The Sweetest Name I Know

Please excuse my month long absence- I got sick.
I think most of us are creatures of comfort and I know I am to a fault so when I am in an uncomfortable situation- like being sick- I can't do anything I normally do, make good decisions, and exercise common sense.
I am very grateful, though, for the way my illness worked out.
I got sick on a Tuesday and I couldn't move- I had all sorts of aches, pains, irritations, and nonsense going on in me and I had to sleep it off. Only my husband was working and I had to watch our son.
I blocked the stairs off and the dear child just played by himself for the better part of the day- not getting into any trouble and letting me sleep in peace. He took a nap with me in the late afternoon.
He got sick the next day and since I had been through the worst of it I was able to meet his needs and nurse him better.
I haven't been sick like that since before I was married and I am so grateful God took care of us like He did.
That was almost three weeks ago now and I'm *just* beginning to feel like myself again. It took two weeks for me to be back to normal energy and my appetite has finally revived. Now that I'm more comfortable I'm in a better mood and able to write.

Easter is this weekend and whatever you may think of this holiday that originated as a pagan holiday, you must admit it is the one time of the year we really emphasize the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
Christ's sacrifice is something we should emphasize all the time.
For instance, my pastor once said, 'is what they did to you worse than what Christ suffered on the cross? No? Then forgive them'. Bitterness, emnity, and wrath come all too easily out of those little, pointed comments people make to us but we have to remember what Christ forgave and move on.

Because of the nature of this weekend, my bible reading, and my pastor's teaching this past Wednesday, I've been thinking a lot about Jesus.
Obviously, I love Jesus and I can't wait to see His face. I'll admit, I'm most excited to see Him in all His glory with the most violent God haters who ever lived bowing before Him in absolute submission. One of my favourite verses of all time- definitely in my top three is this one:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a

white horse; and he that sat upon him was

called Faithful and True, and in

righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Revelation 19:11

Well, I'm excited about that- it's going to be awesome.

Anyways, I thought I'd share some of the things the Lord has put on my heart about Jesus recently and over the years. 

This verse has convicted me for a long long time:

Behold my servant, whom I have chosen;

my beloved, in whom my soul is well

pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he

shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall

any man hear his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and

smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send

forth judgment unto victory.

And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

Matthew 12:18-21

I am not a gentle person. I can be but I have to think about it and put effort into it. If I want something done I jerk everything (and everyone) around until it's done. Sometimes I'm trying to wipe my son's nose and he's struggling and I'm finding myself with a strong hand holding his head straight while the other hand is aggressively wiping his face.

Then I remember this verse- a bruised reed shall he not break. Our Saviour is a gentle Saviour. He won't even break something that's a rough wind away from falling over. It's such a small, little thing, but the Lord brings it to my heart on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis.

Here's a great one in Psalms:

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy

salvation: and thy right hand hath holden

me up, and thy gentleness hath made me

great.

Psalm 18:35

I'm not a great person, by any means, but I will tell you that the Lord's gentleness has made great differences in my life. Where other's have failed me there, God's gentleness has brought me around and kept me by His side.

My worst Christmas in recent memory was during my pregnancy with my son. I was having the worst time at work, an important authority in my life had wounded me deeply, I fell and was limping around on a swollen ankle, and I was massive- not a bad thing but it was uncomfortable.

In all that I listened to a sermon series by Dilbert Terry called 'God's Lost and Found Department' based in Luke 15 about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son (aka the prodigal)- find the series here close to the bottom of the page.

What man of you, having an hundred

sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave

the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go

after that which is lost, until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on

his shoulders, rejoicing.

Luke 15:5

In the sermon about the lost sheep he said this, 'isn't it a comfort that Jesus carries you all the way home'.

Think about it- you're a lost sinner, hopeless, headed to hell and Jesus, searching and searching finds you, you accept His sacrifice for your sins, He lifts you up, puts you on His shoulders, and carries you all your life long until you're home with Him.

I can't even describe how much strength that one thought gave me at the time. It makes me all the more thankful remembering that Jesus carries us, He doesn't just lead us.

One of the things I love reading about Jesus is how He came and threw a giant wrench at the religious leaders of that day.

The Pharisees were very protective of the Sabbath and I'm thinking, 'well that guy got stoned in Moses' day for picking up sticks on the Sabbath so I sort of see their point...' 

They don't have a point, though, because Jesus was intolerant of them. Jesus doesn't mess around with them- their problem is their hearts. They were utterly dedicated to being clean on the outside while they left their inside to rot away and stink. (See these passages: Matthew 15, Matthew 23)

Christ did miracles in front of people but still the pharisees were not satisfied:

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees

came, and tempting desired him that he

would shew them a sign from heaven.

Matthew 16:1

In the previous chapter he had healed a Gentile woman's daughter and fed over 4000 people. Um, I think those are signs, guys.

The Pharisees and the Jews did not accept Christ because He didn't do things their way. They wanted a conquering King. Notice how the wisemen said

Saying, where is he that is BORN king of the Jews?

Matthew 2:2a (emphasis is mine)

Herod was king of Judea but he had got that position from Rome and he himself wasn't even a Jew. He was an Edomite. 

So the Jews were expecting a King (Matthew 2:2, John 1:45, John 1:49) but the one who was performing miracles was born in a barn and laid in a manger (Luke 1:7). He had no where to lay His head (Matthew 8:20) and He came into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey (Matthew 21:1-7). None of the religious leaders of His day approved of the company he kept (Mark 2:15-20). He was subject to Rome and instructed the people to do likewise (Matthew 22, Mark 12, Luke 20, Romans 13:1-7).

All those things are wrenches Christ threw at the people He came to save and they did not accept Him (Matthew 11:20)

God never does things the way we think He should. He always fixes things in, what we think is, the strangest way. The Jew's rejection of Christ is great for us Gentiles- we're in! We get free salvation!
Sometimes, though, we really want something to go a certain way, someone to do a certain thing, or God to intervene in a certain way, and He just does something different that you wouldn't expect to teach you something you would have never learned otherwise.

The biggest wrench in my life is my husband. I call him a wrench in a loving way- he teaches me so much. See, I have all my beliefs down pat and M comes along, questions this, throws out that, makes me seriously consider this that and the other thing, and I'm always left with a new conviction that I would never have arrived at on my own.

Here's an easy example: what to wear to church. My honest conviction about dressing for church is that I should look better than I do all week. I should take care to wear clothes specially set apart for worship and the best way to honour and respect God is to make sure they are modest, neat, and ironed. ****Please understand that this is MY conviction for what ME, MYSELF, AND I wear to church. You don't have to look at my conviction and be convicted. God dealt with ME about how I should dress. He will deal with YOU about how YOU should dress. I am not saying any of this to try to tell YOU what YOU should do. GOD DEALS WITH US ALL INDIVIDUALLY.****

To be more clear I'll let you in on how God dealt with me and my clothes:

I used to dress like a slob (still do most of the time), I wouldn't put any effort into ironing, wiping dirt off my leather boots, and so on. God came down pretty hard on me about it at the place I was working. Sure the people around me at work put a lot of stock into what is worn and how you are presented, but God showed me through them that it does not glorify Him to look like a slob. I actually began to be really convicted about it when a preacher was talking about this verse:

And David behaved himself wisely in all

his ways; and the LORD was with him.

1 Samuel 18:14

The preacher (Dilbert Terry) I have never found to tell people how to dress, but here he mentioned that when David behaved wisely in all his ways it also means he dressed properly, looked neat, and kept himself tidy.

When he said that I realized that I don't do that. I did not take care of my appearance. It began to bother me and eventually embarrass me that I didn't take care to glorify God by being tidily dressed. 

Now, when I choose my clothes I choose them out of respect for the Lord. Comfort is a close second (I'm really not myself when I'm uncomfortable), modesty is third, and pleasing to my husband is fourth.

Back to my example- My husband wears jeans to church. He wears dress shirts on top and nice shoes but he's still in jeans- he always wears jeans.

It bothered me for a while and when I finally asked him about it he told me this:

When he was young and living in one of the maritime provinces his dad was the pastor of a big church that had a Christian school. There were well respected men who held high positions at the church and the school who wore three piece suits every Sunday. These were assistant pastors, deacons, principals, teachers, and so on. It came out, little by little, as these things do, that quite a few of these men were sexually harassing their own children.

Yeah. Horrific. Most of those children ended up committing suicide.

It didn't matter that those people dressed impressively. Their fancy clothes were just hiding-briefly- what was inside.

My husband told me that people try to use clothes to one up each other- especially women. He said its no longer about glorifying God but looking better than everyone else. 

My husband honestly is not convicted about wearing jeans to church. That throws a wrench at me very often because my honest conviction is that I should wear clothes that are set aside for special times.

I say all that to say this: my husband keeps me humble when it comes to what I wear to church. If he was all stuffy and had a similar conviction as me we might lose focus and think we're better just because of what we wear. Instead, my husband's jeans constantly remind me that what I wear doesn't matter if I don't have the right heart.

That's just one wrench in hundreds of other ones. My husband keeps me honest about myself. It's frustrating sometimes but it's what God wants for me.

Jesus shook them up really good and few came out of it better (the apostles were among the few that did). Now I look at people who have different convictions in a different light. If what they do bothers me I have to ask myself 'why? Is it pride?'.

I was having a conversation with some people the other day and we were talking about children's movies. I mentioned that I really look at the message behind the movie. I gave the example of The Little Mermaid and how Ariel disobeyed her father. Even though it turned out alright in the end, it was still rebellion and it could've turned out horribly if it wasn't a disney movie. I don't want my son getting the subliminal message that disobedience turns out alright in the end. It occasionally does but it often doesn't. A person in the conversation- who I consider very wise- said that they weren't as concerned with that as much as the attitudes of the main characters.

Now that was a wrench because I'm thinking the message of any movie/TV show makes or breaks it. To hear someone I respect say that the attitude is what they look at threw me for a loop. I hadn't considered it but now that I do, my son is a lot happier after he watches more positive characters than surly ones. It makes a lot of sense and along with the overall message of a movie/TV show I'll definitely pay closer attention to the attitudes of the main characters.

I could've left that conversation thinking that person is an idiot and that I know better, instead I'll use their conviction to learn from and gain a perspective I wouldn't be able to otherwise because I've had different experiences in life.

On Wednesday evening my pastor spoke about making Jesus the centre of everything we do.
That really convicted me and it has almost been all I've thought about since Wednesday. I've mostly thought about it concerning my ministries- this blog, my class, and outreach.
Out of those three, my class has been most heavily on my mind. I know God was telling me that a lot of the things I plan and do in class are with the children in mind.
I think it has a lot to do with the type of children they are. They are all very confident and interactive and I find myself thinking up interesting ways to teach them 'for them'.
God has been showing me that when I ask the children questions in our review games I need to focus more on what we can learn from the lesson and put more emphasis on learning from the bible characters rather than learning about them.
This week God showed me that I need to emphasize personal relationships with Christ. I need to teach the children how to be close to their Saviour.
Looking at my class in this light I can see that a lot of the things spoken about are 'I, me, us' and whatnot. What I need to do is take the focus off the children and toward Christ.
My church did an Easter event for our community this past week. I took some invitations and got out a few. On Friday I was struggling because I started to question why I was going door to door to leave the invitations. I honestly felt I should not go if I was doing them for myself. I decided I needed to go but before I went I prayed to God that I would have the right heart about doing them, and do them for the right reason.
I don't know if I bore any fruit or will bear any fruit. I do know that it is my sincere endeavor, though, to make Jesus the centre of everything I do.
My husband's great grandmother was saved and then cast out of her home by her family. She read this verse:

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus

Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy

house.

Acts 16:31

My father-in-law told me this, "she said, 'God, I'm claiming that verse'" and, sure enough, her whole family eventually got saved.

She married and had lots of children- 12 I think. She prayed every night with each one of them and all of them except one (who became a farmer and was saved) was called to the ministry.

I think about that a lot when it comes to my son. I don't know how she prayed or what she prayed or how she taught them but she instilled a love for the Lord in her children.
Whatever she did, I know that Christ was the centre of it because the boat won't sink if Christ is on board.

Well, there you have it, some of the things I love about Jesus.

If you don't know Jesus as your Saviour, you have no idea what peace is.

Accepting Christ as your Saviour is absolute liberty. You don't have to worry about 'being good' or 'doing good'. All the wrong you've ever done will be washed away by His blood and you don't have to feel guilty any more.

It's the easiest thing and it is the difference between eternity in heaven and eternity in hell:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth

the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine

heart that God hath raised him from the

dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:9

I also have a post that breaks it down a little more: Salvation

I hope this was a blessing and a help to you!

How I Decide What to Post

When I first started this blog I thought it would be a stay-at-home-mom blog where I'd post mom/wife/home type things with smatterings of my interests like the bible, knitting, gardening, and things like that.
Obviously I post about those things occasionally but it clearly isn't the point of this blog.

The purpose of this blog is to glorify God in any way He wants to be glorified. If He wants a family blog, He'll get a family blog. However, He doesn't seem to. He seems to want me to write about biblical issues I am presented with whether in my devotions, church, or daily observations.
Whether I have one reader, a hundred readers or no readers, the point of this blog is to be a blessing to anyone that comes across it and to strengthen my faith and walk with God.
If I am the only one who benefits from this blog, then so be it.
I've always enjoyed writing. If I had pursued it the way I should have I would certainly be better at it. Other than linking to this blog on my pinterest, instagram, and twitter accounts, I don't really promote it. I want this to be a work of God, not a work of grace (me).

That being said, how do I decide what to write about?
It starts, as everything should, with prayer.
I pray about this blog, I ask what to write about, I pray while I write, I make sure that it is a work of faith.
I don't know if anyone is reading this blog on a regular basis, if anyone is, I have no idea what they need. God knows who this blog reaches and what they need. If I want this blog to be a blessing to anyone, including myself, I can't rely on my knowledge. I have to rely on His.
I will say that I do fail at this sometimes. I have deleted published posts that were not written with the right heart.

Secondly I write about whatever keeps coming up. It can be something I keep observing, something that really effects me, or something God lays on my heart.
I am very passionate about the bible. I am very passionate about true doctrine. I'm not willing to just make a statement about the bible without proving it from the bible. I want to be as biblically sound as possible. For that reason my posts are longer and take more time to write. It isn't a bad thing but I do realize that I should write more posts that are shorter and simpler, like this one.

Lastly I try to post about things that are a blessing to me. This blog is, in a way, about being a stay-at-home-mom who is trying to serve the Lord with her life. I don't have a clue about what it takes to be a man but I do know a little bit about being a wife and mother. I hope my experiences and things that make a blessed difference in my life can help others in similar situations. There are things that people have given and shown me that are daily a blessing. I hope I can give that to others.

Things I try to stay away from:
Using this blog to complain. It just gives way to my flesh and does not help anybody.

Stirring up strife. While I know that the gospel is an offense and preaching is foolishness to the world, I do not believe in writing about things just to make people angry and offended. If God leads me to write a post that will offend people, I certainly will, but to go out of my way to deliberately anger people is not the purpose of this blog. For example: a person I know once said something contrary to the bible in front of my husband and myself. We then corrected him and it lead to a long discussion. After that, this person posted on facebook that my husband and I had attacked him. This person knew full well what our stance on the bible is and he deliberately said something we would not let him get away with. I do not want to be that person. People who live for God will be attacked in one way or another no matter what they do. I will not invite it for the sake of inviting it.

Being negative about people in my life. While I draw from personal experience I do not want to slander anyone. There are many times I've done or said something out of character simply because I was tired, grumpy, or just not thinking. I want to give people the benefit of the the doubt, be gracious, and understanding towards them. Just because I have a place to speak doesn't mean I should use it against people.

Being negative in general. Let's face it- there are a lot of negatives in life and we tend to focus on those more than the positives. If a negative post must be written then so be it but I want those posts to be the exception, not the rule.

Leading others astray. There are issues I'd like to write about but it would mean talking about things and people that may lead others astray. I will not give someone the tools to fall into false doctrine. For example: there is a blogger I read occasionally who says a lot of things about current issues I agree with. However, though he claims to be a Christian I have not found one page on his site promoting salvation or presenting his beliefs. On top of that he does not use the King James when he quotes 'scripture'. Because of all that and a few other things, I will not promote his blog on this blog. I would love to be a resource for good Godly materials. As it is, most blogs and websites out there have doctrinal problems that could harm a new Christian. I will not be responsible for that.

Writing things I would not people who know me to read. In a sermon I was listening to a little while ago the preacher asked if we would be okay if Jesus looked through our phones. I thought about it and was very happy to realize that I keep my phone clean. Anyone can look through my phone and I would not be ashamed. I want my blog to be like that. I want to present myself as myself. I don't want to paint one picture on here and another in my daily life. Anything I admit on here I should be able to admit at church, to my family, and to others. I don't want to be worried that someone I know will find this blog, and read something I'd rather they did not read. I want my conscience to be clear about what I write.

There you have it! The ways I govern this blog.
I hope this was in some way a blessing to you!

More than Teaching

One of the things I appreciate most about my pastor is his diligence to instruct and teach. He wants us to serve the Lord the best we can and he knows that there are things we need to learn on the way.
While there are lots of classes, teachers, events, and things going on, he is constantly reminding us of the purpose of it all- strengthening our relationships with each other and most importantly winning souls.
Almost every Sunday evening before the service we have a teacher's meeting. There he checks in on all the teachers, hears prayer requests, concerns, and teaches us about teaching.
Something he's been particularly drilling home is our need as teachers to fellowship with our students outside the class and thus showing our students that we're living the Word that we're teaching.
He has stressed, many times that being involved in church and fellowshipping with our students is as much part of teaching as the actual class time. If I tell them that telling others about Christ is our number one priority and never show up for Saturday morning outreach, they will never believe I'm living what I'm teaching.
Every third Saturday our outreach is a gym-night. On Sunday pastor announced it and said it was for 'elementary and high school'. Since he specified the age this time I asked him on Wednesday if I should still come since my son is only two and doesn't participate at all.
Pastor said I should absolutely come so that I can fellowship with my new students.

This short discussion really got me thinking.
On Sunday I was talking to my little cousin, she is fourteen, and in the midst of high school. High school is a treacherous place and if you're not grounded as a believer, you will be tossed from the Solid Rock and lose your way with bad friends in a multitude of temptations.
One thing she said to me is that my sister and I seem really happy. We're both married to christian men and have our babies. We were both married by 22 and we've had our sons by 25, she sees that and it makes her consider her path. This lead to a good discussion on how we were able to get there and it made me realize the gravity of my position.
I don't know what her home life is like, but what if it's not encouraging her to live right? What if the only Godly testimony she knows is my sister and I?
I look at that and I think about the young ones at church.
If there's anything I desire for my son, my nephew, and all the children in my sphere of influence is that they live their lives to serve the Lord. They will be successful if they are in the Lord's will.
Growing up is full of aches and pains, physically and mentally. At the tender age of 18, teens are expected to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. As teachers and elders in the church, we cannot tell them what to do with their lives, but we can show them what serving the Lord is.
This is one of the things that constrains me to dress right, speak right, and conduct myself wisely every day in every situation (although I fail constantly at acting wisely), you never know who is watching and  how they will take it.
If I do something reckless or rude while I'm driving and one of my students is driving with their family and sees, how will they view me when I'm teaching?
What if I wore something inappropriate while I was out and about and they saw me?
What if they over heard me using bad language or disrespecting my husband?
How could I then teach them? I can't.

As a mother, teacher, and elder (relatively) I want to be gracious, gentle, kind, wise, and of a good report.
The terrible tragedy of today is that young ladies are no longer required to be young ladies. Men and boys can get what they want elsewhere so why would they choose a pure, wholesome girl that wants to serve the Lord?
These girls will feel more and more pressure to bow to worldly standards just to get a husband.
I fully intend to show them that they don't have to. If they wait on the Lord, He will bless them.

My pastor has a sweet older daughter who loved to help me in my previous class- Junior Church/nursery. I loved having her in there with me but I did not want to take her out of too many services. When I expressed this at a teachers meeting my pastor's wife reminded me of this passage:

The aged women likewise, that they be in

behaviour as becometh holiness, not false

accusers, not given to much wine, teachers

of good things;

That they may teach the young women to

be sober, to love their husbands, to love

their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home,

good, obedient to their own husbands, that

the word of God be not blasphemed.

Titus 2: 3-5

There is so much in there to dissect but the purpose is this: we are instructed to teach. Whether the aged woman is 26 and the young woman is 8, I am instructed to teach.

If the Lord wills and tarries I may know my pastor's daughter from 8 years old to 28. I may see her through high school, college, marriage, and children. If that is the case I hope she can look at the older women in church who have gone through those things before her to be comforted, strengthened and helped by our example. There are a few young ladies her age at church. I hope I can be that example for all of them.

One last example then I'm done: I was with an older woman and a younger woman one day. The younger woman was boasting about being disrespectful to someone that had helped her and the older woman laughed about it. There is more than a thirty years between them but the older woman found disrespect funny.

That bothered me for many reasons but the biggest one is that the older woman, by laughing, encouraged the younger woman to be disrespectful. I don't know the nature of the relationship between the young woman and the person she was disrespectful to, but regardless, the older woman should have the wisdom not to laugh at a young persons folly.

Sometimes my son does something bad but it's either cute or really funny.

I can't laugh at it. He's only two but laughing at it would encourage him in sin.

This is what teachers in the church must be:

We must be bulwarks against sin. We must be a testimony of holiness, obedience, and service.

As we fellowship with our students, we get to learn about them, we're able to teach them better, and we're able to draw from our own experiences to teach them. 

So at gym night on Saturday, as I play dodgeball with my students I must be an example of sportsmanship, losing with grace, winning with humility, and being inclusive to all that come. 

Lord willing, as my students grow, they will remember some of the lessons I taught them, but I hope they remember my testimony and when they're faced with tough decisions in the future they'll remember that Miss Grace read her bible, prayed every day, prayed for them every day, and that they Lord used those things to help her do right.

From Junior Church to Bible Class

Earlier this summer my pastor asked me about my role as a Junior Church teacher and it came out that I have a special place in my heart for pre teens (ages 8-12 roughly).
As our church has grown we've needed changes in our children's program and so my pastor has moved me from Junior Church to teaching a bible class to 8-12 year olds on Sunday mornings before the main service.
I am very VERY excited to take this on but, of course, I feel a deep pang of sadness as I leave my beloved class of 0-4 year olds.

I had never had my own class before this one. At my last church I shared a class and only taught on a substitutionary basis. I did do a fair amount of teaching, but the class was not my own. This class was ages 7-12.
It was not long after we made Park City our church (or rather God made it our church) that the Lord gave me a great desire to teach. I've always loved teaching and the Bible is my favourite subject so I made it known and was given a class.

In my new class I had four consistent students: my son age 2, the pastor's children- twins aged 4 and their youngest age 3. More often then not we'd have twin boys who just turned 2.
With such a diverse group of ages it was hard to keep things under complete control but we had a lot of fun. There were hard days and easy days. The biggest blessing to me was being able to let the Lord lead me in leading the class. The lessons were so short it would not take long to prepare them. The difference was whether I sought the Lord that week or not. God's hand was always more evident when I leaned on Him to teach.
Our classes were something like this: we would have a little snack, then we would sing- some of our favourites are: The Lord's Army, Jesus Loves Me, My God Is So Big, Inright Outright, and the Wise Man- I would then teach the lesson.
The lessons were short- like their attention spans- but the Lord gave me the tools to keep them focused. I would bring objects, do some role play, and I used a felt board to illustrate what was going on. It's easier for them to listen to the story when it is played out in front of them. We would always have fun crafts to reenforce the lesson.
In the time I was given with them we only covered the main events in Moses' life.
The last weeks leading up to my leaving them as their teacher were very sweet. I took time to go over each of the ten commandments, a few each Sunday with a different colouring page for each commandment. At the end each child had a 'Ten Commandments Book'.
I was unsure how to proceed from there, the lesson plan I was loosely following had the Ark of the Covenant next but I wasn't sure that was the best way to proceed. One morning during my devotions it came to me: teach about salvation. I had given them a bunch of rules that God commanded but what were they supposed to do with them? One thing they had learned was that everyone lies- how were they supposed to proceed from there? Salvation was the perfect ending to the four weeks we had taken learning the ten commandments.
I had the perfect craft to go with it- a 'stain glass' cross- and I got out all the felt pictures I needed- the empty tomb, Jesus alive, heaven's pearly gates and golden streets.
That last Sunday I had with them I gave them a clear presentation of the gospel and finished the lesson with:

For whosoever shall call upon the name

of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13

At that time I did not know it was our last Sunday together, but God did and He made it perfect. The children paid extra good attention that day and had a lot of fun with the craft.

From this short and sweet experience I've gained a special love for four year olds. Its such a sweet, short time- they can communicate but they cannot read or write, they have uninhibited affection, and they say the funniest, cutest things.
One of the things I desired most was to make sure each child knew I loved them no matter what. I think I accomplished that.
They're little sponges. They pick up everything and they can learn a lot if you take the time to teach them.
My students may not remember the time I taught them but I will never forget.
Here are some of the things my little students taught me:
-They will sit anyway but the proper way
-Everyone will pray for the food if you let them
-If you let someone get away with something the others will follow
-The older ones remember what you say and how you said it
-There is no such thing as too much glue
-When one wants a glass of water they all want a glass of water
-Make sure they're all 'zooming o'er the enemy' in the same direction
-They want to believe the very best of you- my pastor's daughter almost cried when she found out that I am guilty of lying
-Never let boys sit together
-The girls do not want to sit with the boys
-They enjoy structured activities more than free play
-Singing action songs help bring the focus on the teacher and engages everyone
-Singing helps calm fussy little ones
-Letting them speak and listening to what they say helps them know you care and are approachable
-Allowing them to give examples from their lives helps them grow
-Singing a song then teaching them what the song is about is just as fun as the lesson
-They are learning something whether you realize it or not

I may do a post on some of my favourite toddler friendly crafts.
I hope this was in some way a blessing to you.

Rules For a Spiritual Life

My recent post 'Rules For Life' contained rules I *try* to abide by to keep myself from getting into too much trouble with people here on earth.
What's way more important is my relationship with God.
This post, I want to share some of the things I do to keep myself walking with God in the Spirit.
As long as I am walking with God, I am effortlessly able to keep myself from unnecessary trouble and maintain all my personal rules.

1) Read your bible and pray everyday.
This is a no brainer. Everyone knows you cannot have a relationship with someone without talking and listening to them. A relationship with God is the same way- reading your bible is reading His Word, praying is talking to Him. Yes He knows everything, but He wants us to talk to Him about it. Praying strengthens you in ways you'll never know until you start making a decisive effort to bend your knees and pray.

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is

written, That man shall not live by bread

alone, but by every word of God.

Luke 4:4

That's not hard to understand: we need the Word of God to live.

As newborn babes, desire the sincere

milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

1 Peter 2:2

We need it to grow. The more you read it, the more you desire it, the more you grow. Nothing bad comes out of reading God's Word.

This is something, my pastor's wife's father pointed out-

And it came to pass in those days, that

he went out into a mountain to pray, and

continued all night in prayer to God.

Luke 16:12

Jesus found praying more comforting than sleep! That is our example! If you are a Christian that does not think it's necessary to set time aside for prayer, there's something wrong.

2) Study your bible.

Reading is great! It is great for a baby Christian, it is great when your mind is tired, it is great to read as a family, but an older Christian needs strong meat. Strong meat comes from studying.

For when for the time ye ought to be

teachers, ye have need that one teach you

again which be the first principles of the

oracles of God; and are become such as

have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

For everyone that useth milk is unskillful

in the word of righteousness: for he is a

babe.

But strong meat belongeth to them that

are of full age, even those who by reason of

use have their senses exercised to discern

both good and evil.

Hebrews 5:12-14

Studying the bible means cross referencing, line upon line, comparing spiritual things with spiritual to find out what the bible really says. Something Paul may write two lines about in Ephesians may be given a full chapter in Romans.

In 1 Peter it says, 'for charity shall cover the multitude of sins', you wouldn't know the depth of what charity is unless you read about it in 1 Corinthians 13.

Lastly, and most importantly, God tells us to study:

Study to shew thyself approved unto

God, a workman that needeth not to be

ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

3) Apply what you've learned

Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

But ye, brethren, be not weary in well

doing.

And if any man obey not our word by

this epistle, note that man, and have no

company with him, that he may be

ashamed.

2 Thessalonians 3:14

But be ye doers of the word, and not

hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and

not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding

his natural face in a glass:

For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his

way, and straightway forgetteth what

manner of man he was.

James 1:22-24

Those are just a few verses of many that talk about obedience, submission, and following after God.

The fact is, you cannot grow if you refuse to apply what you've learned. The more you exercise self control, the more 'natural' it becomes.

Tools to help with the three things above:

1- Set a specific time to read, study, and pray

You will not do it if you leave it up to 'if I have time'. You'll never have time. You'll keep coming up with things to do.

Get up early and do your devotions. If you can't, set aside a specific time during the day to study.

You must come to the realization that your relationship with God is THE priority in your life. If you have your relationship with God straight, all other areas of your life fall into order. My life is a testament to this; my pastor, pastor's I've listened to on this internet have preached on this.

2-Write down prayer requests and collect missionary prayer cards

I have a little book I write down prayer requests in and I get a hold of as many missionary prayer cards as I can. This helps me put thought and effort into praying for others. If I don't write it down I will forget. I've noticed too, if I'm not particularly interested in praying, I can't help but pray more and more because of all the requests given to me. I am constrained to pray about all of them. Make it a particular priority to pray for each request that comes up.

Praying always with all prayer and

supplication in the Spirit, and watching

thereunto with all perseverance and

supplication for all saints;

Ephesians 6:18

Confess your faults one to another, and

pray one for another, that ye may be

healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a

righteous man availeth much.

James 5:16

Those verses say it all.

3- Fast

This is actually a whole blog post in one point- one I do intend to write. For now, suffice it to say that fasting helps teach you to control your flesh. A great chapter on fasting is Isaiah 58. Here is a bit of it:

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to

loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the

heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go

free, and that ye break every yoke?

Isaiah 58:6

Notice what fasting does: loose bands of wickedness, undo heavy burdens (are you hurting about something? fast), let the oppressed go free, break every yoke- fasting liberates us and builds our relationship with God.

4-Listen to sermons

I have learned so much from listening to sermons while doing chores, knitting, and so on. I've learned how to pray from hearing preachers pray, I've been reminded of hymns I once knew, I've been reproved, rebuked, exhorted, edified, strengthened, and blessed through preaching. If nothing else, it keeps my mind from wandering to places it should not.

5-Sing praises

If you're wondering how to make melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19), this is how. I take time, ideally every day but that hasn't been possible lately, to sing songs to God. Sometimes I go through a hymn book, sometimes I sing scripture songs, but I make sure to listen to what I'm singing and mean it. I find that at least one of the songs I sing remains in my head the rest of the day or through the week.

If you think this isn't important then you haven't read the book of Psalms at all.

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto

the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy

endureth for ever.

Psalm 106:1

6-Memorize scripture

Knowing scripture will get you through every situation you will come across. The first year of my marriage I memorized Proverbs 31:10-31. I intend to be a virtuous woman and that passage has it all. I quote it to myself a lot because sometimes I really need to remember it.

I've quoted scripture to myself during scary situations in doctor's offices and hospitals, when I have trouble sleeping, and when I don't know what to think.
When I was in labour and my contractions were getting unbearable I would close my eyes and quote Proverbs 31. The pain was still there but it kept me from going crazy.
The more you read the bible the more you will know it the more it will come up every day.

Don't underestimate the power of knowing scripture. 

7-Go To Church

This isn't just a Sunday thing, it's a Wednesday thing, and every other time there is an activity or service at church.

Fellowship helps keep you faithful. If you don't believe me, stay away from church for a month and see what that does to your relationship with God. There is a lot you cannot control at church, and that is a good thing. To be exposed to preaching that God gave a preacher to preach to you is special. Not only that, there are people there willing to pray for you. Prayer is powerful and we all need as much of it as we can get.

There has been many times I have not felt like going to church but I've gone and never regretted it. God gave church to us for our benefit and His glory. Don't shun it.

BEWARE!!! If you find yourself too tired or busy to have personal time with God because you're too involved with church, cut down your church activities. It is very easy to go through the motions and look spiritual when you are actively involved at church but if you don't have a relationship with God that goes before those things, your work is dead. Being faithful to God and being faithful to church are two separate things.


I hope this was a help to you in some way!

Community Carnival at Park City Baptist Church

I've been taking an official break this week from writing.
My mother-in-law has been visiting and my church is putting on a free community carnival.

If you happen to be in the area, please stop by! I will be at the cotton candy tent, covered in pink sugar, and glad to be apart of an outreach event. Come say hi if you are around.
If you are not in the area, we'd love prayer from you for our community.
We take the great commission seriously and we want to be a blessing to everyone that lives around us.
We're praying that this carnival tells our community that we're here, we love them, we want them to know Christ and his blessed assurance of salvation.
Please pray that we will be loving to all those that come, good examples of Christ's passion for souls, and that we all conduct ourselves wisely. Also please pray for the planning, set up, games, and those overseeing it.

The address, time, and all the details you need are below: