A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of home happiness. God sends many beautiful things to this world, many noble gifts; but no blessing is richer than that which He bestows in a mother who has learned love's lessons well, and has realized something of the meaning of her sacred calling.
Have you heard the phrase "Cant see the forest for the trees"....Sometimes I think that is the same when it comes to prayer.
The question is, Have you prayed for your husband today? How easily I forget! How could I possible do that when he is my favorite person? As well, if our husband has no grandmother, or mother ~ and youre not praying for him...then my question is ; WHO WILL????
It is up to us ladies. You can be assured that if we arent praying for them, no one will. What a sad situation that would be! Who more than our husbands need our prayers?
It is so easy to pray for girlfriends or a troubled teen or maybe even our own children. But, Hubby needs it more! He is the one who will stand before God one day and give an account as head of the family! Gulp! Doesnt that inspire you to be more of a helpmeet too? So you can free him up to do what the Lord is calling him to do? If we are a true helpmeet , and are not filling his ears with whining and discontent, he has the quiet to listen to the Lord.
We have a very important role. A role that no one else on earth can fill. May the Lord strengthen you to fulfill your duty to your beloved today~
I have seen it all;
After 20 years of homeschooling, sometimes I think I have seen it all....then again...as I age, Im so forgetful so how would I know if I had seen something before or not???
Well, Im sure Ive seen this before but its been so long I think Ive forgotten....Let me digress. Our heart truly goes out to young homeschooling families because we remember how difficult it was to homeschool with daddy at work and babies all over the place! Soo tiring, and it feels like you go YEARS without getting a thing done! I always try to encourage these wonderful new adventurers because I am on the other side of it~ I have more older ones at home than little ones and daddy is home FUll Time!
But today....oh my. The 2 year old has literally been 'jumping' all over the house~the 5 year old who is always cheerful has been a ....shall we say...crybaby...the 6 year old has decided he has no use for school at all whatsoever...and the 10 year old is so wiggly that I get a nervous tick just watching him!
After a couple of hours of this I was feeling.....like the old days...frazzled, frustrated, like it was nap time tho it was only 10:00...then I realized....Oh. They had a 'ton' of candy yesterday from the pinata! WHEW! I havent been translated back to the early years when I was outnumbered by the babies! This is temporary! And, I have reinforcements at my beck and call!
After a couple of hours of this I was feeling.....like the old days...frazzled, frustrated, like it was nap time tho it was only 10:00...then I realized....Oh. They had a 'ton' of candy yesterday from the pinata! WHEW! I havent been translated back to the early years when I was outnumbered by the babies! This is temporary! And, I have reinforcements at my beck and call!
So another words, Ive become a wimp. I just want to hand it to you newbies, young parents, mothers of many young children and those families who are on their second set of younger children ....Hang in there! Good job! This is just a season and this too shall pass!
My other words of wisdom......throw out all of the candy in the trash :)
My other words of wisdom......throw out all of the candy in the trash :)
The Wife's Duty
A wife in waiting....
As I have said before, I will never win an award for being a good organizer, nor will we be giving talks on perfect parenting..but we do have something to say when it comes to the marriage relationship.
The idea behind the statement 'a wife in waiting'..is that we as wives be 'on call' or 'stand by' as it may be, to remain available to be a helper to our husband. I often warn women about building a 'kingdom within a kingdom' in regards to their homeschool..a place where dads are not welcome. Actually we can build up a kingdom in regards to many different things in our home, as well as out of our home.
For a peaceful home, and to truly fulfill the mandate to be a helper to our husband, our lives should be built in such a way that our husband is never viewed as an 'intruder into our kingdom'. Not only should he be a welcome presence but an honored and greatly desired one as well!
Our husband should always be valued more highly than our plans, schedules, chores or time on the computer!
May the Lord give us grace to TRULY be a helpmeet to our dear husbands! It can be difficult with all of the demands of life and child rearing and homeschooling I know! However, I would encourage you to deliberately make your dear husband feel important, honored and loved today! He will be glad you did, and may he rise up and call you blessed for it!
Just a glimpse of what is in the works...
When we marry, (normally) your wedded life begins with just the two of you..during the years when children come along you can't imagine that they will ever really be grown and gone...
However, one day they are! When the last child crosses your threshold and goes off into the world, you find out that things are back where they have started. Your beloved and you.
While Brett and I may not be able to write a book on 'perfect parenting', nor will I be giving talks on home organization...when it comes to 'Marriage', I believe that we do have something to say.
After all of these years, our marriage is still a priority, something we cultivate and work on and never take for granted. We desire to encourage others in their marriage as well wherever possible.
We are a marriage centered family, not child centered. Oddly enough though, you will find that is the healthiest kind of family. May the Lord give us grace to be an example of love to the children, and we pray that each one of our children are blessed with so wonderful a marriage as their parents had!
The gift that keeps on giving....
We believe that a grateful spirit is a gift from God; because 'Every good and perfect gift comes from above' (James 1:17 ).
Gratefulness is something that none of us can have too much of! Therefore it is imperative that we teach our children to be grateful.
The Lord, by the way hates grumbling (phil 2:14,Exo 16:7 etc ).
Some simple ways that we teach our children to develop an attitude of gratfulness;
1. Saying thank you
2. Speaking aloud the blessings/events in thier lives DAILY
3. We teach them to seek 'The good' even in the most difficult of situations.
Of course we can and do often go beyond this. We seek the scriptures and find ways to be obedient to God and then show them that the Lord rewards obedience. He desires obedience more than sacrifice. (1 Sam 15:22 )
Our children are living in an ungrateful and very selfish society, so these are one of the main goals of our home-discipling. May the Lord give us grace to teach them to cherish the gifts that will keep on giving onto adulthood.
Inquiring Moms Want to Know....
This is not profound but something that amazes me nonetheless...after twenty years of homeschooling, you would think that I would have pencils coming out my ears. Why is it that I can only, EVER, find a crayon to write with????
What a blessing! I wonder how we as wives can build up our husbands in their 'most holy faith'? I think it is important first of all to pray for our husbands. If we do not who will? Secondly I believe strongly that our dear husbands NEED encouragement! The world and the enemy of our souls, battle against our husbands daily and we can be the buffer to their storms! What are some of the ways you encourage your husband? They are all so different and every husband responds best to a certain type of encouragement. Let's make a point of building up our Faith Filled Fathers today!
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| Kathy Gruben and family w/ ours in Branson! |
Teaching them to walk by faith and not by sight....
Ms. Charity and I are on a sewing spree. I wont even tell you all that we have sewn in the last 24 hours as you would not believe it! Anyways, a part of sewing is of course ironing. I was telling her that although 'by sight' I would believe that my iron has a mind of its own (to burn the very front of items Im ironing) I still have to believe by faith that the iron in fact does NOT have a mind. It being an inanimate object and all....It is quite uncanny though. When the iron needs to be hottest it clicks off on its own and it INVARIABLY shoots up hot when Im
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-YISm700Pc
The sweet lady from Virginia...
Called me back today! She thought perhaps that my name had been the one she had called before but she wasnt for sure. She asked "is that you?" like we were old friends! We talked and talked again and I actually called her back after I did some 'searching' online for members of the 'Branch' family. So now I have spoken to this lady more this week than I have my own mother or best friend! And it is a rare thing indeed for me to call anyone other than my kids! She was shocked to hear how many children we had and wondered if we were mormon! We get a lot of that. No, we arent catholic either. I told her, "No we are just Christian, reformed, born again followers of the Lord Jesus!" I gather from that dear one that she has no 'religion'. So to my dear sisters in the Lord I would ask that you pray for her. Her name is Betty. Her husband John died about 5 years ago. She is 84! And, if you all know of any Branch family in or near the Joplin area of MO, please let me know so I can get her in touch with them! Just an after thought....I hope she is careful who she friends on the phone!
Structure & Flexibility
It seems that most of life consists of 'striking the balance'. We find that we need to do so in the area of home discipleship as well.
Structure is important as our God is a God of order and He instructs us to do various things decently and in order. So how do we fit 'flexibility' and being led by the Spirit into this? As we all know ~ God's Word cannot contradict itself.
For us, every day we worship, school, clean, fellowship and serve~but the way we do these various tasks changes from day to day. So while we are not 'bound' by a stiff structure neither are we 'being tossed about' by too much flexibility. Balance balance!
I would like to point out the character qualities involved in teaching children to be flexible...when we are too structured we tend to develop children who cannot function well when life 'throws us a curve ball'. Adding flexibility or spontaneity gives kids the chance to exercise; forbearance, patience, and considering one another ahead of themselves (love).
So whether your day is going according to your plan or to the curve ball life has thrown you, do all to the glory of God! What are some ways you strike the balance in your home?
My favorite time of day!
It is so nice to get up in the morning and get a jump on ordering my day. There is not much that beats a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon! Evenings of sitting around and reading with the family are some of the most enjoyable times for everyone in our family....yet to be honest...my FAVORITE time of day is when, our day is done and we put the kids to bed and my honey and I have our 'date time'. We put a girl in charge and hide out in our room with door locked; and talk uninterrupted for hours! Complete with drinks and snacks that we dont care to share! After all of these years, my husband is still my favorite; speaker to listen to, pastor to sit under,theologian to learn doctrine from, confidant and friend. Yes it is true, we give up our lives for our children and willingly so-but my husband is still my favorite person of all to be around!
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish...
Our reasonable service;
We had a very long yesterday! Went out of town, were gone late, got side swiped by a car on the way home and then~due to the trauma of that could not sleep a wink last night! Then we were up early to get to the SCD demo. There were 700 young children there and they discovered that they LOVE to dance! They wore us out to be sure! But as tired as we were we kept a smile on our face and a grateful spirit that we were able to be a blessing to someone today! It is such an honor to be in His service! And is it only our reasonable service after all! We do no great things but we are honored to do the smallest service to the One who has done so very much for us! You may not have recognized it but you have done service to Him this day as well! Rejoice and be glad in it!
Fellowship Divine~
We went and visited some dear friends this weekend. What a blessing! Sweet, like-minded fellowship!
Our host said 'The investment of time is the biggest sacrifice you can make in a relationship'. Isn't that the truth? It is easy to give money or things but your time...there is always so precious little of it.
It is the same with the Lord is it not? The christian life is most profitably spent and defined by the 'time' spent with the Lord and in His word.
The same goes for our children. The 'quality vs. quantity' theory is sorely lacking....though 'something is better than nothing' and we all aren't blessed with the ability to spend as much TIME with our children as we would like...the quantity is still the better thing.
Though your day may not be going as planned or preferred, there is always much to be grateful for! Thank you Lord that we are blessed and able to home-disciple our children and invest the quantity of time into their lives that they require in order that they may be trained in the way that they should go so that when they are older they will not depart from it! As a dear friend of mine says; Onward and upward today mothers!
Dana
This is the day that the Lord hath made!
This is the day that the Lord hath made! We did rejoice and were glad in it! Some days we feel such a sense of accomplishment~having met all of our responsibilities and academic goals. And then there are days when it seems that for all of our work not much gets done, and we are lucky to touch a pencil much less do a whole lesson of math! The comfort is, that as we sit in our house, or walk down the hall, when we go to bed at night and when we get up...our children are there among us so that we are able to teach them. What a blessing!
The Standard vs. Reality
It is very important for us as moms to uphold a standard for our children. A high standard for school, moral character and attaining of godliness...in exactly the reverse order as I have written it! When the demands of life weigh us down though it becomes necessary for us to face reality. I just want to encourage you that though your reality may not attain to your standard, remember that "God brings all things together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose". Perhaps your reality is just the encouragement that someone around you needs...until the season of life comes for you that you can reach your standard. Sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and the olive plants round about your table! Blessings!
That is a great title page for any page of mine! I just want to take a minute on occasion to encourage moms or give an idea or a recipe that I think is worth sharing! You know, there are so many wonderful blogs out there that have a beautiful flower background and lovely nostalgic pictures and lots of edifying words of scripture and encouragement, professional quality photos of their wonderfully ordered homes;They even have lovely music playing in the background (how do they do that??) I just love those sisters of mine that host that type of blog. Then there is me! Although I am drawn to that type of blog and appreciate their beauty, and most of all scripture~ I am of a more practical disposition! So if you are like 'them' or like 'me'; just remember to do ALL that you do, to the glory of God! You as yourself, in Christ, can be an encouragement to someone...just the way you are:) God bless you!
By degrees...
If at first you can't succeed try try again...and if you do succeed always strive for improvement! In trying to have a healthier lifestyle and improve our diet we have come to some conclusions; Bread is better than cake, home made bread is better than store bread, wheat bread is better than white....but over all a carrot is probably better than any bread at all:)
White sugar is bad, raw sugar is a bit better, stevia is best (and no calories!) and aspartame or its cohorts are all proven to cause cancer.... Virgin olive oil is good but you can't heat it too high, coconut oil is best and you can fry in it and use it to replace butter in recipes. I would not advise putting it in a fryer though or it will foam up, over-flow and leave your counter in a mess!
By degrees, we should always do the best that we can and that the Lord enables us to do. Sometimes it is difficult to feed our families on little money but we do the best we can! One thing we make 'profusely' are white flour tortillas. Not the best thing to eat probably but a bag of flour for $2 makes about 50 tortillas. Not bad. Here is my recipe....Dana style:)
In a bowl add 3 cups white flourGrab the salt shaker and shake it over the flour about 6-7 times
Grab your oil and fill up the lid 3 times, each time pouring the oil over the flour. Mix.
Add and stir in, 1 cup of water; add a bit more water or flour if necessary and mix with a spoon then your hand until you have a nice smooth dough. Knead for 2 minutes. Cover in plastic and let rest for 10 minutes. Pinch off balls and roll out and cook in a pan on the stove at med or below medium heat until brown on each side. Enjoy:)
Thank you, thank you Scott Brown (ncfic.org) for hosting a conference (2010) with such a RELEVANT topic! All of the speakers that were there are godly men who are involved with very meaningful conferences on important topics, but this is so foundational. We listened to one of Paul Washers topics today 'The importance of biblical family life for the spread of the gospel' and as we listened~the popular phrase of Voddie Baucham came to mind "People, you're saying amen, but you ought to say ouch!!!" OUCH is right! Some of Pauls questions were "Should your devotional life, or marriage or personal godliness be exported or quarantined?" Wow. Quite a question for all of us to ponder on this, the Lords day!
Bloom where youre planted.......
Years ago I ready a story by Rod and Staff and the Dad told the son (who was on his way to go berry picking) "When you go out, look for a good spot. When you find one, stay there until every berry within reach is picked. Dont waste your time walking around in circles...stay in one spot til the job is done."
Do you know that I use that same principle now? The kids and I gathered acorns yesterday ...and it took a bit of discipline on my part but that is exactly how I gathered them..I sat in one spot and didnt move from that place until I had gathered every acorn in my reach.
That is a pretty good example of how we should live the Christian life I think. Not be content until we have reached out in some way to everyone within our reach. Whether it be with the gospel, a helping hand or even just a smile or word of encouragement.
Im so gratful for technology (though we need to use it wisely) and things like this THC, where I have more of an opportunity to encourage, and be encouraged by others that would normally be 'beyond' my reach.
May the Lord bless you in your 'outreach' today.
Blessings!
The ugly sin of Pride.
Spurgeon says;
I wonder if we really detect ‘pride’ in ourselves. It is so easy to see it in others. If you sit down and think about it, can you see any pride in your life? How much do I see in mine!
Sometimes it is hard to detect. Simply put, it is anything that exalts self, rather than Christ who is our supreme example of humility.
The Lord commands us to do and not do certain things…in so obeying Christ does it puff us up? Are our children ‘better behaved’ than others? Do you bless God for giving you wisdom in training them up in the way they should go..or do you pat yourself on the back and look down on your neighbor?
Does our home school run more efficiently than others? Do you thank God for giving you the grace and gift to be organized~ or in your heart, do you really think you do it better than your sisters in Christ?
Is your house in perfect order? Is that by the grace of God and your income or is it the result of autonomous ‘you’?
What about this, those who are ‘relaxed and easy going’…are you better than your sisters who are gifted with organization and do you really think you are better because you are not so ‘stiff’ as they are?
You see pride comes in all forms, shapes sizes and attacks all who walk on this earth. The difference being that as born again people called of God we are to be known ‘by our love’ and not our Pride. It is such a turn off to those who are around us and unfortunately it is only us who don’t see it in us!
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John Mac Arthur on his treatise of 'pride' says;
"Proverbs chapter 6 and verse 16, the verse says there are six things which the Lord hates, yes seven which are an abomination to Him. And the going from the six to the seven was just a Hebrew way of speaking to put emphasis. There are six things which the Lord hates, even seven which are an abomination to Him.
What are they? God hates, the old Authorized Version said, "A proud look," the NAS says, "Haughty eyes." The actual Hebrew is "lofty eyes." That is to say looking from above down with disdain on those who are beneath you in value and significance. It indicates a swelling kind of pride that fills the heart and shows disdain for others, as if they were of less significance. Pride is the first thing God hates and it's listed first because it really is at the fountain of all kinds of sin. All kinds of sin no matter what the sin is reflect pride, attitude of disobedience and rebellion against God's Law. Everything else is sort of built on the basic iniquity of pride, self-will. Psalm 18:27says that God will abase those who have haughty eyes. Psalm 73:6 describes the wicked as having pride as their necklace and they are those whom God will cast down to destruction.
God says no one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure. Isaiah 2:11 says, "The proud look of man will be abased and the loftiness of man will be humbled and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day." God is going to bring about a judgment day to all who are proud ." (end)
Clearly the Lord has not 'cut us down' whenever we have exhibited pride. If He did there would be noone here on THC, nor would we have neighbors or even be here ourselves. It should be a lesson to us though, even though He deals with us with amazing grace, that He HATES pride. I dont want my children to do things
that I hate...therefore I do not want to do things the Lord hates...May the Lord help us to walk in true humility
If Sunday is the 1st day of your week like ours is, then your week starts with rest and encouragement! I love Sunday!
James Smith
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." Ephesians 5:22
The comfort of home very much depends on the wife, and the happiness of the husband is greatly in her power. The wife has often ruined the husband, or rendered the marriage-tie a subject of deep regret. An ungovernable temper, a proud spirit, a wish to conform to all the fashions of the present world — has rendered many a Christian's home really miserable!
Submission is difficult — where pride rules in the spirit! Yes, it is impossible! And yet, without submission on the part of the wife, happiness will never be the portion of the husband. Submission is the wife's duty: the Holy Spirit says, "As the church is subject unto Christ — so let the wives be unto their own husbands in everything." A submissive disposition, and a meek quiet spirit — are two of the most beautiful ornaments a wife can wear.
Every Christian woman should look upon her husband as the representative of Christ in the family, and submit to him as such. Her submission should extend to everything which does not run counter to the commands of God. The less a wife desires to have her own will — the better for her own comfort.
In consequence of sin, the Lord said, "Your desire shall be to your husband — and he shall rule over you." And this declaration of God stands in full force at the present day, "The husband is the headof the wife — even as Christ is the head of the church." In these different epistles, has the Holy Spirit spoken to wives, and commanded them to submit to their husbands; this may imply that the duty is difficult — but it testifies that the duty is imperative.
The wife should love her own husband — as the church loves Christ; and strive by every possible means to make him happy and honorable. She should strive to make his home the most comfortable, never meeting him at his return with a frown, or hailing him with a cross word; but her countenance should be lighted up with love, and on her lips should be the law of kindness. A woman's love, judiciously manifested — is almost invincible! But an evil temper indulged by a wife — is most repulsive! Nothing weakens a husband's love, or raises a husband's temper, like cross words or unpleasant looks from his wife. They never ought to be; but if they have been, they should be confessed with sorrow, and conquered with care.
The wife should bear in mind, that her husband is a Christian; that Jesus tenderly loves him; that He has made him His representative; that He requires her to submit to him in His name, and for His sake: and that He looks upon her disobedience — as directed against His authority; and her unkindness to her husband — as grieving His love.
My sister, it is your duty to learn subjection, for the Lord's sake, to imbibe and manifest a meek, lowly, and submissive spirit; a spirit that will yield everything for conscience' sake, unless in so doing you would sin against God.
Oh, if wives were willing to submit, if they only consulted the happiness of their husbands, if they made the precepts of the gospel their rule — what happy homes, what happy husbands they would have!
"Let the wife see that she respect her husband." But is this the case, even with godly wives? Can it be neglected, and the Spirit who commanded — not be grieved? Can the Spirit be daily grieved, by conduct the very opposite of His command — and the Christian be happy? It is impossible! See then one cause why so many wives are in such an unhappy and uncomfortable a state!
Chaste conversation should be coupled with fear — a fear to grieve, wound, or distress a husband's mind. Sarah, who obeyed and reverenced Abraham, should be the wife's daily pattern. No wife can be happy, no wife can be ornamental, no wife can have the testimony of a good conscience — unless she observes the precept, "Wives submit yourselves unto your husbands — as unto the Lord."
A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of home happiness. God sends many beautiful things to this world, many noble gifts; but no blessing is richer than that which He bestows in a mother who has learned love's lessons well, and has realized something of the meaning of her sacred calling.
Challenging the stereotype... A funny story, this morning while on The Homeschool Channel, my 'littles' were watching the learning videos by Captain Brett and Jacqueline Smith.In the meantime, some folks came by to pick up one of those Redbone puppies that I mentioned our sons raising.
While the older couple were here, the 6 year old said 'Mom, the babies are distracting my school! Can you ask them to go play?"
The lady looked at me and said "oh I see you homeschool" and in reference to my little guys comment she said "you dont hear that everyday! So I guess you have done ok at it huh?" to which Brett answered "Well weve been doing it for a while, 20 years or so". She was quite impressed.
So, at least if the kids were fueding, fussing and fighting, at least it was over the right to 'not be distracted' while they were schooling! LOL!
The conversation continued between the littles with the 5 year old saying "Lijah, I am trying to learn too! Dont distwact me!" LOL, the man looked over and said "Well Ill be"....That said it all I think:)
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