they are published, and my pastor doesn't read it at all.

It is the ministry blog which I believe must submit to a more rigorous standard. And even on the ministry blog, not all posts need equal attention. It is those posts which seek to teach the Scriptures which need this kind of oversight. Although my husband reads every post before I publish it, we do not worry over posts about parenting methods or encouraging anecdotes the way we do over posts that teach.

Podcasting
As a podcaster who is seeking to encourage and teach other women from the Scriptures, I have these accountability structures in place:

1) Every podcast begins with copious notes and lengthy discussions with my husband. Again, he is a vital part of the process, a behind-the-scenes counselor and adviser. Many key points come from him.

2) After I write a podcast message, my husband reads it through carefully for personal accuracy in the details, theological accuracy in the Scriptures, and for tone (challenging but encouraging, not harsh or condescending).

3) After the text meets with my husband's approval, I send the message off to several trusted Christian friends, all of them ladies who share the same commitment to theological accuracy and to women's ministry that I have. They, too, minister behind the scenes to ensure that everything is clear and logical, true and helpful. They suggest additional Scriptures and check my references, and they add points where needed and help me work out areas that don't communicate well enough. These ladies have all known me for many years, and they provide another level of accountability, that I am living what I am teaching.

4) Then the text is recorded and sent to yet a different group of ladies, who listen to the message and provide feedback. If a point was still unclear, if it left them with unanswered questions, or if they have any constructive comments at all, these are taken into consideration for the final draft and the message is re-recorded if necessary.

Usually I have people who do NOT know me "in real life" listen to the podcasts before they are released for general consumption. These are friends I've gotten to know through the internet, women whom I have come to trust although we have not met. They provide a different kind of accountability, as they are able to hear the podcast in a way that my husband and IRL friends cannot do. They don't know me well enough to overlook it if I say something that comes across the wrong way.

5) Only then is the podcast finally recorded again and released to the public.

Are you a blogger or a podcaster? Is your blog informative and practical in nature, or are you seeking to teach the Bible? If you are, I would encourage you to put some accountability structures in place.

"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." Romans 12:3

Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should

2009-02-07T20:34:00.005-05:00

This morning we took our boys out for an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast before a full morning of basketball games. It was a rushed affair, and my husband and I were caught up with getting food for our youngest son, taking kids to the bathroom, organizing drinks and trying to eat before hurrying off to the first game.

We were so busy that we didn't realize there was an ultimate eating contest going on, right under our noses! Apparently our six year old and eight year old boys were trying to see how much they could devour.

I was vaguely aware, in a distracted sort of daze, of the eggs and pancakes and cheese and cherry pie filling. But I really didn't notice the bacon. Our six year old was not going to be outdone by his brother, and he managed to swallow eleven slices of it. ELEVEN!

About an hour later, he was in the men's bathroom at the gym, experiencing what is known in the competitive eating world as a "reversal of fortune". Today he learned a valuable lesson: just because I can eat eleven slices of bacon, that doesn't mean that I should.

It is the same way for us on matters of Christian liberty. There are things which, Scripturally speaking, we can all do. But just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

There are many issues of Christian liberty, some hotly debated. When I was a missionary an issue arose on our international missions team which illustrates this principle.

The American women were accustomed to wearing makeup, while the Hungarian women told us that no godly Christian would ever paint her face. Passions were hot, with Americans demanding their rights (in true American style!) and Hungarians questioning the sanctification--and possibly salvation--of the Western missionaries.

Here are some guiding principles in Christian liberty, and how they looked in the above example:

*Make sure this is actually a matter of liberty, and not something that is breaking God's law.

The Bible does speak about issues like inner beauty and vanity, but it does not strictly prohibit the wearing of makeup. This, I believe, is an issue of Christian liberty.

*Do not do anything which your conscience says is sin. "Each man should be fully convinced in his own mind," Romans 14: 5

It was not sin for the American women to wear makeup, but it would have been sin for the Hungarians to do so.

*Christians are not to judge one another on matters of Christian liberty.

"One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Romans 14: 2-4

Those who are strong (those whose conscience allowed them to wear makeup) were not to look down on those who were weak (who felt that something external had the power to affect salvation). Likewise, those who were weak (the non-makeup wearers) were not to judge those who did wear makeup. We are not to impose our own conscience on others in matters of Christian liberty.

*Do what preserves unity in the body.

*"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. " Romans 14: 19

The burden seems to be on the stronger brother here to do what leads to peace. The Americans needed to prioritize unity over their rights.

*Do not flaunt your liberty before those who are weak. It is better to give up your liberties for the sake of the Gospel than to cause another to stumble.

"All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall." Romans 14: 20

The wearing of makeup is a preference. If I had chosen not to wear it, that would not have caused me to sin. In this case, I believe we Americans should have laid aside our right to wear makeup for the sake of the Gospel, and to help keep their sisters from falling.

"He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Romans 14: 6-8

Wednesday in the Word: Discipline

2009-02-02T20:12:00.005-05:00

We read Nehemiah this week. We particularly enjoyed Chapter 9, which is a recitation of all the events we've been learning about all year. God's people were being reminded that He is faithful. He was faithful when He created the heavens and the earth. He was faithful when He chose Abram and brought him out of the Chaldeans, and faithful when He made a covenant with him and changed his name to Abraham. He led His people out of Egypt, and parted the Red Sea, gave them manna from heaven, and water from the rock. He brought them into the Promised Land.

And what did His people do? "They built a golden calf and said, 'This is your God who brought you out of Egypt', and they committed awful blasphemies" (Nehemiah 9:18).

We talked about the fact that the Lord is faithful, even when His people sin. One of the children pointed out that these Scriptures also illustrate that the Lord will not let sin go unpunished forever. He disciplines those He loves.

We read Hebrews 12 and talked about the purpose of discipline. The passage says that, for those who will be trained by it, God's discipline brings about a harvest of righteousness and peace. The children thought a world with no discipline might be fun, but then they imagined for a moment what their brothers would act like if they were allowed to do anything they wanted. No one thought that home sounded very peaceful!

We also talked about what happens when people don't respond to discipline. If one of my children does not respond to my discipline, what does mommy do? She makes the discipline more unpleasant, in hopes of yet winning his repentance. But she doesn't kick him out of the family! Mommy does not give up on this precious son.

We read in Hebrews 12: 5-6, "And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.'"

We are meant to feel encouraged that the Lord disciplines us when we need it. Discipline is a sign of love and of family belonging. We read in the Hebrews passage that it is only the illegitimate child who escapes discipline. This is why we often see worldly sinners prospering, seemingly "getting away with murder". A lack of discipline for sin can be a sign of judgment to come.

Holy Bride

2009-02-02T18:52:00.004-05:00

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." 1 Peter 2: 24-25

Every week we learn a new hymn. As I'm teaching it to the children, we read the lines one by one and discuss what they mean. In addition to learning many hymns, the children learn a great deal of theology, for the hymns are rich with meaning.

Today we started The Church's One Foundation. The first verse reads:

The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.

I asked our four year old son where Jesus was when he bought the church. He immediately replied, "At the store."

"Think!" I said, as I stretched out my arms to simulate hanging on a cross. "Where was he when he bought her with his blood?"

"Walmart," he said.

Needless to say, his brothers laughed and set him straight!

We did not go up to heaven, looking for a savior. He came down to us. We were no holy bride, seeking a husband. Jesus found us as a harlot, dressed in filthy rags and fig leaves. We had nothing to offer Him, that He might want us. But he purchased us anyway, at the cost of his own blood.

It was all Him! The seeking, the cleansing, the redeeming of a bride. Oh, church, doesn't your heart thrill to this husband!

"God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

The Word of Grace

2009-02-01T13:59:00.004-05:00

Our pastor encouraged us this morning to make use of the Word of God. He has so richly provided for us, that we might live in a time and place where the Bible is so abundant. Each member of my family has their own Bible, and several of us own more than one copy. But does this proliferation of Bibles lead us to spend more time in the Word?

The pastor challenged us that "To whom much is given, much will be required". We have been given full access to God's Holy Word. Our Sunday sermons are preached in our own language. Our Bibles can be displayed openly on the coffee table where we can be constantly reminded to "take up and read".

Early in my Christian life I looked at my Bible in one of two ways. Sometimes I felt that reading it was a duty, something to be checked off my Christian growth "to do" list. I was faithful to read and the Lord used it, but my heart was not always warm to the task. I was too legalistic.

Other times I felt it was one option among many. I could read it (or something else) or watch TV or call a friend...what did I feel like doing? I was too liberal.

Neither attitude is appropriate for the Christian. Our Bible reading should be both regular and joyful, of course! But it must be much more. We must cultivate the attitude that "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)

Are you worried? Look to His Word and find peace for your soul. Do you lack wisdom? It is there. Are you suffering? Open its pages and find comfort. Are you just going about your normal day? Enjoy His fellowship.

I was blessed last week in my reading of Missionary Patriarch: The True Story of John G. Paton.

In writing about the great zeal the converted Natives had for God's Word, Paton said:

"These poor Aneityumese, having glimpses of this Word of God, determined to have a Holy Bible in their own mother tongue, wherein before no book or page ever had been written in the history of their race. The consecrated brain and hand of their Missionaries kept toiling day and night in translating the book of God; and the willing hands and feet of the Natives kept toiling through fifteen long but unwearying years, planting and preparing arrowroot to pay the 1,200 pounds required to be laid out in the printing and publishing of the book.

Year after year the arrowroot, too sacred to be used for their daily food, was set apart as the Lord's portion; the Missionaries sent it to Australia and Scotland, where it was sold by private friends, and the whole proceeds consecrated to this purpose.

On the completion of the great undertaking by the Bible Society, it was found that the Natives had earned so much as to pay every penny of the outlay; and their first Bibles went out to them, purchased with the consecrated toils of fifteen years!

...Let those who lightly esteem their Bibles think on those things...the labor and proceeds of fifteen years for the Bible entire did not appear to these poor converted Savages too much to pay for that Word of God, which had sent to them the Missionaries, which had revealed to them the grace of God in Christ, and which had opened their eyes to the wonders and glories of redeeming love! They had felt, and we had observed, that in all lands and amongst all branches of the human family, the Holy Bible is, wheresoever received and obeyed, the power of God unto salvation (p. 77-78).

Please consider joining me in reading through the Bible this year!

Expelled

2009-02-01T00:29:00.004-05:00

I watched the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed this week. My husband and my oldest son watched it, too. It was interesting, at times funny, and always thought provoking.

We've had several excellent discussions with our son about the material that was presented in the video. Ben Stein shows that scientists who even hint at believing in the possibility of Intelligent Design are being blacklisted. The interviews and explanations show the weaknesses in Darwinism, as well as the frightening effect that the pervasive belief in Darwinism is having on our culture. The movie clearly illustrates the tie between Darwinism and abortion. It also explains how embracing Darwinism ultimately leads to atheism.

If you have not seen this movie yet, I hope you'll find time to watch it soon.

Bible Reading Challenge

2009-01-29T23:11:00.004-05:00

As many of you know, our family is trying to read through the entire Bible this year. I have seen so much fruit in our children's lives through this regular reading, and we've had many profitable discussions.

It never ceases to amaze me that the Lord's living and active Word speaks to each of us in very personal ways. We can all listen to the same passage and be challenged and encouraged by different things!

Recently we were reading through the book of 2 Kings, during the week of the inauguration of our new President. I could not help but feel discouraged, as we read about King Manassah, who did evil in the eyes of the Lord and led his nation to do the same.

We read, "Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end--besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD." 2 Kings 21:16 Our new President will shed much innocent blood with the stroke of his pen if he overturns legislation which protects life.

I asked my oldest son to share how the Lord was speaking to him through the passages we had read, and his perspective was totally different. The verse that stood out to him was 2 Kings 13: 23, which says, "But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

He was struck with how merciful the Lord was toward His people even if the face of detestable sin. It encouraged him to realize that if the Lord could be merciful to Israel when they were following after other gods, that the Lord would also be merciful to sinners like us as we try to live for Him, however imperfectly.

Both passages were timely, and it was worth reflecting on both.

I would love to see some of you read through the Bible with your children. I recently discovered young Miss Rachel's blog, City on a Hill. She started a Bible reading challenge several months ago, in which she is reading 3 chapters daily and encouraging others to join her.

Part of her challenge is to blog about what you are reading, so I hope to blog once a week about what the Lord is teaching us. To be honest, the blogging is harder than the reading, as I don't always find time to write! Rachel assured me that it isn't too late to join in her challenge, and that it is fine if one can't blog daily about what they are reading.

If you decide to read through the Bible, please leave me a comment! If you want to join me in Rachel's challenge to read through the Bible and blog about it, click on the icon below to go to her blog and get the HTML code.

The Blood of the Martyrs

2009-01-23T23:49:00.007-05:00

They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:11

I read something with moved me powerfully today in the book Missionary Patriarch: The True Story of John G. Paton. This autobiographical book tells the story of Paton's life as a missionary among the South Sea Cannibals in the New Hebrides during the early 1900s. He wrote, when telling of the history of missions in the New Hebrides,

"John Williams and his young Missionary companion Harris, under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, landed on Erromanga on the 30th of November 1839.

Alas! Within a few minutes of their touching land, both were clubbed to death; and the savages proceeded to cook and feast upon their bodies. Thus were the New Hebrides baptized with the blood of Martyrs; and Christ thereby told the whole Christian world that He claimed these Islands as His own. His cross must yet be lifted up, where the blood of His saints has been poured forth in His name!" (p. 75)

We shake our heads and contemplate what a shame it was that these two missionaries were killed moments after setting foot on the island, before a single word of the natives' language was learned, much less a Gospel message proclaimed. But Paton makes the arresting statement that Christ would not allow the blood of His saints to be spilled in vain.

Paton is not saying that Christ will save these savages in response to the martyrs' sacrifice, as if the martyrs bought these islands for the Lord with their own blood.

He is saying that Christ intended to redeem these islands, and in His perfect wisdom He chose to begin this redemptive work through martyrdom.

Jim Elliot met a similar fate. When he was martyred in Ecuador in 1956 at the age of 28, the shock waves reverberated around the world. He, along with four other men, were killed by Huaorani Indians while trying to make initial contacts with the tribe.

Many at the time thought of their deaths as a senseless waste. The Lord, however, brought a tremendous harvest from this "grain of wheat", both among the Huaorani (many of whom were eventually converted through two of the men's widows) and in raising up a generation of missionaries who were challenged to fill the gap left by these godly martyrs.

"Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." -John 12:24.

Secrets to Contentment

2009-01-22T09:59:00.004-05:00

Life is hard. How can we learn to be content in every circumstance? Here are a few keys:

* Keep an eternal perspective. Jesus promised that in this world, we would have trouble...yet He told us not to fear, for He has overcome the world. Sometimes we forget that the world we live in is riddled with sin, and we expect our life to be only roses, all the time. But it is only in heaven that we will have all roses and no thorns. Our contentment in this life is tied to the knowledge that this world is not our home.

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11: 13-16

* We need to keep a proper view of God's sovereignty. It is He who has an eternal perspective. He knows what needs to happen in each of our lives to accomplish His purposes. He allows rain to fall on the evil and the just. His ways are higher than our ways.

We do not worship an impotent God who has no power to restrain evil. The God we worship is all powerful, yet He allows suffering, even in the lives of His children. It is hard for our hearts to grasp that. Sometimes we will not understand why He is allowing painful circumstances, but we can always be confident that He loves us and works all things according to our good.

* We should turn to God for comfort when we suffer. There are times when I have to withhold from my children the very things they want most. I had this experience with each of my babies when they were weaned. I did this for their good, yet they did not feel it was good at the time. It was painful! Did those babies reject me for withholding milk from them? Not at all. They pressed in to me even closer for comfort. This is how we are to be with the Lord. Even when He withholds the very thing we think we need, we must press in to Him. He is actually what we truly need most of all.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131:2

* We need to realize that everything we have comes from God. When all Job's children, servants and livestock were killed in a single day, we read that "he fell to the ground in worship and said:
'Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.'" Job 1:21

Job recognized that everything he had came from the Lord. We are tempted to think, "I built all this for myself, and the Lord has taken away". Contentment comes as we praise and thank Him for all that He has given us, recognizing that we are dependent on Him for every breath we take.

* We need to find contentment in what really matters: our salvation. If we had everything this world offers, yet we did not know Christ, what would that profit us? As Christians, we have what truly matters. All else is to be counted as loss for His sake.

Are you new to this blog? There are several older posts about Contentment, gathered together as a link-list in the sidebar underneath the Contentment podcast widget.

If contentment is a struggle for you, I hope you'll listen to my podcast, Secrets of Contentment, in the sidebar of this blog. I'll also be sharing this talk LIVE today at 1:00 p.m. EST, at the Ultimate Women's Expo. To hear the talk live, log in at Blog Talk Radio at 1:00, or listen on your telephone by dialing (646) 727-1978.

Ultimate Women's Expo

2009-01-16T23:30:00.006-05:00

I'm so excited to be speaking this year for the Ultimate Women's Expo! Cindy Rushton has lined up a bunch of great speakers. You can join in for free on any of the preview chats, or purchase a ticket and listen to all the talks at your leisure.

It's really fun to join in live. You can listen to the talk from your computer, and simultaneously text-chat with other moms in the chat room. I've participated in several of Cindy's live sessions and I always come away refreshed by the fellowship in the room as well as by the speaker.

I'll be speaking three times next week if you'd like to join me. On Monday morning, I'll be giving my talk An Honest Look at Anger at 10 a.m. EST, followed by a question and answer session.

Monday afternoon, at 2 pm EST, I'll be speaking on The Multiple Personality Mom. This encouraging, allegorical talk is less than 30 minutes long, and Monday is a holiday! So steal a few moments for yourself and join me. If you have more time, there will be Q and A following that talk, too.

Finally, on Thursday at 1 p.m. EST, I'll be sharing my talk Secrets to Contentment. In the midst of these difficult economic times, this has become my most-frequently downloaded talk....but I'll be talking about more than just money. Come and be encouraged with secrets to contentment in many areas of life!

To log in to the free preview chats, join us on Blog Talk Radio at the appointed time, or call in using your telephone or Skype at (646) 727-1978. If you have more questions about the Ultimate Women's Expo, visit Cindy's site, she has probably answered it already!

The Anger Challenge

2009-01-13T17:43:00.004-05:00

There is nowhere I would rather be than at home with my children, and there are few things I would desire more than to have a happy, peaceful, vibrant home. But all too often it is easy to get discouraged with the children's foolish behavior and to snap at one of them in an attitude of impatience or a moment of tiredness.

I suspect we all have these moments. We read in James 3:2, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."

It would be wonderful to have a friend who could keep me accountable when I express my frustration and impatience, or when I vent my anger with an unkind word or look. But the fact is, my friends probably wouldn’t know about these struggles if I didn’t tell them because I find it pretty easy to discipline myself when they are around.

If someone in the grocery store speaks rudely to me, I don't even bat an eyelash. I can be gracious, even if I am upset inside. But when one of my children speaks disrespectfully to me, I find it much harder to respond patiently.

I need my family’s help when it comes to accountability, because let’s face it: most of my anger sin is against them. They are the only ones who really see what goes on inside my heart, and so they are in a key position to help me, if I will allow them to.

A year ago we tried something in our home which we called, “The anger challenge”. At the time, my husband and I realized that we had allowed the children to get into the habit of being slow to obey. Frequently they would try and explain their perspective when they didn't want to do as they were told, and instead of nipping these explanations in the bud we were trying to reason with them. Often these discussions would last until I raised my voice...only then did the kids know "mom is serious".

This had become a typical scenario in our home:

Me: “Kids, it’s time to go to bed now.”

Kids: “Awwwwww, mom, we were having fun watching this movie!”

Me: “I know, but we have a big day tomorrow and you will be tired if you don’t get your rest.”

Kids: “We won’t be tired mom! We promise! Can’t we just watch the end of the movie?”

Me: “No, it will be too late by then.”

Kids: “It won’t, mom. The movie is almost over! We stayed up later than this last night! There are just 20 minutes left! And we can go to bed even earlier tomorrow night instead.”

By then I would be getting angry, and I did not try to conceal my frustration as I said, "No! I don’t want to argue about it! Just do as I say!!!”

Training Children to Obey the First Time
At the beginning of "the anger challenge", my husband and I sat down with the children and explained to them that for two months we would be focusing on making dramatic changes to how we were operating as a family.

We made it clear exactly what was expected of the children: they would learn to do as they were told with no questions asked. There would be no "buts", no "awwwww, mom's". There would be rewards for those whose attitudes and behavior reflected adherence to this standard, and loss of privileges for those who didn't.

The main people who needed to change, of course, was my husband and I. We found that when we are busy with our own concerns, the children go their own foolish way. When we spend enough time with our children, paying attention to their character and behavior, we can easily make corrections and encourage them when they do what is right.

Focusing on Family
A big component of this challenge was that the children did not have multi-media privileges during the week for the 2 months. We allowed them to continue with a very limited amount of computer time on Saturday, as that was part of the reward system for compliance. Family movie night was also allowed, but no television without mom and dad and no computers at all except on Saturday.

We strictly limit what they are allowed to watch and how much time they spend anyway, but even a little bit can affect their attitudes. More importantly, their television and computer time affects my attitude. When they get crabby or whiny (and thereby get on my nerves), it is easy to turn on the television instead of addressing their sin. I wanted to force myself to have "no other options". We would spend those months together, working on our attitudes as a family.

Mom's Part
The other side of the anger challenge was my part: the children were rewarded with an extra minute of Saturday computer time each time they caught me raising my voice in anger, expressing impatience or making certain "pet" comments that I love to make when I'm annoyed.

My goals in this part of the challenge were to grow in patience and gentleness, and to allow my outward comments to reflect Christ's character more. I'm sure He never rolled His eyes and said, "For crying out loud!"

The children were not allowed to be rude or disrespectful toward me, and they couldn’t purposely try to make me angry, in hopes of getting their reward. For this to work, by the way, mommy has to have the final say. I am not putting the children in charge. They are allowed to respectfully say, “Mom, did you just break the anger challenge?” If I determine that, “No, it is acceptable for mom to say what I said in the way I said it,” that is final. I am, after all the adult. They are helping me. They are not being put in a position of authority.

The Results
The "anger challenge" was good for us. The children developed better habits of obeying right away and not challenging us when they don't get their way. This doesn't mean they are perfect, but it doesn't happen nearly as often as it was before. I also developed better habits, learning to be more patient, raising my voice less frequently, and cutting out those phrases which express annoyance. My children feel comfortable telling me if I've said something unfair in haste. Our bond as a family has been strengthened even more.

For more practical ideas and lots of Scriptural teaching on other ways to deal with anger, please listen to my podcast, An Honest Look at Anger.

Memorial Stones

2008-12-30T21:36:00.005-05:00

Every year on New Year's Day we sit down as a family and write out a chronicle of the past year. It is always a blessing and an encouragement to look back and remember all that the Lord has done for us, in us and through us over the course of the year.

I am looking forward to sitting down again and writing this year's chronicle. We enjoy remembering all the happy times we've shared together, and recounting God's goodness to us in the midst of our trials. It is a time of discipling our children, as we help them to recall the faithfulness of our God.

We write this testimony in a large, lined journal and add to it every year. After we write down the year's events we close in prayer, thanking God for His faithfulness to us for another year and praying for each other in the year to come. We also love to re-read the chronicles of years past, refreshing our memories about details that have grown hazy with the passage of time and rejoicing in amazing providences which we will never forget, but which we delight to recall again and again.

We began keeping a list in 2005 of things we were thankful for, but the next year our list became much more structured as we followed the lead of Doug Phillips of the Vision Forum. His article "How to end 2006" includes a long list of questions that can help you jog your family's memories as you compile your list. He also shares in this post about two other things his family does at the end of each year. I would encourage you to read it. I keep a printout of his post in our journal so that we have it handy every year. I always store this journal with our Christmas books so that we don't lose track of it from year to year.

We sit down together with our journal, our calendar from the past year (which can help to jog our memories) and a pen. My husband asks several questions and we all call out answers, which I record as bullet points in the journal.

Some of the topics we cover include a list of our travels for the year, any significant household projects which we accomplished, important meetings and events, friendships which were new or which grew deeper over the course of the year, milestones for the children (such as height and weight of each child, who lost teeth, who learned to read, and the like), and births and deaths in our extended family.

We record a list of blessings, accomplishments and victories for each family member, such as details about sports involvement, children whose pictures appeared in the newspaper, new skills like riding a bike or learning to walk, awards won and highlights in my husband's career.

We try each year to write the titles of our favorite books (individually and as a family), though sometimes it is hard to remember all that we've read. Each year I say I will do better to record such things as the year progresses, but I have yet to remember. Perhaps that will be my New Year's Resolution this year!

We also write down any significant national events (such as the election of a new president), details about ministries we have been involved with, memory work the children have done over the course of the year and what we studied in family devotions. We include sections titled "great personal losses", "national tragedies", and "significant events" (whether positive or negative).

This year I'd like to add a section for funny memories of things the children have said or done. I've begun keeping a private blog for my eyes only where I write these things down as they happen. It has been a great aid to me in keeping track of the "little things" before I forget!

Our list ends with the "top 10 things that define the year". I am certain that "hospitals" will be in the top 10 for 2008!

"So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." Joshua 4: 4-7

Touching Base

2008-12-30T13:25:00.002-05:00

I'm painfully aware that I haven't posted anything here for almost two weeks! Our son is well again, and life has moved on. We've been busy, as I'm sure you have, with the holidays, and enjoying extra time with extended and immediate family.

I do plan to get back to regular posting this week. Every year on New Year's Eve we take time to chronicle highlights--and lowlights--of the past year. I intend to put out a post later tonight about exactly how we do this. It has become a significant part of our New Year's Eve celebration as we take time to remember all the Lord has done for us in the past year, and look back over the record of His faithfulness in previous years. We use a large, lined journal for this activity, so be sure and pick one up when you are out shopping for New Year's Eve supplies if you'd like to begin this tradition with your own family.

In the meantime, my latest posts can be found on Counter-Cultural School, where I am writing a series about Building your Home Library. The inspiration for these posts comes from Philippians 4:8, which says,

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

The first two posts are up: Whatever is True: Biographies and Whatever is Noble: Hero Stories. I hope to have the third post, Whatever is Right: Books that build Character, finished by the new year.

Also, beginning in January, Mentoring Moments for Christian Women e-zine is changing to a new bi-monthly format. The January issue will be titled For Such a Time as This, and will cover topics such as mentoring, prayer sisters, family devotions, budgeting and family management and Valentine's Day ideas. In addition to that, we are challenging readers to join us in January and February for 40 Days in the Gap, a time set aside for prayer and fasting. If you haven't signed up for the Mentoring Moments newsletter, please do so today so you won't miss out on a single issue!

Jars of Clay

2008-12-18T14:14:00.004-05:00

Another hard day dawned in our home this morning. Our six year old is starting to recover from his prolonged illness, but now our 3 year old is throwing up.

That was the straw that broke this mommy's heart, and I just broke down crying this morning.

I've just spent five days in the hospital watching while a terrible virus ravaged my six year old's body. I don't want to walk that road again.

Really, Lord? I guess you think we can handle more.

So we will.

Here are some of the reflections of my heart today, those things which give me strength moment by moment.

First, a song from Caedmon's Call, titled "Carry Your Love". Music always ministers to me when I'm struggling.

Carry your love - Caedmons Call

Some of the lyrics read:

You are sunlight; You are morning
You're the hope of a brand new day
You are comfort; You are blessing
And You wipe all our tears away
So change us from within
Render miracles from our sin
Remind us once again
This is Your time; this is Your place
We are vessels for breaking
Under Your grace, we are led by Your Spirit
You have redeemed us by the blood of Your Son
Send down Your Word; we are eager to hear it
Ready our hearts to carry Your love

He is everything to me. My hope, my comfort, my joy in the midst of sadness. This song helps me to remember that 'we are vessels for breaking, under your grace'. Grace doesn't always mean everything goes the way I want it to. This year I have seen a glimpse of what it means to be broken by the Hand of Grace.

This brokenness is giving me a greater eagerness to hear His Word, and a deeper passion to serve.

As always in these times, I cling to the Word to sustain me.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

I've hit the wall a few times this week, and cried plenty of tears and snapped at others in frustration. I am reminded again and again that I am just a jar of clay. It's not in me to keep trusting, but He gives more and more grace, just as I need it. This all-surpassing power is from God, not from me.

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

2008-12-17T13:04:00.003-05:00

After 5 long days in the hospital, we were finally sent home yesterday. Today found us back at the hospital for X-rays, as the doctor is concerned that our son may have a sinus infection on top of his as-yet undiagnosed viral illness. I'll continue posting prayer updates on Counter-cultural School blog.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll undoubtedly remember that this isn't our first rodeo. Two of our children have faced mystery illnesses requiring a lengthy hospitalization this year.

As we look for the blessings in the midst of these trials, what stands out the most is the fruit we see in our young sons' lives. I asked our six year old today (just as I asked his 8 year old brother in June), "Are you angry with God for what is happening to you?" The answer was the same in both cases: "No. I trust Him."

I'm so grateful to be able to say that I trust Him, too.

Update

2008-12-14T17:10:00.001-05:00

I haven't been posting for awhile because we've been sick. One of our children has been in the hospital since Friday. For prayer updates on his situation, please check out Counter-Cultural School.

Home-spun Christmas Traditions

2008-12-05T23:15:00.015-05:00

I was really inspired this week by Deb's post on Rethinking Christmas: Traditions at Home. I'd like to share some of our home-spun Christmas traditions. I delight in making the Christmas season a time of beauty, joy and warm memories for our children.

Having a fresh wreath on the front door is becoming a new tradition for me. This beautiful fresh evergreen wreath on my front door was a gift from my friend Stacey at Friends Hill Greenhouse in West Virginia. She sent me one last year, too, when we were matched up in a Secret Sister program through our homeschool curriculum. It lasted well beyond the Christmas season and into January.

I knew I had to have one again this year, but when I tried to order one from her greenhouse she insisted on gifting me again! What an amazing, generous secret sister! The wreath smells so amazing and I feel so festive with real greenery out.

Friends Hill Greenhouse does an incredible job with their wreaths. You can contact them by phone at (304) 358-2715 or via email at friendshill@verizon.net if you'd like to order one for yourself! If you have a favorite wreath, please post a picture on your blog and link it to the Mentoring Moment's Christmas wreath blog carnival!

Our children love playing with nativity sets. We have four sets and two little stables for lots of mix-and-match fun. The little boys never seem to tire of setting up these little scenes while we do our read-alouds for school and during family devotions.

We enjoy visiting local live Nativity scenes and Christmas story re-enactments.

Our nightly Advent season devotions are the highlight of the season.

Making--and eating--Gingerbread houses is another favorite December activity. We use graham crackers and frosting for the houses, which is much cheaper than purchasing the kits.

We also bake cut-out sugar cookies every year. Selecting favorite cookie cutters and choosing from an array of colored frostings, sugar sprinkles and chocolate chips is such fun for the kids. I always did this with my family growing up, so continuing this tradition holds a special place in my heart.

Taking Christmas photos is another tradition. I like to try and get good photos of the kids near the tree a few days before Christmas. These pictures capture the season's memories for me more than the photos of unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning. This photo was taken 5 years ago, and it is one of my favorites.

Hot chocolate and toast nights are another December tradition we love. I make a batch of rich, yummy homemade hot chocolate and a giant plate of white toast with butter (we're going for the yum factor here, not for health!) We all dip the buttered toast into the hot chocolate. It is one of our favorite tastes of the season!

How do you create opportunities for family fellowship and warm memories during the Christmas season? If you blog about it, leave me a comment with your URL address!

Celebrating the Season Blog Carnival

2008-12-04T00:08:00.014-05:00

I've never hosted a blog carnival before, but I wanted to give it a try. I'd like to focus this month on some of the ways we celebrate the Christmas season. This week's Celebrating the Season is dedicated to one of my favorite topics: Christmas books and music.

Are you reading any special books for Advent? I'd love to know if you have a great Christmas CD to recommend! Do you have special books or music that you get out every year at this time? Please share it!

I have two new Christmas CDs this season which I am loving! Your King Has Come is put out by a lot of the artists from Indelible Grace. Most of the songs are traditional, with a couple of new Christmas carols in the mix. You can listen to samples or purchase the CD here. I'm also enjoying Nathan Clark George's Christmas CD A Midwinter's Eve. Sample tracks and purchasing information are here.

For my personal devotions this month I'm reading Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. This slim volume, edited by Nancy Guthrie, is full of meat. This book of Advent reflections draws from the works and sermons of classic theologians such as Luther, Spurgeon, and Augustine, and from leading contemporary teachers such as John Piper, J. Ligon Duncan, and R. C. Sproul.

If you've never done a blog carnival before, it's easy! Just write a post on your blog about the topic Celebrating the Season, then link in back here to this post. Put your link in the Mister Linky widget box and leave me a comment so that we can all visit your blog and find out what you are doing this month!

First Sunday in Advent

2008-11-30T21:54:00.004-05:00

If you have listened to my podcast on Preparing Hearts for Christmas, or if you have followed either of my blogs, you know that Advent is a big deal in our home. We have the wreath, we do multiple advent calendars, we sing Christmas songs every night, we have a Jesse tree, we color appropriate pictures, we have special activities, we read The Advent Book and we do a nightly devotional.

Today was the big day for everything to start, but I had a hard time gearing up for it! The past month has brought a season of grief and stress for me, and to top it off, we've all been very sick this week, including me. I found it harder than usual to arrange for all that we usually do.

So tonight we kept it simple. We lit a candle on the wreath (a white candle, because I haven't had the time or energy to track down pink and purple this year). We sang one song and we read the Bible. And the Lord fed us.

It was a powerful reminder to me. We enjoy the wreath and the books and the Jesse tree and the special songs...but those are not the heart of our Advent season worship. The heart of our family worship is that we are spending time with the Lord, every night, no matter what state we are in.

I did not come tonight like a Wise Man, bearing gifts. I came like a beggar, looking to be fed and as one in the desert, needing water. And that is exactly what I found, because His Word never returns void.

We are still slowly making our way through the entire Bible. Tonight we finished up the book of 1 Samuel. As we were reading, one verse stood out to me:

"David was greatly distressed...But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." 1 Samuel 30:6

This was the very word my heart needed tonight. Like David, I am learning to look to the Lord to find strength and comfort.

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63: 1-8

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T23:23:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to sit down all week and write a Thanksgiving post. All the kids and I have strep throat, so today didn't turn out exactly as planned. It's almost midnight now, and the children are peacefully sleeping. Even though I'm feeling sick, I couldn't let this day slip away without taking a few minutes to write.

A friend told me recently that we'll never forget 2008. That's for sure! We've had to face several trials this year, including our son's hospitalization in June, a stressful time in my husband's career, several deaths in my husband's family, and the prolonged sicknesses of two close members of my extended family. Other challenges have been minor in comparison, but still registered as a blip on our radar this year.

Yet this has been a wonderful year spiritually for our family. We are all growing, in the Lord and in love for one another. Our trials have made the joys found in Christ all the sweeter. We have had to cast ourselves upon Him and we have found that He is, indeed, a rock and a fortress. Our struggles have served as a magnifying glass, clarifying how very much we have to be thankful for.

I am thankful that our faith is being proved genuine. When our 8 year old son was hospitalized this year, it was an encouragement to him--and to us--that he was still able to trust and praise God, even in the midst of the greatest trial of his young life.

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
1 Peter 1: 6-7

We have many things to be thankful for. But this year, we have found again and again that even when some of those things are stripped away, the one thing that matters most still remains. We have the Lord.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

What are you Listening To?

2008-11-23T15:10:00.003-05:00

I wrote a post recently on Counter-Cultural School about how we are using audio books for school. Although the kids always have an audiobook in progress, I actually listen to more audio content than anyone in the family!

As a busy homeschooling mom, it can be hard to find empty hours to read or listen to recorded sermons. It is so important to me, though, as the Lord uses these mediums tremendously in my life for exhortation and encouragement. I've written before that I keep books in practically every room in the house, so I can read a page or two whenever I have a moment.

Likewise, I always have at least one taped sermon in the car to listen to as I run errands. I don't have my own MP3 player or CD player, but one (or both!) are on my Christmas list so that I can make better use of my time washing dishes and cooking dinner.

This weekend I had a long drive and spent several hours in the car. These are the messages I took along:

Carolyn Mahaney's message from the 2004 National Desiring God Conference:. Her message, titled Sex, Romance and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Wife Needs to Know, was encouraging and thoroughly biblical. The entire conference is available on free MP3 download. I'm thrilled about this whole series, Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, because there is not much available in Christendom that teaches a thoroughly biblical view of this important aspect of a married couple's life. This, too, should be done to the glory of God. If you prefer, John Piper's book by the same name can be purchased or downloaded for free online.

There are also downloads for all the other Desiring God conferences from years past. There are enough free sermons here to keep anyone busy for awhile!

I also listened to Doug Phillips message The Family Table, which was about recovering family culture and discipling our children at the dinner table. I also listened to R.C. Sproul Jr.'s message Home Sweet Home: A Vision for Covenant Communities. Both of these were downloaded at Vision Forum's new site Behemoth. Behemoth offers two free downloads daily so I got both of these messages for free, as well.

Next I listened to Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Her excellent message From Him, Through Him and To Him was a great encouragement. There are several more free audio downloads at this link from the True Woman 2008 conference.

Another source of free sermon audio downloads which I frequently make use of is the Renewing Your Mind radio program. Ligonier also makes many other excellent messages available on their home page for live streaming from your computer.

I also enjoy downloading segments of The White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated radio talk show featuring roundtable discussions of theology and apologetics.

Of course, I don't listen to my own podcasts. But you might enjoy some of them! All of my talks are located in the sidebar of this blog, or you can find them all listed by title in one spot on the Mentoring Moments for Christian Women homepage under the title Podcast Mentoring. See the bottom of this post for download instructions.

If you only have a few minutes, The Multiple Personality Mom and Giving Our Children to God both pack a lot of encouragement and exhortation into about 15 short minutes.

Preparing Hearts for Christmas is very practical, with lots of ideas about how you can enrich your Christmas season with family devotions. In An Honest Look at Anger I share about my long journey toward sanctification as I deal with this pattern sin.

Testimony of a Godly Woman focuses on how the Lord uses our sacrificial lifestyle of love as a testimony to everyone around us. And Contentment addresses many areas in which we Christian women struggle, such as body image, finances, and marriage. It is a timely message for us right now, during a time of financial strain in our nation and a season which encourages greed and discontent.

In The Value of Motherhood I share my testimony about how the Lord changed my heart, helping me to see the significance in being a mommy. Finally, Building Loyalty Between Siblings is full of encouragement about the sibling relationship and many practical tips for ridding your home of rivalry.

Streaming and Downloading Audio content
Any of my talks can be streamed live from right side bar of this blog by clicking Play in the widget box.

You can also click "Visit My Call" at the bottom of the widget, which will take you to a page of options. There is a blue box about half way down the page that says "download". If you click that, you can right click, select "save target" or "save link" and download the talk to your computer. From there, use iTunes or your own software to burn the talk to a CD. Use this same technique for downloading talks from the other sites mentioned in this post.

What are you listening to? I would love it if you would post a comment, letting my other readers know what you've found encouraging, or directing me to some fresh sources of audio content!

Lord's Day Hymn: Come Ye Sinners

2008-11-23T13:44:00.002-05:00

Come, Ye sinners, Poor and Needy
written by Joseph Hart, 1759, performed by Fernando Ortega and Amy Grant

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and pow’r.

* Refrain:
I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.

View Him prostrate in the garden;
On the ground your Maker lies;
On the bloody tree behold Him;
Sinner, will this not suffice?

Lo! th’ incarnate God ascended,
Pleads the merit of His blood:
Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude.

Consider it Pure Joy

2008-11-20T19:23:00.004-05:00

I have been dealing with a situation in my extended family this month which has left me feeling drained, emotionally and physically. Several of my dear friends are also facing their own personal trials, and I am grieved. But although I am hurting inside, I am not discouraged.

The Lord has been ministering to me through His Word. Today, he reminded me of the time when Elijah was so weary that he sat down under a tree and prayed, "Lord, I have had enough." He was so tired he literally wanted to die. But the Lord sent angels to meet his physical needs, and when Elijah had eaten and rested, he felt better.

It is important, especially during times of crisis, to remember to eat and to get adequate rest. I'm having to discipline myself to do both! But even more importantly, this passage encourages me that the Lord loves His children and He ministers to them tenderly when they feel worn out.

Our family devotions today was from the book of 1 Samuel. Jonathan and his armor bearer went up against the Philistine army all alone, and defeated them. Before going into battle, Jonathan said to his servant, "Nothing can hinder the
Lord from saving, whether by two or by many". It was an encouragement to me that even when the situation seems bleak, the Lord is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine".

Finally, I am encouraged as I focus on what my attitude should be in times of trial.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

It is hard to feel joyful when we are facing trials, but the Lord gives joy as we turn our hearts toward him with thanksgiving and praise. I was discouraged today as we didn't have much time for school because urgent needs demanded my attention. But I said to the kids, "I am grateful that we have a life that allows us the flexibility to serve others when they need us."

The Lord I serve did not promise that everything would be roses. His was a crown of thorns, and he said,"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

That is the hardest part of enduring trial: choosing, daily, to deny myself and to willingly and patiently take up my cross.

James goes on to write, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1: 12

Isn't that what it's all about? I can sleep at night, knowing that my trials come from the providential hand of my loving Father. He is the One Who marked out the race I would run, before the foundation of the earth was laid. And I must run it, and run it "in such a way as to get the prize", because the crown I am striving for will last forever.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12: 1-3

One Body, Many Unique Parts

2008-11-16T23:44:00.004-05:00

This week's Heart of the Matter meme is about what makes us each unique.

One of my unique gifts is administration. Not very exciting, huh? That's what I used to think.

Many years ago, on the mission field in post-communist Hungary, I was tasked to help out at a large conference for the physically handicapped, along with another administratively gifted friend. We were given no assignments at the conference, other than to look around and set our hands to whatever needed to be done.

Conference attendees arrived from all over Europe, and were brought to the large hotel on chartered buses. My friend and I realized, however, that when the conference ended, everyone was on their own. These precious believers would need to get to one of four train stations or two airports, yet most did not have money for taxi fare and the public transportation system was not handicapped accessible.

We had 36 hours to arrange transportation for hundreds of people departing at many different times and from many different locations, and the transportation had to be reliable, handicapped accessible and cheap. Believe me, it was a lot harder than it may sound.

I will never forget that weekend. It was as if our gifts, when utilized in tandem, were at their zenith. One of us began to speak and the other could finish the sentence. I would make a mental note not to forget an important detail, only to find that my friend had accomplished it already. At one point, I remember thinking I needed a stapler and the very next second she put on in my hand, with no word spoken.

We were both so uniquely gifted in this area that we seemed to literally think each other's thoughts, as we both knew exactly what 127 things needed to be done and in which order.

I learned that weekend that I seem to be able to do more to serve the church when I accept who I am and the gifts the Lord has given me. So many times we try to do the hand's job when we are actually the foot.

This applies to my homeschool, as well. For more on teaching according to your own unique strengths, read my post Bring Your A Game.

Our children also have special gifts to offer. My recent post on Counter-Cultural School, Is There an Expert in the House? addresses how we can help our children develop their own unique gifts.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Corinthians 12: 14-20

Confess your sins to one another

2008-11-13T00:02:00.003-05:00

I gave my talk An Honest Look at Anger this week at my local Homeschool Association meeting. Over 100 people have heard this talk and it has never bothered me before.

But sharing the message with friends from church and ladies I see every week at art class and golf lessons was a different experience.

All week I have felt exposed. Now they know I am a sinner! Are they judging me? Could anyone relate? Were they shocked to hear the truth about me?

They shouldn't have been. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23.

Each of us knows the depravity that lies within our own hearts. If we are believers, we know the One Who died to pay the price for all that sin.

It's hard to confess our sins to one another. But that is exactly what the Bible tells us to do. Strangely, in God's economy, He uses our confession of sin as a part of the process of transforming us. When we try to hide, we deceive only ourselves.

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1: 7-9

If you want to listen to An Honest Look at Anger, it is in the sidebar of this blog in a gray widget box.

Homemaker's Haven: The Laundry Room and the Office

2008-11-10T23:33:00.013-05:00

For this week's Homemaker's Haven blog carnival I tackled our laundry room and our office.

The Laundry Room
Our old washing machine had died after 10 years of service, so it seemed fitting to clean up the space before the new washer arrived.

Here is what the laundry room looked like before:

And here is the transformation!

This project didn't take much time, but the reward was great. Often the laundry room becomes a place to throw things that you don't want in other rooms! But I spend a lot of time in there! My enjoyment of doing the laundry has increased 10-fold (pun intended!) since I organized the space.

The Office
The office required more work. The kids and I decided to tackle it together as a treat for my husband. It was so dusty and terribly cluttered, with papers and books piled on the desk and shelves.

I've been feeling discouraged with the messiness of my house. Three children playing sports has taken its toll on my cleaning, with many evenings and Saturdays taken up with ballgames. I'm enjoying this break to tackle some of our clutter!

I'm so glad we took the time! The transformation was so great that my husband noticed it without me needing to point it out! I displayed some of his things on the shelves, and you can see the desk now!

Homeschool Blog Awards

2008-11-10T14:37:00.002-05:00

Wow! I just found out that my other blog, Counter-Cultural School was nominated for the Homeschool blog awards in the category Best SUPER HOMESCHOOLER! I'm so honored and thrilled. Amazed, but thrilled!

If you haven't visited my other blog before, please do! If you have, and if it encouraged you, please think about voting for it!

Encourage One Another

2008-11-09T21:00:00.006-05:00

I've been struggling recently with a stressful, painful situation in my extended family. This weekend my husband was out of town and I hit my breaking point. I was consumed with worry and a desire to fix things, and found myself crying at the drop of a hat.

When I told him what was happening and how I was feeling and everything I was thinking of and what I was doing about it he said these precious words: "Why don't you just let me handle it?"

Immediately a weight dropped from my shoulders. How wonderful! There was no need to fear, no need to fix, no need to fret. My husband would say what needed to be said and do what needed to be done.

As I have pondered the words and deeds of my knight in shining armor, God has used it to give me a picture of Christ's love for the church.

Christ intercedes for His bride. He stands in the gap for her. He protects her and honors her. He tells her not to fear but to trust in Him. He works on her behalf. He laid His very life down for her.

The Lord brought these verses to mind today: "Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5: 24-25

The testimony of my husband's love led me to worship Christ the bridegroom. Could I, in turn, encourage my husband in his relationship with Christ by my willingness to submit to him in everything?

I've always known that our marriage is a picture to the world of Christ's relationship with his church. But now I can see that we are also called to reflect this truth to one another.

"Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hebrews 3: 13

Thanksgiving Season at Mentoring Moments

2008-11-06T08:46:00.004-05:00

This morning I awoke to find a new post on the Mentoring Moments blogcast, titled Thank God Anyway. It's very encouraging, with exactly the perspective we need right now, so click on over and check it out!

Below that post is a list of some of my new favorite websites, including a cool site that will help you organize meal delivery for postpartum moms or bereaved friends. We're going to be highlighting staff favorites in all categories this month, so you might want to subscribe and have the Mentoring Blog delivered straight to your email inbox.

The e-zine updated last night with our Thanksgiving content. The new issue is full of great ideas for Thanksgiving, including ideas for Thanksgiving decorating, make-ahead Thanksgiving recipes, and my new article titled A Reason to be Thankful.

The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!

2008-11-04T23:47:00.008-05:00

Election results came in fairly early last night, and Obama is our new president. It seems that some Christians believe this vote has ushered in the last days and the end of life as we know it. I remember thinking the same thing when Bill Clinton was elected, but I'm still here.

Many Americans no longer fear God, it is true. And I am very concerned about the social and economic issues of our day, just as you probably are.

But America is still a great country.

I've lived overseas for several years. I've also traveled extensively to other nations. None of them can compare to America.

When we moved to post-communist Hungary in 1993, the abortion rate was 130 abortions for every 100 lives births. You read it right: there were more abortions than live births. Currently, that nation assumes that its people are so corrupt that taxes are set at 100% of a person's reported income. This puts Christians between a rock and a hard place. If they report their income honestly, they won't have anything left for their family at all.

Western Europe, the birthplace of the Reformation, is very hardened toward the Gospel today. New Age runs rampant, pornography is openly displayed in public places, and social issues such as homosexuality and abortion aren't even voted on because the issues have long since been decided and accepted as common practice. A very low drinking age assures that bars are full of teenagers, and promiscuity is a given.

These issues, while grave, all pale in comparison to the genocide that is ravaging Africa. Christians are routinely martyred in many areas, and children are orphaned by AIDS or sold into slavery in exchange for a few meals. The rich and powerful grow fat while the poor languish and die. Reports have come out of China that some pregnant women were kidnapped from their homes and given forced abortions when they dared to defy that nation's "one child only" policy.

Has God abandoned these nations? Are they under His judgment? Did we believe that we were somehow favored by Him in a way that these nations were not, and that the results of one election have now cast us from His hand?

There is not a nation in the world that doesn't deserve God's just wrath. Just as every man is a sinner, so every nation is populated entirely of sinners. It is no different with us. This election may make it easier for evil to thrive in our country, but it does not mark the beginning of our rejection of God's laws. It simply reveals where we already are as a nation, on a path we've been following for decades.

This month's issue of Tabletalk magazine is titled The Church of Jesus Christ and its Impact Around the World. Take a few minutes and read some of the articles. It will quickly become clear that the American church is not the only place where God is at work. God is working throughout the entire world, using His people, His Church, wherever they are found.

I don't like where we are as a country, nor do I like where we are headed. But I am not in despair. There is still a large and faithful Church in our nation. Our liberties, while perhaps not as secure as they were yesterday, are still plentiful when compared with other nations around the world.

Dear Christian sisters, let us not give in to fear. Let us walk forward with hope, knowing that every day of our lives was written in the Lord's Book before one of them came to be! Even this day.

Let us pray for the furtherance of the Gospel in this nation. Our people are crying out for "Change!", and we alone know that the Gospel is the only thing that truly transforms people--and nations.

Who knows? Perhaps this is not the day of our judgment, but the day on which the Lord will begin a mighty work of repentance and salvation amongst our countrymen.

This world is not our home

2008-11-04T08:57:00.002-05:00

Last night we sat down with our kids for evening devotions. We had decided to sing Psalm 46, sensing that we all needed some encouragement in light of today's pending election. This Psalm, which is (ironically) set to the tune "O beautiful for Spacious Skies", helps us focus on what is true.

God is our refuge and our strength,
In straits a present aid;
And, therefore, tho' the earth remove
We will not be afraid;
Tho' hills amidst the seas be cast,
Tho' troubled waters roar,
Yea, tho' the swelling billows shake
The mountains on the shore...

Our children are very fearful. In their imagination, the day after the election will bring about an immediate slaughter of the unborn and a nationwide persecution of Christians.

We comforted them. As bad as things seem, we don't believe for a moment that it will get that bad, at least not by tomorrow! But more importantly, we took time to encourage them from God's Word. No matter what their future holds, He is unchanging.

The nations raged; the kingdoms moved;
And when the earth had heard
The mighty voice He sent abroad
It melted at His word.
The Lord of hosts is on our side
Our safety to secure;
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure....

As Christians, we should not give in to anxiety and fear. Our trust is in our sovereign God, an ever-present help in times of trouble.

Be still and know that I am God;
Among the nations I
Will be exalted; I on earth
Will be exalted high.
The Lord of hosts is on our side
Our safety to secure;
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure.

If you have four minutes today to be encouraged, spend them watching this video clip of John Piper as he shares about a Christian's proper perspective on this election day, "for this world in its present form is passing away" 1 Corinthians 7:31.

Great blogs

2008-11-03T23:07:00.004-05:00

Kelly @ Wisdom Begun gave me this "I love your blog" award. Thanks, Kelly! That is such an encouragement!

The award requires that I tell you about seven blogs that I particularly like. I have to admit, I don't spend a lot of time reading blogs. Writing my own blogs takes up much of what little time I find for blogging, and I'm not always consistent with that. But there are certain blogs I find myself drawn to again and again.

"Beloved bloggers" should pay it forward and bless seven of their own favorite bloggers with an I Love Your Blog award. It sure made my day!

So here goes...when I can steal a few moments to myself to read blogs, here is where I click (in no particular order, of course!):

Homeschool Dawn

As We Walk

Prairie Frog Blog

Harmony Art Mom

Adventures of a Georgia Girl

There's No Place Like Home

There is a Season

I also read a few blogs which I would mention here...though this goes beyond the original 7. These bloggers are in what I would call the "professional blogger" category. These are the kind of blogs that are read by so many people that one wouldn't dare ask them to participate in a blog-tag like this one, or they would never get to actual blogging because they'd spend all their time playing blog-tag!

Here are a few I enjoy:

Your Sacred Calling

The Serven Clan

Ligonier Ministries

Cindy Rushton

Lazy D Ranch

Homemaker's Haven: The Living Room

2008-11-03T16:40:00.011-05:00

It's time for another installment of Homemaker's Haven blog carnival! This week's focus is the living room. Our living room is usually rather messy...the signs are everywhere that we really live there.

The Homemaker's Haven challenge today started with these words: "Today I want to focus on the atmosphere of my home. Is it peaceful? Is there a spirit of love and contentment?" I often feel discontent in the living room because it seems to be a catch-all instead of a place to rest and be refreshed together.

Many of our happiest memories happen in this room, and yet it is a constant reminder to me that I don't have good routines in place. In fact, I just said to my husband this weekend that there is not a single room in my house where I can sit and recharge without seeing a bunch of clutter! This must change. So let it begin today: in the living room.

This room is often cluttered, as we do our devotions and read-alouds here, as well as some of our schoolwork. I often let the children color during devotions and read-aloud, so it seems like I'm always finding coloring pages, colored pencils, and school books scattered around the living room.

We couldn't even get to today's living room challenge without some very basic pick-up. Several people had left shoes and dirty socks (yuck!) under the coffee table, papers on the edge of the fireplace and strewn on the coffee table, videos on the floor, legos and bionicle pieces under the couch and empty cups on the end table. We did that much this morning before starting school.

A good dusting hasn't happened for quite some time, so that was a high priority for me. I even climbed up on a step-stool to dust the fan!

I also emptied out the baskets that hold our school books and moved a bunch of books we're finished with to our shelves in the basement.

Windows were washed, blankets were folded, and I even took time to vacuum (my most hated job).

I want to find some ways to make this room more pleasant, while keeping it functional for our big, busy family. Tonight as we sat in this room for our evening family devotions, I felt a sense of peace. Finally, there is one clean spot where I can enjoy my family without being confronted with all the work I should be doing....at least for tonight!

I'm enjoying participating in Homemaker's Haven. I need these little bite-sized chunks to help me get some things done around here!

Righteousness Exalts a Nation

2008-11-02T13:57:00.004-05:00

I don't know about you, but I have been worried--make that very worried--about the election next week. The Lord ministered to me through our sermon this morning...with encouragement, comfort and conviction.

Our text was a single verse, Proverbs 14:34, which reads, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." Our pastor had two main points:

First that the election is not ALL-important, meaning it is not the only thing that matters. And second, that it is, nevertheless, still important to a degree.

The pastor reminded us that it is not a presidential candidate or party which exalts a nation. It is righteousness. Nations such as China may have a totalitarian government, and yet the Gospel is sweeping across the nation, bringing revival and blessings in spite of the law of the land. Other nations, such as ours, guarantee freedom to worshipers, yet gross sin still abounds throughout the land.

Our nation will not stand or fall based on the results of this election. We need to be committed to praying for our nation and for our neighbors, and we need to be sharing the Gospel freely. The Gospel is what transforms people and nations, not politics. This election will not so much determine who we will be as a nation as it will reflect who we have already become.

In spite of this, the election is still important. We should not be like those who throw up their hands and say, "Whatever will be, will be." Sin is a disgrace to any people, as the text says.

We will share in the reproach for our leaders' sins, even if we did not vote for them. If the Lord judges our nation, it will impact us all. The Bible makes it clear that all sins are not equal. We should vote to protect life.

We need to repent, as a people and as a church. Our pastor reminded us that if we will, God may yet hold back his wrath for a generation, as He did in the time of Josiah. Or He might not. We cannot know whether that tide may yet be stemmed by our repentance, or if it is already too late.

As a litany of our nation's sins was read from the pulpit, I was cut to the heart. Idolatry, taking God's name in vain, desecrating the Sabbath, sexual immorality, perversion, murder of the unborn, discord, theft, drunkenness, gross indebtedness, gluttony...the list goes on and on. Surely we, as a nation, have sinned before God.

As I listened to him preach, I felt like Isaiah, who said, "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips," Isaiah 6:5.

You see, it is not only that I live amongst a nation of sinners. I, too, am a lawbreaker.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, saying they were like whitewashed tombs, full of dead men's bones, with an appearance of righteousness but full of hypocrisy on the inside.

As I reflected on the sins of our nation today, I knew that I, too, am an American.

Greedy, disrespectful toward my parents, unsubmissive toward my husband, prideful, lazy, a lover of money...the list could go on and on, but you get the picture. Our problem isn't just "out there". We all need to be daily repenting of our sin.

As we approach the election on Tuesday, let us remember that a nation is exalted by righteousness, which only comes through Christ. We need to repent....of our personal sins, of our corporate sins as an American church, and of the sin which is a disgrace to our people. We need to cry out to the Lord for revival in our land.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

Lord's Day Hymn: Let us Love and Sing and Wonder

2008-11-02T01:50:00.003-04:00

Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder
from 1 Cor. 6:11, 20; Rev. 1:5, by John Newton

Let us love and sing and wonder
Let us praise the Savior’s name
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame
He has washed us with His blood
He has brought us nigh to God

Let us love the Lord Who bought us
Pitied us when enemies
Called us by His grace and taught us
Gave us ears and gave us eyes
He has washed us with His blood
He presents our souls to God

Let us sing though fierce temptation
Threatens hard to bear us down
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqu’ror’s crown
He, Who washed us with His blood,
Soon will bring us home to God

Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more
He Who washed us with His blood
Has secured our way to God

Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high
Here they trusted Him before us
Now their praises fill the sky
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou art worthy Lamb of God

Bibles and Bible Study Aids

2008-11-01T18:19:00.009-04:00

Often when I'm studying the Bible, I look at the study notes for more information about the meaning of the text. I've been finding that my old NIV study Bible doesn't always give me the depth of insight that I'm hoping for. Often, I go to Classic Bible Commentaries, which allows me to click on any chapter in the Bible. I can then click on the chapter title (such as Genesis 3) to be taken to the passage online at Bible Gateway(in several different versions of the Bible) or I can click on the name of a commentator, such as Calvin or Matthew Henry, to be taken to their commentary on the passage. I find I often flip back and forth between the passage and some of the commentaries. This has been an invaluable tool for me.

I recently purchased a Geneva Bible, which was the most widely used English translation of the Bible in the 16th and 17th centuries. This is the Bible the pilgrim's brought with them when they came to America, and the Bible which John Bunyan used when he wrote Pilgrim's Progress. It contains extensive marginal study notes, written by Reformation leaders such as John Calvin and John Knox. Understanding a bit about the history of this Bible is so encouraging as one begins to appreciate all that the Reformers went through to see the Bible translated into English for the common people.

Tolle Lege Press recently re-published this historic Bible for a new generation of Christians. I was worried that it would be difficult to use this Bible, since I am so used to the NIV. Before I purchased it, I downloaded the book of Romans for free, as a "trial run". You can also listen to the book of Romans for free on MP3. If you are only interested in the study notes, you can access the Geneva Bible commentary online.

Ligonier Ministries has a special offer through November 2, 2008 for a free ESV Reformation Study Bible with any gift to their ministry. The review for this Bible at Christian Book Distributors begins, "Widely considered one of the best tools available for Bible study and previously only available in the New King James Version, the Reformation Study Bible (RSB) has been updated to the readable and accurate English Standard Version (ESV)." They are making this special offer available this weekend only, in celebration of the Reformation.

We've enjoyed Ligonier's Tabletalk devotional magazine for many years, so I made a donation today. I'm so excited to get my new Reformation Study Bible!

My oldest son and I have been using Ligonier's audio series, From Dust to Glory (by R. C. Sproul) to enhance our understanding as we read through the entire Bible this year. Many tracks from this excellent series are available as free live-streaming videos on the Renewing Your Mind website, or you can purchase the entire series on CD or individual MP3 tracks.

If you are interested in studying the Reformation, there are many free MP3 audio downloads on the same site relating specifically to the Reformation. For a brief overview, R. C. Sproul has produced a You-tube video about the history of the English translation of the Bible and the impact of the Reformers. We celebrate the Reformation every year at home and at church, remembering those who gave everything for the purity of the church and to make the Bible accessible to the common man.

The Word Became Flesh

2008-10-28T09:26:00.004-04:00

It’s hard to pick a favorite scripture passage, but I think I’d have to say Philippians 2: 5-8 is my favorite. This passage is so rich, and it speaks to me on many different levels.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!”

Often, I’m reminded that my attitude should be like Christ’s. Other times, I am awestruck that he humbled himself and became obedient to death on a cross for my sake.

Today, as I think about the approaching Christmas season, I am struck by the words “he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

We read in John 1 that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made....and the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Doesn’t that just knock your socks off? Doesn’t it cause you to marvel and worship?! All things were made through Him, yet He submitted himself to taking on creaturely flesh. The omnipotent Son of God came to earth as a helpless baby. The omnipresent Son took on human form and confined himself to a body. The eternal God, who holds time in his hands, and through whom all things—even time—was created took on a body and came into our world at a certain point in time.

Our minds can barely grasp the meaning of the words God Incarnate.

Books for Christmas season devotions

2008-10-27T17:57:00.006-04:00

Our entire family loves books. And one of our all-time favorites is Jack and Kathy Stockman's gorgeously illustrated book, titled simply, The Advent Book. This book is out of print, but is still available online, and well worth pursuing.

We read one new page daily, opening the door for that particular day. Each day we start the book from the beginning, working up through the numbered door for the day. The children eagerly await the day when it is their turn to open the doors, and by Christmas even the youngest has memorized most of the Christmas story by heart. Take a peek at some of the beautiful illustrations in the loveliest lift-the-flap book you've probably ever seen.

This book has become way too pricey on Amazon, and it is very hard to find elsewhere, as it is out of print. Heirloom copies are available for purchase through Jack Stockman's website, but he charges $50 for the out of print book.

I have not read this next book yet, but I am getting it for my personal reading this Advent season. It looks wonderful!

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas

By Edited by Nancy Guthrie

Here is another devotional reader I have used and enjoyed. The Handel's Messiah CD is included with this devotional. My oldest son and I used this together one year, and we really enjoyed the informative and inspirational readings, followed by listening to a track from the CD.

Jotham's Journey (as well as the two sequels by Arnold Ytreeide) is an exciting, suspenseful Christian fiction book, designed to be read one chapter daily during the Advent season. Each chapter ends with a "cliff hanger", which left my kids begging for more. This isn't quite in the "devotional" category, in my opinion, but it is an enjoyable read, and the characters learn more about the Messiah as the books progress.

Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent

By Arnold Ytreeide

Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration

By James C. Dobson, C.R. Swindoll, J.M. Boice & R.C. Sproul

Christ in Christmas features one brief reading for each day of the Advent season. Each day also has a suggested song, questions for discussion and a simple activity.

The Story of Christmas is an Advent calendar made up of 25 little board books, one for each day until Christmas. Each book tells a part of the Christmas story. We've had this set for 10 years. Every day in December we read one little board book and hang it on a small, tabletop tree. My young children love taking this little tree down off the shelf several times during the season so they can look at all the little board books.

The Story of Christmas: Story Book Set & Advent Calendar

If you have a toddler in the house you might enjoy the four books in the Born to Be King series by Catherine MacKenzie. Each book begins with the sentence, "If you were a King..." and tells something about what earthly kings do, such as sleep in palaces or eat feasts. Then each book has the sentence, "But Jesus is a different King. He is a better King. He is the best King."

From there these simple board books go on to tell toddlers the story of Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna and the Wise Men. Each book ends with a simple call to faith and a suggested scripture, such as the Mary and Joseph Love Jesus book, which ends with the words, "Jesus was punished even though he never sinned. He did this to save us. He is the only one who has ever done this. He can save you too."