Just sharing.

Household Mission Statement
========================================
One day while contemplating about what I wanted for my family,
I thought:

"The company I work for has a mission statement, the church I
attend has a mission statement, the organizations I belong to
have mission statements, the family is an organization, why
doesn't it have a mission statement?"

Businesses have mission statements because they follow the rule
of "best practices." This means, whatever the biggest and most
profitable companies are doing in common, that must be the best
way of doing things in business.

Our family affects us more than any other organization; most
have no written mission statement.

Stop and think for a moment.

Does the company you work for have a mission statement?
What about the other organizations you belong to?
Now, do you have a written mission statement posted where all of
the members of your household can see it?

No?

Why not?

I believe the answer is because our parents didn't have one up,
and we were never taught to create one.

Immediately after realizing this tragedy, I got on my computer
and began to write. I broke my household mission statement into
the following five categories:

I. Objective - the overall goal of our family.

II. Priority System - In this area I listed our priorities in
the order of importance (God first, Family second, and
Business third). There are other things but these are
the first three general areas in order of importance.

III. Organizational System - In this category I did a
professional organizational chart just like the one my
company has. Should our families settle for anything
less than what we have for our businesses?

It laid out the authority structure for our house.
It has God as the head, then me, then my wife and the
children below all diagramed out. This area sets the
order for the family.

While taking a shower one morning, in my mind's eye I saw
out of order signs swinging on houses. Many of our
houses are out of order because no order has been set.

If a machine is out of order, it doesn't serve its
function. No matter how many quarters you have in your
pocket, if a vending machine has an out of order sign on
it, you had better look for snacks elsewhere.

If an arcade machine or ATM has an out of order sign on
them, they won't serve their purposes. It is the same
with families. When parents and the children are out of
order, something in the family will not function
properly.

IV. Belief System - This expresses the religious and moral
beliefs of the family.

V. Destiny System - This explains the purpose for our family
and where we are headed long term.

Even though this all may sound fancy, I wrote everything on an
elementary school level so my children could understand it.

After I finished writing my first draft, I took it to my wife to
have her discuss changes so that we would be on one accord.
She read the entire document and didn't make any changes.
Our vision and belief systems blended and agreed perfectly.

Everyone will not completely agree on their mission statement
but that is the purpose of a written mission statement, so that
everyone will have one vision. When you have two visions you
then have "di-vision."

I signed the document as household President and my wife signed
it as household Vice-President. I then had it blown up and
laminated. We placed it on the wall right next to the front
door.

Every time our children leave the house, they will know what our
house stands for. Whenever they bring friends over, the first
thing they will see is what the house stands for. When my
children return from school, the first thing they see is the
family mission statement.

Upon returning home, they will know instantly in their conscious
whether they behaved in a way that honors the family mission.

Every house has a different mission, know your mission, write
your mission, and post your mission.

The devil's convention


Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.

"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds" he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend then borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work six or seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work."

"Overstimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, VCR, CD's and their PC's going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services and false hopes."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion."

"Let them be involved in soul-winning. But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family unity for the good of the cause."

It was quite a convention in the end. And the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there.

Has the devil been successful at his schemes? You be the judge.

[video=youtube_share;JcWw74jfp88]http://youtu.be/JcWw74jfp88[/video]

Taking It for Granted

As I looked out the car window, my eyes soaked in the beauty of the first spring blossoms. How spectacular they looked after the winter's barrenness! And the warmer weather! I could hardly keep remarking on the lovely spring day.

Those first few days of spring after a cold winter are precious, aren't they? But after a time, it's easy to grow accustomed to the beauty and warmth around us. We begin to take it for granted that we won't need our winter coats and hats.

I wonder, do we take our salvation for granted too? Are we living in awe of what His death and life has brought us? Can we hardly contain our excitement at the reality of His finished work...or have we grown complacent in the sunshine?

A Son or a Servant?

Benjamin carefully wrapped the porcelain glass. He did not want the glass to shatter least he displease his master. Benjamin lived in constant fear of making a mistake and losing his master's favor.

Fear--and pride--drove much of Benjamin's actions, although he would never admit it, even to himself. In his mind, he was striving to be the very best servant he could possibly be. He studied his master's rules, and strained every ounce of his energy to keep them. Why, he even helped teach other servants of his master's ways. He wanted so desperately to please his master!

One day, Jonathan made a startling discovery. He was in the middle of elaborating on his master's rules to another servant, David, when David stopped him abruptly.

"Benjamin," David stated, "I can't fault your actions, but I think you're forgetting the most important thing of all. Do you know you're really a son, not a slave?"

Benjamin started in surprise. What did David mean?

David clarified. "Our master didn't just buy us on probation--he out-and-out adopted us, making us his dearly beloved children--his heirs! You don't have to work to keep his love--you already have it. Nothing you do can change it. Look what He wrote on your deed of purchase."

Benjamin strained to see the words on the deed: It is finished. Three simple words, yet quite profound. Why had he never noticed them before? Benjamin read the rest of the deed more carefully--David was right! He'd been adopted as a son--a dearly beloved son. And, though he had not a penny to his own name, his master--his father--had made him an heir.

It took some time for this reality to really sink in to Benjamin's heart. But as it did, his whole life began to transform.

While many of his actions remained the same, his whole perspective on them changed. As he handled the porcelain glasses now, he carefully packaged them, not out of fear, but out of love and gratitude! He no longer merely taught his master's rules to others; he shared of his master's love. He now spoke with his master, not as a distant master to be feared, but as a loving father to whom he could confide his every thought and whose instruction he could trust absolutely. He obeyed his master out of love and trust rather than from fear.

Joy and peace gradually replaced the fear and pride that had ruled his heart for so long. What a difference it made to live as a son!

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." Galatians 4:4-7

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7

"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:34-36

A Springtime Reflection - A New Creature



Spring is finally here! I don't know about you, but the first signs of spring always presented a challenge of one type or another to my homeschooling efforts. Either I was trying to rush my children to finish their academics for the school year, or I was overwhelmed by how far we were behind and wondering if I could really continue. Either way, the beautiful spring weather was beckoning me to take a break and "play outside" in my yard! On those spring days, I slightly resented schooling...and my attitude affected the whole atmosphere of our home. The only way I held it together during those spring months was knowing I had to make myself keep focused.

Much like the knowledge that I had to keep focused held us together during the spring and helped me deal with other attitudes, knowing our identity in Christ really makes a difference in how we live! This has hit me in a fresh way recently. One verse in particular has been bringing it home:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Just think--not only am I a new creature with Christ's righteousness, but the old is passed away! Rather than struggling and feeling hopelessly unable to fight against sin, I can praise God He has already won the battle in my life! As I've realized I'm a new creature, God's been able to conquer areas I have struggled with for years.

This month, I want you to look at how God has brought you out of slavery too--slavery to sin. I know this might not seem like it has to do with homeschooling, but it does! Understanding we're no longer slaves is key to living victoriously in Christ--and to training our children to live in His freedom. Remember, our attitudes trickle down.

[video=youtube_share;uY8CdqDBxhk]http://youtu.be/uY8CdqDBxhk[/video]

Thought Maintenance

Have you ever noticed how the inside of our refrigerators need continual "maintenance"? Salad dressings, cheese, leftovers--it seems everything ends up in the wrong spot, making it difficult to find what we need. Plus, not only do things end up in the wrong spot, but they also tend to leak, rot, and otherwise make a mess.

After some friends remarked on this dilemma the other day, it occurred to me how our thoughts, much like the insides of a refrigerator, need continual maintenance. Our minds might be fastened on the Lord one moment, but then something comes up that upsets us. Suddenly our thoughts are all jumbled and in the wrong place.

We have to continually choose to take our thoughts captive--to surrender worries, cares, and desires and resist the temptation to focus on others, ourselves, and our situations. We serve a mighty God who loves us perfectly and holds us in the palm of His hands--why worry, fear, or strive on our own?

In the busyness of life, it's easy to let "refrigerator maintenance" go--to add a box of baking soda and call it good--but we cannot afford to let "thought maintenance" go. If our minds are filled with other thoughts, we're not going to be able to hear the Lord's voice over the buzz. We're going to miss out on walking in joy and peace--and may walk right past the blessings and ministry opportunities God has lined up for us.

May we continually bring our thoughts into captivity!

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthian 10:3-6 (KJV)

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7 (KJV)

Skiing Free

Amy froze at the top of the slope, fears whirling through her head and incapacitating her body. Her knee hurt from a previous fall--what if it would not hold up while she skied down the mountain? Would she be able to keep up with her family? What if she failed miserably? What if she fell and hurt herself? She had seen a patch of ice earlier--what if more ice lay under the snow, waiting to send her sprawling?

With these fears whirling through her mind, Amy struggled down the slope. She hardly noticed the breathtaking view the mountain afforded, and she completely missed an opportunity to help her younger sister up from a fall.

Amy's body, too, felt the effects of her internal worries. Afraid of falling, her muscles unconsciously tensed and exerted much more effort than the hill required. In fact, by the time she reached the bottom, Amy had completely exhausted herself.

"Amy, relax!" her father encouraged her as they rode up the lift together. "Give God your fears. Trust the Lord to handle what might happen--to give you the grace for whatever comes--and enjoy what He's given you in the present."

Amy took her father's words to heart. Handing her cares to the Lord, she scooted off the lift and headed down the mountain.

Choosing to trust instead of worry made a huge difference. The slopes that seemed so impossible before were now actually enjoyable! Amy could hardly get enough of the snow-covered trees, so pure white in their glory, or of the mountain peaks that reigned majestically over the whole scene.

As her thoughts turned from herself (which is where they had been before), Amy not only found joy, but also encountered plenty of opportunities to bless those around her, whether by listening to her younger brother describe the side trail he had explored or by encouraging her sister or lending her a hand.

Amy could now see how her worries and fears, far from helping her, had only immobilized her, robbed her of joy, affected her appraisal of the slope, and kept her from enjoying the beauty and helping those around her. She could hardly wait to tell her father what a difference trusting had made!

Her father smiled broadly as she shared what had happened. "Always remember, my dear, whether on a mountain slope or in daily life, worrying only immobilizes us, keeps us from enjoying what God has given us, and blinds us to the opportunities to serve surrounding us. It's ever so much better to ski--and live--in the freedom of simply trusting the Lord."

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Luke 12:22-26 (KJV)

Trusting God


"Relax, let go, be still and know that I am your God"--this line from a song* based on Psalm 46:10 has been going over and over again in my mind these past few months as I have struggled in my thought life. I've asked "why?" so many times. Why am I troubled? Is it because things aren't going how I had planned? Why am I being silent when I want to speak up? Why is there so much conflict all around me? My list of questions--of inner fears or worries--could go on.

In homeschooling, worries and fears arise a lot too. Can I really teach my children? Are they learning what they need to know? Will they turn out okay? Am I using the right curriculum? Will my son ever enjoy reading? Why is my daughter struggling? Is it because of something I'm doing wrong? The list of homeschool questions--of homeschool worries or fears--can go on and on too.

When I looked at the line in the song and its profound words, I saw a very clear answer to overcoming worry and fear. It can be summed up in three words: God is trustworthy.

So, if you are struggling with worries or fears in your homeschooling this month, stop and ponder the call God gave you when you began homeschooling; relax; let go of your concerns, worries, and fears; and trust God. Be still by listening and obeying what He directs you to do, because He really is BIG enough to handle everything pertaining to you.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 (KJV)

The Other End
====================
It helps to keep life in proper perspective.
Your perspective often depends on whom you associate with.

I was at a business conference. I heard from entrepreneurs on
the struggles of start-up, the mistakes and the successes.
Everyone was geared to telling you how to get better which
translated into how to get more.

Captains of the industry were recognized not only for what they
had done but most likely what they would do.

The one exception was Ed Williams.

Mr. Williams was retired. His days of glory and trailblazing in
the industry were legendary, but they were days gone by.

He was the former head of the Health and Beauty Aids section of
Walgreens, one of the largest drug store chains in America.

Everyone else was struggling to get and maintain,
Ed was finished. He had a different perspective.

"75% of my waking hours were spent working with Walgreens, seven
days a week," he said. "When you retire, things change; it's a
shock that most high-powered executives aren't prepared for."

"I was over 5,000 people. I was responsible for over a billion
dollars a year in sales. I went from that to an area where I
didn't even know what the water bill was each month. Although I
was head of the house, I soon realized that my wife ran everything."

"I would wake up at 11 and ask my wife what's for breakfast.
She replied, 'Breakfast is at 7:30; after 7:30 "what's for
breakfast" refers to tomorrow.'"

Ed Williams kept us rolling in laughter about his retirement.
He was funny yet serious. Most of us had not given much thought
to the other end of the road; we were busy on the treadmill of
business.

There are two ends of the road.
Retirement, which is more of a speed zone than an end,
and after we "cross over."

"Too many of my colleagues dropped dead at 64," Ed explained
when he was asked why did he retire. Ed didn't use a more
politically correct term. "Dropped dead" was what he said.

"Some of my fellow executives were worth millions but had never
really left the office to enjoy it. I made up my mind to not
follow that pattern."

Ed Williams impacted me. It's easy to get wrapped up in the
hustle and bustle of making another dollar. Even when your
needs are met, you are still on the highway.

While in the middle, it's good to realize there are other ends.

Maybe it's time for some of you to leave the office for a few
hours a week and smell the roses, before you push up the roses.


Someone needs to read this today.
God is telling you to slow down.

Now.

[video=youtube_share;PebI3YUiAvU]http://youtu.be/PebI3YUiAvU[/video]

The father forgives

As the Father of the man whom you took part in murdering, I have something very important to say to you. I forgive you. With all My heart, I forgive you. I realize it may be hard for you to believe, but I really do.

At the trial, when you confessed to your part in the events that cost My Son his life and asked for My forgiveness, I immediately granted you that forgiving love from My heart. I can only hope you believe Me and will accept My forgiveness.

But this is not all I have to say to you. I want to make you an offer -- I want you to become My adopted child. You see, My Son who died was My only child, and I now want to share My life with you and leave My riches to you. This may not make sense to you or anyone else, but I believe you are worth the offer. I have arranged matters so that if you will receive My offer of forgiveness, not only will you be pardoned for your crime, but you also will be set free from your imprisonment, and your sentence of death will be dismissed. At that point, you will become My adopted child and heir to all My riches.

I realize this is a risky offer for Me to make to you. You might be tempted to reject My offer completely, but I make it to you without reservation. Also, I realize it may seem foolish to make such an offer to one who cost My Son his life, but I now have a great love and unchangeable forgiveness in My heart for you.

Finally, you may be concerned that once you accept My offer you may do something to cause you to be denied your rights as an heir to My wealth.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If I can forgive you for your part in My Son's death, I can forgive you for anything. I know you will never be perfect, but you do not have to be perfect to receive My offer.

Besides, I believe that once you have accepted My offer and begin to experience the riches that will come to you from Me, that your primary (though not always) response will be gratitude and loyalty. Some would call Me foolish for My offer to you, but I wish for you to call Me your Father.

With love,

The Father of Jesus

NOTHING CAN SEPARATE

From her bedroom window, Rebecca eyed the children playing in the snow enviously. How she longed to play with them!

“Now, Rebecca,” she remembered her father telling her that morning. “You can’t play in the snow today.”

“Why not, Father?” Rebecca had asked. Every day, the neighborhood children gathered at a park just behind Rebecca’s house.

“Just trust me, Rebecca. It’s not what’s best for you today,” her father had replied.

At the time, Rebecca had responded by kissing her father on his cheek and assuring him that she would stay inside and read. But now she was having second thoughts.

It is beautiful outside, she thought to herself. It was true: the sun was shining brilliantly. Why wouldn’t her father let her go play? Why should she have to miss out on all the fun?

When a snowball exploded just outside her window, Rebecca decided she couldn’t stand it any longer. She simply had to go join the others!

Leaving her book on the table, Rebecca slipped outside. She tried to tell herself she was having a good time, but all the while her heart felt uncomfortable. She kept looking this way and that, fearful least her father see her.

After a few hours, Rebecca finally said her goodbyes and headed back towards the house. She wanted to be safely lodged in her room before her father came home.

Intent on getting to her room as quickly as possible, Rebecca didn’t see the mitten someone had left on the stairs until her foot slipped on it. Next thing she knew, she had fallen several stairs. To her horror, she noticed that she had hit her father’s favorite picture when she fell! A huge gash ran along the front of the picture.

Normally, Rebecca would have hurried immediately to her father after such a fall so he could doctor her up and make her feel better. But not this time. How could she face her father right now? She had disobeyed him and ruined his favorite picture! Biting her lips to keep from crying out, Rebecca grabbed the ruined picture and hobbled to her room.

For the remainder of the day, she lay in agony. Her body ached from the bruises she received on her fall. But her heart—ah, that ached worse of all! She felt certain that her father would no longer love her. She had messed up in the past, but surely this time she had gone too far! He would probably never want to speak to her again. How could he still love her?

She sobbed uncontrollably on her pillow. She had always been close to her father. They had played and studied together. They had laughed and cried together. But not now. No, she felt certain that all those wonderful times were over.

Who knows how long she would have lain thus had not her nanny come in to check on her. Rebecca’s nanny had a way about her of finding out exactly what was wrong and offering solid, wise counsel. Tonight was no exception.

“Rebecca, dear,” she said firmly, but gently. “You’ve been very wrong. But you must not continue in your wrongness by sitting here. You must go to your father with the broken picture in your hand and tell him everything.”

“Oh, but I can’t! I’m not worthy of His love!” Rebecca sobbed.

Her nanny sighed patiently. “You were no more worthy of it yesterday than today, child. Your father loves you because you’re his daughter, not because of anything you do or don’t do. Hasn’t he told you everyday since you were a little girl, ‘I love you’? Do you doubt his word? Do you really think his love is dependent on you?”

Doubt his word—that was an angle Rebecca had never thought of before. Maybe she should go see her father…yes, she must go see him, for if she didn’t, she’d never be able to rest.

So, still shaking and trembling with fear, Rebecca limped down the hall to the living room. She paused at the doorway. Her father was sitting in his favorite chair, just like he did every night. He looked up when she entered, and a smile radiating with love illuminated his face.

“Ah, you’ve come at last! I’ve been waiting. Come, sit here on my lap.” As he spoke, he opened his arms widely.

Rebecca couldn’t stand it. “Oh, you don’t understand, Father! You can’t love me anymore. I’ve been terribly wicked and-” Rebecca held up the picture frame for her father to see.

“I know, Rebecca—more than you think. I watched you go outside. I watched you fall and hit the picture frame. I saw it all.”

“You did?” Rebecca was flabbergasted. “But-but weren’t you at work?”

Her father shook his head. “I took the day off to spend some special time with you. That’s why I told you not to go outside to play. Ever since I saw you fall, I’ve been longing for you to come to me so I could bandage your wounds and help you. Won’t you come now?”

Rebecca could hardly believe her ears. Her father had planned to spend the afternoon with her…and she had missed it. Oh, what foolishness! Yet her father knew it all…and loved her anyway. Could it be? “But, Father, how can you love me now?”

Rebecca’s father smiled a smile she would never forget. “Rebecca, dear, I loved you before you were born. You’re my daughter. And I will always love you. Although sometimes your actions will result in consequences you could have avoided, nothing can ever separate you from my love. Now won’t you come and let me help you with those bruises?”

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Romans 8:35-37

[video=youtube_share;BK9-bJlSt6c]http://youtu.be/BK9-bJlSt6c[/video]

ENJOY THE SEASON!

“Come on, James, let’s go play in the snow!”

James looked up lethargically. His brother already had his snow bibs on and was energetically pulling boots over his feet.

“All right, I guess I’ll go. But I do wish it wasn’t so cold! I can’t wait for summer,” James grumbled.

For a brief moment, Eric felt tempted to complain about the cold too. But then the boys’ father walked into the room and offered to go sledding with them. One look at his father’s face wiped all thought of complaint from Eric’s mind. How could he complain when his father was with them? Besides, he also remembered how much he and his brother had longed for the cool weather last summer. He wasn’t going to complain about the cold! He was going to enjoy the season!

“It will be summer again soon enough,” he told James as they headed out the door. “Let’s enjoy winter while it’s here!”

*****
Eric and James were keeping quite busy. Between finishing their schoolwork and all their other spring activities, they could hardly find any time for play or relaxation.

“Oh, man, I just wish things would slow down!” James moaned. “I do wish planting season would hurry up and end. I can’t wait to rest and relax in the summer.” James was just trying to survive the busy planting season.

Eric paused for a moment on his shovel to think about his brother’s words. “I’m sure father wouldn’t give us more work to do than we could handle,” he reflected. “He loves us so perfectly. This hard work must be just what we need. I’m going to choose to enjoy it!”

“But we can’t possibly get it all done!” James countered.

Eric knew James was right. They had more things to do than they could ever hope to finish. James’ words brought the weight of all that needed done pressing down on Eric’s shoulders. Then Eric remembered—it was his father’s problem to figure out how everything would get done! Eric was only responsible for doing each task with a full heart. The smile returned to Eric’s face. He didn’t have to carry the burden; he just needed to be diligent with the tasks his father had given him.

*****

Spring eventually ended and summertime came. Now, instead of having too much to do, the boys seemed to have the opposite problem. Besides keeping the crops watered and the grass mowed, there wasn’t much to do.

The inactivity, coupled with the summer heat, was taxing on the boys. Yet both chose drastically different responses. As he had in the past, James chose to complain. He longed for something—anything—exciting to happen. And he longed for a relief from the heat!

Eric, however, again chose to rejoice in the season. Although he, like James, felt the heat, he knew autumn would come soon enough, bringing cooler temperatures. And while he liked excitement just as much as his brother, Eric chose to use the quiet summer season to spend extra special time with his father. He spent hours sitting at his father’s workbench listening—and learning. The more he sat there, the more confident he became that his father would give him just what he needed in each season of life. He had only to trust and delight.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Ignoring the Manual

Jeremy wrestled with the machine before him. He would figure out how to make this engine work if it was the last thing he did! (Which, based on his progress so far, looked very likely.) How could something so simple be so complicated?

"Still puzzled over it?" The voice came from his older brother Andy.

Jeremy nodded. "Puzzled as ever. This is just such a difficult mess. I do wish someone would write about the particular problem I'm facing here. It seems everything I can find deals with other aspects of engines."

Andy pulled a book off the worktable and blue the dust off it. "What's this?" he asked.

"That's the instruction manual Dad wrote," Jeremy replied.

"Are you reading it?"

Jeremy cringed. Truth to tell, he had been reading it, but he'd basically read it out of duty rather than really expecting it to help. "Sort of," he replied.

"Didn't Dad design the engine...and write the manual for those working it?" Andy asked.

"Ummm...yes," Jeremy replied sheepishly. Why did Andy have to ask such tough questions?

"I see," Andy commented. "Well, maybe it would have some answers." With that word of advice, Andy left the room.

Jeremy pulled back out his manual. Here he'd been complaining rather than seeing what his dad had to say. Although his particular problem didn't seem to be addressed in the index, Jeremy remembered his dad telling him that the manual contained all he would need to know--and all would include guidance for this glitch.

Over the next several days, Jeremy poured over the manual. In doing so, he learned much about his father's heart and plan for the engine. He began to see the problem he faced in a whole new perspective. As he gazed upon his father's incredible design and the care with which he did everything, he began to change. And slowly but surely, he began to understand clearly what steps to take. What a precious gift his father had given him in that manual!

"O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation." Psalm 119:97-99

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Thank the Lord for Your Family


Praising God for our families comes easily most of the time, but there are times when it is downright difficult. Family members seem to know just how to get under our skin. Add to that the demands of homeschooling, and praising God for each member of our families can easily get lost. While we praise the Lord for others, our families--like the cobbler's children who go without shoes--often get overlooked.

Years ago, the Lord gave me an idea to help me be more thankful for my family on those more trying days and on a more regular basis. I created a list of thirty character traits I love about my husband. Later, I did similar lists for my children. At the top, I put "Qualities I love about ________." As I made out the lists, God showed me how some of the very things that were causing strife and frustrating me were actually strengths God had given. Since then, the lists have helped me refocus and praise during the challenges that inevitably arise as we work together as a family.

This month, I'd encourage you to make a conscious effort to praise the Lord for each member of your family. You'll be amazed at the difference it can make in both your homeschool day and your marriage.

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