My Shadow

I just finished reading a series by Karen Hanock called Legends of the Guardian King. The books were allegorical fantasies loaded with adventure. One take away I had from the book was my shadow versus Eidon's (God's) light. In the story, the main character Abramm often struggled with his shadow keeping him from being able to fully use Eidon's light. Fear, anger and disbelief would allow the shadow to take control and Eidon's light would be covered. Many times his life would be at stake and victory would only come as he emptied himself before Eidon allowing the light to take control.

In my own life, I often let the shadow of fear, unbelief, or even anger cloud the light of Jesus in me. Instead of taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (IICor 10:5), the thought takes over until it has control of my emotions and I head the wrong direction. Lately I have been learning to take the advice of Is 26:3 (NLT) which says " You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you." As I fight normal everyday battles, I can not do it alone. I also can not afford to let my shadow get in the way of victory. With Christ in me, it is possible to be a pure and blameless child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you will shine like a star in the universe. (Phil 2:25 with a bit of paraphrasing)

Dear God, Forgive me for the times that I let fear and doubt get in the way of your light shining through me. May I not quench your spirit in any way. May I trust in you fully and keep my thoughts fixed on you alone. Thank you for your perfect peace which transcends all understanding. In Jesus name, Amen

The Main Thing

I found this interesting post at Pajama Mama's blog. I won't add anything else since she stated it all very well.

Dear God, Help me to remember that the main thing is you and only you. May I seek first your kingdom in all things. Amen

Teacher Tuesday

We are almost done with school. In some ways I am not ready. In others, I absolutely am. I am wondering what my kids will do with their extra free time. So the past week or so, we have did some on site conflict resolution training. I am hoping some of it will stick. I am praying that some of it will stick.

Besides our conflict resolution training, we decided that one day would be math day and the next day English and then keep rotating until the end of school. It actually has been fun and allowed us to cover more ground each day. They still work on their foreign language, typing and some reteaching of geography but otherwise our time is focused.

I am also excited about this bible curriculum I just found through homeschool freebie of the day. It is very simple study of the book of Acts but adds structure to our bible time. Each day has a passage from Acts, a memory verse activity, and sometimes an extra question or activity to understand the passage. The Acts study is just a part of their whole year curriculum. Depending on our plans in the next year or so, I would love for my children to go through their Old Testament and New Testament studies. For more info, click here.

I have really enjoyed my time with the kids this year. Next year they will be in more of a school setting as my DH and I will be in language school. It is a good decision but I will miss teaching them. God has plans and things for us to learn in each season.

Little Things

My DH and I have been exercising in the morning with a workout cd. The lady on the tape is always telling us to concentrate on different things such as are we standing up straight or breathing right or even focusing on a certain muscle. Sometimes I mutter at her under my breath. Mostly though I try to follow her suggestions and I find they really do make my workout more productive. I am also discovering I have muscles that have not been used in awhile. A little thing is making a big difference.

In life, I have been concentrating on some little things. For example, what tone of voice am I using with my kids? I have noticed that it is often not what I say but how I say it that gets me into trouble. One part of controlling my tongue is controlling my tone of voice. Is it appropriate for the moment? Am I reacting? Am I speaking the truth but in love? All questions that need to run through my mind. As I work on this area, I am hoping that my conversations with my family will be more what God would want them to be. Jesus talked about being faithful in the little things as well as the big so hopefully this is a start.

Dear God, Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your strength each day to live life. Be with my conversations. Be with my words. Be with my tone of voice. May I reflect you in all I do. May you be glorified through the interactions of my family. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Worship or Worry?

Which would you choose? Most people would say worship. I would. It sounds more fun and more spiritual. But as in most things, my actions speak louder than words. When I am faced with a hard situation, what is my first reaction? Do I stew or do I pray? Jill Briscoe says that we either worship or we worry. When we worship, we are letting God worry for us about those things we lay at His feet. When we worship, we acknowledge we can't do anything about it but God can. It's funny about worry. By worrying, we think we can fix or control things. But can we?
Jill's words have given me something to think about. My response shows what I think about God. Do I believe He is big enough? Do I trust Him? My desire is to worship but I am weak. As I grow in my walk with Jesus, I pray I will begin to choose worship over worry. It is a lot less stressful and God is glorified.

Dear God, Thank you that you care for all our needs great or small. You love us and want us to cast all our cares on you. Take my worries. May my thoughts instead be filled with worship. May you be glorified in all we do. Amen

National Day of Prayer

Lately I have been struggling to be consistent in prayer yet I know more than ever prayer is a work that needs to be done. Even though every day should be a day of prayer, it is nice to have a day set aside to concentrate on prayer. My prayer is during these weeks while Noel is in training I will establish some good habits that will be with me as we go overseas.

It is encouraging that I am not the only one who has struggled with prayer. Amy Carmichael, a missionary in India who founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, wrote that she often struggled with setting aside time to pray when there was so much to be done. Her answer to the question work or pray? was this. "The certain knowledge that this is Satan's lie; he is much more afraid of our prayer than our work. (This is proved by the immense difficulties we always find when we set ourselves to pray. They are much greater than those we meet when we set ourselves to work.) "

Dear God, You said that if your people who are called by your name would humble themselves and pray that you would hear their voice. Today, tomorrow and in the days to come may your people make prayer a priority and seek your kingdom. May your will be done as we fervently pray for our families, our churches, our country and our world. In your son's name, Amen

Where I Want to Be

I get an email devotional everyday and this is one from last week. May we all pray for God's kingdom. I don't think I am there yet but would sure like to be.

Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My FeetScripture
Reference: Matthew 6:33

God's Kingdom, My Reference Point
A beginner's prayers are generally an attempt to get God to pay attention to his wants. As we grow in grace, prayer becomes an attempt to turn our attention to God. His kingdom becomes our reference point for every matter that concerns us. Will this thing further or hinder the working of the will of God in me, in those I pray for, in these situations? What is on my mind today? Let me bring it at once into the light of God's countenance, refer it to his scrutiny, lay it (and my heart with it) open before Him. If I am not prepared to submit something, I am interested in myself, not in the kingdom. "Set your mind on God's kingdom and His justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well''(Mt 6:33 NEB).