Month: March 2012

Being Dead

I’ve been pregnant. Five times in fact. And I’ve been in a state of non pregnancy, obviously. But I’ve never been a little bit pregnant. With pregnancy you either are or you are not pregnant. You can’t be a little bit pregnant.

Life is like that too. You are either are alive or you are not. You can’t be a little bit alive.

Death is the same. You are either dead or you are not. You can’t be a little bit dead.

“… the Holy Spirit must get in to our insides and there apply the work of the Cross and Resurrection in destroying the old death and bringing the new life.”
~Geoffrey Bingham

We had a farm with many animals. I know what it’s like to kill an animal and bury it. I was also a nurse. I’ve cared for terminal patients and cared for the bodies of dead people. There’s not much middle ground there. Try as one might, there is no way to get a dead body to do respond to stimuli. It simply cannot. It has no mind, no will. It cannot be reasoned with, manipulated, encouraged or cajoled. A dead animal cannot will itself to life or to change. Dead is dead. Without life.

Yet, as Christians we often expect this very unnatural law of other people. People who are not believers, who have not been born again, who have not been drawn to God, repented and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord. Without God, mankind is dead in their sins. I was dead in my sin before God revealed Himself to me. I was dead. Incapable of choosing life, incapable of getting up, dusting myself off and putting on new clothes. Why or how do we expect those who are dead to the things of God to love Him, respond to him and live according to His ways?

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the bodyt and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
~Ephesians 2: 1-9

With what resources do we expect [spiritually] dead people to arise from death and live? Will power? A desire to live a clean life? They’re dead. Incapable of response. How can they choose the action to live?

What choice does a baby have to be born? He/she doesn’t. The earthly decision to be born is the result of the parents decision. An external force, if you will. Spiritual birth is similar! It is a work of God.

That’s how it was in my life. I was dead in my sins- it’s not like I had the wherewithall or the reseources to do it myself. God picked me up, dusted me off and breathes his life into me through the blood of Jesus. The decision to give birth is that of the Supreme, Divine parent – our father, God the Creator of All. It’s His decision!

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
~Colossians 2:13-14

So why do we expect godly behaviour and attitudes from those who have not been made alive in Christ? Why are we shocked when dead people act dead? Let us not be guilty of putting pearls and fine linen on a corpse for appearance sake. Let’s pray and preach the good news of Christ for the dead’s sake- that they may hear the word of God and be made alive.

Anyone who is involved in personal evangelism can share countless examples of persons who, though presently living in gross sin, will nonetheless tell the evangelist that they are fine because they “made a decision for Christ” a certain number of years ago. They have never had any change in their life; they have no interest in church, the Bible, or even God. But they have made their “decision.” Can we not see how dangerous such a system is to the souls of men?
~ Jim Ehrhard

That before the creation of the universe God thought of me! For some reason known to himself, He chose me to be on his team. He didn’t choose me because I had made a decision (for I was dead in my sin when I realised that I was on God’s team). He didn’t choose me because I am holy or righteous. Rather, that through Christ I might become holy. All that I am is grounded in the fact that God freely chose me. What then do I have to boast about except His goodness, His mercy, His grace?

And We Need To Accept Him?

“We have reduced Him to a poor puny Savior who needs us to accept HIM?”

I’m not too sure that Mr Platt is preaching a theological treatise rather a message to those who use this style of contemporary evangelism.

I was ‘born again’ in a Christian revival Crusade… and went from there to the AOG. I have raised my hand, repented, recommitted my life, been down to the front and accepted Christ as my Saviour more times that I can count on two hands and feet. And none of it was necessary. I was caught up in playing the game of church Christian but I was living in the fullness of the Lordship of Christ. I was a baby Christian, lapping up milk instead of growing and moving on to solid food.

Altar calls where the continuous call is, “Are you willing to commit your life to following Jesus?” or “Are you willing to allow Jesus Christ to take over as King and ruler of your life?”

What is really being said is “Accept Christ…receive Christ…make a decision for Christ.”

Where does it say in Scripture that a Christian is to make Christ Lord? When did accepting Christ become an evangelistic message?

Christ does indeed call us. But from my perusal over Scripture, He calls the one who is already a believer.There are calls to discipleship, calls to death, calls to sacrifice, calls to laying down one’s life, calls to obedience, calls to submission and so on…

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as… what… Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”
Romans 10: 9

Weekly Wrap 'n' Catch Up

I took the photo below a few weeks ago when Falcon and I went for a walk to do some photography. There is a little waterfall and picnic area. It is a serene and peaceful area and I’m glad to have spent an hour or so there. But life has not been quite so smooth over the last week or so.

John had to go away for three weeks to Victoria, for work. As usual, something went wrong and I had car troubles again. If you visited our home you wouldn’t think it possible. For me to be car-less. But I assure you it is. Yes, there’s a car in the shed, one on the front lawn, one on the kerb and two in the drive-way. Yet at one stage, not one of them was usable! Egads! I ended up driving one of them around but I prayed every time I got in and out of it.

Rambo also went away during this time. He went on a school camping trip as part of Outdoor Education. They went rock climbing and he had a great time. This left Falcon and I at home. Alone! Good times. Quiet times. Clean and tidy times!

Eventually all my men-folk came home and all seemed fine. Seemed fine. John hurt his knee. He’s had some time off work and will have even more as he waits to see a specialist and be assessed for surgery. Poor John, it seems to be one thing after another with him. 🙁

So I’ve been playing taxi – to my husband! That will obviously continue for awhile, until he’s able to drive… and work.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
~Matthew 4:4

Links Worth Reading

Perhaps you should sue God
I’m not sure how you look into those almond shaped eyes-grasp that warm hand smaller than most-hold close the body vibrating with life and say “We wish we could have aborted you”.

Underage Dating: The Elephant in the Social Conservative Living-Room
I have a bone to pick with young, socially conservative Americans, and I know it’s something that will get under your skin. Just sit tight, though, and hear me out, because the elephant in our tidy little room is starting to tear things up. It’s time we acknowledge his existence, and maybe even call in some animal movers to take him back to the zoo.

Gracious Candor: A Tutorial in Speaking Truth in Love
I’m going to go through this with the boys this week.

Letter to an Incomplete, Insecure Teenager
But God is good. He has his plan and it is not to make this metamorphosis easy. Just certain. There are a thousand lessons to be learned in the process. Nothing is wasted. Life is not on hold waiting for the great coming-out.

Milk, Mush or Meat? What are you growing on?
The Bible says that young Christians are like infants who drink milk, while mature Christians are like grown-ups who dine on porterhouse steaks. Me? I put a glob of ketchup on my medium-rare kobe and drank it down with a wine glass full of Yoohoo.

How To Enjoy Bible Study
Bible study is not optional in the Christian life. It is both the obligation and the privilege of all believers. If you are not involved in regular, systematic Bible study, you are missing one of the primary means God uses to bring us to maturity.

Tim Challies on Kony2012
I always enjoy being mentally stimulated by Tim Challies. Once again he offers a few thoughts, this time on the topic of Kony2012

10 Steps to Raising Generous Children, Part 1
I’ve had conflict most of my life between what I think I want and what I really need. Most people share this conflict with me. That conflict also appears in our children as well. We don’t have to teach them to struggle with determining between wants and needs, because they will do this naturally and, if not, they will learn it from us.

The Most Powerful Parenting Practice
What wise parents do when they don’t know what to do.

Diapers, Nursing, Clinging to Christ
The details of last Sunday’s sermon might be foggy, or lost entirely. How much more so the teachings from a year or more ago. But don’t let that trouble you. If nothing else sticks, remember this: Cling to Christ.

Forgiveness for Moms Who Fail
I don’t think I have met a mom, including a preschool mom, who feels like she has done a good enough job. Most mothers labor under the weight of guilt—of frustrated ideals, imperfect performance, and deficient production. The laundry remains undone; story books unread, and tempers flare. . . .

Keys for Kids
You can learn more about God’s love every day! Read a fun story and hide God’s Word in your heart with the Key Verse of the day. Check out today’s Key, or look for your favourite story in the archives!

“A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him…. The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him….”
~Thomas Merton

Sharing My Story

Being that I primarily blog for the glory of the Lord, for my own enjoyment and for my family I’m going to start relating a few stories from my past. It’s been a long time since I wrote much about my children. That is a deliberate and intentional plan. I’m really thankful that my past was not captured on the Internet. When John and I met, we had to get to know each other the old fashioned way. We spent time together, asking questions and going through the full range of emotions that arose from those discussions. I want that for my children. I don’t want my child’s prospective partner to log on to my website and find out quirky little details about the person they’re interested in. I want a partner to learn from my child that they struggled in Maths, not read it on my blog.

Sharing My Story

I want to share my story with you, not my children’s story. Their story is theirs to tell.

Juicy Scandals

You’ll just have to sign up to receive all the gossip as it is written. Seriously though, I won’t be writing much of my early childhood and certainly not my teen years as to relate it via writing would not glorify the Lord. It would be about me, me and me in grisly detail. What’s the point of that? Sin is sin is sin is sin. That’s all I need to share about it and that’s all you need to know.

Why Now?

I have felt a check in my spirit about sharing such things before yet now I feel released to do so. I wanted my children to hear things first. I didn’t want them hearing or learning my thoughts, beliefs, values and events via my blog. They are my children. They deserve to know about me before anyone else does! But these things take time. Life takes time to live.

Sign Up

So, are you going to sign up to receive email notification of new posts (see sign up form below) or will you join me at my facebook page?

The beauty of the written word is that it can be held close to the heart and read over and over again

Florence Littauer

Yr 9 Photography Class

Yr 9 Photography Class (Homeschool style) Yr 9 Photography Class at our place.

Weekly Wrap Up

Here’s a few good links that I posted to the kerugma facebook page this past week. I hope you enjoy them. Incidentally, our facebook page has a new look!

Living Better at 50
In a world that’s highly focused on twenty and thirty something’s, it’s not always easy to find information that honors our age group. LivingBetterAt50+ is changing that! Our intention is for this site to become a trusted resource for women over 50, a place where you can find up-to-date information on topics that touch your life daily.

Encouraging young people to read the Bible – Creating a culture of Bible reading
You might want to give them a crash course on the Bible: what it is, who wrote it, what’s in it, how to find different books, the big picture etc. You could do a short Bible overview spanning a few weeks. And when you mention Bible passages or verses, get them to turn to them (and read them out loud), so they get used to handling the Bible and reading it for themselves. If we take the alien-ness out of the Bible, it becomes a normal practice to turn to God’s Word, not a last resort.

Teach Children the Bible Is Not About Them (I love this article!)
Ask your children these two questions today. Do you sometimes think you have to be good for God to love you? And second, Have you ever thought that if you aren’t good, God will stop loving you?
When we drill a Bible story down into a moral lesson, we make it all about us. But the Bible isn’t mainly about us, and what we are supposed to be doing—it’s about God, and what he has done! When we tie up the story in a nice neat little package, and answer all the questions, we leave no room for mystery. Or discovery. We leave no room for the child. No room for God.

10 Ways to Lose a Teen’s Attention
Quick post—the top ten ways to completely bore and disconnect with those you teach. What do you think? Have you been turned off from hearing someone because of these things?

Children’s Activity Pyramid
A printable physical activity pyramid – an excellent idea. Families that play together stay healthier together!

Living Ideas in Living Books: Choosing Worthy Books for Home and School Libraries by Jeannette Tulis
What happens to a child when inspired by a living book? What are the qualities one should look for in a living book? Why is the choosing of a child’s books so important?

It is crucial that when your children look into your eyes, regardless of the circumstances bearing down on them, what they see is someone that believes in them.
~Danny Lee Silk

A Needed Pintervention

Cast your mind back to the year 1988. There I am, a newly married 18year old girl, with an instant family (son). We honeymooned in Tasmania, during the cold month of July. And it was the best! Nothing gets a couple closer than sharing a Kombi van for a month. It was during this time, that my husband introduced me to the world of cooking! Yes, he cooked me my first ever packet of 2 minute noodles. It was a had-to-be-there moment.

Anyway… we returned to South Australia and moved into my son’s mother’s house. Yes… even as an 18yo life wasn’t to be easy. We moved into her house. At least we would have our own furniture, right? Bom bom. Not so. They, being my son’s mum and her husband, gave us our bedroom furniture and dining room suite. It’s just furniture you say? Try telling that to a newly married 18yod girl. Anyway, I digress. They were to be some of our dearest friends, as life would have it, glory to God.

I was newly married and, naturally I wanted to create a beautiful home for my new husband. Not so easy to achieve when one is on a ridiculous (read that as ‘unemployed, out-of-work youth pastor) budget. I bought many Country Homes magazines from the op shop (Opportunity shop) but after awhile I had collected so many magazines that I couldn’t keep track of my favourite pictures. So, I bought a paper scrapbook (and I mean old time scrapbook – nothing like the scrapbooks of today!) and cut out my favourite picutres and posted them into my scrapbook. That was my version of today’s concept of the Inspiration Board or… Pinterest. I would collect the magazine pictures in my scrabook to show John, and we would dream together. I scoured the op shops, looking for quirky, vintage, unique items to make my house a home. Those were the days when I knew the best Vinnies in town, the Goodwill that had the better vintage items… the Salvo’s that just had everything cheap! Those were the days. And then vintage became popular. That kinda killed it for us.

Fast forward a couple of years to where we lived in a shed and a bus. (Hands up if you knew we lived in a shed for 18months) After having one child born in the shed, I was working part time managing the service station where we both worked. Plus ministry. Plus a 10 acre block of land.Plus 2 dogs, 2 horses, goats, sheep, a cocky and a ram! I found myself pregnant again! Yay!!! But, knowing that the shed was not a desirable nor practical environment for raising two babies we abandoned the dream of our mud brick home (sob sob) and instead went with a transportable house and a [low] mortgage. Even though I had to let go of one dream I still kept many others. I still kept my scrapbook, filled with beautiful, dreamy pictures of ideas that I one day hoped to own or recreate in my own house.

Reality Hits

Whilst designing and building our transportable home, I realised, albeit slowly, that we couldn’t afford all the grandiose ideas that I had pasted away and drooled over. Reality check! Over the months, God spoke to me… reminding me of what was near and dear to my heart. But that’s okay, I thought. One day they will happen. Right?

Fast Forward

Twenty four years later and we are a little better off (financially) than when we first started. Praise God! But you know what? Reality bites. Hard. With sharp teeth! Especially when one chooses to be a one income family that focusses on relationship more so than possessions. I stopped my ‘home scrapbook’. I stopped collecting Country Home magazines. I stopped drooling. I had to.

All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24 ESV

My Weakness Is Not Your Weakness

My weakness is consumerism, coveting pretty things and hoarding, along with envy. Aside from being sin, this leads to discontent. And it’s horrible to live with. But I found that it is quite easy to replace my real life with a virtual one, and that includes collecting and drooling over things online – a virtual hoarding of sorts. Sites like Clipix and Pinterest still foster materialism, desire and discontent in my heart. Seeing these sites filled with the most gorgeous pictures is almost like home porn. It doesn’t encourage my heart toward godly things. I am not compelled to be satisfied with less. See my weakness? I know many friends who use these sites as inspiration to be creative in their own lives, kitchens and homeschools without struggling with the temptations that I do. I am truly happy for them but their strength is my weakness.

Why I Do What I Do On The Internet

Playing with various social media has allowed me to examine why I don’t like some sites and why I prefer others. I’ve learned that I prefer forums and Facebook. For me, forums and facebook are my virtual community and these tools foster relationships. My friends live at AussieHomeschool and Facebook. Relationships are cultivated there. Words are obviously how I connect relationally with others.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

The Pintervention

I read books by the Puritans. I listen to guys like John Piper, John MacArthur and Paul Washer. I can’t then head over to Pinterest and drool. I just can’t. I know I sound like one of those missionaries that puts everyone on a guilt trip (~smile~) but really I’m not. I’m not telling you what to think or what to pin, I’m telling you of my weakness. I needed to go cold turkey. No trifling around with sin. I deleted my Pinterest account.

Calling

I desire to focus on others. My heart is sinful and it is very easy for me to focus on myself and my needs or my wants. This isn’t in line with Christ’s calling. It’s not part of dying to self. There are people all over the world who are suffering and dying. Now may not be my time to proactively be out there and serving them but I do hope that one day it will be the right time. Pinterest does not encourage me to follow Christ, deny myself, take up my cross and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24)

As a woman who has limited energy and yo-yo health, I find it exhausting. Planning, dreaming, shopping, lists and purchasing is fun, exciting and sometimes even an adrenaline rush (when you get a bargain). But then I bring it home and then devote even more energy as I store it, use it, wash it, insure it, rearrange it, etc. Maybe the 9 house moves in 10 years really knocked me around but I am tired of being controlled by my stuff!

I want to be content, happy, satisfied right here, right now!

And so, I took out a Pintervention upon myself. Aside from the whole violation of copyright issues which are for another time, these are the reasons that I had a check in my spirit… a prompting, no a directive from the Holy Spirit to stay away from Pinterest. And that’s all I would encourage others to do… to seek the Lord and follow His direction. That will look different to the path that I and others are on because we all have different strengths and weaknesses. But Our Father knows us best. He knows what we need, what is best for us and what we should avoid. Which is why we should follow Him.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:11-13 ESV

Month: March 2012

My Articles

Educational Philosophy

General Helps

General Thoughts

Homeschooling the HomeGrownKids Way

Diary Days

Book Reviews

Personal Thoughts

Links Worth Reading

Sharing My Story

Juicy Scandals

Why Now?

Sign Up

Reality Hits

Fast Forward

My Weakness Is Not Your Weakness

Why I Do What I Do On The Internet

The Pintervention

Calling