Why is Family Important?

Dear Little Ones,

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.  This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church."  Eph. 5:31-32

"Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth."  Malachi 2:15

"Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." "  1 Cor. 6:16

When the husband and wife join their bodies together, they are ONE.  It is God alone who made it work like that.  This understanding is so important so that we don't become "one" with anyone else.  These "casual" unions do so much harm to our own souls and others.  They stomp on our Lord to Satan's great glee.

Marriage represents the union of Jesus with His church, or bride!!  It is to be a perfect copy of it in every way.  He is in authority over her, but He also lays down his life for her and serves her in the deepest sense.  She surrenders to Him fully, laying down her preferences, preferring only Him and His will.  I am speaking of Jesus and the church, hence the capital letters,.....but if you take the caps out, you will read it correctly as it applies to man and wife.  The only difference is the equality of the man's and woman's souls, which must be remembered so as to maintain proper humbleness to one another and before God.

From this relationship flows offspring.  Always, God flows through us when we are rightly related to Him, and we can never know the tremendous fruit produced as our view is so limited.  Children are the physical offspring, who are meant to be raised in this holy home, and taught to lay down their lives for Jesus and continue this relating of love.

The family is heaven-on-earth!!  It is God's intent that it be the heart of all His work here....the base from which all healthy relationships begin, extending out into other relatives, friends and neighbors!  It is to be like a well-spring of pure water, bubbling up and flowing out into the world!  Let us recognize therefore, the first and most important thing in this life:  That we learn to relate to God and our immediate family RIGHTLY.  Without that foundation, all else will be flawed and very little else can be done in our souls.

What is Courage?

Dear little ones,

I used to think I just didn't have much courage.  All the things I thought I should stand up for, the ways I thought I should "face" people, etc., seemed so combative, so hard to me.  I seemed to either be hurtful to other people, or to be hurt myself, and was defeated many times.  Even when I "won", I somehow felt that I had lost something precious.  Even when I was fighting for noble, or good things.  Sometimes, I just gave up, feeling like a coward.

I finally understand the Scripture in Acts 26:14 that says, "We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'".  A goad, or prick was used in Bible times to poke an ox who would not obey a command.  If the ox was really stubborn, he would actually kick at the goad, thus hurting himself worse on the sharp point.  When we don't obey God whole-heartedly....even when most of the "mix" of whatever we are doing is "good".....we are just kicking against the goads.  We hurt ourselves worse than was needed to learn to serve and love God, and we suffer worse than God would have us to.  Of course suffering is needed, because "self" must die, but any degree of lack-of-surrender only makes it worse.  That isn't even the worst thing about it though.  We hurt Jesus and His work on earth because we act as a dam to prevent His flow.  These injuries to Him are so painful to Him, yet He never stops loving us in powerful force-of-flow!!

The reason I had so many conflicting feelings about courage and what I should do, and so many "failures" was because I was operating from something less than Love.  I made our homeschool, our behavior, our "duty", and our accomplishments the most important.  These were all my own ideas, therefore, I was easily offended, and often angered.  I was fooling myself into thinking that they were God's ideas, and so I wondered why I lacked effectiveness, and often lacked the courage to face you all and get the "results" I wanted.  Oh they are certainly "good" things, and I believe they are a part of God's will for us, but I could never know HOW they should manifest because I focused on them instead of Him.

The only thing I care about now is His will, and His holiness-in-us.  Everything is to be based on our surrendered hearts.  If our homeschool needs to be dissolved in order to do this, then so be it.  NOTHING will get in the way of giving our hearts wholly to Jesus!!!  All of a sudden, I find myself with more courage than I could ever need!  But it took my complete surrender about everything else of "value".....my willingness to see it go away for the sake of Jesus' will in our lives....my willingness to defend His character and desires instead of my own......my willingness even to ruthlessly hurt my own little ones in whatever ways you are not humble, and are rebelling against Him.....my willingness to have you judge and even hate me.

Courage is that final commitment to the continual and colossal emptying of "self" forever, which is a leap of faith at any cost....indeed at every cost.  Would I leap out at great danger to myself to save someone from a burning vehicle?!  I don't know.  I don't need to know.  I trust God to do whatever He wants through me and don't worry at all anymore about whether I can.....because I know HE CAN!!!!  And it is forever all I need to know.

love, Mama

What are my dreams for you?

Dear Little Ones,

First and foremost, I would like to see you set free of chains from the past.  I am refering to things handed down that should not have been.  And things we have learned that came from our own selfishness.  Dysfunctions and unhealthy ways of relating, of viewing ourselves and God and other people.  Bad habits and undisciplined, warped thinking.  These things can only be cured by Jesus Christ.  They are His works alone and no part of this work can be done by us.  We fool ourselves if we think that we can do any of it, as the modern psychologists teach.  When we buy into that, we are only strengthening "self", which is fed by all the emotional expression, endless self-examination, and prideful humanistic "remedies" that have the appearance of healing, but are in truth only structures of containment that make it harder to surrender.

Real healing and mental health come from finally realizing how utterly helpless we are to make any real changes and lying in a puddle at the feet of God as we give up all hope forever of any kind of self-fix.  For it is only then that He can finally step in and begin touching you, and eventually flowing through you with HIMSELF!!!!

My dreams for you don't include riches or even accomplishments.  I hope you will be financially responsible to save money for your cars, your house downpayments, your childrens' education, and your retirement.  It is impossible for me to convey to you the shame and regret I feel because I was selfish and did not do these things, but instead spent it all as I went, and got into debt besides.  Oh, the anguish of thinking that you might do the same sins I have done because I have made you stumble!!  I hope you will do everything you do, whatever it is, with all your strength, all your might, all your soul.  If it doesn't seem to you that you should pour your very soul into it, you need to re-think whether you should be doing it.  Can you smile at Jesus while you do this thing?  If so, then it is perfect use of your time forever!

I hope that you will not fall into the popular idea that you can do more than one thing at a time.  "Multi-tasking" is a lie from Satan, because it allows us to feel brilliantly successful, while scattering and dissipating our souls on what amounts to a rat-wheel.  Be content to do one thing at a time,....a thing that is worth your time, and your complete concentration from beginning to end.

Self-pity is satanic.  It will remove every worthwhile dream from you because it severs you from humility and thus from Jesus.  Self does not need pity; it needs annihilation.  Be ruthless to it!!!

Every dream that is wonderful is found in our Lord, and in His plans for you from before time!!



I love you,
Your Mama

If I could share one story with you, what would it be?

Dear little ones,

Stories are so important to us!  You have grown up with an entire library of them right in our own home!  Remember the Raggedy Ann books, The Velveteen Bunny, Jingle Bell Jack and the other golden books, Indian Bunny, The Little House, Little Toot, Mike Mulligan, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Kay Chorao's wonderful poems and drawings, Nancy Drew/the Hardy Boys, The Junglebook and our other huge storybooks, The Red Umbrella, A Wrinkle in Time, the Indian in the Cupboard, and all the Christmas storybooks and so much more!

In the Bible we are told the story of God's love for us and His plan from eternity to redeem us and keep us in His arms forever!  The one that really sticks in my mind as the most important one for me to share with you is The Prodigal Son.  This guy was entirely too big for his britches.  He took his entire inheritance from his devastated father and ran off to waste it.  He had to sink to incredible depths of depravity, including wild and shameful debauchery.  Finally he hit bottom.   When he ran out of his Dad's money, he got a job taking care of swine (a horrifying violation for a Jew) and he ended up wanting to eat the crud he was feeding the pigs because he was starving.

Now understand this:  You and I are EXACTLY the same.  We must come to the point where we truly understand the depths of evil in our own hearts and really despise ourselves.  It is then that God can work.  Until then, the soil of our hearts is too hard with arrogance!

There's more to be learned from this story.  The boy's father never criticized his son.  He gave him what he asked for, though it broke his heart.  He watched endlessly for his beloved boy to come home.  When he saw him coming from way far away, he didn't wait dramatically for his son to open the front door and give him the "righteous look".  With a heart bursting with compassion and joy, he RAN to greet him and held him tight, kissing him!  When he heard his son say he was no longer worthy to be his son and could he just be a servant now, the father was moved in the depths of his being and poured new wealth on him (a ring, a robe and sandals), and threw a huge feast for him!

It is a lesson in parenting, in true forgiveness, in trusting the Holy Spirit to bring conviction, in love!!

But this story was also about another boy.  The brother, who had obediently stayed home and worked in the fields.  When he saw his errant brother get such a huge celebration from dad, he was enraged and jealous!  He spoke in surly accusation to his dad, pouting that his brother was not being punished, but instead rewarded, while he, the obedient boy, received nothing!  His father pointed out that the errant brother had been brought back to life from his repentance so celebration was needed!  And he shared this truth:  That the son who had stayed in the field now owned everything the father had!

How many times have we been jealous, placed blame, pouted, said, "It's not fair", grumbled in resentment, and churlishly refused to be glad when someone else got something we did not?!   Yet, because of Jesus' death on the cross, do we not have everything the Father has?!?!

Love, Mama

How have you changed my life?

Dear little ones,

I think a better question might be, "How have you NOT changed my life?"!!  Wouldn't this make a great sci-fi novel......what would life have been like in a different space/time-continuum?! 

I can only imagine how I might have gone on through life, perhaps always working in a full-time career, knowing nothing of the precious, powerful sweet smell and feel of newborns cuddling up on their mama after a satisfying nursing, never having the strings of my heart pulled in the pleasure/pain lurch of seeing your first real smiles bloom from your souls, or hearing each of you call me "mama" in your first verbal, eternal expression of our love!!!

There is a saying that a mother's children are just her heart, walking around outside of her body.  It is so true.  Had I stayed childless, I'm sure God would have filled my life with Himself, just as He has now, and I'm sure I would not have known what I was missing and would have been content, if that was the sort of life to which He had called me.

But it was not, and my whole being SINGS with JOY in this child-filled life He has given me!!  I have learned some of the greatest lessons of life through raising and loving all of you, and through my failures with you too. 

It was, and is, my heart's desire to have you.  It changed EVERYTHING FOREVER.  I would not have it any other way!!!  Was it hard, and painful to raise all of you at times?  Yes.  But I wouldn't trade a single breath of my life for one moment of relief from any of that, because you ARE my life!!  You are my pride-and-joys, the songs-in-my-heart, the twinkle in my eye, the spring in my step!!!  You are my youth repeated, my dreams lived-out, and most of all, truly, my 4 little hearts walking around in the world, with strings tied into my own heart that can never be broken.

love, Mama

What is wisdom?

Dear little ones,

Of course we know that the beginning of wisdom is to fear God.  These verses are perfect:

Ps 25:12-14 (NEB) If there is any man who fears the Lord, he shall be shown the path that he should choose; he shall enjoy lasting prosperity, and his children after him shall inherit the land. The Lord confides his purposes to those who fear him, and his covenant is theirs to know.

Prov 14:26-27 (NIV) He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Ps 34:9 (NEB) Fear the Lord, all you his holy people; for those who fear him lack nothing.

Prov 19:23 (NEB) The fear of the Lord is life; he who is full of it will rest untouched by evil.

I used to say that fearing God was just reverencing Him.  That was before I met Him face to face in my sin.  There are no words to describe the holiness and majesty of almighty God!!!!!!  The absolute power, the purity, the active, living LOVE that He is......which threw me on my face in trembling fear, absolutely!!!  Oh, the shattering reality, the terrifying conviction of one word from God!!!!  Why would I want to worship Him otherwise, if He were not these things, and so much more?  He is GOD!!!!!  And He is MY God!!!

But the fear of God is only the BEGINNING of wisdom.  It must be by this revelation, this gift from God......this moment of perfect mental health alone (fearing God) that we are able to ENTER by seeing our need, and thus receive our remedy.  Once we begin to walk with Him, resting in His peace and love, we begin to wonder......., what is the middle, and the end of wisdom?

It is no less wonderful and amazing!  It is the actual 3-in-1 Person of Jesus Christ and God the Father, living in us as the Holy Spirit....that same God Who formed the universe ("uni" = one; "verse" = word)!!  We begin to see how He IS wisdom, and how that is only a part of Who He is!  Then we begin to perceive that He wants to give us EVERYTHING that He is for free, for EVER!!!!  All of a sudden, all our other fears, nightmares, stresses, worries, etc. become like microscopic specs on the ground, because we know that the God of eternal love has married us and has the power and desire to achieve perfect intimacy with us, as we are held in His deepest heart.......where we are forever out of the reach of Satan and other fears!  So then, it is LOVE.  We are like the seed, buried in the dirt; a dark place of fear, but necessary!  The love of God pulls us out and upward!

Man's wisdom is so silly compared to Him.  No, a better word is FOOLISH.  I will add ARROGANT.  But unless we begin to fear God, we are absolutely taken in by it, and can't see that we have been fooled at all.  We have only ourselves to blame, for we freely gave ourselves to sin and darkness, especially darkness of the mind.

My precious little ones, just step into the Light!!  Don't be satisfied to remain hidden behind a wall, peeking around the corner.  Ask God to show you how to fear Him!  I promise you He will do it, and you will never be the same!

love, Mama

What is friendship? What does Jesus say that it is?

Dear little ones,

"Greater love has no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13

I am perhaps not the person most qualified to talk about friendship.  My friends have always taken a back seat to my homelife.  That may seem good, but there were times when I neglected them for the sake of pursuing things that were not good.  I count you among my friends, as well as my children!  You are my BEST friends!!

Turning to Jesus, Who is all Truth and Wisdom, (and our BEST FRIEND!!) let's explore something about friendship.  In the verse above, I notice in every version of the Bible I could find online except one,  that Jesus does not say the words "give up", but instead says "lay down".  It is also interesting that the Greek word, (psuche), translated here in this New Testament verse as "life", is actually found more often in the N.T. translated as "soul".  Therefore, I believe that the word could be translated correctly to say "soul-life" (the will, mind, emotions), which differentiates it from "spirit-life" (what you get when you become born-again as your spirit comes alive to receive the Holy Spirit!), or just plain physical life. 

So, to sum up so far, we don't give up our soul-life, but lay it down.  To lay it down, hints at surrender and submission.  This is FAR HARDER than just giving up our physical life in a moment of sacrifice!!  This means I don't get my way!!  This means I need to "do unto my friend as I would like to have done unto me"!!  It means that when I am angry, tired, mistreated, inconvenienced, mocked, or deprived of dessert(!), I must still love my friend in this most difficult way.  It seems impossible even in daily life, as we all know from some of the "bad" days we've had!!

Here's another verse to consider:  "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life (psuche) for us: and we ought to lay down our lives (psuche) for the brethren" (1 Jn. 3:16).

Uh-Oh.  There's that "ought to" I talked about in the last post!  I like to look at this Scripture this way:  Jesus not only died for us, but He also laid down His life for us.  He came as a servant, submitting even to death on the cross, but also humbled Himself to everyone!  He was the only truly unselfish Person Who ever lived!

So then, we "ought to" lay down what we want, and live unselfish servant-lives for our friends.  Only through the power of God is this possible at all.  His grace is there to draw on every moment, and is utterly sufficient to enable us to live His "laid-down life" here on earth.  Now comes the deepest truth:  Only your will has the power to stop the flow of His grace.....it is the sluice gate, whether open or shut.

love, Mama