This portion of scripture has really encouraged me over the years when money has been exceptionally tight:

Luke 12:22-40 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!

And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.

Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

Tags: Bible Truths

Two of my “big boys” are working at a new neighbor’s home. It is a very large log home (about 6,000 sq. ft.) sanding the entire thing and staining it. They had heard good reports about our boys from other neighbors, so offered them a VERY well-paying job.

I take them and pick them up. Although they are only 3 doors down, it’s about a half a mile. Here’s some of the discussion they reported to me as of late. We all found it quite humorous, similar to what my older son experienced at his place of work:

Last week, their [adult] son moved back home. He is helping with the sanding, as are the woman and the the man of the house. The woman is QUITE A CHARACTER. Today, the son finds out we don’t have a tv. “You mean, you have NEVER watched a video IN YOUR LIFE?”

My son, Joe, says, “Well, I did see a short one in hunter’s safety class.”

“Yeah,” he replies, “but that’s EDUCAAATIONAL”

So he asks, “have you seen Star Wars?”

“No, but we have the book.”

“Have you seen JRR Tolken’s stuff?”

“No, but we have his books.”

“How about CS Lewis?”

“No, but we have his books and I’ve heard audio tapes.”

“AHA!” He exclaims, “So you ARE lazy!” So he asks, “Do you play VIDEO GAMES?”

“No.”

The son tells my boys that he has over 300 dvd’s. He said, “I’ll find you a “good” one to watch.” Then he turns to his mom and says, “Mom, which dvd should I show the boys?” to which she replies, “Remember, they aren’t allowed in the house.”

He says, “I’ll bring the tv out here!”

So the woman says to the boys, “I was thinking of your poor mom and how much work kids are with all that cooking and cleaning.”

My son, Joe says to her, “Oh, my sister cooks all the dinners and we take turns with lunches.”

“Oh, but the dishes!” She exclaimed.

“We have assigned chores.”

Evidently, she wasn’t going to be happy with any answer he gave because the next thing she says is, “When I was growing up, we had a neighbor that had 16 kids! They were treated like SLAVES! They never played with us. Well, ONCE, they played with us.

Joe told me he set her straight. But then she asks him, because she and the husband argue all the time, “Do your parents ever fight?”

“No.”

“You mean they NEVER fight?”

“Not that I know of,” Joe replies.

Joe said that she laid down the law to her husband NOT to curse in front of my boys. She keeps scolding her son when he cusses and yet, SHE does it! “OOPS! Don’t tell your mother! That’s the ONLY one I say.”

Yesterday, when I picked them up, they told me the last thing she said to them as they said good bye was, “Remember, don’t tell your mother ~wink~”

Tags: Joe, television

In 1 Peter 3:15, it says, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts…”

Sanctify:

hagiazō
hag-ee-ad’-zo
To make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: – hallow, be holy, sanctify.

From Webster’s:

SANC’TIFY, v.t. [Low L. sanctifico; from sanctus, holy, and facio, to make.]

1. In a general sense, to cleanse, purify or make holy.
2. To separate, set apart or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use.
3. To purify; to prepare for divine service, and for partaking of holy things. Exo 19.
4. To separate, ordain and appoint to the work of redemption and the government of the church. John 10.
5. To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.
6. To make the means of holiness; to render productive of holiness or piety.
7. To make free from guilt.
8. To secure from violation.

Can we do this? 1 Peter 1:13-16 tells us to… 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

5:25-27 also says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” AHA!

Oh what a beautiful picture…being washed in God’s Word! I think that’s why I love to listen to it read to me out loud. I love to hear it quoted. I just soak it in, every syllable of it!

In light of the idea of keeping our children pure…and even ourselves, what steps can we do to be sanctified…holy…set apart?

Even if our husbands are not washing us in the word, we can be washing our children in God’s Word. It’s a whole lifestyle change….remember…we are aliens and strangers here….this world is only temporary. Where do we hang our hat? We can be keeping them set apart by:

• Getting rid of the television
• Getting rid of social influences that thwart holiness (this may include neighbors or family members)
• Get rid of reading material that is opposite of purity
• Know where your children are at all times and be with them
• Protecting our sons’ eyes from immodest women, clothing, magazines at the stores (how about turning magazines around at the checkout? I do.)
• Not taking our families to beaches or swim areas in which immodest apparel is worn.
• Make sure we and our daughters are dressed in purity, which includes swimwear or running around the house in anything see-through, too short, low cut, etc.
• Speak to each other in love, encouraging each other

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Romans 8:12-14 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

The time we have with our children is oh so short!

Ephesians 5:3-20
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

Tags: Bible Truths, Family, television

Q.

We recently added a new baby to the family and I can’t keep up with kids, homeschool and the house. I am about ready to throw in the towel and send the kids to public school.

A.

When I was about at your place, we realized some things needed to change. These are what helped us. Your mileage may vary.

• Changed homeschool curriculum so my time wasn’t spent, exhaustively, continually, helping. We switched from Bob Jones to SOS
• We incorporated MOTH scheduling into our lives. This is coming from someone who has never been a schedule person. I find it flexible.
• We evaluated what the kids were doing to carry a lot of the load and made sure that they were all being trained as per their level of ability for chores.
• We reevaluated to be sure us parents were diligent to discipline the children (mostly me!).
• We got rid of a lot of toys and clutter.
• We reevaluated what activities we were doing and how/where we were spending our time. We had been busy with a lot of activities and realized we needed to focus on being a family unit. Going out all the time caused a lot of stress involving clean clothes, chores being done, meals prepared, just everything.

I know there was more, but that is just what I could think of first. I hope you and your husband communicate a lot.

Oh… and another thing… this is really a short season in your life. Enjoy your children and hold those babies. You may also gain something from this post.

Tags: baby, Family, Homeschool, Organization

Plan on putting any food up this fall? Cherries? Peaches? Green beans? Now is the time to be looking for those canning jars!

I have found my jars at:

• Garage sales: ASK. People forget when they have been tucked in the cellar or under their basement stairs for 20 years.
• Thrift stores.
• Church rummage sales.
• Elderly neighbors who don’t can anymore.

Be sure to run your finger over the rim for cracks, chips or bumps that would cause it not to seal when canning. Those jars are no good and should just be thrown away.

My preference is wide mouth because everything fits in a wide mouth jar, especially pickles/cucumbers.

Tags: canning, kitchen cares