As a mother of five precious, sweet, adorable, rascally, loud, raucous children, my ears are often overburdened. There is a misconception that a large family means a lot of mess and work, mouths to feed and laundry to wash.

Wait, that’s not a misconception at all. That’s my life! Hey!

Still, the aspect that people might not consider is all the voices accompanying the mess. Talking, laughing, fighting, arguing, discussing, debating, teasing, bargaining, mediating. It’s all right here in my house. Lots of it. Times five, or maybe 7 if you add in the grownups. I guess if you start throwing parents into the jumble, you’ve also got judging, teaching, rebuking, comforting, and praising.

Was there a bit of a cold snap today, Rachel? Poor dear, she’s shivering.

The Bible is overflowing with instruction on how we should relate to others through our words. A phrase I’ve been using lately with the children is “Speak Words of Life!” I want their words to be ones of encouragement and love. To build each other up rather than tear them down.

The children (the older ones) have all memorized this verse:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

Rachel obviously needs to work on her attitude.

Speaking “Words of Life” is something I am constantly working on with the children. It is so much easier to speak words of death. To hurt, criticize, tease, mock, and destroy. I’d love to think of a creative way to encourage the kids to be more active in applying this teaching. Maybe a Words of Life Jar or a Words of Life Points Chart where you are rewarded for kind and compassionate speech. Something where they would be on the look out for specific instances in their own conversation and the conversation of their siblings.

In our Proverbs study on Tuesday, I was amazed at how many Words of Life verses God brought to our attention.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. 10:11
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. 10:19
The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment. 10:21
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. 10:31-32

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9

Once again God’s Word penetrates to the heart of our family and shines its light on our challenges, struggles and desire to glorify Him and be transformed in His likeness.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 195

Our Sunday School’s study of 2 Corinthians continues. I can’t help but think adult fellowship classes are like an overlooked treasure, a valuable antique that has been shoved to the back of the attic. Few people recognize the value but those who do are richly blessed.

In Sunday school we have time to dive into the scriptures and study God’s Word. The superficial “Sunday” smiles and hello/how-are-you’s are replaced with genuine relationships as people gather week after week. There is time for sharing prayer requests and lifting each other up before the throne of God. There is laughter and conversation (and occasionally baked goods).

It is obviously a sacrifice of time to attend Sunday school class as well as the church service and it can be difficult for children to be in the nursery or classroom for two hours. But, but, but, what an amazing opportunity to learn more about the Bible, to read, discuss and apply a passage; to have an hour of fellowship with other believers. Over my years in the church, I have been blessed to see hearts knit together and lives changed in the faithful practice of Sunday school attendance.

Sarah reaches for a flower.

This week we looked at chapter four of II Corinthians. We had an excellent discussion on the hope we have in Christ and how we carry around His life in us. At one point Ray (our wonderful guest teacher for the day) had us read the passage in the role of prosecutors and defenders of Paul’s ministry. That certainly sparked some lively conversation and challenged Ray’s ability to keep the class on track.

There is such a richness and depth to this chapter. At the end of the class period, I was wishing we had more time to further study, ponder, and apply the verses. I was particularly convicted by a verse near the end of the chapter.

2 Corinthians 4:16

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (NIV)

The aging process is unavoidable and often unmerciful. No matter how hard we search for an eternal youth (with medicine, plastic surgery, lotions and potions) we can not keep death and decay at bay.

Outwardly we are wasting away.

And yet, and yet, Paul says we do not lose heart. Why not? Because inwardly we are being renewed.

This verse grabbed and held my attention as if the Holy Spirit had taken a highlighter and marked my Bible. Would the Lord say this is true of me? Am I becoming more and more like Christ every day? Am I being renewed and changed and transformed? Do I focus on my struggles, difficulties, and the aches and pains that come with my aging body or do I look at the “eternal glory that outweighs them all.”

Do I settle for an ordinary and complacent Christian walk or do I live and run with the “all-surpassing power” that belongs to God?

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

Lord, give me eyes that look for Your eternal glory, a heart that is renewed every day, and a mouth that speaks of Your good news.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 154

To find the scripture for today’s post, skip the little heart to heart mother/daughter dialogue and go to the bottom. You’ll be blessed either way.

Setting: Driving in the car late at night at the end of a long round of errands, empty Starbucks cups in the console.

Mom (driving): What shall I blog about tonight? Any ideas?
Rach (feet up on the dash): No, sorry. My Starbucks hot chocolate was gone a long time ago and I’m tired.
Mom: Let’s see, I’ve only got one or two pictures. What did we learn about God today? Oh rats, we didn’t read Proverbs this afternoon.
Rach: Uh, Mom, it’s not a school day.
Mom (gasping at child’s attitude toward the holy scriptures): Hello, I think the Bible and God exist even on the weekends.
Rach: Yeah, and if God didn’t we’d all be a pile of dust.
Tired snickers and smiles.
Mom (ready for teaching moment): That reminds me of the passage in Hebrews that says, okay, I can’t remember what it says but it’s something about Jesus and the universe.
Rach (eyes closed): Shouldn’t have had decaf, Mom. Maybe you could look it up when we do school on Monday.
Mom (wondering if that was sarcasm): Um, great idea!
Pause
Mom:Now, how am I going to work my P365 picture of the day into the blog?
Rach (pats Mom’s hand kindly): I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Mom. No one’s complained about the other totally weird and random pictures so far. I doubt they’ll start now.
Mom: Thanks sweetie! Next time I’m springing for the whipped cream on your hot chocolate.
Rach: You are the best mom ever!

Note: This is a dramatization of the conversation that did in fact take place. I might have added in a little bit here and there but the Starbucks, dust, and random/ill-quoted scripture were all present in the actual discussion.

If we all end up as dust, will some dust be cuter than others? Cuz this guy is just too cute!

Hebrews 1:2
…but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

Colossians 1:15-17
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

I knew it was something like that. Hooray for biblegateway.com! Every possible translation and language available at the click of a button.

And you don’t have to wait until school.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 153

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

We studied this passage in Sunday School this morning at church. I love the word pictures Paul uses in 2 Corinthians - the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ, treasures in jars of clay, our heavenly home, and, in this chapter, the Holy Spirit writing on our hearts.

I was challenged to think about my “readers.” Who is closest to me and reading the book that is my life? I immediately thought of the kids. Do my children see the Holy Spirit working in my life? What kind of book am I reading to them through the words and attitudes of my heart? Do they see only legalistic, tablets of stone or a heart changed daily by God?

Tim and I spent a good portion of Saturday fighting. Maybe it just felt like most of the day. I don’t think the conflict actually started until dinner time. Of course, with a bunch of night owls like us, that still leaves most of the day.

Sometimes the mess in our house threatens to overwhelm me, drowning me in toys and books and clothes and other “things” that need to be sorted and organized and put away.

I know in my head that it is good and healthy for children to see their parents work through and resolve conflict but it still feels shameful and wrong. My emotions and actions (or reactions) spread so quickly through the entire family. I was grumpy and angry (at myself mostly) yesterday and I fussed at one of the children, only to immediately hear them fuss at their siblings. Ouch. My tone, my mood was so contagious that, by the end of the day, Tim had thoroughly caught the grumpiness bug.

This is not the kind of ‘fragrance’ I want wafting about me, spreading throughout my home.

This is not the letter that I want the children reading about my life and what the word God is doing in me.

Playmobil and more Playmobil

I was a bit surprised at how quickly a coolness and distant feeling crept into my relationship with Tim just over the course of a few hours. I take for granted the relaxed, sweet marriage that we share. We talk, laugh, play, and parent together with such ease most of the time, I forget that there needs to be constant work done on my part in strengthening our marriage.

Respect, accept, love, honor, affirm. Weighty words that require diligence. They are not just feelings - they are choices. I choose to respect my husband, to accept who he is, to love him as God created him, today, to honor and affirm him.

In order to strip away the old patterns, you have to cut through the tough exterior, soften the front, wait a bit as the solvent works, and then slowly peel away the junk that needs to go. How true in my life.

Christ has written a letter on my heart. His letter is full of grace and salvation. He chose me. He saves me. He pulls me out of my sin. He gives me the power to turn away from my flesh. My sinful nature that wants to be grumpy and selfish and discontented (and then turn and lash out at everyone around me). He even has a sense of humor and placed this verse in our Proverb reading today.

A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day;
restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. (Proverbs 27:15-16)

The living God has written on my heart. I want to live in such a way that those around me can read this letter and be pointed to Him.

Kathy
Project 365 - Days 146 & 147

“What are you going to study in the Bible this summer?”

Several people have asked me this question in the past week. With summer right around the corner, the activities that occupy our days are rapidly coming to a close. It’s a delight to have longer days (well, in terms of day light anyway) and less structure to our week. At the same time, much of that “structure” is what kept me in the Word and in prayer.

BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) has a rule (or “guideline”) that says if you want to participate during the discussion time then you have to have completed your lesson. If you wanna talk, you gotta do the homework. The principle behind it is that the people who have worked on their lessons have presumably prayed, studied, and thought about the questions and should be the ones primarily involved in the discussion time.

Well, if you know me AT ALL, then you KNOW I always have my lesson done. The guideline/rule is a very effective one for me. It does have the side benefit (unintentional, I’m sure) of getting me in the Word every week. Despite the goals I set for myself (every year!!), I don’t usually do my lesson on a daily basis (ducking here as my wonderful BSF leader reads the blog) but throughout the week, whether it is over two or three or four days, it is completed. I am reading and studying the Bible. Hopefully even applying the principles to my life. Powerful stuff.

Then there is my Moms In Touch prayer group. Every week I meet with 4 or 5 other homeschooling moms to pray for children. We focus on an attribute of God and pray scriptures over our children. Very powerful stuff here.

Nothing like having a teenager in your life to bring you to your knees in prayer, if only for the funds to feed him.

Now along comes summer. Ah, sunshine, warm days, perhaps pool time and vacations. Although we continue a good bit of our schooling throughout the summer, the atmosphere is more relaxed. We tackle some inside projects. We meet friends at the park. The kids have camps they attend.

Where is the accountability of a weekly Bible study? I am a shallow person, I admit it. I am flaky and lazy and often content with “life as it is.” Maybe calling me happy-go-lucky, contented, and optimistic puts a better spin on my character. How about sinful and self-indulgent? That probably puts me in the same category as, oh, all humans.

“What are you going to study in the Bible this summer?”

This is a very real and pertinent question. My heart’s desire is to be passionate for the Lord, to long to know Him better, to be changed and transformed into His likeness. The people who ask me this question know that studying the Bible is the only way to accomplish these things. If I want to live life to its fullness in joy and truth and faith, if I want to understand who God is and what He desires for my life, if I want to know how to raise my children and love my husband, if I want to find salvation and freedom from my sins, then I MUST remain a diligent student of God’s Holy Word. This isn’t an option, a recommendation or a vague possibility; it is a necessity.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (I Timothy 3:16-17)

So, when my mother (an amazing Godly woman who blesses and encourages me every time I speak with her) says she and my Aunt Kate are going to do a study on grace this summer and asks if I want to join her; I immediately write and say, “Send me the book! I’m in.”

Aunt Kate and Mamie in Texas, August 2006

When a friend says the church is going to have a women’s summer Bible study starting in June, do I want to help her lead it; I say, “Yes! Let me know what I can do.”

Kirsten and Michelle at the Women’s Retreat this April.

When another dear friend says she wants to meet this summer and do some sort of informal Bible study with a few of the women in our neighborhood; I say, “Absolutely! Let’s go for it.”

I am not a super, spiritual mighty woman. I am more like a Bible study/prayer serf (aiming to be a prayer warrior one day). I do, however, know that I have to surround myself with people who encourage my faith. People who want to keep themselves in the Word during the busy summer months. I’m not trying to over commit myself or appear self-righteous and holy by agreeing to all of these different studies. Summer is busy. The church group will only meet every other week. The study time with my neighbor will constantly be interrupted by vacations and family schedules. My mom, aunt and I are separated by thousands of miles so we obviously won’t be meeting on a regular basis.

My hope is that all of these different groups and studies will come together in a way that brings me the accountability and motivation and encouragement I need to remain in the scriptures. The words in Romans 12 whisper in my ears often these days:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

If I am going to renew my mind and resist the world’s constant subtle (and not so subtle) pressure, then I have to be consistently filling my soul and heart and head with God’s truths. How am I going to recognize God’s will if I don’t know who He is? If I don’t ever read the Words He has spoken to me? If I don’t have a living, real relationship with Him?

For our anniversary (Wednesday), Tim gave me the cd, Glory Revealed. I first read about it on Boo Mama’s blog. She even included a youtube clip of one of the songs (click on her link and scroll down the page a bit to listen to the song). I fell in love with the title song and played it over and over. The artists and writers of the album wanted to produce a collection of songs directly from scripture. They succeeded in making a very powerful, moving cd. It is blessing my soul already.

Rachel memorizes songs almost the second time she hears them. She loves music and is constantly stealing my cds. I have to watch her all the time. We’re working on this obvious character fault.

I am passionate about making our home a place that honors and glorifies God. I fall and falter and fail ALL THE TIME but I try to be obedient and faithful as best I can. One thing Tim and I both desire is to fill our house (and therefore our ears and hearts) with music that worships the Lord. I’ve already written about the Seeds Worship cds that our family loves. Tim strongly encourages the children to find Christian music that they enjoy. He regularly buys us new music from Christian artists. There is almost constantly music playing in our house. This week I showed the older children how to create their own playlist on the kitchen computer (where we have most of our music loaded). What words and songs are they singing? Songs full of worship and wonder of the Lord. Truths about Him.

These rascals have been building forts again. No doubt they have been reading Proverbs 2 and are searching for wisdom and insight and other treasures.

I am excited because I just discovered another series of worship music written strictly from scripture, Word of God Speak. There are three cds in the series. My birthday is right around the corner (okay, it’s in July but I believe in really stretching birthdays out so we could start with the gifts now), maybe these new cds will head this way.

What are you going to study in the Bible this summer?

What are you going to do to keep yourself grounded in the Word and your spirit alert and ready to hear the Lord? Do you recognize His voice when He speaks? What words and images and sounds are filling your home and workplace? What songs do you find yourself unconsciously singing throughout the day? Is your conversation more animated about the latest season finales or the truths God is teaching you right now?

Kathy (humble, flawed servant seeking after her Master)
Project 365 - Day 144