Category Archives: faith

"Shema"

faith January 30, 2012 Leave a comment

In Sunday school this morning one of the key passages was from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The word “Hear” at the beginning of this passage is from the Hebrew word, shema.  Our Sunday school books says this, “The expression was meant to evoke a sense of urgency in hearers and impress on them the need for action.”

I feel like it is so easy to just take in the word of God, to listen at church, or when I’m teaching the kids their memory verse.  It is much harder to actually do something about what I am hearing.

I use the phrase “listen and obey” with my children all the time.  It was an “aha” moment for me this morning when we went over the word “shema”.

God wants me to “listen and obey” when I read His word.  He wants me to make the decision to serve Him, to apply His word in a way that allows Him to transform me.

Old church, new church

choices, faith January 28, 2012 1 Comment

My husband and I started out as newlyweds trying to find a church that we could worship in as a couple.  One that wasn’t “his” and wasn’t “mine” but that would be “ours”. 

It took us a little over a year but we did indeed find a great church.  We were expecting our first baby and were filled with excitement as we began to make new friends, build relationships, serve, learn more about scripture from our pastor, worship and grow spiritually. 

We were at our old church for 8 and half years.  We had 4 of our 5 children dedicated there.  Foster was baptized there.  I had a best friend there.  My kids had best friends there.  Chris and I taught Sunday school classes, I sung in the choir for awhile.  We held all kinds of babies and toddlers in the nursery, along with our own.  It was home. 

And then, it wasn’t.  It first happened spiritually, then relationally.

I would love to be able to say the decision and the circumstances that led up to it were organized and sterile. “First A happened, then B happened, then C happened, then we prayed and God said A+B+C= time to find a new church home.”

But, that’s not life.  And it’s certainly hasn’t been easy.  It’s been painful.  It has felt like a divorce in a lot of ways.  It has been hard to explain to our young children.  We have told them that they just have to trust us, and God. 

One thing that I have come to realize during the whole process is that my relationship with God – my day-to-day talks with Him (prayer) and my spiritual education (reading my bible) does not hinge on my church attendance. 

A church home is wonderful. It helps to encourage and support you and your family.  A church family offers great opportunities for you to minister to others.  A church full of fellow believers worshipping together can be a beautiful experience. 

But, the personal relationship is up to you.  The spiritual education of your children is up to you and your spouse.

It’s kind of like a banana split.  (Hear me out here.) God is the banana and you are the ice cream.  That alone is delicious.  Church, though, is the hot fudge sauce, the nuts, the whip cream and cherry.  A church family, a church home, where you feel a part can add all that extra yummy to your relationship to God. 

Thankfully, it seems that we have found a new place to belong.

My husband grew up in a wonderful church here in town.  Many of the people that nurtured and loved him when he was young are still there.  We have been attending that church and we have felt a peace each Sunday that neither of us can explain. 

A day of rest

faith January 23, 2012 Leave a comment
I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak His praises.
             Psalms 34:1
Sundays when we can all go to God’s house together. 
Sundays when we get to come home to a warm home, a tasty meal, some outside play time, some inside cuddle and movie time. 
After a long, hard week…our reward has been a peaceful Sunday. 
Praise the Lord!

Band-aid

faith, homeschooling, humor January 19, 2012 Leave a comment

You can’t put a band-aid on emotional pain.  It has to just heal slowly, uncovered, letting the air get to it.  Our healing today came from being together.  In the simple day-to-day learning and the joy of laughter.

I was eating some dip at lunch and Foster said “what is that?” I said “It’s hummus dip. It’s made from chickpeas.” He said “Gross! Chick pee? That’s yucky.”

I love my kids.

Remorse

faith, parenting January 18, 2012 Comments: 2

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? (Even the Scriptures say,”For your sake we are killed every day; we are slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away.                                                    Romans 8: 35-38

A promise from God that I needed today.

Have you ever had one of those days? Where you let your emotions run over and you say ugly, hurtful things to your loved ones? Where all the little things that have been bothering you just explode in an ugly mess?

It happens all the time in the movies, people yell and slam doors and pitch fits.  But what happens after that?  The happy ending is shown, the parents hugging their kids, the husband and wife holding one another lovingly in bed.

What happens in real life is you have to humble yourself and apologize. You have to ask forgiveness from those you have hurt and then from God who was watching the whole time, wanting to love you, wanting to protect you from yourself but you just wouldn’t get alone with Him.

I’m human. I get hurt and feel unappreciated.  I have my own opinions about how things should go in our family.  But instead of praying about it, talking it over with God and calmly approaching my husband and children, I blew up. I was irrational and hurtful.

Of course, they said they forgive me. And I know that God forgives me, but the promise that I so needed today is that no matter what God loves me. No matter what trouble (even if it’s caused by me), no matter my fears or worries – NOTHING keeps God’s love away from me.

Just the two of me…

choices, faith January 15, 2012 Comments: 3

Sometimes I feel like I have some sort of split-personality disorder.  I get jealous.  I get jealous a lot.  And then I repent about feeling jealous and am overcome with gratitude for what God has blessed me with. The insanity goes something like this, organized by different categories because I like to organize.

House: I have a lot of friends and family members who have bigger houses than we do, newer homes that don’t have mustard yellow countertops and gold laminate floors in their kitchens.  Houses that have more than 1 toilet.  Houses that they own – so they can paint or pave their driveway because they don’t rent.

Clothes: I have probably spent less than $300 on clothing for my 5 children this past year.  My kids wear hand-me-downs, consignment and yard sale clothes and shoes for the most part. And don’t get me started about me, I am sitting here in pajama pants that Chris bought me about 6 Christmases ago.

Experiences: My kids don’t go to Disney World. They don’t go to the movies every weekend. I don’t think they have ever set foot in West Town Mall.

Physical Appearance: I have friends who are all fit and trim, like I was for the first 25 years of my life. I also have friends who get their hair cut and highlighted on a regular basis. I may even know a few people who get manicures and pedicures.

So as I muse over all I don’t have, God has two ways of getting my attention.

There’s that still small voice you hear about “Annette, look at how I have blessed you with a warm, affordable home. Your children are clothed, I have allowed them to experience the important things in life.”

And there’s those times where he sort of smacks me on the back of the head with “ANNETTE. Really? Please. The majority of the human race does not know where their next meal or clean drink of water is coming from or how they will stay warm tonight.  Children all over the world do not own even one pair of shoes! Millions have never even heard MY NAME or will ever be able to come to MY HOUSE to worship.”

This is where I cry out and ask God to forgive me!

For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do.                                  
                                                                                                                                   Romans 7:18 & 19

Sanctity of Human Life

abortion, choices, faith January 13, 2012 Leave a comment

This month is Sanctity of Human Life month.  I have written about my feelings on this subject in the past. 

My family and I picked up a baby bottle from church to fill with change that will go to support our local crisis pregnancy center.  That’s not enough though. 

We are open and honest with our children about why churches put out rows of white crosses.  We call it by it’s name – abortion. And we define what it is – a mother’s choice to kill her own child.  I don’t feel like we would be doing our children any favors by trying to sugar coat this subject. It is murder. It is against God’s law.  When we have these discussions with our children, though, we always explain that we are not to judge the mother, we are to love her, help her.  We brainstorm with them the “why.” Foster at age 7 said “Maybe because she didn’t think she could take care of a baby.” They get it. 

This is an election year and I am sure that the issue of abortion will be one of the political talking points.  But this isn’t a political issue. It is a heart issue. It is a faith issue. 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
                                                                                                   James 1:17           

Liar, liar, pants on fire…

faith, growing-up January 6, 2012 Leave a comment
Foster age 3 1/2

“La la la…I can’t hear you.”

I often wish that I could do this.  I have hurt and been hurt by words all my life.

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
                                                                                                                      James 3:7-8

A little over a year and a half ago I had a very close friend say some things to me that I would have NEVER imagined.  I would have bet money that she would have never thought those things about me, let alone put them in an email and hit send.  But that’s what happens. I have had a lot of time to grieve, process, heal from that situation. God has used that time to show me how I too have been guilty of damaging relationships with words.

I had a best friend in college who dated this guy. They were on again, off again, with him usually being the cheater and hurting my friend.  Well, she and I were roommates and when he called and left messages on our answering machine I would delete them. And no, I did not tell her that he called.
I hated what he was doing to her so I tried to control the situation.  What I was doing though was deceiving my best friend and disrespecting her right to make her own decisions.  She found out, of course, and was angry and hurt.  What hurt most of all was that she could see me for what I really was – a liar.

Scripture says we can’t “tame” our tongue.  I have found that in my own walk with Christ I have struggled heavily in this area.  Whether it’s deceit or keeping quiet, I have relied on God to change me and mold me. I am so thankful that He doesn’t just see me as a liar, but as His child who needs loving correction.

 

Big Momma

faith, Jonah January 3, 2012 1 Comment

Even though I have been pregnant 5 times in the past 7 1/2 years there are not a whole lot of pictures of me actually being pregnant. Part of that is because I’m the mommy and that’s who is usually taking the pictures and another part of that is because I looked like this…

 This was very close to the end of my 5th pregnancy. I know. HUGE. I was huge and I look even more giant since Katie (age 6) was the photographer and so I look like a giant with a monster belly! At first I thought about deleting this picture, it is not at all flattering, but then I realized that huge belly carried my sweet Jonah!

I don’t know if you can make it out but that scale says 6 lbs. 13.5 oz. They wrote him down as 6 lbs 14 oz.  So what I had here was the smallest baby I had ever had and the biggest belly I had ever had.  Doesn’t seem right does it?

Yes, I get down about my weight. I would love to lose some, feel more comfortable in my clothes, not look 4 months pregnant.  But I’ve also got to keep things in perspective. 

I have a healthy baby boy. He’s nursing well, gaining weight, already rolling over and smiling and cooing.

I have close friends who have suffered from miscarriage and have heard many stories recently of pregnancies ending in a stillborn baby or severe birth defects. 

Perspective. Appreciating how God has blessed me again and not complaining and focusing on the negative. I have so much to be thankful for as we enter this new year.