THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

I cried to the LORD with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill.
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
Psalm 3:4-5

I'm tired. You may be tired, too. The end of the school year is a very busy time for students, parents, teachers and many others. At these times, it's easy to get too busy for God. Obligations, schedules, and deadlines bombard us and strive to become first in our life - ahead of everything else. And they will become first, if we allow them to.

Most of my tiredness comes from self-imposed obligations of things I commit to - things I enjoy doing, such as decorating for high school graduation (which I just got home from!) and feeding the teachers at the elementary and secondary school (breakfast in the morning). Someone else could decorate. The teacher's wouldn't have to be treated (it's a late Teacher's Appreciation celebration hosted by the PTO). I choose to do these things and the consequence is tiredness right now.

And this blog....another self-imposed "obligation". But you know what? This blog makes me search for scriptures that have to do with what I want to say. It gets me more into God's Word, even if for just a short little post. It also may encourage someone else, which is my goal. So, tired or not, I always look forward to sitting here and writing. It gets my mind off of my to-do list and focused on God and a scripture or group of scriptures, even if for just a little while.

The verse above is especially meaningful tonight because, just as it says, later I will be able to rest and in the morning I will wake up and the Lord will have sustained me, yet again!

Good night......ooops, I mean, off to the kitchen!

The Good Shepherd

Last night when my daughter and I arrived home after cleaning up after a banquet, we heard the cry of little goats. It had been raining a lot, so we mentioned the crying to my husband.


He went out in the field and found seven little babies seperated from their mommas and surrounded by water. Because we recently lost six babies and a momma due to flooding, he wasn't going to leave them there and let them try to find their way out. They were wet and tired and probably hungry. Unfortunately, some of the first-time mommas don't take care of their babies as good as they should and they weren't trying to help them. So, my husband brought all seven babies to our garage!


The little babies were towel dried and blow dried, then sent back to their mommas. Thankfully, all seven of them were alive and well this morning!


A good shepherd takes care of his sheep....or in my husband's case...goats!! My husband will go out in the rain and mud to help his goats. I'm certain he wouldn't lay down his life for his goats, though.

We have a good shepherd - JESUS!! And as His children, we are His sheep. And our good shepherd did lay down His life for us!

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. 1 John 3:16a

Thank you, God, for the gift of Your Son, Jesus, who is our Good Sheperd and who was willing to lay down His life for us.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Being Honest With Your Children

Are you honest with your children? I've always made a concentrated effort to not lie (even about surprises and such) to my children. I may have had to say, "I can't answer that", or "I don't want to answer that", or even "Don't ask me that." But sometimes it's hard to be honest and truthful, isn't it? We want our children to be good - at everything!! So, we don't really want to tell them, but we really need to.

For example, today my daughter and a friend were practicing the National Anthem for a banquet that will be held tonight. They were performing in front of the middle school students, as well as their advisor, and a few others. They were singing acapella and my daughter was singing alto, while the friend was singing the lead part. There were times it sounded really good, but there were times where...well, to be honest, it was bad! Really bad! Our anthem is a difficult song to sing anyway, but my daughter has only practiced the alto part a few times, and it's just really hard to get. Plus, she is usually singing alto at worship - in a group - and able to follow with others. She was able to be on the right part sometimes, but most of the time it sounded really off.

Immediately after the performance, the advisor came over to me. Before he could say a word I said, "That won't work!" I think he was relieved that I felt the same way! He suggested to me they sing in unison. I left for a little while, and when I came back the two girls asked me what I thought about the earlier performance. I was honest with them and told them that the alto part just was not working. I explained to them that it's hard to get that part anyway (I know because I tried to do it myself when I left and I couldn't get it either!) and that it would sound great for them to sing in unison. They said, "That's just what Mr. W (the advisor)said!". So, they practiced and it sounded much better and on tune. Hopefully it will be at the banquet tonight!

Last week I had to be honest with my daughter about a solo song for this same banquet. She has a good voice - don't get me wrong - but there are some songs that just will not work for her. She's got a deep voice and not many songs are written for girls with deep voices! It was hard to tell her, and I did it kindly, but of course, she was disappointed. She has been able to sing at a few other events throughout the school year, but these two newer songs she was trying to sing would not work for this event.

As a parent, sometimes we have to have the courage to tell our children the truth about their talents and abilities. We have to be honest with them and tell them if they need to improve on something or that maybe something "isn't their thing". I'm all for building my children up and encouraging them (and I do), but too many times children are told how great they are and then they are disappointed later in life when they don't do as good as they assumed they would. They have kind of a false impression of themselves because they've been "puffed up" by their parents and many times by grandparents.

On the positive side, though, my daughter is going to be doing part of her FFA speech tonight. Today as she did her speech during the practice, she did a great job. And, I was able to tell her so. I expect that she will tonight, as well.

Throughout their lives our children will experience success and failures. They'll have many opportunities to try new and exciting things. Some will work out and some will not. We have to be willing to help teach our children to learn to fail - because some time they're going to.

Update: 11:30 P.M. and after the FFA Banquet - The unison anthem and the speech went great. And, I've already told her, "Great job, Lauren!"

Wisdom

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
--Reinhold Niebuhr

I found this prayer in a set of stationery many years ago and cut it out. It was taped where I could see it every day. I don't have that little paper any more, but it continues to be something that I think of from time to time. Until yesterday, as I was looking for the origin of the prayer, I had no idea that it is really much longer than what I have listed above.

The key to this prayer, in my opinion, is found in the last part - "wisdom". It takes wisdom to know what we should just accept or what we should have the courage to try and change. Where does wisdom come from? Some of us may be wise - we were knitted together in that way. Others of us may not be so wise. Some wisdom comes from learning through academics or learning a specific trade. But the kind of wisdom we should desire can be found through reading God's Word. We should desire this type of wisdom, which comes from heaven.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

It starts with fear - but not a scared fear. A Christian's fear is one that realizes that God is in control of the entire universe, and we should worship Him in reverence, and in awe, and in total submission. For those who have not yet become a child of God this fear is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31)
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The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:10

If we find we are lacking in the kind of heavenly wisdom we desire to have, God encourages us with these verses: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him," James 1:5. But, this promise has a string attached to it, as we can see in verse 6: "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

I don't know about you, but I need to be asking God for wisdom every day!

Oh, Be Careful Little Feet Where You Go!

There are many paths to choose from in life. But, in every path we choose, and with every step we take, it is before the face of God ("Coram Deo").

Where are you going? Are you on the path that leads to Heaven? Jesus taught His disciples about how to pray in Matthew 6. Think about the part of that prayer that says, "And lead us not into temptation." Do we pray for God's help and guidance - for Him to lead us away from temptation, but then us walk ourselves right into it?

We may be tempted to sin by going to certain places, by being around certain people, by walking into something we shouldn't. God promises us, as Christians, that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle, but do we take the escape route that God is going to provide for us?

1 Corinthians. 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

God is going to provide us a way of escape, but we must be willing to walk through it.

One of my favorite passages is Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." God will guide our paths, if we will let Him. Are you willing to follow and walk with God anywhere and everywhere that He leads? We must be willing to put our trust in Him and not in ourselves.

There are so many verses in the New Testament about how we should walk. Take the time to look them up and see for yourself.

Yes, God cares about where we go with our feet.

Before the face of God we walk with our feet.
Oh, Be Careful Little Feet Where You Go!