Devotion... to prayer and meditation

I am reading another Lamplighter book, on loan to me from a sweet and precious friend...  It is called the Basket of Flowers, and I have just started it, only finished the first 2 chapters... but already I can tell it is packed with spiritual encouragement.

The author has begun to describe the father of the young girl whom the book is about.  How he desires to begin his day with God, and desires to give God the first and best of his day.  He rises before dawn to do this, so his other work does not suffer...  It is said this habit, one of rising early to spend time with God, is most essential if one wants a spiritual frame of mind...  and then to quote the author:

"The life of that man is but poorly filled, who cannot find one or two hours to discourse with his heavenly Father without interruption."  Basket of Flowers, page 21

One or two hours without interruption... This sounds heavenly to me... one or two hours to sit at my Savior's feet and soak in His presence and in His Word... without interruption.  I used to have this, daily lengthy times with my Lord, often more than once a day... in my single days. And I desperately miss it... miss prolonged times in the prayer and in His Word. I still spend time with my Lord in the quiet hours of the morning, yet I always seem to be yearning for more of Him... looking for the next opportunity to have some extended time with Him, just me and Him.

I think we can all find that time.  It is a choice... ignore facebook... don't go wander around the mall or Target wasting time and money on frivolous things... listen to sermons in the car or while working around the house... play praise and worship music while traveling or cleaning and worship and praise Him while we work and go.

I have also found that I long for friends who spend time with Jesus.  I want to talk about the Word... I want to talk about what God is showing me and doing in my life and the life of my family.  I do not want to talk about the latest reality TV show or to hear the latest gossip about the lady up the street.  Friends who spend time with Jesus refresh and encourage, they are real and transparent, they pray for and with you, and they are there when you need them, even if you do not ask... they are there, just like Jesus is.

So go spend some extended time with Jesus... see if you don't leave hungry for more, and find yourself going back more and more, because you have discovered that Jesus can fill your heart and soul like nothing in this world can.  He is ALL we need... do you spend time with Him??

The King of love my Shepherd is

I just  have a few thoughts rambling through my mind... from things I have read recently, and from things I have heard... So I am thought I would journal them here as I think on them...

I finished reading "House of Love" yesterday by Elizabeth Cheney from Lamplighter Collection.  It was a delightful and encouraging read, and I cried joyful tears at the end.  It has been quite a while since I have cried when finishing a book... the last one that I remember bringing tears was the ending of "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. 

Anyway, there is a song the main character loved and that ministered to her greatly through all the seasons of her life, some very difficult.  She sang it with her mom, she sang it to her "adopted" grandmom, and she sang it to herself and to her Lord.  The words from this song keep running through my head...

The King of love my Shepherd is, 
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His, 
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living waters flow, 
My ransomed soul He leadeth, 
And where the verdant pastures grow, 
With food celestial feedeth,

And so through all the length of days, 
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, let me sing Thy praise, 
Within Thy house forever.

My Shepherd is the King of love... LOVE!  His goodness never fails... NEVER!  And since I am His, I lack not a thing, absolutely nothing!  And He is mine forever... no one can take Him from me, and no one can take me from Him!  How comforting those thoughts are...



And then these thoughts are from some messages I have heard recently...

What you proclaim with your words and declare with your life reveals who you really are...

Our mission is to make much of God.  Those who truly know God desire to make Him known to others.  Since there is no greater knowledge of God than that found in the gospel, we become a people of the gospel who are passionate to make Christ known and enjoyed in this world.

Make my life a canvas for His glory...

I am thankful that I live in the House of Love and that I am a child of the King.  I pray that my life reveals that, and that my life makes much of Him...  I desire for my life to be a canvas on which His glory is displayed...

God will guide you... if you will listen...

I am in the midst of starting to prepare for another year of homeschooling... we are soon to begin 4th grade!!  This means my mind is filled with thoughts and ideas of what to do differently this year, what new ideas should I implement, what should I toss, what curriculum should I change, and which should I stick with.

And then there are the thoughts like this that fill my mind at times, "She does this with her kids, maybe I should do that too."  Or, "Everyone seems to use this resource so will my children be lacking if I don't use it??"   This is really the comparison game... and I have been learning this summer, along with some other great moms, that comparing my insides to someone else's outsides never produces anything good. 

As one can imagine, all of this can be very overwhelming!

So how do I know from year to year what curriculum to use??  What to change and what to keep?? 

I have found that the best way to know how to teach my boys and what resources to use or not to use comes from spending time with my Lord.  That is right, spending time with the Lord... not from any homeschool convention, not from perusing tons of curriculum catalogs, and not doing something just because it works for someone else.  Not that these things are bad, but all of our direction should come from the Lord...

Just yesterday, during my morning devotions, I had started a little list of things to accomplish during the day (I jot down things that jump into my mind so I can get them out of my mind and can focus on the Lord and His Word).  I jotted this down...

• find a catechism to order

Now, this is something that has been in the back of my mind to do for several years.  I have not pursued it, but it has been sitting there, on the shelf in my mind, as something I really should be doing... as something that would be really good for my boys.  I know several people who teach catechisms to their children, and I have read numerous times about them.

Well, after writing that on my to-do list, I picked up "The Duties of Parents" by J. C. Ryle, and begin reading where I had left off the day before.  This is what I read:

"Any system of training which does not make a knowledge of Scripture the first thing is unsafe and unsound. 

You have need to be careful on this point just now, for the devil is abroad, and error abounds.  Some are to be found amongst us who give the Church the honour due to Jesus Christ.  Some are to be found who make the sacraments saviours and passports to eternal life.  And some are to be found in like manner who honour the catechism more than the Bible, or fill the minds of children with miserable little story-books, instead of the Scripture of truth.  But if you love your children, let the simple Bible be everything in the training of their souls; and let all other books go down and take second place. 

Care not so much for their being mighty in the catechism, as for their being mighty in the Scriptures.  This is the training, believe me, that God will honour."  page 16, emphasis mine

Wow!!  I heard my Lord... and I scratched find a catechism to order right off of my list! You see, we study the Bible a lot in our house, we read it together, we pray it together, we practice writing it, and we memorize it and hide it in our hearts.  My Lord sweetly confirmed to me that I do not need to add "another thing to do" to our list of school "stuff."  We just need to keep on doing what we are doing... teaching a love of the Word of God and It's importance to our boys!

God has graciously guided me year by year as to what I have needed to homeschool my boys for His honor and His glory.  He brings curriculum, ideas, and suggestions across my path in such a way that I know that it is His direction and His leading.  I choose to follow Him... for He knows best... He knows my boys better than I do... and He knows His plans for them.  What better curriculum consultant do I need??

Are you spending time with the Lord so He can guide you according to His Word?  Or are you listening to the voices of the world?  Or perhaps comparing your insides with someone else's outsides? 

Stop... and go spend some time with Him.  I promise, His Word will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path, showing you which way you should go...