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Separating the Good from the Evil

January 23, 2012 by Tracey 1 Comment

“But he that is spiritual judgeth all things…” ~I Corinthians 2:15

In this verse, the word “judgeth” has the idea of “discerneth.”  Our daughters and I have been studying discernment in the Bright Lights Bible curriculum we use in homeschooling. The definition of discernment given there is “skill in separating the good from the evil and understanding the bigger picture.” I love the way that is worded!

As the keepers of our home, we must have discernment. It begins in our own lives, as we examine our attitudes and actions for any sin that needs to be forgiven and forsaken. Beyond that, our responsibility extends to our family. From media and other materials that enter our home to the friends our children have to the activities we participate in, we need wisdom to see what is potentially harmful. How often we need to pray for help in not giving evil a foothold, even unwittingly.

As we seek to be discerning, we are not to judge according to arbitrary standards, but base our decisions on Biblical standards. I also believe that as we seek God’s leading through prayer and study of His Word, He will even give us instincts that will help us avoid potential pitfalls. Surely our discernment, like other skills, can be improved as we use it in our daily lives.

Finally, as our definition of discernment states, it is valuable to remember the big picture. Perhaps there is some activity or influence that might seem acceptable today, but could cause problems as our children get older. All of our decisions can be passed through the filter of I Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

I want to be on guard and actively evaluating the choices we make for our family. As mothers who seek to rear our children as servants of Christ, may we ask for His wisdom and guidance in discerning those things that are best for our children.

Filed Under: Worship

Oh, How Marvelous!

January 16, 2012 by Tracey 8 Comments

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Reading through A.W. Tozer’s The Attributes of God has given me a renewed appreciation for our God.  Over the last few days, I have been pondering the love that God has for me.  He created me for His pleasure, that I might bring honor and glory to Him.  Then, because of man’s sin, God sent His Son to die for me that I might be redeemed.

So often we talk about the joy that we will feel when, as Christians, we reach heaven and see Him face to face.  And that is certainly true.  Yet how amazing it is to think that God will be excited to see me, too. As Tozer writes, “Did you ever stop to think that God is going to be as pleased to have you with Him in heaven as you are to be there?” That thought inspires me to want to do even more for Him, that as the ages pass, God and I will have much to talk about together.

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.

Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

~Charles H. Gabriel

What attribute of God would you celebrate today?

Filed Under: Worship

Compassion

December 13, 2011 by Tracey 4 Comments

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“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ…And of some have compassion, making a difference:”  ~Jude 21-22

One of my goals in seeking to rear Godly children is that they would make a difference, be it in the lives of a few or many. With Jesus as our example, we find that one of the greatest characteristics of His earthly ministry was His compassion. Mark 6:34 says, “And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them…” Christ looked for those who had needs and met them.

The following are three ideas I want to use to help my children – and myself – become more compassionate to those around us.

  1. Notice people in need.  If we are wrapped up in ourselves, we miss opportunities to help others. It is often easiest to spot physical needs, but we should also be attuned to spiritual or emotional needs that we can have a hand in meeting.
  2. Be humble.  Assisting others should not be done from a position of pride. God created each one of us and, while a person may make choices that put him in difficult circumstances, God still loves him and wants to have a relationship with him. As the saying goes, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”
  3. Empathize. Try to understand others’ feelings. We have recently been in situations where my daughters were the “new kids.” After these experiences, I have talked to them about how they felt and asked them to remember that bit of awkwardness for times when they have the opportunity to reach out and welcome a stranger. While our children won’t have personal experience with every difficulty they see a person facing, they can still learn to identify with people who are hurting.

With God’s help, may we develop compassion within ourselves and our children that we might make a difference in our world.

How do you help your children learn to be compassionate?

Filed Under: Worship

He Giveth and Taketh Away

December 9, 2011 by Tracey 9 Comments

The Lord gave us a baby with a neural tube defect, and took away my sense of control over my life.

The Lord gave me eight months to carry that precious child, to feel her kick and move in my womb, and took away any bitterness that threatened to creep into my soul.

The Lord gave doctors, nurses, family, and friends who supported us, loved us, and prayed for us.  He took away our loneliness.

The Lord gave us moments to hold her still body, to kiss her soft cheek, and took away any fears about bonding with her.

The Lord gave sweet assurance that we will see her again in heaven and took away some of our sense of loss.

The Lord gave peace that His will is always best and took away my desire to change the path He had chosen.

The Lord gave us time to heal and took away the sadness and emotional pain.

The Lord gave two whole and healthy daughters and took away my barrenness.

In the words of Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Fourteen years after the birth of our Angel, I can say with all that I have that God is good and His ways truly are best.

Filed Under: Worship

The Fruit of Our Lips

November 24, 2011 by Tracey 3 Comments

By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. ~Hebrews 13:5

May our thankfulness this day be directed to the One Who meets all our needs and provides so many of our wants. 

For health, family, friends, church, country, and blog readers, I am thankful.  Yet most of all, for the loving God and returning Saviour Who has provided salvation for all who believe.

Wishing you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving as you weave another layer of memories into the fabric of your children’s lives.

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Filed Under: Worship

Blessed

November 15, 2011 by Tracey 4 Comments

I am blessed.

After supper, we sit around the table. 

My husband reads aloud to us, the Bible in his hand. 

Our daughters, healthy and whole, listen, trying to absorb the passage so they can answer questions later. 

Our empty plates are in front of us, holding the remnants of our recently eaten meal. The house is warm, the roof is sound, the rug soft under our feet.

I realize that I have done nothing to deserve these blessings.  My heart is full as I dwell in the present, thankful for the normalcy of the night, treasuring the scene before it melts into the rush of after-supper cleanup.

Thank you, God, for this moment.  Let me not take for granted these everyday blessings that you bestow.

Find others giving thanks at Gratituesday hosted by Laura at Heavenly Homemakers.

Filed Under: Worship

They’ve Been With Jesus

November 14, 2011 by Tracey 2 Comments

One of the most difficult habits to establish as a Christian can be that of spending time daily in God’s Word.  Perhaps because it’s vital to our walk with Christ, our flesh finds it easy to fill our hours with other tasks.

Reading in Acts 4 last week, I came across a verse that has convicted me before in this area. As the religious leaders question Peter and John, they are amazed by the boldness with which they speak.  Verse 13 says, “…and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

While I can’t physically spend the day with Jesus, I am privileged as His child to be able to enter His presence through prayer and Bible reading.   However, I have to ask myself if I am taking advantage of this opportunity and is it making a difference in how I relate to others.

As I greet the day with my family, sending my husband off to work and getting our daughters started with homeschooling, can they tell that I’ve been with Jesus?  When I encounter a grouchy clerk at the grocery store or talk to the librarian as we check out books, can they sense that I’ve spent time with Jesus?

I desire for the time I use praying and reading my Bible to effect the rest of my day, that it not just be a ritual I perform.  By God’s grace, may others I encounter today be able to say that I have been with Jesus.

Filed Under: Worship

Whose Feet Can I Wash Today?

November 7, 2011 by Tracey 6 Comments

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As a child, I was annoyed when someone’s feet touched my body.  If my brothers or sister were on the couch with me, they knew they could get a reaction if they maneuvered their foot to rest against me.  In fact, I’m not sure I’ve outgrown that aversion!

In John 13, we read about Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.  As He explains to them the significance of what He has done, He says in verse 14, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

The lesson here is that we are to serve others.  We should see no task as too menial or lowly to do in service for Christ. 

I doubt that I will be called upon to literally wash someone’s feet today.  But I may be required to clean up after my children, pack my husband’s lunch, wash dishes after a church fellowship, or deliver a meal to a new mother.  If Jesus can humbly and willingly bathe the dusty, dirty feet of a roomful of grown men, how can I not do whatever I am called on to do in service to others?

May I not only sweetly accomplish my duties, but let me seek out opportunities to demonstrate the heart of a servant.  Each day, let us ask ourselves, “Whose feet can I wash today?”

Filed Under: Worship

What if He Asked You to Do It?

September 26, 2011 by Tracey 5 Comments

Recently I talked with one of our daughters about developing the proper attitude toward work.  (Not that our children ever struggle with having a joyful spirit while doing their household chores.  Ahem.)  I asked her to think about whether her reaction might be different if it were Jesus asking her to accomplish those tasks.

Matthew 25:40 tells us, “…Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Yet even as I discussed this with my daughter, I was convicted myself.  How often am I guilty of grumpiness when someone adds dirty dishes to the kitchen sink I just emptied or tracks dirt onto my clean floor?

I Corinthians 10:31 reminds me, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  Let my daughters and I learn together that whether serving family members, friends, or strangers, we are ultimately serving Christ.

Filed Under: Worship

The Blessing of Intercession

September 19, 2011 by Tracey 9 Comments

Romans 8:26 says, “…For we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Often as I pray for my husband, our daughters, and the needs of other family members and friends, I come to prayer with a certain outcome in mind.  While I ask for God’s will to be done, I may feel that what I desire to see happen is what would be best.

However, I can’t know the mind of Christ and how He may be working in a life.  What a blessing it is to read in this verse that, while I may not even understand how to properly pray for something, the Holy Spirit takes my requests and conforms them to the will of God. 

I have been blessed recently to see several answers to prayer – times where it seems God saw fit to answer my requests in what I would view as a positive way.  Yet I must remember that, at other times, if I don’t see immediate results, it doesn’t mean that He is not hearing and working in the situation. 

This aspect of prayer is yet another instance where I can learn to trust God by resting in the knowledge that He always does what’s best and that the Holy Spirit is interceding for me.

Filed Under: Worship

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Welcome! I'm Tracey, wife and mom to two teenage girls. I seek to help Christian moms raise children who know, love, and serve God by sharing Biblical wisdom, helpful tips, and practical advice. Read More…

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