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Thursday, 15 October 2009

  • Simple Mind = Laughs for Mom

    This morning as Noah was getting dressed he asked me, "Mommy, am I going to be a good boy today?" I replied, "Yes, Noah, you are going to be a very good boy today." He responded with a simple, "Oh."

    Two minutes after that, he noticed an Iron Man toy on the floor of his room. He asked me, "Mommy, does Iron Man like to iron?" I thought for a moment and said, "No, I don't think so."

    I love living with a curious, mischievous, sweet three year old. 

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

  • God, education, and school

    So, it's been a VERY LONG ROAD. . . but having started Megan at her Christian school feels so satisfying, and definitely has been an answered prayer. So far, so good.

    For over a year Jeff and I had been discussing, praying about, and making plans for our children's educational future. Megan was our precious guinea pig, and we did not want to make any mistakes along the way. We thought about home-schooling, we discussed the possibility of Christian school, and we considered public kindergarten. We were very committed to providing an extension of what we had taught at home already, namely, our Christian faith and belief in rigorous education, but homeschooling just didn't seem the right fit for us at the time. With three children under the age of five . . . we just couldn't imagine doing anything well by going down that path! So we prayed and prayed that God would provide us with the opportunity, the funds, and the right Christian school. We believe that we have found it.

    Having said all of that, I just read an article which comforts me, and makes me that much more thankful that God lead us the way that He did. Jeff subscribes to Modern Reformation magazine and in the current issue, there is an article titled, "Dewey's Copernican Revolution" by Shane Rosenthal. I wish I could provide a link, but I went on MR's website and you can only read a portion of the article unless you are a member (which I am not - maybe Jeff can post it later). Anyway, below is what you are able to read:

    "Last fall, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article outlining some of the challenges facing public schools in our time. The report included a school official who was quoted as saying that middle schools in the area should no longer be thought of as "cold, instruction-driven places." I was amazed by that particular comment. How could any school official in the business of educating and instructing today's youth possibly characterize instruction as being "cold"? Wouldn't it be like a doctor saying that today's hospitals are no longer "stale medicine-driven places"? But the article continued, "'I look at them and I tell them, you are the center of your universe right now,' said Mary Ann Goldberg, principal of Wydown Middle School....'We are orbiting around you to help you. If you think it's all about you, it is all about you.'"

    There is so much more that the article has to say which I found enlightening and really convicting, too. But more than anything, I am reminded, again, that EVERYTHING we endeavor, teach, or hope to be must be centered on God. As a Christian, my belief in God should encompass all aspects of my life - nothing is neutral, but all things point to and lead me to the truth, or to some other belief. I am definitely convicted that Megan's academic education must be centered on her belief in the Lord, that no matter what, whether she is learning math or social studies, she needs to know that God is the center of the universe. Not Megan. Not man. I feel like I'm being bombarded with these kinds of reminders. . . let me explain.

    On Sunday, a new bible study series began about being a Christian and work - and how the two relate. I went to the study, thinking, "Man, this is SO not going to apply to me because I stay home with my kids. I'm no longer in the workforce. I don't struggle with working for the sole purpose of becoming rich." But really, even being a stay-at-home mom confronts me with questions and doubts revolving around the ultimate reason behind why I do the things I do. Am I shepherding my child's heart, or am I training them to be "good, smart, talented kids"? There is obviously nothing wrong with the latter, but it's the focus and purpose of my work that reveals my heart's desire. I do believe that my calling at this point (and in some ways for the rest of my life) is to nurture, teach, discipline, and encourage my children to know and love God. I believe that with all my heart. I was so happy when Pastor Joel mentioned several times that Christian mothering is a high calling, a work that can glorify God. Again, EVERYTHING I do must be to serve God and serve others so that they might know and love Him, too.

    If you have read this long entry, thank you. I just need to constantly be reminded of WHY. Being a Christian is a high calling. I should not live for my own benefit, and I should not love and care for my own children and family for their benefit and glory. Really, what a concept. It so inherently goes against everything I stand for as a human being, my very nature. Thank God for grace - thank God that we can even attempt to serve Him and the people around us for the sake of God's own glory. I thank God for the hope, that by persevering (and sometimes failing), He is pleased and His will be done.

Thursday, 03 September 2009

  • Backwards Boy

    Everyday, one thing never fails. Noah puts his shoes on backwards. At first, I would crack up and think it was so cute. I would bend down and put his shoes on the correct feet. As he got a little older, I would tell him, "Noah, your shoes are on the wrong feet". But now, it is just annoying! Seriously, EVERY single time he puts his shoes on, they are on the wrong feet!

    Today, before we went to pick Megan up from school, he was getting his sandals on. As soon as the first one went on, I looked down and noticed that it was on the wrong foot. I immediately told him, and he started to take it off to put on the other foot. I put Seth in the car and told Noah to hurry into the car. He got in, I buckled him in his seat, and we were off.

    When we got to school, we were walking up to Megan's class and I noticed something looked weird on Noah's feet. His left foot had the right sandal on it. I thought, "What in the world! I thought he had fixed that!" Then, I looked at his right foot and there was his right sandal on his right foot. What the?!?!?! I was so confused. It wasn't until I looked closer that I noticed that he had two completely different sandals on his feet! Both right sandals. Ah, Noah, crazy boy!!!

    Right now Megan is in bed asleep, but Noah is laying in my bed playing Megan's Leapster. His shorts are on backwards.



Thursday, 16 July 2009

Thursday, 09 July 2009

  • Chapter one of How People Change by Paul Tripp

    Tripp talks about gospel replacements.

    He calls these "isms" -
    formalism - the gospel is reduced to participation in the meetings and ministries of the church
    legalism- a separate "gospel" where salvation is earned by keeping the rules we have established
    mysticism- the gospel is reduced to dynamic emotional and spiritual experiences
    activism- gospel is reduced to participation in Christian causes
    biblicism - gospel is reduced to a mastery of biblical content and theology
    psycology-ism- gospel is reduced to the healing of emotional needs
    social-ism - the grace of Christian friendship replaces Christ

    I feel like I'm giving away the bible study that I'll be teaching tonight, but this book really is convicting. I need to share.

    "There is another, deeper reason why these isms are so attractive. Each in some way appeals to spiritual problems we need to address. First, they appeal to our self-righteousness. None of us wants to think that we are as bad off as the gospel says we are! We prefer to think that we just need some minor theological tweaking or more faithful church attendance to function as God intended. Yet the gospel says that no system or activity can provide what we need. Our sin is so great that only Christ's work on the cross can rescue us.

    These isms also appeal to our selfishness. As sinners, we like to be at the center of the universe. We like being the ones who control the agenda. Yet the gospel makes it clear that the only way to really live is first to die, and that those who strive to live, end up dying as a result. When the gospel is reduced to a catalog of isms where I choose the one most attractive and comfortable for me, I can participate extensively in Christianity without much personal sacrifice, and with my self, unchallenged, at the center of it all.

    These isms also appeal to our environmentalism. We tend to believe that the sin that surrounds us is more dangerous than the sin that resides inside us. This is why it is hard for a husband to understand that he can't blame his coldness on his wife, nor can the wife blame her bitterness on her husband, nor can their child blame his rebellion on his parents' failures.

    When we forget how desperate our condition really is, Christian activity begins to replace a heartfelt reliance on Christ and his grace. We get more excited about changing the world than we do about the radical changes of heart and life that the gospel promises because of Christ's presence in our hearts.

    These isms also appeal to our independence. It's hard for us to embrace how weak, blind, and vulnerable sin actually makes us. We don't like to think that we need wisdom and correction daily. We prefer the lie of our own self-sufficiency. Sure, we can recognize the blindness and foolishness in others, but we like to think that we are the exception to the rule. It is uncomfortable to see ourselves as needy and weak, but we are, and that is exactly why Christ is the only answer.

    Knowledge of the truth and participation in church activities, when viewed improperly, can give you a distorted view of who you are. Knowledge of doctrine is not the same as Christian maturity and victory over sin. Participation in Christian causes should not mask the sin struggles going on in my heart at the same time.

    To the degree that you forget you are a sinner, you will underestimate your daily need for Christ and the relationships in his body that are his tools of change.

    We all know on some level that Christ must be our identity, meaning, purpose, hope, and goal. Yet our self-righteousness dies hard. We want to be at the center of our world, and we think we are capable of more independence than would be spiritually helpful. So we tend to reduce the gospel to comfortable elements, none of which do justice to the message of grace found in Christ.