Hiking In Grace & Capturing My View

A Still Small Voice

09.23.09

A still small voice. (1 Kings 19)

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” (John 10:27)

This is how God speaks to his children. Even in the book of Job when God is talking to Job out of the whirlwind, it doesn’t seem like he is yelling at him. It reads as a conversation, a questioning, if you will, to get Job to think and consider but not as though God is yelling at him.

I often can hear the Holy Spirit guiding me. Quietly speaking to my heart to do this or not do that, say this and don’t say that, avoid this, look here, go there, read this…

Yes, I know this subject may freak out a few people I know.

However…

I was thinking about the times I know without question that He was speaking to me distinctly and it hit me this morning…

He doesn’t yell at us.

He is not sarcastic with us.

He doesn’t talk down at us.

He doesn’t speak disrespectfully to us.

…if that makes any sense.

He loves us and speaks lovingly to us, even while correcting us and reproving us!

This is the pattern I am to follow when speaking to my own children.

I am to speak with kindness, not with sarcasm.

I am to speak lovingly, not raise my voice in frustration.

Praise God! He does not relate to us that way.

He leads his children gently along, and I am to do the same with mine.

Thank you, Jesus, for your grace, long suffering, and patience with me.

Tuesdays Unwrapped: Sounding the Alarm

09.22.09

I never thought I would think of an alarm clock as being a blessing to unwrap. However, this past week I discovered that I could add more than a few alarms on my little cell phone.

The first three weeks of our homeschooling have been a bit rough this year. The first week was a blur of trying to get used to new teachers (we use A Beka’s dvds, I heart them.) The second week we battled a bad head cold that hit each of us on different days. The third week began with the death of a furry family member.

Back to that cell phone alarm. I have never had a phone where I could set several alarms at one time and schedule whether they were daily, M-F, or just a one time thing. In the past 6 years in the Philippines I had what was equivalent to a track phone here in the states, one alarm at a time. This new phone has all kinds of options!! WoooHoooo!!

Desperate to make a schedule we could actually stick to, I planned out a school schedule complete with how long each subject would take, added a morning break after Arithmetic class, set a time for lunch, and most importantly… a time to BE DONE. (Last year it seemed the kids dragged everything out and we would still be studying at dinner time!) I set my cell phone alarm to sound when we should be starting school, when we would take our morning break (and when that break was over), when we would eat lunch, when their free time after lunch ended, and most importantly when they should be done!!

They have happily stuck to their schedules now for almost a week and WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! Everybody knows what is expected. Everybody is happy! Everybody is finishing ON TIME! They finally understand that when school is completed on a regular basis we can do things like this:

And she

can do this:

and he can do this:

And it seems like all it took was a schedule and a little alarm sounding. I am thankful that I can set many little alarms through out the day to help make time for a bit of fun.

I am linking up to Chatting at the Sky for a bit of linky fun, celebrating Tuesdays Unwrapped! Unwrap your self a blessing today!

Just A Lass Hiking With Jesus

09.02.09

As I hiked after my husband and daughter the other day, God was teaching me something…

Often, I hike along with Jesus, holding his nail-scarred hand, following his leading. He points out rocks that may be difficult to get over and spots in the trail that may be rough. He warns me of things I need to be aware of through His Word, of sin that may be blocking my progress or lurking just off the path that could be a hinderance.

There have been times where the path has gotten too rough and steep or long and I am unable to face it without His grace. In His grace He lifts me up and carries me through it.

There have also been times when Jesus has carried me so that I can rest when the road has been too long and I get weary of the hike. I can rest on God’s Word and His promises to me.

Girly Ruffles and Fuzzy Purses

09.01.09

One person’s opinion: “A female can’t be feminine in a pair of pants.”

I beg to differ.

What mom is going to dress her little boy in these?

Ruffles on the bottoms of her jeans. I found these in Walmart and could not resist getting them for the little one.

Her first pair of jeans… and I’m thinking they are fairly feminine.

She is all girl.

She requested a pink shirt to wear today.

She even carries a pink fuzzy purse while out hiking in the woods.

How girly is that?!?

The Blaze of Confirmation

07.28.09

Often when I have hiked I have come to a place where I am not sure where the trail goes. It seems like there is a Y in the trail and I am not sure which to follow. I make a choice and hope it is the right one then farther on down the trail a bit I see the blaze right there that says, “you made the right choice, you followed the right path.” There is a wave of relief that passes over me and I become more confident that I chose correctly.

I have been here recently, spiritually speaking.

There was a choice to make that God set before us. We made that choice and even though we started walking on the trail we chose, I had not seen a distinct blaze to confirm our choice. Oh, there were several places where we saw the residue of blazes that were faint but I asked God to let me see one that I could not miss. A blaze of confirmation that was freshly painted and left no room for doubt. I did not want to carry the added burden of stress from doubt anymore.

In the last 3 days, God brought me into his service in a way I did not seek. GOD brought it to me. I trusted him and accepted the challenge he laid before me. He PREPARED ME to accomplish the task without me realizing it. I was in the midst of the serving before he revealed just how he had prepared me for my task. I approached it completely relying on HIS strength and ability and he came through as he always does when you are doing what he asks of you. Jesus is so faithful to enable us to fulfill HIS mission which he calls us to do.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry…” ~1 Tim. 1:12

Now, I am praising Jesus for showing me that Blaze of Confirmation, that freshly painted mark on the tree that tells us that we chose the right side of the Y in the trail.