Chatty Maddi

So my youngest daughter is in to making these videos.  Let me just say three things:

1. Yes, she owns clothes besides pjs

2. I can't guarantee what she says will make sense.

3. I just have to say, she can be FUNNY!

Check out her videos when you get the chance.

Chatty Maddi (playlist)

Good Morning Girls Bible Study Week 2

This week we continued our scripture reading and read the introduction of Ministry of of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.  Sally shares about her relationship with her oldest daughter, Sarah, now a young woman.  I was so drawn in to her description of their relationship because I desire that with my children as well.  I love that she has cultivated such close and loving relationships with her children through a cups of tea in a quiet corner and God's word one day at a time. 

Our verse for Wednesday was Matthew 28:19-20- “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  

This verse isn't just about sharing the plan of salvation with our children.  It is about everyday life. It is teaching them the commandments as instructed in Deuteronomy 6: 5-9

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

This isn't something done in a day.  This is is a relationship cultivated over the course of time.  Our children watch us live our lives, see us observe and live out His commandments. They see us fail and then see how we react to those failures. This is more than a daily lesson; it is more than a moment in time. So how do we cultivate such a relationship that allows for natural teaching of the commandments? We give our children "Gifts", an acronym Sally shares: 

G – Gift of Grace

I – Gift of inspiration

F – Gift of Faith

T – Gift of Training

S – Gift of Service

I am looking forward to diving into the Word of God to see what he says about these areas and gleaning from Sally all that I can so I can improve my Ministry of Motherhood (MOM). I have my GIFTS pages added to my iPad and I am ready to go. 

I have started a board on Pinterest where I am posting things I find related to the Scripture I am studying and other things that remind me of my calling to this ministry.  If you have a MOM board please share it as I would love to follow.

Until next week...

At the feet of Jesus

This post has been sitting in my drafts FOREVER.  Not sure why I never finished it.  Instead of trying to dig deep in my memory to figure out what else I intended to say I am going to leave it as is because in reading it I think it says enough.  All of this may have come from John MacArthur and what I intended to do was add more. Regardless, enjoy!

We need to be reminded that the authority of God's Word isn't simply a doctrine to be affirmed, but a priority to be pursued- John MacArthur

Israel's sin led unbelievers to blaspheme God. That's analogous to our society in which the Lord is constantly ridiculed because of the sins of His people.

You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read, and your life is under scrutiny every day. What do others learn from you? Do they see an accurate picture of your God?

Christians will always be maligned, but let it be for righteousness sake, not sin. As Peter said, "Keep your behavior excellent among [unbelievers], so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God" (1 Pet. 2:12).

Good Morning Girls Bible Study Week 1

 

This week I started a Good Morning Girls Bible study.  We are reading through the book Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.  I have been following Sally Clarkson's ministry since 2000 when we first began homeschooling.  Sally is real  and speaks truth.  Since one of my favorite people in the whole wide world is leading the group I had to join.

This week one of the verses we covered was 2 Timothy 1:5.  As we were posting our daily check-ins this is where my thoughts went:

As a mom who recently who sent her oldest child "into the world" last fall when he left for college- at a state university vs a Christian college no less *gasp* (sorry little tired of the comments I get about this),  I will say it has been scary, humbling, discouraging and a blessing to see what "stuck" with my son after being under my constant care and instruction for 18 years.  My greatest fear (and keeping it real here)- That I would somehow screw him up from all my shortcomings.  Reality- He is an imperfect sinner who has struggles but honestly strives daily to improve his walk with the Lord.  I want to knock him upside the head every time I talk to him on the phone about school.  SERIOUSLY- I am not sure where he got his work ethic and study habits, but it wasn't from me.  Then we get to talking about his fraternity *gasp*.  Sorry couldn't resist ;) It is a Christian fraternity called BYX.  This fraternity has been one of the best things he has ever gotten involved with.  Last semester he shared his testimony TWENTY THREE TIMES.  I haven't given my testimony that many times in 43 years.  He still listens to sermons from our pastor online each and every week.  Why? Because he has yet to find in 24 weeks of attending church in Denton a church home that has teachings like our church home.

So what does this have to do with the verse? It is humbling to see how the legacy you leave plays out when your children become adults.  I mean I made mistakes- daily! I have been WAY less than the perfect example of faith.  Since he has left I felt like I failed him as he struggles in several areas and I blame myself for these short comings.  But I also am encouraged by his tenacity to pursue his faith, his desire to run the race.  He has guys in his fraternity listening to sermons from our church because they had never been exposed to that type of teaching.  This semester he was asked to lead one of the weekly accountability groups.

Let me wrap this up before I put you all to sleep. A page (day) in our story may be bad, with no evidence of faith based on our actions.  We live in a fallen world.  Do our children see us striving to further our walk with the Lord? These are the chapters in our story.  Does the end of a chapter (year, five years, decade) show growth? I don't think one bad day destroys our children's faith. Not even sure a bad stretch does. Our children see more about our faith than we realize.  It is the  overall picture that makes the impact.  Do our children see evidence of fruit? This is where the impact is made.  This is where the seed is planted, but let me also say this, it is not our job to "save our children".  It is our job to plant the seed and cultivate.  How am I tending that garden? Am I allowing weeds to overtake it?  As a Christian this is something I constantly have to be aware of in my walk. I want to do everything I can to be an example of faith to my children and an example to them about how when I stumble and struggle I have a forgiving Father that will use those struggles to help me grow in my faith.  Boy, I sure hope all of that makes sense.

I'm back...

...again.

I know, I know.  I really don't mean to be gone for such long stretches.  Life just gets in the way.

So much has happened since I have last blogged.

Oldest child has graduated from our home school.
He left for college.

I went back to college, online, and finished my AA.
I am now pursuing my BAAS online.

Plus there are lots of little things that add up to so much that it keeps me completely busy.

One that I am excited about is that in November of 2012 I succumbed to peer pressure and started digital scrapbooking. WOW, totally in LOVE with it and I am feeling so creative again.

So instead of trying to catch up I will just pick up where I am now and you may see some of the pieces fill themselves in as I blog.  No guarantees on how often I will blog.  I will try to post once a week. I hope to do it more than that. Time will tell I suppose...

Amazing Bible Study Resource

I have been following this blog for a while and she is always sharing wonderful resources.  She has an entire key word symbol  resource which I have added to my Bible study resources.  In addition she occasionally posts new symbols.

I bookmarked this resource a while back and have just now gotten around to printing it.  The older kids have really started learning how to observe the text.  This week they are completing observations #21-30 on 1 Corinthians 15:3.  To get that many observations out of 24 words you really have to dig deep. 

I hope you enjoy Precept Camden's blog as much as I do.