I couldn’t wait
to sit down and write today’s post friends!
God has been stirring something in my heart for a couple of weeks and it
has been bubbling up inside of me and today I literally feel like I’m going to
explode if I don’t do something with it!
Let me start
with this. I have never felt so sure
about being in the perfect will of God than I am about my call to homeschool my
children. I can’t even explain it
friends. I fully believe what scripture
says about God writing our days out before we were even formed in our mother’s
womb. “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days
ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” Psalm
139:16. Knowing that my days have been ordained by God, I don’t
ever want to coast through this life doing what is easy, comfortable, or accessible. Just because I can do something doesn’t
necessarily mean it’s God’s plan for my life, so I want to constantly be
seeking God’s will for my life. When it
comes to homeschooling my kids, I may not know what God has in store for me and
my children in the years to come, but I am certain that we are walking out the
story that He had written for us before we were even formed and it feels good!
When I started this journey three years ago, I remember
praying that God would grant me wisdom and equip me to teach my kids well. I just wanted them to learn and my biggest
fear was that I wouldn’t teach them everything they would need to know and they’d
grow up stupid! Although I still pray for
wisdom daily, God has opened my eyes to just how much He wanted to teach ME in
this journey…even more so than my children!
Six years ago is when the Lord began leading me to
homeschool the kids. I was in a Bible
study and the entire study was on Deuteronomy.
When we got to chapter 6, the Lord messed me up!
“These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you
are crossing the Jordan to possess, that you, your children and their children
after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of
your ancestors, promised you. Hear,
O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at
home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your
hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes
of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:1-8
I was a fairly new mom and when I began to study this passage
and really think about it, it messed with me!
I realized that parenting was far more than snuggles, smiles,
milestones, and play dates! We have been
given a mandate from the Lord and my parenting changed that day. I vowed to be intentional with my time with
my children and I desired to be that mom who talked with my kids about God’s
commandments and God’s goodness from the time they woke to the time they went
to sleep and I wanted my home to be Christ-centered and that has been my
husband and I’s goal ever since. It was
this scripture and goal that ultimately lead our family to the decision of homeschooling
our children. Our children attended an
excellent Christian school for pre-school so they were receiving great teaching
that backed what we were teaching them at home, however, the Lord began showing
me that we were living in a day where deception runs deep. God had placed an urgency in my spirit to
pour the Word of God into my children. I
felt Him warning me that this generation will not be able to stand on two feet
without the unwavering foundation of God’s Word because the deception was
deep. Then when Myka was in
kindergarten, I read an article titled, “Christianity Is a Generation Away from
Extinction.” Reading that article just
confirmed what the Lord had already been stirring inside of me. He was calling me to use these foundational
years to POUR God’s Word into their hearts and lives with great purpose and
discipline. And that’s why we
homeschool.
Because our ultimate goal of homeschooling is using these
years to pour God’s Word into their hearts, Bible time is a huge part of our
day! (Cue the floodgates friends!) I can’t hold back my tears as I think back
over these past three years and consider what I have been able to teach my
children. The lessons, the stories, the
devotions, the scriptures, the memory verses, the questions, the conversations…oh
friends, they are hiding God’s Words in their hearts and that alone is worth
every minute, every hour, every frustration, every sacrifice, and every
struggle that homeschooling has cost. Psalm
119:11 says, “I have hidden your
word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” That’s what it’s all about. In a world where deception runs deep, our
children must have the unwavering truth hidden in their hearts. If not, they are going to be fed bold lies
and even worse, half-truths that sound good but that will ultimately lead them
to a path of destruction. “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” Matthew 7:13-14. Listen, our children need a foundation more
solid than just Mom and Dad’s opinions. They
need a foundation stronger than a few songs and Bible stories they learned in
Children’s Church. Our children need a
personal encounter with the living Jesus and they need the living and active
Word of God alive in their hearts! Mom
and Dad’s faith won’t keep our kids from being deceived but the living Word of
God alive in their hearts and active in their spirit will be able to judge the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart and therefore will not be deceived! “For
the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.
Someone stop me before I start preaching! I am just so passionate about being
intentional when it comes to pouring God’s Word into our children. I better get back to sharing what I came here
to share!
I say all that to tell you that while I have been trying to
teach my children as much about God’s Word for these past three years, God has
used some of the simplest stories and lessons to do such a work in my own
life! Let me just tell you, there is no
better way to learn about God’s Word than to start with a children’s Bible
curriculum! The stories are so simple,
yet so powerful and always end with an opportunity for salvation and a call to
action. I have heard many of these
stories all of my life, yet as I read them to my children from the lesson book
and show them the pictures that go along and discuss the questions at the end
of each lesson, I find myself struggling to get through the stories without
tears. My kids have learned that people
cry when they are happy and when they are overwhelmed with God’s goodness
thanks to Bible time. Bless their
hearts, they were so concerned the first time I sobbed through an entire story
and couldn’t understand why mommy was crying if I was happy. They get it now and just carry on as
normal. Sometimes they even join me now! Little did I know that in my journey to teach
my children, God would be teaching me something new every single day and
awakening my faith in a new way. I have
seen first-hand childlike faith and I understand why we are instructed to
become like little children in Matthew 18:3. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become
like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Watching my children take God at His Word has taught me
more about faith than any teaching I have heard over my life.
This past week we learned
about Jesus healing the nobleman’s son. Because
of some needs that my family has been praying and believing for, this story just
stirred something inside of me. I felt
lead to write a post last week and didn’t.
Then when the story came up in my devotion a few days ago, it was just
confirmation of what God was stirring in my heart! In John 4:43-54, we learned about an official
whose son was very sick. It’s apparent
this was a well-off man so I’m sure he had access to the best care in his time
and yet nothing was working and his son was near death. They had exhausted all options when they
began to hear talk about this man named Jesus.
They heard about how he performed miracles and word was spreading that
he was coming to a town nearby. Being desperate
to help his son, this father thought maybe, just maybe he could go find this
man and ask him to come heal his son.
His son was so sick, he wasn’t even sure he’d make it back in time but a
parent’s love for their child runs deep and he was willing to do anything if it
meant his son might be okay. It was a
two-day journey just to get to Jesus and when he found him, he begged Jesus to
come with him. He told Jesus about his
dying son and asked him to come to his home to see if he could heal him. Jesus continued teaching despite the man’s
pleas and I can only imagine the relentless pleas of a loving father. I mean could you even imagine? He was desperate and I know Jesus must have
heard the urgency in his pleas. Yet, instead of coming with the man, Jesus
looked at the official and said, “Go home.
Your son is well.” Now, keep in
mind that this man was not yet a believer, yet it says the man took Jesus at
his word and left. As I read this story
to my kids, I found myself wondering if there was something in Jesus’ voice or
a look in his eyes that made this man believe him? The man didn’t question Jesus at all. He took him at his word and left! I can’t help but wonder if I had traveled for
two days knowing my son may have already died, I probably would have been
asking, “Are you sure? Can you come with
me just in case?” Yet, not a question from
this man! Then it hit me. That’s faith!
Believing what he could not yet see.
Friends, what is Jesus
saying to you today? His Word is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. It
never changes. There’s no diagnosis that
is too difficult to cure and it’s never too late. But will you believe? God’s Word is filled with His promises to
those who believe. We don’t have to wait
to see the doctor’s report. We don’t
have to wait to see the evidence. We can
“know” because Jesus said it! We can
rest in our journey when we take Jesus at His Word. If you find yourself in need of healing
today, allow your heart to be encouraged as you read what God has said.
“I have come so that you
may have life and that you may have it abundantly.” –John 10:10
“No weapon formed against
you will prosper.” –Isaiah 54:17
“Greater is He that is
within you than he that is in the world.” -1 John 4:4
“By His stripes, you are
healed.” –Isaiah 53:5
“Nothing is impossible with
God.” –Luke 1:37
“I am the Lord that healeth
thee.” –Exodus 15:26
“He Himself took away our infirmities
and bore away our diseases.” –Matthew 8:17
“My words are life to those
that find them, and health unto their flesh.” –Proverbs 4:22
“And this is the confidence
we that we have in him, that, if we ask any anything according to his will, he
heareth us. And if we know that he hears
us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of
him.” -1 John 5:14
“Beloved, I wish above all
things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
-3 John 1:2
“Fear not, for I am with
you.” –Isaiah 41:10
It doesn’t matter what you
are facing today because we serve a God that we can place our confidence
in. We don’t have to question if He’s
really sure He’ll do what He says He will.
His Word never returns void so rest in your journey. Don’t wait to believe His Word until you see
the evidence. Believe it today and be
expectant.
“Daughter, your faith
has healed you. Go in peace.” –Mark 5:34
“Rise and go; your faith
has made you well.” –Luke 17:19
