The Founding Father's and Acts 2 - You Can't Secularize History

It was breakfast.  The kids and I were having a discussion about the founders of our constitution and chose Benjamin Rush as our man of history to study this morning.  Mr. Rush was a devout Christian and God prophesied through him in a dream about his friends, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.  Mr. Rush wrote a letter to his friend, John, telling him what God had revealed to him about the future, about his relationship with Thomas Jefferson. He went so far as to tell Mr. Adams that God revealed to him, in this dream, that they would both die on the same day - 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This prophesy was fulfilled.  

American history boring? I don't think so.  The kids and I reflected upon other empires we'd studied in the last three years, from ancient times through the Dark Ages then through the Middle Ages.  God's hand was moving continually, as he raised and deposed of leaders and nations.  Now, here we are in America, where God had arranged a group of men to form a government, men who were deeply Christian and moved by the Spirit in their relationships and actions.   Over the last 50 years these truths about our government have been removed from common knowledge in America through the process of "education". 

Next, the boys and I connected this prophesy to it's foundation, where the gifts were first given, in Acts 2 of the Bible. If you doubt you can teach your children effectively, trust God.  He is the giver of wisdom and He provides it when you need it.  It was just today that I truly grasped and felt what Acts 2 looked like, not little "tongues of fire hovering over the heads of the crowd, but a sweeping wind like arms reaching out and laying hands right on the people - grabbing them with power, infilling them until they overflowed! Tongues stick out, don't they!  (Ask your kids to show you for comic relief.) Remember the Passover account, when the wind came through the streets? This story is similar but instead of bringing death, it brings life, joy and understanding.  I encourage you to watch the video link below on Acts 2.  It's powerful. 

Take a moment to reflect on truth.  How important IS truth?  How can we effectively teach history and religion apart from one another, let alone values? (Did you learn that our government's formation was only about taxation without representation?  I did. I know I would have paid attention in history if I'd learned it this way.  I also would have seen God's power in a mighty way through it's study.  I was cheated, were you?


Teach your children real history, true history... God's hand is all through it... there is NO history apart from God...  

Wallbuilder's Segment on Benjamin Rush 

Acts 2 - This is where it all began!  

Worship together! Just get up and dance to this... you won't be able to help it.  


Enjoy teaching your children today. You are blessed.  You are free.  This is America and we can live our faith every day and study it as it really happened.  Today you can inspire them in a direction.  What seeds will you plant? What fruit will it bear? Let this truth take root in you in a powerful way so that generations will be blessed through your efforts.  

All honor and praise to God for what He teaches me daily.

 

Abundant Life Homeschooling: Part 2 - Conquering Your Fears

Now that we've talked about some spiritual reasons why you may consider homeschooling, it is important to get over the big hurdle, your fears.  When God calls you to do something, he also promises to equip you to do it!  "But you don't know MY kids,"  you say.  What if I told you that your kids would change.  When we send our kids to school they are absorbing information for eight to nine hours a day from sources other than their family and their God.  In that time, they are not just learning academics, they are learning behavioral patterns.  No, I do not know YOUR kids, but I do know these things about kids:

• Kids are tired after a long day of traditional school, and they have had very little free time while they are there.  
• Tired minds don't retain the information that would be better presented and completed while they have plenty of mental energy.
• They value of homework is minimal in real learning.
• That they now do or will soon love to learn.
• Freedom and love change the personality of a child.  
• Socialization in a same grade school environment is not as beneficial as socialization between students of mixed ages and adults.
• Your kids will like you, respect you, obey you, and admire you as they see you sacrifice and live together.  
• You will win back your authority as you teach Biblical wisdom throughout your day. If they can't learn to submit to you, how will they learn to submit to God as their master?
• They won't miss being evaluated by their peers, peer pressure, being bullied or criticized by other kids,  and a lack of recess.  
• Their vocabulary, integrity and logical reasoning will improve as they spend more time with adults than kids their own age. 
• God made all kids uniquely perfect and intentionally, they don't all learn alike, and they definitely aren't motivated by the same things.  They just endure and do their best to fit into a pattern that is created to the mass, not the individual.  Labels are applied too young and are dangerous to a child's self-image.
• The labels schools apply are almost always artificial.  Bring them home and see what happens. Many kids who are learning disabled in school suddenly "become" gifted when they are home schooled.
• Kids learn differently and mature at different ages.  Reading readiness is not always there when the schools want to teach it.   
• Boys don't sit still well. This is not a defect. 
• Pressuring kids to learn does not increase their real intelligence.  More is not better.
• They will be free to answer every question or pose questions at home that may intimidate them in school.  
• Mastery is better than moving on.  Classrooms cannot cater to individual readiness easily.
• Their siblings become their best friends and accountability partners when you homeschool.
• Homeschooled kids avoid many of the behavioral problems found in traditionally schooled children.  They make great friends because they are accepting of others' differences and find it easier to see people as God would see them, as special and unique.  There is little or no peer pressure to ridicule others.
• Kids are confused by an environment that teaches different truths and values than you teach them at home.  For example, at home God created them; in school they evolved from a monkey. At home our behavior is motivated by Godly wisdom.  In our PS system, humanist values are taught with no truth behind it. This makes good behavior a matter of personal opinion. 
• The teenage years are seldom a problem in a homeschooling family.  Young adults can take on young adult responsibilities at an earlier age and they no longer rebel out of a lack of purpose or to assert their individuality.

I know that's a lot to digest, but I hope it gives you encouragement and hope.  Homeschooling is not torture, it's improved family living in an environment of freedom.   There is a lot of support available from other families, groups and the internet.  Socialization becomes positive socialization when the kids are with you and in the real world, so you really lose a lot of the struggles you now face simply by removing your kids from an environment with out of balance, age segregated, peer interaction. 

Now, about you.  You will have to give up some freedoms, but you will GAIN many more!  Yes, it is a commitment.  There may be hard days as you figure out what is best for your child, but your perseverance when they are young means that when you have teenagers they will be a joy, not a nightmare. As your children grow in responsibility and training, you will regain more freedom and have more freedom than you would helping in the school and re-learning their homework in order to help them after school. You will be there to guide and God will guide you all.  A Godly mom grows Godly children.  Your husband, who may begin with the same fear, will enjoy having respectful, bright, joyful kids and after watching them grow and thrive, will soon be an advocate of homeschooling if he isn't now.

Where would you start? You may begin with what is called de-schooling; we give kids back their lives, their minds and their love of learning.  Don't jump into re-creating a school environment at home.  Work on the basics, math, handwriting, and maybe grammar with a lot of Bible mixed in.   Your main job outside of that is to inspire and watch how their own interests lead their learning.   Much of what schools do is busywork to keep kids occupied and manageable in a group setting.  Reading aloud is a great way to build discussion, shape values, and build vocabulary skills. Best of all, you do it together; you pick the books. They don't have to be grade "appropriate" material, and they can be read in the park, on the patio, on a blanket, or in front of a fire in the afternoon on a rainy day.  God will shape you through this process and you'll learn about yourself, your kids, and your Creator. 

School is the advertising agency which makes you believe that you need the society as it is.
~ Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society

Here is a sampling of helpful resources available to get you started:

Abundant Life Homeschooling: Part 1 - Why Consider Homeschooling?

There have been many days as a homeschooling mom where I've felt physically drained and emotionally spent.  I can’t even count how many times I’ve mentioned that I homeschool and heard,  "I just know I could never home school!” I confess that my children have learned a lot but that I have probably learned the most in my five year journey discipling my children.  It is the most effective method of parental refinement I know - in a good way.  There are rewards that can be found no where else but in learning together as a family.

If you have begun the homeschooling journey, fear of failure is NOT a sign that you should start looking for schools. I've felt the same anxiety!  As you read more in this series, you'll see that homeschooling does not have to be a torturous assignment for you or your children every day.  Did you know that God goes before you?  He prepares the way and shares his vision and insights with us.  So, what is YOUR homework?  Your largest and most time consuming task is not choosing the right curriculum, or making sure you meet the state standards or prepare for yearly testing.  No, the key to abundant life homeschooling is spending more time getting to know God intimately and learning to listen to the Spirit who guides you.  When God promised to work all things for the good for those who love him and are called according to HIS purpose, he is FAITHful in providing that.  Don't take my word for it, just start doing it and see what happens.  This is the key to finding joy, restoring joy and living joyfully.  This may not be the world's way of raising children, but note what the Bible says about the world's way:

Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." 

Did you know that all forms of education have an agenda?  I have an agenda for my kids, but I prefer to call it a vision.  Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." Chew on that a bit.... As Christians, the single most important thing we are commanded by God to instill in our children is intimate knowledge of their creator and follow the vision he provides as we live our lives.  If we don't have a vision for our children, how can we expect to know where to aim?

Public education as it exists today (and as it was designed) is motivated by corporate necessity, a need for societal order, a place to provide the poor with basic skills, and to create like mindedness in society.  This is their vision. (Click here for my source and a great online read documenting this.)  Do you trust your children's hearts to a system that truly has a goal of instilling values apart from God's values, not to mention the distortion and selective coverage of history and God's hand in it?  We believe we're sending them to school to learn reading, math and basic skills.  Are you aware that political and social activism have taken the place of Christianity in the schools? Your values have been replaced, questioned, and filtered through the eyes of many others. Check out this recent example.

What about morality? Consider the best a public school can do to teach morality.  They can explain what "good behavior" is, but teaching morals apart from God's word is like brushing your teach every day but not being able to teach WHY you do it.  Habits and behaviors with no reason behind them are insulting to children.  There ARE reasons for morality.   Character does matter. If we want to instill integrity and deep seated faith in our children, then we must show, by our decisions, that we ourselves are going to take a stand in when it comes to 2 Cor. 10:5...

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Demolishing arguments contrary to God's word doesn't mean tolerating it as a necessary evil of education! Fear not, when we are obedient to a call, God showers great blessings upon us! 

What I Learned From My Weeds

It’s gardening season again! In the last week we have all been manually pulling weeds in all of our vegetable beds and lawn.  It seems impossible to keep up on them all.   Yes, we could just spread herbicides, but there's enough trying to poison my kids lives without me adding more.

As I weed and hoe there is a lot of quiet time for reflecting.  Gardening is my favorite way to see how God has given creation great freedom, but has also given us a lot of choice in how we exercise that freedom.  We have free will, but through the exercise of allowing God to prune us, we can have fewer personal weeds rearing their ugly heads each season and greater fruit in our ministry to our families and others.

Unless we’re dead, we each have weeds in our lives.  I am looking forward to gardening in heaven and praying that’s my job, since their will be NO invasive species there.  At our house, we enjoy squirrels, and they can teach us a lot about the weeds in our lives.  Like many people, squirrels are funny and entertain us all through the year.  As a gardener, I have learned a lot from squirrels.  They are not so different from us in our natural, sinful state.  Both species, humans and squirrels, face temptation daily.  What is squirrel temptation? Corn in the feeder.  Corn is like squirrel idolatry.  Even if corn makes the squirrel feel good, there is a consequence to the rest of us, weeds.   As a result, I don’t put that temptation in front of the squirrel because he then becomes a burden to the rest of us.

Sometimes we humans think that our sins are harmless, part of our human nature, but to God they are really a nuisance.  I know feel better thinking that that little screw up is forgiven; and hope that it hasn't really hurt anyone in the long run. 

In the bigger picture of our lives, God has great things He wants to do through us, but we sometimes refuse to pull the weeds until it takes a spade to get under a 12” root, disrupting all the plantings around it!  The weeds that we refuse to pull (or ignore) as we walk, claiming to know Him, inflict damage, whether we acknowledge it or not.  There are seeds of damage that often take years to germinate and show their fruit.  Sometimes we sow the same bad seed every day! When the fruit shows itself we say, "I wonder where THAT came from?" Seldom at the harvest time will we connect that we planted them so diligently.  There is no greater influence on our children’s understanding of living for Christ than our daily LIFE gardening habits.

“Search me O God and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts.  And see if there be ANY wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:22-24)

If we are new creatures in Christ we need to say this daily.  The weeds of sin have deep roots and spread out of our yards to others.  As people drive by or live with us, they see them and form opinions about us AND the Jesus we say we follow.  Do we want people damaged because of our actions?  What affect can a wrong motive have or a laugh at the expense of someone else? Can we hide from God? When we go out in public and lack self-control and love in our words, behavior, and actions, we do so still wearing the name Christian.  Perhaps that person who is laughed at or hurt will one day join a small group looking for hope. Will they respect our leadership after having encountered us in an out of control moment?  Sure, we all have out of control moments now and then, but when let them become habits or something that give us pleasure - there is a deep root that needs to be pulled.

But can’t God work through any situation?  Sure, he CAN, but when we commit any of the things He calls sin, it is not to His glory. 

What is your temptation in life?  Maybe I need to say it this way; what is tolerated, fun or pleasurable for you that is not God pleasing.  In what circumstance do you do things that you know fails to bring God glory?  I know I don’t put corn out for the squirrels anymore.  They are like us in the milk stage of faith; they fall for it every time.  If we walk in the Spirit, we will remove the “corn” from our lives and we will become mature, people God can use every day.  We’ll find all our needs met in Him, not in money, television, liquor, recognition, men or whatever our crutch USED to be.  It is then, that God will be able to lead us beyond the imaginable to the truly joyful.

Is this optional? We have to hold each other accountable.  If you don't have an accountability partner, you need one.  I have freed friends to let me know if I'm off the path in any way.  They are often more merciful than I deserve, but I rely on them to challenge me.  I don't want to be responsible for scattering instead of gathering!  There is no verse that holds me more accountable than the one below.  You may lead a ministry in your church, or you may be one of the most influential leaders of all, a parent.  Whatever role you feel God has called us to, you and I need to weed the garden regularly to be able to do God’s work as He expects it to be done.  He will enable us to do whatever he asks of us! 

1 Timothy 3

 1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,[a] he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

Are We Guided by the Spirit or Ruled by our Emotions?

Today was like many days in my life. I had goals, a list, I was encouraged, then disappointed, and once in a while I struggled with self-control.  The familiar realization appeared again that I was not and could not be in control of all the many things I had been given to accomplish.  Praise God that He saves me daily from having solitary control over ANYthing.  After taking time to allow Him to shape my attitude He corrected my way of thinking and I found the way to a positive outcome.  Have you had those days?  They are the days that you realize that you are not able to hide anything from God.  When He says He needs to be Lord of our lives, he means in all areas.  One phrase that was a great catalyst in my understanding of God's desire for my life is 2 Corinthians 10:4-6,

⁴ (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds),

 ⁵ casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;

 ⁶ and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full.

Daily the question enters my mind, "How am I going to do my best today to lead my children and others around me to in a faithful way?" What am I exalting above the knowledge of God?  Man's wisdom? My will? Chocolate? I can talk to my kids about God each day, which I do, but if I show them that those things are words with no power behind them, I know they will not see God's  ways as the answers to the problems in their lives.

Girls, we can sometimes be emotional - Do socks on the floor bug you? Do crumbs make you boil? Are there whiskers in your sink? Do you play with toys or curse them as you trip over them?  I'll hit you deeper - has your child ever complained about your plan for the day, one you've spent time praying and planning for, or grumbled again about the blessing of piano lessons?  It's those little things that Satan likes to jab me with on a daily basis, so the above verse is a lifeline to me.  Our weapons are NOT of the flesh or of this world.  Wine and chocolate and me time will not make me happier and will not lead to inner joy.   I must be obedient in the ways God has shown me, even when Satan tells me my efforts are fruitless.  I do not serve a God who is not there to back me up on the job he has given me!  Secondly, I have no hope of not falling into a heap on the floor and sobbing on a regular basis without the Spirit to remind me, moment-by-moment, that I need to bring every thought into the obedience of Christ.

Last night this topic of emotional health came up in the women's study I'm facilitating.  The author of our study guide said that if we choose to walk by the Spirit we will come under His control in even in our emotional responses.  "Of course that's TRUE," I thought, "but how can we accomplish this mindset?"  It sounded like magic in the book, but the author mistakenly assumed that saying it would make it so.  Why?  Because we don't all take the time to know what walking in the Spirit is before we expect it to work! It takes devotion and intention to reach this place.  Sure, we can be saved and forgiven, but we can also just snooze in that place, do a few good deeds, attend church regularly and even serve others - all without every really letting Jesus be Lord (which means Master) of our lives.

The good news is that walking in the Spirit does produce results that really ARE miraculous.  The question arose,  "Are we willing to let go of a few things and get uncomfortable on the way there?" Remember when Jesus said we had to take up our cross and follow Him?  Oooh, that applies to everyone? Wasn't that just for missionaries, ministers and leaders?  No, I'm afraid that if we read that verse above from Corinthians it holds us all to a pretty high standard.  Every thought?  Can it be?

Well, the group comprised a list of the things that we needed to do regularly to continue to walk in the Spirit.  I think it's safe to say that when you are in a group of women and you propose a way avoid reacting emotionally about the stones in the road of life, you'll gather some interest.   The list below may not be exhaustive, but these things are part of walking in the Spirit.  We decided that we would check this list regularly to see if we were lacking in an area when we felt off balance.   I hope it will be helpful as a checklist to you too.  Before you go, check the link to the daily read by Oswald Chambers.  (Daily Read) When it rains it pours and as I read this to my kids tonight, I couldn't help but see that God really hammers the message in when we are available to listen.  Sad that I need to have it hammered in, but I'm thankful none the less.

How Do We Continue in the Spirit?  A guide...

• Study
• Solitude (with God, not running from a situation, but running TO Him)
• Sermons
• Guard your heart and your mind
• Balance in your day
• Care for your physical and mental health
• Seek God directly (before asking friends for advice)
• Prayer (some talking, more listening)
• Find a mentor or someone who challenges you spiritually and connect regularly
• Pray to have a heart and eyes like God.  Look at others as He does.
• Do good works regularly
• Confess your sins to one another so that you may be healed
• Christian music (Music is a powerful influence!)
• Allow yourself to be held accountable to Christian friends (or that mentor)
• Be humble
• Be willing to let God search your heart and know your mind for anything against His will
• When convicted, take action
• Expect God to move
• Keep a prayer journal, record answered prayers and read them for encouragement
• Fast - obedience and devotion are powerful  
• Do not seek comfort in then world.  God is able to meet all your needs.

Thanks for holding me accountable!   Feel free to comment or email me any additions to this list.  The beauty of Christian women is that they are eager to keep each other on the road up the mountain.  Is it all worth it?  YES! Have you ever climbed a mountain and then sat on the top? You know your worked hard to get there, but when you look out you see things as you never have before.  You are awed by the vast beauty of creation in front of you and you celebrate that the moment is special.  Now that you are on top of it, you have the authority to say to it MOVE!

Therefore, ^(A)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(B)healed ^(C)The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:16)