Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Faith is amazing and a mystery to me. I have many questions and doubts, but I believe in God and I love Him. My faith is strong and it is growing every day, but there is a lot for me to learn about faith.

Children’s faith is even more awesome to me. They know so little, yet their faith can be so much stronger than any adult’s. In Nepal I saw children who had nothing but their faith, and they were truly joyful. They sang praise songs. They prayed fervently. They knew Bible verses. They invited me into to their lives, sharing what they had – faith. I was filled with awe. There is a lot I can learn about faith from the children I met in Nepal.

Watching my own children’s faith grow has been truly a blessing to me. They love God and Jesus. They pray and remind me to pray. They beg for me to read Bible stories to them and sing praise songs. They ask big theological questions all day, and I don’t most of the answers to their questions. They also make profound statements about God, Jesus, faith, and the Bible. It is a mystery to me that they are so little, yet they have such BIG faith. Their eyes are open to things that I could never see on my own. It touches my heart. There is a lot I am learning about faith from my children.

I was overjoyed and honored when my four year old daughter prayed with me and asked Jesus to be her best friend forever.

Last night my two year old daughter asked me to read the story of Jesus dying on the cross. We have read this story a few times, especially recently during Holy Week and Easter. At the end of the story, the book leads a child toward accepting Christ. I asked A2 if she wanted Jesus to be her best friend forever. She nodded, and C4 told her that she had to pray. A2 bowed her head and prayed an unintelligible prayer. I think she asked Jesus to be her best friend! Tonight she asked me to read the same story and prayed quietly again. I’m not sure if this means that A2 is saved, but I do know that the Bible tells us that we are to have faith like little children do.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

There is a lot I am learning about faith from my children.

Photo courtesy of H_Elise

Tonight our small group studied 1 Corinthians chapter 1. It was a great study! I found myself challenged and convicted.

While reading 1 Corinthians 1:10-16, I was reminded of an article in Newsweek that I recently read. Apparently, some Christians on Facebook are using the term Follower of Christ rather than calling themselves Christian in order to avoid the stigma that comes with that name. The divisions in the church that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians are still present in the church today. (The Bible is still relevant, isnt it?) Paul tells us that these divisions are not what Christianity is all about. In the end, our focus needs to be on the work that Christ did on the cross. What does that mean?

I immediately thought about brokenness. We are all sinners. We can never be perfect. God purposely has chosen those that the world perceives as inadequate, small, and lesser to do big things (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). We see this time and again in the Bible. Moses murdered someone. David committed adultery and had someone murdered. Jesus was born to a young, poor woman. If we weren’t broken, we wouldn’t need Jesus. God wants the glory for those amazing feats (1 Corinthians 1:30).

At my ladies’ Bible study we are learning about fruit of the spirit, and today we talked about patience. One of the points was that we have to be patient with our circumstances and do things God’s way. The example was the temptation of Jesus. The devil tempted Jesus with getting all His inheritance that God promised by simply taking it. Jesus resisted that temptation because we have to remember that Gods work must be accomplished God’s way.

God is whispering to me about letting Him take control of my life. I need to be patient and let things happen His way in His time. I am broken, and I need Jesus. If I wait, God will get the glory for the work that He does through me.

I can’t wait to see what He will do!

I have been researching snowflakes for our homeschool and for my sister blog, Homeschooling Coach. I am amazed by snowflakes! Have you ever looked closely at the different kinds of snowflakes? They are incredibly intricate, geometric, and just beautiful!

All of this research has made me think about God and His divine design. God is an artist and a mathematician! He intentionally created the shapes of the different kinds of snowflakes; those designs cannot be a mistake. Nothing that finite and meticulously formed can be accidental. He also, for some reason, decided to use the number 6 in snowflake design – six-sided figures, hexagonal shapes, six snowflake arms. Not all snowflakes have the number 6. Sometimes you’ll find a snowflake with 12 arms instead.

I can’t help but wonder why did God choose the number 6?

After doing a little research, I found many websites that state that in the Bible the number 6 is attributed to man (because he was created on day 6) and incompleteness (because God’s work wasn’t complete until day 7). That is interesting to me.

God is a mathematician.

God is an artist.

God’s design is divine!

Photo courtesy of yellowcloud

A dear friend of mine brought her three children over for a play date today – 5 years, 2 1/2 years, & 11 weeks old. We live pretty far from each other now and rarely see each other. Preschool cuts into the time we would usually have together. I am so glad that they came to visit us! Our kids have known each other since birth, and it has been a pleasure to watch their friendships grow.

Photo by Breibeest

One of the best parts of today was holding that dear baby. She is a sweet little girl, and my kids fell in love with her right away. Boy did that stir the desire in me to have another baby! I know that we are not quite ready to bring home a new little one, but I am sure that I want to have one sooner than later. Now I just have to pray and wait for the time to be right. (Oh and I plan on getting myself fit in the meantime!)

Waiting is often hard for me as it is for many people. But for me it means that my plans often get derailed. You see, I LOVE to plan. I love thinking of the possibilities. I am a big picture kind of girl, you know. Trusting God and waiting for His plans to unfold means that I lose control and my plans are not carried through. It isn’t that God disappoints me because His plans are always better than mine. It’s just that I like to know what to expect. I like having control. I LOVE predictability.

Do you think that there is a lesson in this for me?

Photo by LifeHouseDesign

I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Psalm 92:1

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:!1

He answered:  ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Luke 10:27

• Trust the LORD, my God.
• Love the LORD, my God.
• Take refuge in the LORD, my God.
• Wait on the LORD, my God.

The time will come for my family to grow, for me to have another baby.

I remember that I used to get bored with Christmas right around the week before. I was tired of listening to the Christmas music on the radio and doing all the shopping and wrapping. This year I am truly enjoying the season. I think that part of the reason that my interest is still piqued is that the music means something to me now. I accepted Christ 7 1/2 years ago on Easter. For a while I was devouring everything related to Christ that I could. I looked at God like a young child. I asked thousands of questions. I enthusiastically brought my friends to church. I was excited!

All of that seeking and learning has brought me to a new place. I feel like my faith is strong. My relationship with Christ has grown. Before I accepted Christ those Christmas songs I used to hear over and over were pretty and eventually annoying during December. Now those beautiful songs make sense to me. They remind me of the gift my God gave to all of us and what a sacrifice it was for Jesus to become a man. Those songs stir something in me and the lyrics sing the feelings that are deep in my heart. I now appreciate Advent.

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. It has a somber tone that reminds me of the gravity of my sin that Jesus took the punishment for, and the lyrics remind me to rejoice that Jesus became the sin offering for us all so we won’t die.

I found this great version of this song. I think you might also appreciate it.

Rejoice!

I couldn’t resist sharing this video. This man is an amazing artist. His gift is an example of how God gives each of the members of the body different gifts to further His kingdom. (Romans 12:3-8)

Thanks, Rose, for sharing this with me!

One of the best things about childhood is curiosity, and my kids are very curious. They’ll even tell you how curious they are! It can be very cute and give you a chuckle, too.

Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is miraculous!

C4 and A2 have been asking lots of questions about Jesus. One of the songs we sang at bedtime tonight was “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. Instead of simply singing the song we watched this video. The art in this video is just beautiful and powerful! I love using art, music, drama, and other creative arts to share the gospel with children. I think it makes the information more real. The video sparked lots of questions about Jesus’ life, which E and I did not anticipate.

Seeing the world through a child’s eyes is miraculous!

While we watched the video, the children wanted to know about where Jesus was born. They also asked about Mary and Joseph. When they saw the cross, they asked, “Why did the mean men take Jesus away?” I told them that the people didn’t like that Jesus was saying that He was God’s son. I’m not sure that it made sense to them, though. Their questions made me think about Jesus’ life and wonder more about why things happened to Him the way that they happened.

Seeing Jesus through a child’s eyes is miraculous!

I’m glad that they are asking questions. They are trying to make sense out of the whole story, and they are helping me to understand my God better. I am beginning to see God like a child does.

Seeing God through the eyes of a child is miraculous!

Have you ever felt confused by where God is leading you? I have been quite confused lately. I am certain that God is leading me and my family to serve in Africa, possibly with homeschoolers, in the near future. I have never had a desire to go to Africa, yet I feel at peace about the idea that my whole family would go to serve there. I also feel called to completely commit to homeschool both of our kids full time next year, which would make serving in Africa possible. However, I feel like God is assuring me that we will also conceive at least one more time in the near future. I’m not sure how that all fits together. When I think about the logic, I get confused and scared. When I trust that my God is in control, I feel at peace.

Update:

I am now researching the organization Africa Inland Mission (AIM) to figure out if there are oppportunities for my family to serve in Africa. I am also told that our church has some mission trips to Africa in the works!

Photo by carulmare

All of our Advent activities have gotten me thinking about Mary. It amazes me that a young girl could have as much faith as Mary had. Just think back to that scene. An angel came to Mary and told her that she would become pregnant even though she was a virgin. Here is the exchange:

The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.’
‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’
Then the angel left her. Luke 1:35-38

Mary’s faith is inspiring and unbelievable. She offers herself as a living sacrifice to God knowing that a scandal would erupt because she was not married. This is a true picture of obedience!

I have not typically been like Mary. It was difficult for me to have faith that God would bless me with a child when E and I were trying to conceive. When you are waiting for that kind of a gift from God, it seems like it is impossible. This Scripture reminds me of three important lessons. God is in control. He CAN do anything. And I HAVE to obey.

I am aspiring to be like Mary. Are you?

Photo by Mess of Pottage

We had a great time with our first big Advent calendar activity! I think that I am more excited about doing each of the activities than the kids are. Getting started definitely has built the excitement for me, and today things went so well! Go to my sister blog, Homeschooling Coach, for the complete lesson plan if you are interested.

Today I tried to convey the message that God is always with us and will always be with us. I tied the idea into the Christmas tree by saying that the tree is an evergreen and stays green all year long. We use that kind of tree at Christmas to remind us that God is always with us. We also sang “O Christmas Tree”, and I made the song into a finger play. We made our own Christmas trees, too. When E got home, we picked out our Christmas tree together. Of course, I took tons of photos to commemorate the event. This will make a great scrapbook page; I can’t wait!

This Advent season is going to be a lot of fun for our family.  I am hoping that the kids will treasure these memories for years to come. I know I will.

After days like today, I have to say that living as a mom is such a blessing!