Learn the Ten Commandments

I know, I know. I'm a total slacker :D I promise to make another home school video next week- honest! 

I have several topics lined up that I've been getting a lot of questions about.

But, in the mean time... I wanted to share a little gem with you! 

2 weeks ago we commenced learning about the 10 commandments. I searched and searched online for a song, but still don't have one I "love, love"... I did, however, find this cartoon YouTube video with Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. It's short, it's captivating, and it WORKS! Not only have I *finally* memorized the order of the 10 commandments, this video also helped my 4 year old to memorize them in a REMARKABLY short time. Check it out!

Homeschooling 101: Character Training

Here's video #2!!! :) I hope all of you have a very blessed and safe new year!

Homeschooling 101: getting started with your preschooler

It's here... the homeschooling video series I've been promising you guys I would start has broke ground... AND I finally figured out how to upload a video to Blogger! :0)  I apologize for my terrible video skills! I promise that my next one won't make you quite so motion sick!!



Note: This video was made primarily for my local friends here in the great state of Texas, who wish to learn more about homeschooling. If you live elsewhere, please research your state laws regarding home education before starting with your child. Best of luck!

IBLP Seminar- God's Reward for Scriptural Disciplines

For those of you who haven't heard: the IBLP seminars (and a lot of other great videos) are now available to stream online.

The website is embassyinstitute.org

The fee is $9 a month, or if you can pay $99 for a whole year.

This is such an incredible blessing to be able to access these great seminars and videos anytime we want, for a really small price- NEVER having to leave our house!

If you have never been through any of these seminars: I urge you to check it out! The Scriptural truths shared by Mr. Gothard have made a huge impact on my personal walk with the Lord, and my entire family. If you've been through them, but it's been awhile: I encourage you to do it again.

Each time I go through one of these seminars, I'm at a different place in life, and I am always challenged by the new things God reveals to me about myself and His Word.

Nick and I just started going through the Advanced Seminar today.

***just a tip: if you want to do a seminar from start to finish, I've found the easiest way to access the videos is type in the search box: "advanced seminar session 1" and it will come up.***

We'll be doing the sessions slowly. (He has to listen to the audio on his iPhone while driving & on breaks at work.) Here are a few notes on the session today and some things God has been dealing with me about:

God's Reward for Scriptural Disciplines

-Daily Bible Reading

(growth) 1 Peter 2:2

-Memorizing

(purity) Psalm 119:11

-Meditating

(success) Psalm 1:2-3

-Application

(answered prayer) John 15:7

-Fasting

(health & discernment) Isaiah 58

-Praying

(power) James 5:16

-Early Rising

(productivity) Psalm 57:8, 63:1

-Reading Revelation

(blessing) Rev. 1:3

-Witnessing

(eternal fruit) Proverbs 11:30

There are many promises in Scripture. God delights in honoring His own Word. He simply wants us to take Him up on it and try it out. The list above are just some of the principles He's laid out for us and the rewards of following them. Nick and I have started some new things lately in our home and it feels so great to see the fruits of those things. But while Mr. Gothard read and explained this list in the session today, I not only recognized the things we WERE doing; I was painfully reminded of all the things we NEED to be doing!

With the intention of hopefully helping someone, and allowing all of you to hold me accountable... I'd like to share with you my successes and failings with this list of Scriptural principles.

-Daily Bible Reading

If you asked a mother, "How often do you feed your new baby?" and she answered, "Oh, about once a weeks or so..." You would obviously be appalled. I think God created our natural bodies to need food multiple times a day for a purpose. I think it's a parallel to our spiritual lives. We should be DAILY, and CONTINUALLY feeding on God's Word. When we do, the spiritual growth is apparent. I can completely tell a difference in my day when I do my devotion vs. when I skip it.

So, here's a small tip for you mothers out there: Me and Nick like to do our family prayer and Bible reading together and the breakfast table every morning... but sometimes it doesn't happen. If we oversleep a little or he has to go in earlier, I tend to just skip it altogether. God convicted me of this recently. It's better to do our morning "wisdom search" separately than not at all!

So- here's what I do. If Nick is already gone, I still (pray first) then read OUT LOUD the Proverbs (number of the day) and at least 1 Psalm. I let the kids eat while I'm reading and if Ben finishes before I'm done, I let him stay in his seat and color. (I tell him to draw words he hears me say.) I feel this discipline is not only great for their self control, but also trains them to sit quietly through church. Not to mention they are hearing the Word of God frequently at a young age. By the time they can actually understand what it means and read along, it won't be a new concept to them or a boring exercise.

-Memorizing
This is something we JUST started. I told Nick, "Honey, I used to memorize Scripture ALL THE TIME when I was in school, but have really slacked off since finishing my studies." So we decided to keep each other accountable and make if a "couple's exercise". We pick a verse or passage each week, write it out on a flashcard, stick it to the front of the fridge and ask each other to quote it at the end of each day. First we just picked a random verse in Eph. Then we did "Roman's road" (the verses you need to know to lead someone to Christ), and next we're gonna do fruits of the spirit, the beatitudes... etc. Some verses we learned as kids are coming back to us rather quickly. But each night we quote the entire list of what we've worked on thus far so we won't forget them again.

***I recently made Benjamin a Scripture Memory book. (I looked for one to buy, but couldn't find the right thing so...I just wrote the verses down, drew pictures for them and stapled the pages together.) I noticed he had a great memory when he started quoting some of his favorite books to me... so I figured it was time to put it to good use. :) I made up hand signals to the Scriptures so it's more fun for him and we say the reference at the beginning and the end of the verse.***

-Meditating

It kinda goes without saying that if you're working on Scipture memory, you'll probably end up meditating on those verses. But, of course, I can easily fall into just memorizing something mechanically... so I do try to take time and really say the words... think about them... and pray them. Actually, sometimes I even sing them. There are so many praise songs written verbatim from the Psalms. The Maranatha singers do a lot of them. Check them out on Pandora. :)

*By the way, at the end of my devotion with the kids each morning: we end with songs- usually Sunday school songs with hand signals that are fun for them.

-Application

Well, I'm sure it's clear to all that I need to work on applying these things I'm reading, memorizing, & meditating on in Scripture. But, I must say, it is MUCH easier to apply these things when they are on your mind CONSTANTLY!!

-Fasting

I have really slacked in this area the past few years. I've used pregnancy and nursing as an excuse a lot... but truthfully, it will not hurt for me to skip at least 1 meal now and then. There are also other forms of fasting that I've felt convicted to start lately. Namely, television. My kids only watch clean, educational "good" programming & videos. But, it can still be on WAY too much if I'm not very careful. I have found that having the TV on all the time creates discontent in children. (i.e. if it's not on, they become bored quickly.) Fasting a day or a week here and there is something I am going to start doing regularly to keep us in check.

-Praying

Sometimes a light bulb goes off in my brain while experiencing a delay or "boring" duty. "You could be using this time to pray," I feel the Lord say to me.

I just experienced this last night while standing by my baby's crib. She had been a little distraught, so I was standing where she could see me while she drifted off to sleep. Standing there with nothing to do, driving down the road with no other adults to talk to, or sitting beside my toddlers bed when he's having a rough night... those are all really good times to pray.

-Giving

I do practice giving, but I need to do more- and not just when it's convenient for me.

-Early Rising

Definitely need help on this one! "Early Rising" for us wouldn't be the same as most people due to our different schedule... but I know going to bed earlier and waking up earlier encourages a more productive day. I can always see the difference when we're up an hour before we "feel like getting up". Punctuality (one of the 49 character qualities Mr. Gothard talks about) is related to this one. I have completely lost my punctuality since having children and God is really dealing with me to work on this.

-Reading Revelation
Not something I expected to be on this list, but Rev 1:3 says, ^"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."
I tend to gravitate more to other books of the Bible- ones that I can understand. :) But, there is spiritual blessing promised to those who read this book. I haven't read it in it's entirety in a long time, but I'm going to start this week.

-Witnessing
This has been such a strong conviction for me personally for awhile now. It's a scary thing to really initiate a conversation about the Lord with someone if you've never done it. I'm trying to start small and work up my courage: like saying "God Bless" or making reference to how good God is when I having small talk with a stranger. I really need prayer in this area because I KNOW I am not yet making disciples like Christ called me to do.

Just last night me and Nick had a conversation about reaching out more to our neighbors. The Lord layed it on both our minds the same day that we could be doing more to get to know our neighbors and witness to them. Nick was like, "I know we've been taught that everyone is our neighbor... but if we aren't willing to befriend our physical neighbors that live right next to us... that's pretty bad!" I agreed, saying that God was dealing with me on that very issue. I admit, I don't even know all the names of the people in our cul de sac. Being a better neighbor is on our "to-do" list. Inviting them over when we have a game night with friends, bringing over some homemade baked goods to get to know them.... that's the plan. :)

Toddler Learning Games-Fun with Dominos

My family has always loved playing games together; including dominoes.

My mother tells everyone "I taught the girls to count by 5's playing dominoes!"

She's telling the truth!

Homeschooling in our house was pretty fun. :)

Benjamin LOVES it when he gets to play with an "adult" or "big kid" item.

(What kid doesn't? It's just more fun than their toys, right?)

So, I've been using his interest in our dominoes for some learning games.

We have the double-twelve set with different colors, so there's lots of opportunity for learning with these. While he isn't old enough to count by fives yet... he can practice matching up the identical sides, learning the unusual color names, and counting the dots.

Of course, I let him stack them, line them up, and build things with them as well. Our "learning sessions" are usually no longer than a couple of minutes. Then I go do a chore and let him "freestyle" it for 5 minutes or so. :)

I think it's great to give kids access to ALMOST everything.

(Not all the time, and not anything dangerous...)

But a kid's interest is always peaked when you show them something

"off limits".

Explain it to them, and let them touch it a minute. 

You have their attention and it's a fantastic teaching moment!

Let your toddler stir the pancake mix and watch you fry an egg. Let them put their own clothes in their drawer. Let them play with the dominoes. Let them TRY to sweep the floor.

If you're gonna teach them about table manners- bring out the fine china for a special dinner.

You know, the dishes that are for "special people"?

After all, who is truly more special than your little ones?

Frustrated with Child Training

I've read a lot of child training books. I read them as a teenager (home school assignments), and I've re-read them after marriage and having kids of my own. My personal favorite (as far as practical technique goes) has always been To Train Up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl. I've benefited greatly from the many branches of their ministry, probably the most from their teachings on child training. I KNOW their methods work. I've seen the fruit- in other people's kids, as well as my own. So... are my expectations [with my own kids] high? You bet! I've been ruined for life. Never again will I be able to "settle" for one of my kids throwing a fit and getting away with it. I know better.

And yet, all of so called "KNOWLEDGE" in this area has been failing me lately. I find myself frustrated to the point of tears when Benjamin is disobedient. When he has an angry outburst, I immediately recognize it as a reflection of my own

How can I possibly be upset at him for such behavior when it mirrors my own? Why do I seem to be losing my joy in the area of training my children??

Sure, I could say I am just overwhelmed with having a new baby & Benjamin being in the "Terrific Two's"... but I know deep in my heart it isn't God's will for me to continue feeling/acting this way.

He has a better way. So, a few nights ago before bed, I cracked open the Pearl's 3rd edition of No Greater Joy for a little child training "re-calibration". Instead, I got some soul "re-calibration". About 10 pages in, I came across a letter from a mother who expressed many of the same issues I just related to you.

Here is an excerpt from Mr. & Mrs. Pearl's response:

__________________________________________________________

In a small way, our book was to you in the area of child training, what the law was to Paul. The law was designed to be a schoolmaster to bring him to Christ (Gal 3:24). As a schoolmaster, the law found him wanting and failed him. But what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, Christ did do through His Spirit (Rom. 8:3).

Dear Mother, you are in that very same place spiritually. You do not need more technique. You need a fresh dose of grace, mercy, and love from God. You need a trip to the cross and the open tomb. You need what I need daily, a trip to the upper room and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Wash yourself in the mercy of God, accept His forgiveness, and you will be different from the inside out. You cannot work this out in your mind. It is the miracle of Christianity to which I direct you.

By way of practical advice, there are several things you need to consider:

• Your relationship to God

Without doubt, when a mother is out of fellowship with her children, she is out of communion with God. If there is no peace within, it will manifest itself in your relationship to the kids. We can hide or disguise our relationship to God, but it will show up in the kids. You cannot hide your own spiritual condition with training techniques. There is no way to do the right thing if you are not the right person.

It is not my intention to leave you in a state of condemnation. I am not trying to use guilt to motivate you to be "a better Christian." I am not telling you to exert more effort.

There is a doorway to God, not a stairway. We often forget that there is only one way to relate to God, and that is through the blood of His Son. At this very moment, without any preparation of the heart, we can confess our total sinfulness and enter into an experience of mercy and grace. God delights to grant forgiveness to the "poor in spirit."

The biggest obstacle to God's blessing is our own effort at acceptance. We can never find acceptance with God by striving to accept ourselves. Based on the sacrifice of Christ, God accepts what we cannot- in others and ourselves. What we reject, God injects with abundant mercy and forgiveness. The road to forgiveness is not to reverse your course (which is impossible) but to throw yourself upon the mercy of God. Purchase the little book, All of Grace, by C. H. Spurgeon. The first chapter will set your soul free.

• Your relationship to your husband

You cannot be a better mother than you are a wife. You cannot be in contention with your husband and be relaxed with the kids. It is impossible. You are a whole person, not an actor with different roles. There is a chain of authority, with God at the top, then your husband, then you, and finally the kids. A chain of authority is also a channel for the delivery of blessings. If you do not receive from the chain above, you cannot pass it on to the kids under you.

• Your relationship to your parents and friends

If there is bitterness, guilt, or resentment towards your parents or friends, your spirit will not be free to bless your children. If you are giving or receiving condemnation regarding anyone, then you cannot be other than a source of condemnation for your children.

Condemnation is like a odor; you cannot direct it. It just oozes in all direction, affecting everyone.

• Your attitude toward training

There can only be one motive for training your children- their welfare as they grow to bring glory to God. If you accept pressure from friends, relatives, or society to perform in a certain way, then you are no longer raising up children; you are coaching performers. The expectation of others is a blind motivator. It cares not for soul or spirit. It is for the praise of the moment- not even praise of the child, but praise of parents. Don't let anything, including our book, put you under pressure to display your good parenting. If necessary, be content to be a failure. Care not for your reputation. True training is soul training. Soul training is first training in love, peace, creativity, grace, kindness, understanding, and then self-discipline, obedience, and responsibility. To try to teach heart obedience and self-discipline in an atmosphere of criticism and anger is like trying to make ice in an oven. Shake yourself free from public opinion and personal ambition. Freedom of spirit and joy are caught, not taught.

• Your attitude toward life on this planet

To be a good mother you must have eternity in view. By that I do not mean that you must put on religious pretense, always rebuking the carnally minded around you, and steering all conversations back to the "sacred." A mother with eternity in view will see the value of relaxing with her children. Housework and schoolwork are so temporal, so worldly, unless you can do them in a spirit of fellowship with others. Every day deserves a song and a dance- not the dance of the world, but the dance of carefree feet skipping through the blessings and joy of just being.

Dirty floors, clothes that didn't get picked up, spilled milk, and schoolwork that didn't get done will be of no consequence 100,000 years from now.

Whether poor or rich, highly educated, or common laborer, the heart is cultivated to enjoy God's presence. All else is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Write down all the things that trouble you during a day, not just the ones that pertain to the children. What is the very first irritation of the morning? It may be very subtle. It may not lead to bad words. You may not even be aware that you have yielded to a bad spirit. Write it all down for one day and then review it at night. Was it worth it? What are your values? Can you realistically expect others to change? Yet, if you change in your values and responses, then all has changed.

• Your diet and sleep patterns

Many, many mothers are suffering from some form of chronic fatigue. Constipation is killing Americans. Fat is pressing in on the hearts and minds of society. Lack of nutrition and too much sugar are leaving brains running at the speed of garbage trucks. TV and late nights are stealing the family and health. Lack of exercise is wasting away minds as fast as it inflates bodies. Your mind functions through a physical brain. Your spirit lives in a vessel of flesh. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. You must learn to bring your body into subjection in order to free your spirit.

• Your attitude toward your children

We saved this one for last, because if the others are all tended to there will be no problem here. Learn to view your children as people, not kids. They are adults, minus eight to ten years, that you are counseling and encouraging. You have a privilege every counselor would love. You can undo the hurts and hang-ups by removing them before they happen. You are on the other side of the problem- before it is a problem. Your children are your fruit. You have the highest calling on planet earth. Several innocent souls are committed to your trust. They will be what you make them. Knowing this should give you a proper perspective.

Spend lots of time with your children just having fun. Think of ways to turn every moment of work and responsibility into joy. Win their hearts and earn a smile from each child every five minutes of the day. In doing so, you will not have trouble with your attitude or theirs.

Excerpt from No Greater Joy Volume 3 by Michael and Debi Pearl