Christian disciplines Archives - Page 3 of 4

Word on Wednesday: Bible in my Pocket

A passage that really stuck out to me in my Bible reading last week was the 8th chapter of Nehemiah. I get to listen to my Bible app on my smartphone read to me every morning, and listen to sermons every week, and I often forget how rare of an opportunity it is to have this religious freedom. The Israelites, in this passage, had not heard the Word of the Lord read or taught to them for many years and they are so thirsty for it that they are able to stand attentively and listen for hours as the Word is read out loud to them. Confession: I sometimes get squirmy in church for an hour. Another great reminder to me as to how precious God’s Word is and how it should be valued.

Word on Wednesday: Remembering to be Joyful

by Tessa | Faith

I came to Christ at a very young age and truly can’t remember a time when I didn’t have the gift of salvation. I feel so blessed that I was allowed the opportunity to know God my entire life but that also means that I forget how big of a gift salvation really is.

I chose this verse this week to remind myself that salvation is a cause to celebrate. It is a prayer to ask God to reignite the joy and appreciation in my heart. Even in times when circumstances aren’t perfect, I can (and should) still find joy in the fact that Christ is my Saviour.

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Learning to be Content

by Tessa | Faith

I have often tried to live by Paul’s word to “Be content in all circumstances.” I’m not. Content that is. There are certain things that I am content with and others things that I wish I could change (or fast forward). It’s very difficult to find the balance between being content and striving to move ahead. I also believe that dreaming and goal setting is important.

One of my goals is to increase my scripture intake over the year. I have been reading Exodus lately. I read the part when the Israelites were grumbling about not having any water. (Ex 17:22-27) In my mind it seems like a legitimate complaint. They were in the desert and hadn’t had any water for 3 days. I’d be thirsty too! The part that really stuck me today was the part where it says that the Israelites were not grumbling against Moses. They were discontent (to say the least) with their circumstances and complained to Moses. But God said that their grumbling was to the Lord. That was a bit of a slap in the face to me. How often do I complain about certain circumstances in my life? Right before I wrote this (and during the writing of this) I have complained and grumbled. Some internally and some out loud. It doesn’t really make a difference who hears it because the One who it is against hears it all.

So here is my prayer:
Dear Lord, Please forgive me. I try to be content in the circumstances and situation you have put me in but so often I fail. I really need your strength to stop grumbling and please extend Your patience toward me as I take steps backward. Help me to appreciate every day the gifts you have bestowed on me. Lead me to the balance of contentment without complacency.

Amen.

The Early Bird, I don’t like Worms Enough: Alternative to Rising Early

by Tessa | Faith

I have all but given up on rising early. I know that the early bird catches the worm and I would love to start my day with an hour of Scripture and prayer but it’s just not happening. Instead of trying to guilt myself about it, I’ve found another strategy.

I really like the idea of morning quiet time with God. I used to be an early bird. Then I had children. I now really love (and need) my sleep. I still sleep-share (co-sleep) with my littlest and he has a sixth sense. As soon as I try to leave the bed in the morning he will wake up and want to nurse for an hour. So I remind myself that he’s only young once and we snuggle in for an hour of dozing/nursing.

Here are some alternatives to rising early yet still getting into God’s Word in the start of my day:

Set an alarm and go to bed on time. For me this means at 10:15pm my phone starts jingling and I start getting ready for bed. This is often step one to getting a good start the next day.
Set an alarm for the morning (mine is at 7am). This one drives my husband crazy because he’s usually the one turning it off while I roll over to go back to sleep. But every once in a while he will be unavailable (i.e. outside working already) and I have to jump out of bed to turn the alarm off. Most of the time the littlest wakes up, but sometimes he doesn’t. And by that point I’m out of bed anyway so I (try) to stay awake and read.
Another alarm perk: they are on my smart phone. My smart phone also has a Bible app. Since I have my phone in my hand anyway I can flip open the app and start my daily reading while laying in bed.
Sleep through the alarm and wake up around 8ish with the kids. This has been my usual routine as of late. They run around in jammies while I grab my already made coffee (did I mention I have the best husband ever?) and sit at the table.

I have started grabbing a journal to jot down my thoughts on my daily reading and I click “play” on my phone and Max Lucado reads the Bible to me. Sometimes it takes me half an hour (or more) to get my 15 minutes of reading in. Sometimes they play so nicely that I allow myself a bit of extra time to delve further into a verse that really spoke to me. Or write a quick blog post to tell you that, even if you have little ones and sleep is too precious to wake up early (can you say “multiple night wakings?”), you can still start your day right, with the Lord.

C is now back in the house and will be wanting some breakfast (or probably a cookie as I gave Biscuit one while he was playing outside to buy me a few extra minutes) so I’m off to get everyone dressed, fed, and out the door to do chores.

Do you have any other tips for getting in a few minutes of God-time before you start your day? I’d love to hear them!

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Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family?

by Tessa | Motherhood

Have you thought about homeschooling but are still trying to figure out if homeschooling is right for your family? I came across a website that made me think about my reasons for wanting to homeschool and actually put them on paper. This was an awesome exercise for me to go through because not only did it make me evaluate my reasoning (part of it is because I just can’t stand the thought of sending my children away from me for 8-9 hours a day) and expand on that, it was also good for my husband to see what some of the reasons were. He was initially a little more skeptical of homeschool but fast forward a few years and he has turned into a homeschooling advocate. This is a great exercise to go through if you have ever wonder is homeschooling right for your family.

Here are the thoughts that I put on paper as I followed the outline on the aforementioned website:

Our Educational Beliefs

1. We believe children should love learning.
2. We believe a parent’s main goal for a child is to teach him/her to:
a) Love God wholeheartedly
b) Love others as they love themselves
c) Love him/herself (confidence/self-esteem)
3. We believe all children learn by different methods and learning should be tailored to suit the child (not vice versa)
4. We believe children are naturally curious and should not be discouraged from pursing those interests.
5. We believe education should not be restricted to a certain subject or method.
6. We believe a parent/teacher should only ever have enthusiasm about a child learning, not disappointment over what they haven’t learned.
7. We believe that if we work on our weaknesses, we end up with strong weaknesses and weak strengths. Instead we should focus on improving our strengths.

Life Goals for Our Children

1. We hope he learns to listen to his Heavenly Father in all things.
2. We hope he shows commitment to what he starts and is a man of his words.
3. We hope he becomes a wonderful, loving, involved husband and father (if God leads him that way).
4. We hope he does everything to his best ability.
5. A man of impeccable morals and ethics, We hope he always does the right thing, no matter what others do.
6. We hope he takes care of the mind and body God has given him.
7. We hope he is not afraid to be who God made him to be. Not ashamed of who he is.

Why we are going to home educate our children:

1. No one has a better vested interest in their education than we do.
2. To give us flexibility of time to pursue life instead of grades.
3. To stay close to our children – emotionally, mentally, and physically.
4. To take the money we could spend on school and use it for education instead.
5. To be the favorite and respected teacher that they think about when they grow up.
6. Because we want my kids to learn in a way they enjoy.
7. Because kids learn better/more if they are not restricted by grades/curriculum.
8. Because we will not allow anyone to make my child feel stupid or inferior.
9. So our children will learn with, intereact with, and appreciate children in all age groups.
10. So we can learn right alongside our children.
11. Our school systems do not recognize the uniqueness of our children and their specific needs/interests.
12. To know what our children are learning.

I highly recommend that all parents fill out the first two parts of the activity. Then take a step back and figure out if the conventional school system will be able to meet those goals. If so, then you know what to do. If not, perhaps it is time to look at an alternative for your child’s future.

So how did you answer the question of is homeschooling right for your family?

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