Is Discipline Important

Over the past several years, I have worked with a few different women.  They were each very different from each other, but they all had one thing in common.  Each of them believed the lies of this world that to discipline and tell their child no would cause him mental harm.  This lie is the cause of the mental harm that their children face.  Like us, children are sinners.  If they are breathing, they have the capacity and the tendency to make wrong, sinful decisions.  Children, like adults need to be told what to do, and what is expected of them.  I'm not saying we need to punish them every time they make a wrong choice (God is rich in mercy and has given it to us so freely, we cannot refrain from demonstrating this mercy to our children). 

Discipline is not merely the correction of and execution of punishment.  Discipline is coming alongside our children, letting them know that we understand it is hard to obey.  Showing them our faults, and our own need to seek God's forgiveness.  Discipline is coming to our children and walking the path with them to help teach them to choose obedience over our selfish desires.

I found Grace Driscoll's article Godly Mother: Discipline can be Painful to be an encouragement when I read it the other day.  I hope you also find it to be an encouragement to continue seeking God's best for our children by teaching them to deny themselves and seek God's truth.

Intentional Prayer

While attending college, my husband and I both took a class on prayer.  The summer after that class I taught the lessons to my children's church class.  However, since then the vital truths and lessons I learned in that class have been neglected and set aside for what I "thought" were more important things like cleaning, laundry, cooking.  Now, as the Lord has been working in my life, I see how wrong I was to let these lessons fall away. 

This year, one of our goals as a couple is to be intentional in teaching our children how to pray.  We want to teach them that prayer isn't just a routine we go through before we eat, before we sleep, and when we disobey.  We want them to develop a lifestyle of prayer.

Last summer I read a book about a monk named Brother Andrew and how he took every moment and every event as an opportunity to talk with God - he didn't need a special place, or perfect quiet, just a heart felt desire to communicate with God.

Today MoneySavingMom linked up to a post at When You Rise sharing seven printable prayer cards she created to post around the house to pray aloud in the presence of our children.  I think it is so important that our children hear us praying even when we are not specifically praying with them. 

This morning as I was completing my Bible reading, I shooed my son away with the statement, go play in your room so I can read in quiet.  Oh, how wrong I was to push him away instead of allowing him to observe and realize how important the Scripture is and how vital it is to not allow the little distractions to push us away from communing with our Father.

A Clean Slate 2012

I once heard the analogy that our lives are a book to be written, and each year a new chapter.  Last night ended one chapter of my life, and today I start writing a new chapter.  However, the beauty about life verses writing a book is that each chapter need not progress the story as the last chapter did.  The failures I had last year need not reoccur this year (although many of them probably will be default).

One thing I love about this analogy is that by the end of the book, hopefully the lead character of the story will have changed from me as an individual to the person of Jesus Christ.  For the past thirty something years I have lived primarily for myself, what makes me feel good, what I like to do, and not entirely focused on Christ.  Yet, each year as my story progresses I begin to hand over the leading role more and more to my Lord.


You see, my life should have nothing to do with me.  My life should be nothing more than a conduit (like an electrical wire) for the power of the Holy Spirit to work through me.  I am to be the hands, feet, and mouth for my Savior.  Exclaiming His greatness!  Sharing His Gospel, and passing on His love to those about me.


My plan this year is to read through the Bible four times - This should take no more than about an hour a day to accomplish.  I also plan to have my oldest daughter read through the Bible this year.  I am going to give her the same reading schedule I will be reading so we can discuss what we read.  My younger children will be reading/listening to the Day by Day Kids Bible (as none of them are proficient readers yet).

We are also reading the Daily Light at Breakfast and Supper each day.  I was given this wonderful gem years ago when I graduated from high school by a family that has had a huge impact on teaching me what it means to give everything to the service of the King.  They also taught me how to study my Bible and how to love those around me.  The sad thing is that I never really paid much attention to this gem until my MIL was here last year.  She had been reading it during her visit and was so excited about it.  She brought it to us, and as we read the Scripture compilations, we realized how wonderful this would be in helping us to pass on a love for the Scriptures to our children.

Anyways, my prayer for this year is to cultivate a love and passion for God's Word in my children.  But to do that, I must plant and cultivate and care for that passion in my own heart.  I pray that at the end of this chapter I can look back and say wow, God's Word is EVERYTHING to me.


What do you plan to have written in your chapter this year?




*Just a side note - right now I hear my six year old stumbling through the words of the Day by Day Bible and the sound of it is so precious.

I Don't Want This

As I sat in the service tonight, I listened to the speaker.  As he spoke about sharing the gospel, he included not understanding why Christians suffered more than unbelievers.  He discussed how he wasn't sure if we were invaded and threatened with death if he would stand strong. He shared how he lived his life praying that God would give him the opportunity to share the gospel without offending someone.

As I listened to him speak, I realized that I don't want to live my life in that way - Just going through life like everyone else and every now and then telling someone about Jesus.  I don't want to live my life without suffering for Christ (not that I enjoy suffering).  I don't want to have a life so full of NORMAL and satisfaction.  I don't want to be satisfied with the American norm.

I want to live my life in such a way that if Christianity were outlawed, my house would be the first on their list.  My Savior did not live the life of comfort that I now live.  He did not live to make friends.  He lived to make disciples.  How can I desire to live a life better than my Savior's?

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
John 15:9-21

When your husband goes unappreciated.

October has been a rough and busy month for our family.  I have been forced to redirect my focus more frequently than usual.  Yet, God is so amazing, and so wonderful - He IS Faithful.

Many pastors have received an outpouring of love from their churches as this past month has been deemed pastor's appreciation month. 

What I am writing today is to encourage those women who don't feel their husband's are being appreciated by the church family.

Each church is different - in the makeup of the congregation you may have a younger generational church, an older generation, or a mixture.  You may have a church of seasoned churchgoers, or you may be a relatively young church with new believers excited about God and what He is doing in their lives.

As I have heard and read from pastor's wives how their churches have showered them with gifts and love, I have had to bite my tongue to not become resentful towards my church.  You see, some weeks I may think that our church is nothing more than a group of bench warmers.  Now, I know this is not entirely true, but my church is made up of elderly men and women.  Most of whom feel their church lives and normal lives are not connected.  This is not only hard to minister to them, but we don't feel like a family.  There are many weeks I come home feeling that my husband is unappreciated by the church.  I question why are we here when the church seems so cold.  Yet, even as I begin to think those thoughts I know these thoughts are sinful.  I have to change them.

You see, to be truly ministering for the Lord means that we minister in love to the unlovable.  I am the unlovable and yet God in his great mercy loved me. We don't serve in the church to be loved and appreciated by the church.  My husband is an amazing man.  He is like a walking Bible - seriously, he can locate almost any passage. He loves God's word, and more than anyone I think he truly understands the power of God's Word.  That means sometimes we may minister as the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah - to a people unwilling to hear and to respond; but we don't minister because we want them to behave a certain way or love us a certain way.  We minister to glorify God and to obey God - even when the service seemingly goes unnoticed.

Let me ask you this - Are you serving for the praise of man? or are you serving for God?  If you are serving for man's praise then you have your reward here in this life.  If you are serving for God - He will be faithful and strengthen you.

Even if your husband goes unappreciated by the congregation (as mine frequently does), there is still one family in your church that can shower him with love and appreciation - Yours.  What have you done this month to shower your husband with appreciation and to tell him how thankful you are for how he ministers to your family spiritually.

Why not treat your husband to a candlelight dinner after the children are in bed.  Shower him with words of gratitude for His spiritual leadership in your family.  Thank him for ministering to your own heart through his messages.

The response of the congregation has to start in the pastor's home before you can see it in the congregation.

A Heavy Weight

I look upon the peach tree heavy laden with fruit.  Its branches dipping down to the ground, weighted by the fruit.  I can't help but wonder if its branches will snap under the weight of the fruit, or if it can bear the weight for a few more days as it finishes ripening.  I pick a few unripened peaches hoping to give the tree some relief.

Looking at those peaches on the counter this morning, I wonder if I should have left them on the tree.  They would have ripened better and produced a sweeter taste than they will produce by ripening in the house.  I was hasty, I should have known the tree could handle the weight of the fruit.

How often do I try to unload the weight of my struggles upon my husband?  The answer to that is all too frequently.  God created me to be a helpmeet to my husband.  To help bear his struggles, not for him to bear mine.  God promises in his word that he will not force me to bear any burden that He will not also give me the strength to carry through.  I broke, today, I spoke hastily out of tiredness.  My branches broke because I had not given them the support they needed or the nourishment from God's Word that was necessary to bear the weight.

Life is not a burden, my children are not burdens, but when I neglect to drink of the living water daily and bask in the glory of God, I can not produce the sweet fruit that others long to taste. 

Looking at the peach tree, with it's fruit almost ripe, I can almost taste the peach and feel the juice dripping down my chin.  Yes, I am eager to taste of the fruit of this tree.  Are others eager to taste of the fruit of Christ's salvation by what they see growing in my life?

The Practice of the Presence of God

One of the many areas I need to improve in my life is being constantly aware of the Presence of God.  Brother Lawrence was a monk who desired to spend every moment in constant fellowship with God. Here are a few quotes from Brother Lawrence that I found helpful in my journey.  These quotes come from the book The Practice of the Presence of God with Spiritual Maxims.

"In the beginning of his novitiate he spent the hours appointed for private prayer in thinking of God, so as to convince his mind of, and to impress deeply upon his heart, the divine existence, rather by devout sentiments, and submission to the lights of faith, than by studied reasonings and elaborate meditations." (p. 28)

Instead of studing Scripture to grasp some big theological issue, Brother Lawrance spent his time on studying who God is, and filling his thoughts with the character of God.  When spending daily time in prayer, we can so easily get distracted by interpreting and understanding different passages, that we often fail to notice how God is revealing himself in the passage. 

Brother Lawrence also chose to focuse on conversing with God rather than elaborate prayers. I am sure we have all experienced praying with women who have prayed for show rather than out of a sincere fervancy to commune with God.

"he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of God, resolving to use his utmost endeavor to line in a continual sense of His presence, and, if possible never to forget Him more." (p. 29)

I wish I could say that I exercised myself in the knowledge and love of God that I was never pulled away from the continuous thought of my Awesome God.  Yet, for me personally, when I go about my daily tasks, I am often pulled away from meditation on God and my thoughts turn towards my present endeavors.

I will share more at another time, but here are some small tidbits to chew on.  I would love to hear how you focus your mind and thoughts to continually focus on God.