Driving Lessons

~posted by Jenny

On April 21, 2007, after over a year of my sisters' begs, I got my Driver's Permit. Learning to drive has taught me a whole lot more than just how to drive; in fact, there are many spiritual principles and applications involved! Let me share a few of these lessons with you....

#1. "Where's the brake pedal?"

That was the first question I asked when I got behind the steering wheel. Hey, it's an important thing to know!

When you learn to drive, it is important to ask questions and get wise counsel. We need to be humble and willing to heed instruction.

It is the same way in our spiritual life!

"Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14).

#2. After a few weeks (never mind years!) of driving, it is rather easy to get too confident and casual about it. This is a big mistake! We always need to be on the alert.

"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil" (Proverbs 3:7).

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (I Corinthians 10:12).

#3. It is always better to be slow and cautious rather than fast and foolish!

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1:19).

#4. I was horrified the first time I was a victim of "road rage." Apparently I was going to slow and the man behind me was rather upset... very upset! But it is important that we follow the law even when others are pressuring us to break it.

Be willing to stand alone and endure ridicule for Christ's sake!

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).

#5. Keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. We need to guard against distraction both within and without the vehicle (i.e., screaming passengers, tempting food, a friend waving to you from the side of the road, etc.).

In the same way, keep your focus on the Savior, Jesus!

"No one engaged in warefare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier" (II Timothy 2:4).

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

#6. Be patient with speed limits and red lights, even when you are running late.

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him...." (Proverbs 37:7).

#7. Be calm. Don't panic when trouble comes!

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).

#8. Learning to drive is supposed to bring independence. For me, it's only made me feel more dependent on my parents!

It is so important that we never forget our total dependence on Jesus. He is our Soveriegn Lord, and we are His humble children serving for His glory.

"Abide in Me, and I in You. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5).

"A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:7).

Bright Lights Conferences

We just got back from a six-day trip to Ohio for two Bright Lights conferences! Traveling without Dad was an adventure (especially when we got the flat tire!) but the Lord took care of us and we had a wonderful trip.

On Friday and Saturday we had a "Strong In The Lord" conference for girls ages 8-14. Becky and Jenny led a small group together (see the picture above). There were lots of skits, testimonies, singing, chalk talks and teaching. On Monday and Tuesday we had the "Radiant Purity" conference, based on Sarah Mally's book Before You Meet Prince Charming, for girls 12 and up. The sessions and discussion groups were so challenging and encouraging! Topics that were covered included: delighting in the Lord, waiting on the Lord, having a life purpose bigger than marriage, the importance of parental involvement, being reserved for one, and emotional purity. We are so excited by all that we expereinced and learned.

And now we're back to normal life! :-)

16 Things to Pray for Our Children

~from Kim~

Over the years I have been blessed to hear many speakers who have studied to bring messages on biblical parenting. I am so grateful for these messages that inspire me to love my children, pray for my children and teach my children biblical truths. God has used messages like this to build my security in Him and His ways. I recently heard Tom Harmon speak in Nashville, Tennessee. What a great message! This message was called 16 Things to Pray for Your Children.
Tom began by talking about problems in our prayer life; some of us are prone to daydreaming during prayer times. He recommends structuring our prayers, making lists, and having specific times when we pray. Here is a list that he recommends using or starting with for our prayers for our children. I think it would be even better to pray these WITH our children. I have not yet done this.

1. Pray for their Salvation. Pray that they really believe, that they know God loves them, that they can pray and believe that God hears them and responds. Pray that they know they are sinners, that they be broken and know they need Christ. Share your testimony with your children; share your brokenness with them. Share some things that God has delivered you from. Share your faith in Christ with them daily and often. Make it clear that your own salvation and relationship with God is the most important thing in your life. Pray that they be partakers of the Divine Nature, not spectators.

2. Pray for their future mate. Marriage is a fellowship of the Spirit; pray that the Holy Spirit is working now on his or future mate. Pray that their future mate would be presently growing spiritually and finding his or her purpose in serving Christ. Pray for contentment with waiting for their future spouse to experience romantic love and attraction. Help them prepare for marriage through loving their families, serving, working, sacrificing, speaking gently and lovingly.

3. Pray that they would fall in love with God’s Word. Model daily Bible reading. Have lots of good, simple materials around for Bible study. You may not need commentaries and “fill in the blank” workbooks for study but I have needed them to fall in love with the Bible. I am making a new commitment this year to make Bible study more important than math, science, literature. Children and young people need to be taught with study helps HOW to study the Bible.

4. That God would keep them from the evil one. Pray that God will teach them to “hate every vain thought.” We are born with a nature that is inclined to evil and Satan seeks to entrap our children. They need to be born again and taught what God’s goodness is.

5. That they would have a conscience void of offence before God and man. Pray that their conscience be sensitive and tender. The conscience is our thought life, our motives, our knowledge of good and evil. We can look pretty good on the outside and still have thoughts that are not good. Pray that your children pray silently, inwardly and that part of their thought life is Prayer. Memorizing and meditating on Scripture verses, praying Scripture verses will help with this.

6. That their character would be more valuable to them than their credentials.

7. That they would stand up for what is right even if it means standing alone. Alone……….no young person wants to be alone. Pray that IF they are “alone” in terms of human friendship, that God will give you the Grace and Desire to be their close friend.

8. That they would be kept from the love of money.

9. That they would be kept morally pure, that they would delight in being modest and helping others to be modest in dress, speech and actions. This is such a huge subject, the area where Satan seems to ensnare most of the world. I would love to have conversations with Christian parents about this.

10. That they would have the heart of a servant. That I would model servanthood in such a grateful and loving way. God does help me in this area when I really think about the beauty of servanthood He has laid out for us. That God would cultivate gratefulness in me and them for the ability and desire to be a servant.

11. That eternity would BURN in their hearts! This is a great one. If eternity will burn in their hearts, the short term pleasures of this world will become less appealing.

12. That sin would always be distasteful to them and that they would be broken easily over sin. That God would clearly reveal to them what sin is, that they would have great discernment.

13. That they would love each other. That we would encourage them to be best friends, that we would encourage them to seek to help their brothers and sisters fulfill their goals.

14. That they would trust God with their parents and not allow rebellion to set in. That we as parents would trust God and not have low expectations for our kids. That we as parents would expect them to run past us in their spiritual walk! That we would have the grace to correct them graciously and not wound their spirits.

15. Regardless of the hardship, that they may never become bitter against God.

16. That our boys would be glad to be boys and our girls would be glad to be girls.

This message really made me want to pray. God put urgency into Tom Harmon’s message. Tom was very honest; he told about disappointments and problems in his family. He said that he needed structure in his prayers and admitted he doesn’t always FEEL like praying. He said, “But the devil was after my children; there were several times the smell of his breath was all over them.” A bit graphic, but it sure helped me to see the URGENCY of prayer with and for our children.

He talked about memorizing Scripture and has been able to memorize whole books of the Bible. He said “There is only so much room inside of you, stuff it with the good stuff and it will clean out the bad stuff.” This was very meaningful to me.
He said, “Teach your kids theology, they understand it!”

Tom Harmon has a website at TDHarmon.com. This message is also available on DVD.

I am so grateful to be able to ponder this again and to share it with others.

The Second Annual Bright Lights Father & Daughter Hike!

Count It All Joy

“Yet I see, when God calls a person to anything, and through never so many difficulties, yet He is fully able to carry them through and make them see, and say they have been gainers thereby…I have learned to look beyond present and smaller troubles, and to be quieted under them. As Moses said, ‘Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” ~Mary Rowlandson~

The year was 1676. The sun was rising on a brisk February morning in the settlement of Lancaster, Massachusetts. Mary Rowlandson and her three children were rudely awakened by horrifying screams and deafening gun shots. Mary’s husband, the Reverend Joseph Rowlandson had traveled to Boston, attempting to organize a militia to keep the Indians from attacking. With a pang of fear, Mary realized he was too late.

Three other houses had been raided and burned before the Indians fell upon the Rowlandson house. Mary had gathered her children and was reaching for the doorknob when bullets shattered through the walls and the house caught fire.

Escaping the flames, Mary and her children watched as their entire town was destroyed. Bodies lay everywhere; some groaning and crying for help, others lying perfectly still. Mary herself was shot through her side and with horror realized the same bullet had wounded the child she carried in her arms. Chaos reigned as Indians screamed, raising their glistening weapons and people cried in pain and fear while their houses crumbled down. Mary and her children were taken captive along with twenty others. Thirteen settlers were killed. The town lay in a heap of smoking ashes.

But there was no time to look back. A rude shove with the end of a rifle caused Mary to stumble after the others. She held on to her children tightly; she could let nothing separate them. Tears filled her eyes as she was torn away from the settlement. What would happen to Joseph when he returned to find no home, no town, no family? Would he know that they were still alive? Would she ever see him again?

The prisoners were made to walk continually, never able to rest, only pushed on. Mary wearily trudged after the long line, the pain in her side increased, but she hardly noticed her own discomfort while tending to her daughter, Sarah. The six year old child’s wound was a severe one and was only worsening. She had caught a fever and Mary had to carry her because she was too weak to walk on her own. Bent under the weight of her sick child, Mary prayed that the Lord would not forget her, but would give her the strength to endure. Finally, the Indians hoisted Mary and Sarah onto a horse behind a warrior. A short while later Sarah died in her mother’s arms.

After three months of captivity and traveling 150 miles, Mary Rowlandson was ransomed and set free on May 2, 1676. Her two surviving children were also released a short while later. She was reunited with her husband in Boston, where they made their new home.
Mary wrote an account of her experiences as an Indian captive and titled it The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed; Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. What a title for a woman who had suffered tremendously! Her book is more than a story of her captivity; it is a testament to God’s unfailing grace and faithfulness.

Mary had many reasons to be bitter, to complain and be discouraged. But instead, she trusted in the sovereignty of her Lord and viewed her time of suffering as a blessing, because she learned more about God’s grace. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18. She knew the Lord was in control, knew that He had ordained the path her life would follow before she was born. She said, “Oh, I may see the wonderful power of God, that my spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction: still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit…”

Even though Mary had experienced great suffering, she was able to say “Oh the experience that I have had of the goodness of God, to me and mine!” Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried by fire, might be found unto the praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6

Oh that we could have the faith and trust of Mary Rowlandson! If we could only view suffering as a way the Lord draws us to Him. If only we would trust that God is sovereign and be content in the fact that though His ways are higher than our ways, they are perfect in every way and are part of His plan for our lives! Are we willing to endure through the fire so we can be brought forth as gold? Are we ready to accept the sufferings in our lives and bring God glory through them? Are we prepared to “…count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience”? (James 1:2)

"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:5. If every earthly possession, loved one, and comfort was taken from us, if we can only say with Job “…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

“Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.” ~C.H. Spurgeon~

-From Becky

I See Him!

We love this quote. Click to enlarge.

http://graphics.hwmagazine.org

Reflections From A Conference....

-From Kim

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:44- 48

We drove home from Tennessee for 13 hours Saturday night. We had just attended a 3 ½ day conference for homeschooling families through the Institute in Basic Life Principles. I was driving while Pete and the girls watched a movie in the back seat. I was happy to drive to have so much time to think. I had been in teaching sessions for 30 hours and felt amazed that God has given me so much. He has given me so much precious food to nurture my life with Him and my family life with Him. I am so blessed, so full of Him through preaching from His Word. I am so grateful to have had the encouragement to pursue God and His service together as a family. It seems that the cultural messages of our world are always telling us that togetherness is possessiveness, that independence is better than dependence. I am so grateful that we were able to go on a family retreat in this day when so many churches are sending kids on retreats, men on retreats and women on their own retreats. I am not criticizing these, I have benefited from women’s retreats in the past. Today, I am just plain grateful that we got to go on a family retreat, looking at our sins together and delighting in the Lord together. The theme of the retreat was “The Power of One Accord” and this meant the unity of each family member pursuing God together and serving Him together. I was grateful to sit in the pews with my family, feeling physically close and seeing them each taking notes and responding to the preached Word of God.

There were times when I felt spent, like Thursday night with swollen feet that felt they could not even walk to the hotel room. At that time I thought, “What am I doing” Am I crazy? I can’t take anymore.” Rest followed and brought clarity of mind and the knowledge that this was an unusual time of seeking God that I would draw from for a very long time. It was a wonderful vacation. Now I want to share with my family, give as was given to me, share with my friends and neighbors that know Jesus but need encouragement and share with people that need Christ.

My pastor said a few weeks ago, “WE HAVE TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT CHRIST and HIS WORD.” Yes, I agree. We must be SERIOUS, RADICAL. Jesus and what He has said to us through the Bible must be the most important thing about each day for us. To introduce Him and His Words into the ordinary tasks of everyday life, where He is present but not acknowledged is counter-cultural, unusual and sometimes offensive. Sometimes even in Christian circles. I am asking Him to help me be more serious and acknowledge Him more.

The first session that I participated in introduced the theme of one accord. This was to join together in a passionate pursuit of loving God and seeking His mind. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” Philippians 2: 5-7. How do we love God? By learning His mind or belief system through studying the Bible. We seek to love as He loves. We are to salute all people, salute means “to enfold in the arms of your heart.” Salute one another. Enfold everyone you meet into the arms of your heart.

I needed to hear this. In my pursuit of Godly living, I have criticized others and evaluated them in my mind. I have felt convicted about this many times before and I have some specific instances in which God has disciplined me for this. Because I am learning how tender and merciful and gracious God is, the Heavenly Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, I have not been at rest with my critical thoughts. I also know that critical thinking of others only springs from insecurity, not from union with Christ. Even if I have not expressed it in words I have given the message through my behavior and avoidance. It has been hardest in protecting my kids, but I have been guilty of protecting myself as well. I have rejected people and I know how terrible rejection feels. The speaker, Mr. Gothard, said that he had also done this and repented of it. He said that he had sent messages to people without words that were rejecting. I so appreciated his saying this because it really moved me and made me look at myself. When people are candid, it gives others courage to be candid. We need to pursue relationship with Christ and union with Him. Godly living is loving as Christ loved. Personal boundaries and standards for living will follow, but Godliness is loving. Lifestyle choices will flow from a union with Christ; when we look at someone else we need to think only of their need for Christ, not their need for standards. The speaker went on to say that people have had hurts, rejections and they are looking for someone to love them, not judge them. Jesus was comfortable with sinners. Enfold people into your heart. Be generous; have something that you can give to someone who needs Christ. People want to get to know someone who enfolds them into their heart. This was the message given to all of us. Thankfully, it is not a dramatically unique message. And we don’t need novel and “fresh” ways of hearing God’s words, just serious and very strong.

We need to pray that God will give us the Grace to love everyone we meet. It is only Christ’s righteousness draped on me that will let this mind be in me. I am so excited about this! I cannot do this by myself! I cannot even just do it with God’s help. Only Him in Me can love people. My mistakes do not condemn me; I have a lot I would like to forget. I have a picture of myself taken with a large group of people and I have a terrible scowl on my face in the picture. It was very unpleasant for me to look at, this reminder of a part of myself that can be critical and not loving of others. I was so ashamed when I saw this picture in other people’s homes. I felt guilty.

But, now I see that picture in a different way. That woman, me, was eternally saved that day, but she needed union with Christ. She needed to realize that she was so unworthy and unable to be unconditionally loving, to enfold people in the arms of her heart. What a wonderful, wonderful thing to know that I indeed NEED Jesus Christ so much! I might just take that picture out and hang it on the refrigerator. There is no condemnation for those who love Jesus, just more and more Grace and Love. In the past few years I have been understanding my depravity more. I don’t make excuses for it and I desire to seek holiness through Christ. But my depravity, my sin makes me so dependent on Christ, so needy of Him. He has taken care of it through His death and He continues to convict me of my sin and He continues to change me. Is this what Horatio Spofford meant when he wrote these words?

“My sin – O the bliss of this glorious thought –
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul
It is well………..It is well with my soul,
It is well…………It is well with my soul”

I certainly don’t mean to glory in my sin; we are so vulnerable to extremes in our humanness. But to see my sin as bad and the point of my need to be forgiven and changed and to see this as the most important thing in my life.

Of course, how we love others in this Godly way is to pray to Him, meditate on the Scriptures daily and dedicate ourselves to God and His purposes.