Isn't God Amazing, says my Peter

Our Sonlight curriculum includes daily Bible reading passages for a whole school year, plus other Bible support materials. This year the boys were assigned, among other Books, 1 and 2 Samuel. We got through the rape of Tamar ( 2 Samuel 13:1-22) with me explaining that Amnon physically attacked Tamar. I didn't explain what type of an attack, mind you, because I hadn't yet purchased purity materials and I didn't feel prepared.

I'm still looking for a reasonable price for what I want.

We got through David sleeping with Bathsheba by my explaining that this was David's sin, not Bathsheba's, because she would have put her life at risk in refusing a King's orders. I didn't say David attacked Bathsheba, per se, but that he forced himself on her, kissing her without her consent. The words, "lay with her" didn't spark much interest in the boys, who are too innocent to read anything into those words.

Then today, they were assigned in the book The Usborne Complete Book of the Microscope, a passage about an egg and sperm uniting:



Page 31: Chromosomes and their genes are passed on during a process called fertilization. This happens when an egg cell from a woman's body joins with a sperm cell from a man's body. In the electron microscope picture above, the rounded shape is an egg cell and the tadpole shape is a sperm cell. They are joining together to create a new cell. The fertilized egg cell will contain a mixture of chromosomes from the sperm cell and the egg cell.

When the fertilized egg cell divides each new cell will carry an exact copy of these chromosomes and the genes in them. The cells will continue dividing to create more and more cells. Over the next nine months, these cells will develop into a baby.

Peter came to me, embarrassed, saying "Can you believe they put this in here? Digusting!"

Mom:  "Why is it disgusting?"

Peter: "Well...okay. I guess it's not." After a hesitation, he added, "Isn't God amazing?"

Whenever he reads something new about God and nature, he always says that:

"Isn't God amazing?"

Dear Lord, in our education endeavors, may we continually point our children to this powerful, life-changing truth...."Isn't God amazing?"

When we know that in our heart and in our heads, we can truly live....Blessed.

I think we'll go over these verses at lunch time today. The microscope is a nifty tool, spreading some light on God's amazing design. I'm blessed to hear that Peter sees it for what it is...God, not science.

Science only helps reveal God's work.

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Isaiah 44:24  "This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself,
 

Books and Homeschool Musings

The school year saunters along nicely around here, until it's time for curriculum decisions. I thought this would be a once-a-year endeavor, but I'm finding that Sonlight, our curriculum of choice, doesn't include enough books for a full year--especially not a 10.5-month school year. Children and families who don't love to read find there are way too many Sonlight selections, while avid readers find there are far too few.

You buy all the novels and other non-fiction resources and Sonlight provides you with tips and support materials, and a daily schedule of readings. If you follow their schedule you have enough for a school year. But when a child loves a book and wants to continue reading, it goes against everything I believe to say, "No, the schedule says to stop here."

I boss the curriculum...it doesn't boss me. I'm teaching a child, not a program. So Peter, an avid reader, has one and a half books left and it's April. (We school until the first week of August.) Paul, who reads slower and goes ahead less, has four books left, still leaving us with a big gap.

So for three days I've been perusing Homeschool Classifieds and e-Bay, hoping for reasonable deals. Homeschooling, if you do it with multiple children, is expensive. And the more children you're working with, the more you need a complete curriculum that doesn't involve frequent library trips for the books you need. The boys and I use the library to supplement our spine program, such as checking out sequels or more titles from a much-beloved author.

I've always schooled the boys together, adjusting as necessary, and now I've begun schooling the girls together using a K-1 combo kit...the Sing, Spell, Read, Write program. This reading program has been around a long time, receiving outstanding reviews from reading experts over the years. The girls and I love it and the boys enjoy watching the fun.

The phonics song included in this program is more effective than the Leap Frog fridge phonics, though I still recommend that purchase, especially since Sing, Spell, Read, Write is over $200 new, though you might be able to buy the CD of songs and letter place mat separately. My Beth has picked up multiple sounds in just a few weeks, previously knowing only about 5. And she's had a blast with the song!

This program includes reading, phonics, spelling and writing, but must be supplemented with read-aloud literature and more easy readers, which we have on hand. I'm also searching for titles from Honey for a Child's Heart to enrich the girls language and love for books, and I'm looking at history titles from Sonlight for young learners.

 

Both my boys enjoy teaching and at this point, they teach math to the girls and read aloud to them intermittently, and sometimes lead their phonics games.

Whenever Peter tags along at a church or nursery class with me, he always mentions that maybe he'll be a Children's Pastor someday, because he really likes working with kids. Other times, he just says he'll have as many children as God allows.

He's definitely on to something...his heart going in the direction God's leading.

I hadn't intended on formally schooling Beth at age 4, but she just couldn't stay away as I taught her sister, preferring to sit on my lap and participate instead of entertaining herself elsewhere. It took me awhile, but I caught on eventually to God's plan. He wanted another schooling duo to make my life easier and the children's schooling more fun.

I've found through Sonlight and other resources, 8 books so far to supplement the boys' year of history: 1850's to approx. 1960's. These first six books I'm featuring are from newer Sonlight curriculum lists from the same period, though these books aren't new. We especially love Marguerite de Angeli's novels, so I can't wait to read Thee, Hannah!

I'm taking the time to list these here because they seem like wonderful literature to read together as family, or to give to your children for nighttime or weekend reading. I haven't chosen these to fit a particular grade level, but more for their period content (most fall into a 9-13 age range).

I know the books Sarita, Sonlight's founder, chooses, so I already know you'll love these. Her picks pull on your heartstrings without being sentimental or sappy. They say something profound about the human condition, about childhood and character building, or about God. They're timeless and in a selection of over 40, there are usually only two I don't care for.

Understood Betsy is a book I've been meaning to have the children read for awhile now, and the Corrie ten Boom as well. They happen to match the time periods we're learning about this year.

You can never know enough about literature, I say.



Synopsis: Discover pre-Civil War Quaker life with 9-year-old Hannah and her family. Hannah finds it hard to wear a plain bonnet that pinches her ears and a plain dress with no lace! Will she ever understand the value of plain dress and learn to be content as a Friend? The answer may come when Hannah gets to live out her Quaker heritage and help some runaway slaves. (synopsis found on Sonlight product-page , by clicking on the book)

Synopsis: Life in Sassafras Springs has always been predictable, boring. But that all changes when Eben McAllister's pa challenges him to find Seven Wonders in Sassafras that rival the real Seven Wonders of the World.

Eben doesn't think he'll have any luck, but little does he know that the Wonders he'll discover among his neighbors and family will give him the adventure of a lifetime ... without ever leaving home.

Synopsis: Quiet, 9-year-old Gregory is searching modern London with his precocious sister Janet in tow. His quest? To find a Ukrainian icon of the Madonna and Child for Marta, the family's hired help from Polish Ukraine.

Instead of retreating into his usual silence, each difficulty helps Gregory draw from the well of faith and resourcefulness within him. Master storyteller Rumer Godden brings to life a portrait of a lonely boy discovering the creative power of love.

Synopsis: A lighthearted adventure that explores how siblings can learn to work together and play together. Four siblings stumble upon a magic coin one boring summer and discover they get half of whatever they wish for. Between rescuing Sir Lancelot, exploring the Arabian desert, and learning how to love each other, the children are in for one wild ride!




Synopsis: Tells the dramatic story of our nation's struggle with slavery and human rights in the pre-Civil War years. These were the days of Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln and Dred Scott--figures God used to change the course of human history. Watch John Quincy Adams fight for the rights of the rebellious slaves on the Amistad, and see how abolitionist movements gained momentum. Learn about the events that led up to the Civil War, including the Mexican War, the Gold Rush, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the emergence of Abraham Lincoln.

The "Discovering God's Plan for America" series offers a different perspective and covers different key events than most other American history books. A helpful tool for considering views and looking at the same story through different perspectives.




Classic tales of American folk heroes. Adventure alongside Paul Bunyan and his giant ox, that coyote cowboy Pecos Bill, sailing Stormalong, riverman Mike Fink, frontier hero Davy Crockett, the legendary Johnny Appleseed, hammering John Henry, and made-of-steel Joe Magarac.




Synopsis: Corrie ten Boom's ordered life was lost in the insanity of war. With bravery and compassion, her family and countless other Dutch citizens risked everything to extend God's hand to those innocents marked for certain execution in a world gone mad. Corrie ten boom's life of determination, faith, and forgiveness in the face of unimaginable brutality and hardship is a stunning testimony to the sustaining power of God. (publisher synopsis)



Synopsis:  A warm and charming portrayal of life in the early 1900s. Sheltered 9-year-old Elizabeth Ann has always heard her Aunt Frances talk about "those horrid Vermont cousins." Now she is terrified. Aunt Frances can no longer take care of her, and she has been sent to stay with her New England relatives. "Betsy" gradually comes to enjoy the challenge of living with her country cousins, and she has a difficult choice to make. A delightful book. (synopsis from good reads)

If you like the idea of homeschooling, or just enriching their childhood and their hearts through literature, you can also peruse other literature-based homeschool companies. I don't have time to include the links, but Tapestry of Grace is out there, offering good wholesome literature that is tamer and lighter than Sonlight's, and Heart of Dakota, and My Father's World. Sonlight makes you think and feel, sometimes outside your comfort zone. The other Christian-based, literature-based companies stay on the safe side, not wanting to offend anyone with the occasional cuss word or premature kiss (though I should say that the majority of Sonlight's are very wholesome). You have to pre-read Sonlight's selections, whereas I doubt it would matter spiritually if you didn't pre-read those from these other companies. It's just that reading all of them enhances your teaching/discussions.

Okay, friends. I wish you a day curled up with a good book, after you finish those breakfast dishes and dress all those babies. And switch that laundry and wipe down that toilet. 

And, oh my. Where did the day go? 

I started my day with beautiful Psalm 84. Enjoy


1How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you.

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
    listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield, O God;
    look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ 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.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² Lord Almighty,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Easter Skit for the Whole Family (really simple)

What does loving your neighbor as yourself really mean, as a parent? Well, as I carry tissues around and sneeze and feel the ache in my head, I can tell you what it does not mean.

If your preschooler is snotting up a storm (clear or green...it doesn't matter) and coughing as well, you should not send her to AWANA Cubbies or to the Family Night at church, no matter how much she begs. For if you do, she is surely to pass it to several families, spoiling their Easter at least in part.

Ours was one of the families who caught little Lilly's nasty cold virus, as well as the pastor's family. I had to cancel Easter dinner with our friend Dean, who was our scheduled guest, so he wouldn't get sick. In addition, I have no energy for cooking; I am not pleased with her parents at all!

But that's not why I'm posting today.

I have an idea to share for a simple Easter play your whole family can participate in, as well as your Easter dinner guests. My children and I performed this for the AWANA Cubbies lesson last week and it was a big hit.

Turn to page 302 in your Jesus Storybook Bible. Using pages 302 - 316 as your script, perform an Easter play which includes Jesus going to the Cross, through his resurrection and Mary Magdelene seeing him near the tomb.



I wrote out the script on paper, but you can be the narrator and just read from the Jesus Storybook Bible. When it comes to the dialogue, you can just say it and have the characters repeat it, or you can have them study their lines (there aren't many lines).

This is powerful, my friends! It takes little preparation and your children and all the adults will glean much from the experience.  I promise!

You will need some simple props:

Tomb and Large Rock -  For the tomb and the large stone, we used a storage box, and a trash bag over-stuffed with stuffed animals. We turned the storage box over on its side, to serve as the tomb. It fit my six-year-old daughter perfectly. We used the over-stuffed trash bag as the large stone, pretending it was very heavy.

Cross - We used a straw broom, with the person playing Jesus keeping their hands out to the sides

Scarlet Robe & Crown of Thorns ( used to mock Jesus) - We used a purple towel and a bread basket hat

Toy Hammer & pretend nails - We just pretended we had nails, and used a toy hammer

And that's it. Really simple and yet very powerful. As you read the narrative, you'll use the people in your "audience" to perform other parts as they come up (angels, guards, etc.). Some will get multiple parts.

Just telling the story of Easter is not enough, since only a portion of people are auditory learners. A slight majority are visual, with a smaller percentage being tactile-kinesthetic. The beauty of this idea is, a play engages all learning styles and bonds your family.

Keep this in mind too, for later: many of the stories in the Jesus Storybook Bible lend themselves to simple yet powerful skits.

I know you probably have a lot of other Easter preparations, but this is well worth your time. Your children can gather all the props...you only have to read the passages.

Enjoy! Wishing a joyous Resurrection Day to all my friends!
 

Praying Old Prayers With New Faith

source

The AWANA Cubbies' teacher is out of town and in preparation for teaching the lesson tonight, I read the accounts of Jesus' resurrection in all four Gospels. I came across the doubting Thomas passage, which I've read many times before. But the Holy Spirit teaches every scripture in our hearts with a different emphasis, depending on where we're at spiritually.

We can never be done with the Bible, but Satan can and will deceive us into thinking we don't need it, with as much cunning as he deceived Eve in the Garden. Essentially, the serpent told Eve, "You don't need God." And she believed him.

The less we read our Bibles, the less we have of God. And what do we need more than God? What do our souls crave more than God? Nothing.

Don't let the serpent work on you. The Bible is mirror and soap...to reveal and wash away our sins and give us a new beginning...a new energy to obey and serve. And a renewed hope in, and love for, the Lord our God.

Without mirror and soap, what would we be? Like filthy, stinky vagabonds, following the serpent blindly.

As you read this doubting Thomas passage, remember the lesson I wrote about on Monday, regarding the power of faith? Here we have another example of how we please the Lord with our faith. Look especially for Jesus' response to Thomas' doubting.

 John 20:24-29

Jesus and Thomas (ESV scripture source here)

24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

How many times have I prayed for my extended family's salvation over the past 16 years? More times than I can count, but how many times did I pray with a strong faith that the Lord would answer?

Less than I'd like to recount.

How many times have my husband and me prayed about my headaches over the 14 years we've been married? Countless times, but how many times did we pray with faith that healing would really happen?

I can only speak for myself, but....less times than I'd like to recount.

I have great faith, don't get me wrong. I know the Lord can save, and can heal. I know He's mighty enough...sovereign enough.

But lately scripture has taught me anew that my faith pleases the Lord. If I can't pray a prayer with real faith that it will be answered, why pray it at all?

John 14:13
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Matthew 7:7
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

1 John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Isaiah 55:8-9, below, reminds me that God doesn't have to answer my prayers with a yes. His ways are not my ways and sometimes, a no answer is the best. He answers according to His will, and eventually as we grow in Him, we begin to pray according to His will.

Isaiah 55:8-9
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Sometimes--this is what I think about perhaps too often--the Lord says no because His grace is sufficient for us, as he taught the Apostle Paul about the thorn in his flesh. My problem is that all too often I pray thinking God will say no, offering His grace instead.

When I pray without faith, who am I fooling? The Lord knows my heart when I pray. When I assume he will offer grace instead of a yes, aren't I being rather presumptuous...guessing the Lord's ways? Even questioning, in a sense, his sovereignty?

I urge you to consider, especially if you have long-unanswered prayer, are you praying with the faith of a little child? An eager, believing child?

Mark 10:13-16 He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all." 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands upon them.

John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

We all need reminders of  Hebrews 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please God...

 Please Him today...pray old prayers with new faith.
 

Multitude Monday: Faith As Power



source



 

As we try, especially this week, to grasp the magnitude of the Cross, it helps to look at the Bible as one, whole, cohesive message. Reading the accounts of Jesus' humiliation and pain go far to put gratitude in our hearts, but the Bible as a whole gives us rich context for this defining event of our Christian faith.

That's what I love about the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. It captures what God is trying to say throughout scripture, as He leads up to His Son's suffering and resurrection in the New Testament. This last Saturday at our Children's Bible Study we taught "The Present" from page 62. It's the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering.

 

It's also the story of what each one of us has to reckon with every day of our lives.  

Faith.

My son Peter still has trouble with the OCD, and as I converse with another Christian mother who deals with this, I'm shocked and dismayed at the five medications her son needs to reasonably control the condition. Still, he's quirky and lonely, stressed and struggling. When he has violent thoughts he must keep them inside because friends don't understand.

 

OCD people are not violent or dangerous, but they have horrible thoughts that eat up precious hours of their lives and keep them isolated. This thorn in their flesh costs them greatly. They must daily remember and try to live God's response to the Apostle Paul about the thorn in his flesh:

 

 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

The future is uncertain and every day, I have to remind myself of God's promises, especially as nine-year-old Paul develops serious anxieties of his own. I wonder about all my children. We don't have much history of cancer or heart disease in our genes. My family and my husband's tend to live long lives, but we have mental issues galore and it's scary.

Your circumstances? They're surely different, but I'm willing to guess you have at least one situation that seriously worries you, that carries risk and uncertainty and possibly staggering implications.

Every day we have to think about what Jesus calls his people to.  A life of faith.

Every quality that Jesus displayed throughout his 3-year earthly ministry, he wants us to display. Sacrifice, love, gentleness, humility, peace...the whole list. He want us to become like him and only through faith--deep, abiding faith, are we transformed.

When I read the story of Abraham and Issac, I see clearly the one thing we all need to follow Jesus well. Yes, it's faith. We can't give our resources to the poor without faith. We can't deny ourselves without faith. We can't respond in gentleness and humility without faith. We are nothing and can do nothing, without faith. God's promises and His faithfulness to fulfill them, are what keep us alive spiritually on a daily basis. They feed, build, sustain and renew our faith.

Abraham's response here in Genesis 22:1-14 is staggering. Read this account and be amazed, and understand what is needed in your daily life. Our faith is not only credited to us as righteousness, it's also the key to perfect peace. It's the key to finding blessing in each hour. It's the key to a soul that soars in the heavens, while residing on earth.

Genesis 22:1-14

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.  

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Giving Thanks Today:

Dear Father, thank you for these examples and blessings:

~ Abraham having the faith to say to his son Issac, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." Abraham was surely worried for his son, like I am for mine, but he believed God and I will too...that He works all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Like Abraham, I can have this kind of confidence in my Lord. Every day of my life.

 ~ A faithful, loving husband.

~ Being with my girls as I helped in their Sunday school class. I was so proud of them and so happy about the wonderful curriculum our church uses.

 ~ Sharing my thoughts about the Lord and His Holy Word with my children.

~ Teaching my children and others with the wonderful Jesus Storybook curriculum.

~ That our faith is a gift God's renews and feeds through his Holy Word and his Holy Spirit.

~ That God provided the sacrifice and that our faith saves us...not just that first time we believe, but every day.

~ For other mothers who share their faith and their burdens with me, and help carry mine.

~ For my daughters and the gift of their love, and the enjoyment of seeing them blossom.

 ~ For my sons and the gift of their love, and the enjoyment of seeing their faith grow.


What are you thankful for today?