Habit of Obedience

“The mother’s great stronghold is in the habit of obedience. If she begin by requiring that her children always obey her, why, they will always do so as a matter of course; but let them once get the thin end of the wedge in, let them discover that they can do otherwise than obey, and a woeful struggle begins, which commonly ends in the children doing that which is right in their own eyes."
- Charlotte Mason

Developing Character in our Children

"What we want to do with our children is not merely to control them and keep them in order, but to implant true principles deep in their hearts which shall rule their whole lives; to shape their character from within into Christlike beauty, and to make of them noble men and women, strong for battle and for duty. They are to be trained rather than governed. Growth of character, not merely good behavior, is the object of all home governing and teaching. Therefore the home influence is far more important than the home laws, and the parents' lives are of more moment than their teachings."-J.R. Miller, Home-Making

R.C. Sproul Jr. on Homeschooling

R.C. Sproul Jr. on Homeschooling

No doubt some parents believe they aren’t good teachers because some outsider has already told them, “You aren’t qualified.” This objection finds a foothold only because we yet hold on to the world’s goals. What are we aiming for? When someone says, “You’re not qualified,” ask him or her this “Not qualified for what?” There are, after all, many things I’m not qualified to do….I am, however, equipped to raise servants of the King. I know that because the King keeps giving me servants to raise. What does it take to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? The Bible, and the Holy Spirit to illumine the Bible. I have a Bible. I have several, in fact. And the Bible tells me that it equips me for every good work. It is a good work to raise my children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Therefore, it equips me to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord….

When you Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling – R.C. Sproul Jr.

Give Your Children a Biblical Worldview

"Sometimes we fall into the trap of substituting legalism for a biblical worldview. For example, we set hard and fast rules for what our children wear, watch, see, and hear but never take the time to develop the kind of thinking that would guide them in such decisions. Don't get me wrong. I believe wholeheartedly that parents must diligently protect their children from ungodly influences. I also believe that limits must be set and rules must be established. I am simply suggesting that limits and rules are insufficient in and of themselves.
If all I give my children is limits and rules, they will do what I tell them as long as I am around. But once they leave my home, they will live in accordance with their worldview, not my rules. Thus I must spend as much time shaping and molding their thinking as I do making rules. Legalism simply sets up external, extra-biblical standards that take the place of biblical thinking."
- Voddie Baucham, Family Driven Faith

Passing down our Christian Faith to our Children

I loved this post by Mrs. June Fuentes, from A Wise Woman Builds Her Home. This has been my prayer for myself as a mother, to be so intentional on instructing my children in the word of God and to be a godly example to them. What a high calling, but an incredible one the Lord has given to me. Here's a little snippet of what she wrote...
"I cannot emphasis enough the power of Christian instruction in the home. Many Christians do not know where to begin with this, especially if they are first generation, so I am offering this post for them. The purpose of Christian instruction and education is so that our children will learn about God correctly from us, hide the Word in their hearts, become saved as a result (not always but many will), be eventually able to defend the Word and contend for it, make disciples and eventually help to reform culture as a result of what they know."
If you would like to read the rest go here... http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2009/07/christian-instruction-in-home.html

Brief History of Education

-Article from: Considering Homeschooling Ministry, http://www.consideringhomeschooling.org/publicschools.html
For the first 200 years of education in North America, the primary goal of schooling was to foster religious devotion. The original Puritan and Separatist colonists, inheriting the Reformation's concern that everyone be able to read the Bible, opened schools for the purpose of teaching children how to study the Scriptures. A biblically literate population was seen as the best insurance for a successful society. Our founding fathers recognized that education should primarily serve to encourage faith in Christ. They acknowledged that civilization's health and very existence depended on people who understood and lived Christian principles.
George Washington said, "True religion affords government its surest support. The future of this nation depends on the Christian training of the youth. It is impossible to govern without the Bible." Noah Webster wrote, "The education of Youth is an employment of more consequence than making laws and preaching the gospel, because it lays the foundation on which both law and gospel rest for success."
In the 1830's, however, secular concepts began infiltrating the worldview of US citizens. Horace Mann, the "Father of American Public Education," conceived of an educational system without any religious creed (faith). This was the beginning of a long process of excluding God from public education. From this time on, education was seen increasingly as a tool to indoctrinate the public with secularism and humanism. Secularism seeks to remove God's existence, or at least His relevance, from reality. Humanism centers the universe on humanity, making man, rather than a divine creator, its most important being.
"Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism. What can the theistic Sunday schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?" wrote Charles Francis Potter, signer of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto & author of Humanism: A New Religion. Consider a Christian Home Education for your children. No other environment can provide the safety of a whole Christian worldview and Biblical education.

If I Were the Devil...

If I Were the Devil...
By Paul Harvey, Syndicated Columnist

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world.I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings.I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around.I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue.I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership.I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies.I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient.I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings.I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit.I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them.I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda.I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation.I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art.I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled.I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct.I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naïve.I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional.I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.

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Prayers for Our Children

Jesus prayed to His Father. Jesus prayed for His disciples. Jesus prays for you and me. How much more should we pray for our children.I will pray for my children:

1. That they will know Christ early in life. Psalm 63:1; 2 Timothy 3:15

2. That they will hate sin. Psalm 97:10

3. That they will be caught when guilty. Psalm 119:71

4. That they will be protected from the evil one in each area of their lives; spiritual, emotional, physical. John 17:15

5. That they have a responsible attitude in all their personal relationships.Daniel 6:3

6. That they will respect those in authority over them. Romans 13:1

7. That they will desire the right kind of friends and be protected from the wrong friends. Proverbs 1:10-11

8. That they will be kept from the wrong mate and saved for the right one.2 Corinthians 6:14-17

9. That they, as well as those they marry, will be kept pure.1 Corinthians 6:18-20

10. That they will learn to totally submit to God and actively resist Satan in all circumstances. James 4:7

11. That they will be single-hearted, willing to be sold out to Jesus Christ.Romans 12:1-2

12. That they will be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong people or wrong places and that the wrong people cannot find their way to them. Hosea 2:6

(Source by Carl and Audrey Broggi)

Comfort and Pleasure: Lukewarm Christianity

This post written by Mrs. June Fuentes (A Wise Woman Builds her Home blog) really was a convicting one, but so good and so true. It's so very easy to get so distracted by everything we have and become too comfortable, sinfully comfortable.

"America is the land of wealth, plentitude and prosperity. We have been blessed by our forefathers who have sacrificed and lived out godly lives before us for they had paved the way.Today we have our big homes, multiple automobiles, cushy furniture, entertainment galore at our fingertips----what does this make a Christian?We are too comfortable. Sinfully comfortable.In the legendary classic The Foxes Book of Martyrs, Christians gave their lives on behalf of the cross. They were thrown alive into boiling oil--they were bound in bags of scorpions and poisonous snakes and thrown into the sea. There were people who's stomach were cut open and corn was thrown onto their intestines and while they were still alive pigs would eat the corn right out of their bodies.And we have trouble just calling a Christian friend and encouraging them.We have trouble even remembering to pray for someone let alone reaching our lost neighbor for Christ. (How many times have people come to you and said 'thanks for praying for me' when you know full well that it totally escaped you?)We are too engrossed in our 'toys' (computers, playstation's, tv, etc.) passions and pastimes to make any kind of dent on Satan's kingdom. In fact, I'm sure Satan is quite ecstatic that we are so distracted.We don't like to do things that make us feel 'uncomfortable'. If it is too much effort, it is not worth the work. We complain about our churches because they are not meeting our needs. We gossip about and judge our Christian brethren because we have too much idle time. We spend our days in glorious abundance and indulgent complacency. We are consumed with being like and impressing the Jones'. Our happiness lies in our luxurious conveniences and they rule our lives. Our fulfillment is not seeing lost souls gain salvation but instead, we are motivated in increasing our surrounding creature comforts.It is just too much trouble to move out of our comfort zones and truth be known, we actually like it here. Here we can enjoy our lukewarm Christianity. You know, the type of faith that Jesus spits out of His mouth:"So because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." Revelation 3:16 Besides, we have our splendid toys to tend to. Why should we bother with anything else?

Are You Worldly?

This bit is from a book, called Worldliness, edited by C.J. Mahaney. The content he highlights about how the world influences believers was so insightful and scary. Like this portion for example:
"So often we're ignorant of the signs, the symptoms of worldliness. People can be attending church, singing the songs, apparently listening to the sermons...
But inside, that person is drifting. He sits in church but is not excited to be there. She sings songs without affection. He listens to preaching without conviction. She hears but does not apply.
A love for the world begins in the soul. It's subtle, not always immediately obvious to others, and often undetected by the people who are slowly succumbing to its lies.
It begins with a dull conscience and a listless soul. Sin does not grieve him like it once did. Passion for the Savior begins to cool. Affections dim. Excitement lessens for participating in the local church. Eagerness to evangelize starts to wane. Growth in godliness slows to a crawl."(page 20).

Does this make you think about how you spend your week? Do your daily pursuits affect your Sunday worship? Do the shows you watch, the music you listen to, and the things that occupy your time (e.g. friends, conversations, etc.) serve to draw your attention toward the world or toward Christ?
It's interesting to think about. It's important to think about. It's frightening to think about. At least, it is for me.

The Church: Different From the World

I loved this excerpt from A.W. Tozer. What a great reminder of what it truly means to be different from the world.
By A.W. Tozer,
"The church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different, rises with the degree in which she differs and sinks as the difference diminishes.
This is so fully and clearly taught in the Scriptures and so well illustrated in Church history that it is hard to see how we can miss it. But miss it we do, for we hear constantly that the Church must try to be as much like the world as possible, excepting, of course, where the world is too, too sinful....
Let us plant ourselves on the hill of Zion and invite the world to come over to us, but never under any circumstances will we go over to them. The cross is the symbol of Christianity, and the cross speaks of death and separation, never of compromise. No one ever compromised with a cross. The cross separated between the dead and the living. The timid and the fearful will cry "Extreme!" and they will be right. The cross is the essence of all that is extreme and final. The message of Christ is a call across a gulf from death to life, from sin to righteousness and from Satan to God. "

How We Parent Thousands of Children

Oh how I loved this post by Ann Voskamp(Holy Experience). If we all truly would grasp parenting how God intended it to be, how differently an entire culture would view children! To remember that we're not just raising one or two of our own kids, but generations of children to come. To be able to put this into perspective, we would be able see past the temporal work of the day, and persevere for the lasting work of eternity.

“Seeds and dirt. Isn’t that what we are, really?
Seeds planted deep into loam, growing, living, dying, dust returning to dust, new seeds planted.
I reach down and touch her silken hair, touch all the children within her to come, and think of Abraham and Levi before Levi even yet was… and yet he was:
“Because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor,” reads Hebrews 7:10.
The New Living Translation offers,“For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body…”
Inside the frames, the bodies, the souls of our children, reside the children still to come. And the children then still to come.
Like nestled dolls, future generations dwell within the child whose eyes I now look into, whose hands I now touch.
Every day we parent not one child, or even a few children, but every day we parent innumerable, countless children. When I raise my voice, frustrated with a child, I speak to generations of children. When I wipe away a tear, comfort, listen, I honor centuries of children.
When we meet our children, children we will not live to meet on this earth, are, in very real ways, met, shaped, formed. Parented.”
From: Holy Experience
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2009/04/how-we-parent-thousands-of-children.html
I thought it would be good to end in this quote from Word Warrior on Generation Cedar,
She says, “When I raise my voice, frustrated with a child, I speak to generations of children. When I wipe away a tear, comfort, listen, I honor centuries of children.”

Homes Should Be Schools For Eternity

Wow! I absolutely love this quote. A definite reminder and challenge of how extremely important and vital, as christian parents, to be educating our childrens souls. This quote will stick with me forever and I really hope it does.
"All should realize the sublime idea that their houses are the schools for eternity; their children the scholars; themselves the teachers; and evangelical religion the lesson. Yes, with every infant born into the family comes the injunction from God, "Take this child and bring it up for Me!" God sent this child into the world, to be trained up in the way he should go—that is in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.Those parents who neglect the religious education of their children, whatever else they may impart, are more guilty than Herod! He slew the children of others—they slay their own children! He slew only the body—they slay the soul! He slew them by hired assassins—they slay their children themselves! We shudder at the cruelties of those who sacrificed their babes to Moloch; but how much more dreadful an immolation do they practice, who offer up their sons and daughters to Satan, by neglecting the education of their souls, and leaving them to grow up in ignorance of God and their eternal destiny!" -John J. Adams

Too Much

Written by Don Aslett, Author of Weekend Makeover,
"Abusing children in anyway, physically or emotionally, or neglecting them, the only unforgivable thing on this earth. When we hear accounts of child starvation and abandonment, most of us are irate or horrified. Yet have you ever thought about "too much" as almost an equal unkindness to children?Having everything is almost as abusive as having nothing. We now are burying our children with too much---too many things and opportunities.Our children now are getting less parenting and more playthings, less personal responsibility and more pleasures. They have more machines and fewer muscles; confections are overtaking affections. Think on this a minute or two and it will give "too much" a new meaning!We ride this "Excess Express" from infancy onward...kids constantly asking for thing, buying and getting everything they want, when they want it, and actually being raised up to be junkers. Look at how bad we old duffers are, and we had little, or not more than a tenth of what is available to kids today, when we were young. Yet look where we are now: cluttered in. Just think of all that is available to newer generations and with less discipline, too. How much junk will they have by the time they are thirty, forty, and fifty? It will be horrendous and will affect their marriages, jobs and self-esteem. And let's not even try to imagine what size homes and storage units they will need to contain it all, or what will be done the the earth in the process of producing all this. It is a bloated future ahead..."
How sadly true that is....

When Wordliness Is Next to Godliness

As I am daily working on and striving towards God's image, I am reminded over and over again of how this world is still so much a part of me and my thoughts. There are so many people I come across and many are christians, that say things aren't so black and white... , but what does God's Word say. To me things are much more black and white then what many really think. Why do I believe this. These 2 verses are a few examples of why I think this way.
Mat. 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Luke 13:24
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."
To me these say black and white... on the narrow path/gate, I don't think you can have grey areas. When we start justifying the "grey" areas in our life, I believe we are just opening up the road that leads to destruction. To me, there are far fewer people entering the Kingdom of God than what many others may think.... sadly so.
I came across this article on the site Family Reformation called, When Worldliness Is Next to Godliness, http://familyreformation.org/articles/render/when-worldliness-is-next-to-godliness/, by Selah Helms. This kind of focuses a lot on the teens of this day, but I believe it is excellent for anyone to read. Really makes you think and gives some great insight on Popular culture vs. Healthy/Traditional culture.

Cultivating the Rich Christian Home

I came across this post on one of the blogs I follow called, A Wise Woman Builds her Home. It reminded me of my post about Play dates, but this one was so wonderfully written and really brought home the point I was trying to get across in my play dates posting. Here's a little snippet of the post;
"The rich full life that can consist only in a Christian home is available to me and everyone else with Christ as its center. As aChristian home we should be the role models to this perishing world and NOT imitate it. The world fills its time with empty pursuits and busyness to fill the void that only Christ can fill. Our homes should be the model of the beauty, rest and joy which radiates from ourSaviour!!!! What is your home radiating today? Believe me, it matters to Christ."
If you would like to read more you can follow this link....
http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2006/12/cultivating-rich-christian-home.html Enjoy!

O Praise Him! song by David Crowder

This is one of my favorite songs. I want to live like this! Especially when the clip reaches 3:36/5:53: It gives me chills. If you have the chance please listen and watch this, very powerful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpVsF4W8V2Y "O Praise Him", by David Crowder.

Becoming a Woman of Virtue

As a christian, I was so inspired yet convicted when I read this post(http://intostillwaters.com/2008/12/27/becoming-a-woman-of-virtue/) (Into Still Waters) Have you ever thought about how many old(bad) habits and thought patterns are still in you. Better said, how much of what the world has told you is right or normal is still a part of you. When I entered a relationship with God I most certainly changed in many ways, but was it more on the outside or inside? Was I so focused on my outward changes that I forgot to have it change me inside as well? Was my role as a godly woman my identity or a temporary outward thing? Good questions to think about. If you have a chance read this and I hope you will be blessed and challenged by this story as well.

First Time and with a Cheerful Attitude, a Thought for Mothers

I read this post, http://parunak.com/pursuingtitus2/2009/03/05/first-time-and-with-a-cheerful-attitudea-thought-for-mothers/ from another blogger I follow (Pursuing Titus 2) and I thought it was so well written and convicting. First time obedience is something I have really been working on with my children and this post was a great reminder of my part in this all and my sinfulness at times. It’s time I held myself to the same standard I have for my children: “first time and with a cheerful attitude.”

Chasing Godliness

I John 2:15-17
15 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

1 Tim. 4:8

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. "

2 Pet. 1:6

"and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;"

Romans 12:12

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God.”

Col. 3:2

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

Mat. 16:23

"But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”

Rom. 8:5

"For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by 1 the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit."

Isa. 51:6

"Look up at the sky! Look at the earth below! For the sky will dissipate like smoke, and the earth will wear out like clothes; its residents will die like gnats. But the deliverance I give is permanent; the vindication I provide will not disappear."