Category: Parenting and Motherhood

Advent Day 4 – Trust and Obey: Lessons from Abram and Jesus (Genesis 12 + Luke 4)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 4

Today the kids and I read our fourth advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with Luke 4. If you don’t have your own copy, you can order your own a Kindle version instantly, while you wait for the paper copy to arrive.

“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. … So Abram went, as the LORD had told him.”

– Genesis 12:1, 4a ESV

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.”

– Luke 4:1-2 ESV

My husband and I are about to celebrate our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary. Many of those years have been hard, friends, and sometimes I’ve questioned what God is up to. Why did He put the two of us together?

In the first five years of homeschooling, I often second guessed whether God had really called me to this because it was an uphill battle day after day. Now with the end of my homeschooling days on the horizon, I can look back and see God’s hand with me every step of the way. I know that God has carried me and walked with me, even though the path has been at times twisty and rocky.

Our culture has sold us the lie that if we obey God, then everything will be smooth sailing. Don’t believe it. It wasn’t smooth sailing for Noah or Abram. It wasn’t smooth sailing for John the Baptizer or Jesus Christ or His disciples. Don’t be surprised when it’s not smooth sailing for you.

My job isn’t to question and argue and second-guess, to help God figure out where I ought to turn. My job is to follow where God leads and stay on the path that He has set before me. My job is to trust and obey.

Heavenly Father, You know all the answers. You know what path is best. You are almighty. You are all-knowing. And You are good. Help me to trust You and to stay on that straight and narrow path. Help me to go where You lead me. Help me to follow You rather than trying to get out front. Help me to go where You send me. Help me to trust and obey. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my faithful Shepherd I pray. Amen.

Advent Day 2 – Eve + Mary (Genesis 3; Luke 2)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 2

Once again, my kids and I read our “From Creation to Christ” advent devotional, followed by Luke 2. The Kindle ebook version is FREE now through Monday, December 4 at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time. Merry Christmas! Hurry and get your copy today and share it with your friends!

This time I was struck by comparing Mary with Eve. Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” while Eve listened to the temptations of the serpent and her flesh rather than listening to the truth and kindness of her Creator.

Heavenly Father, make me more like Mary. I want my soul to magnify You, Lord. I want my spirit to rejoice in You, God, my Savior. Thank You, Father for looking upon me in my humble state. You have indeed done great things for me. You lift up the humble, and You humble the mighty. You fill the hungry with good things, and You send the rich away empty. I want to treasure these times with my children, sitting side by side on the couch, reading Your Word together. I want to treasure the life-giving Word that I hold in my hands. Help me to ponder its truths, mully them over in my mind and treasuring them in my heart, that they will come out of my mouth in season and out of season. I want my thoughts to be Your thoughts and my words to be Your words. May everything that has breath praise You, Lord, for You are worthy to be praised. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord, I pray. Amen.

Our Past Experiences Impact Our Present Reactions. 1 Samuel meets Judges.

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Samuel 11.

Once again I was reminded of the story of the Levite and his concubine which took place in Gibeah (Saul’s hometown) in Judges 19-21, particularly Judges 19:29 ESV, “And when [the Levite] entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.” Along with Judges 21:14 ESV, “And Benjamin returned at that time. And they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead….”

Saul is a Benjaminite from the city of Gibeah. He would have known these stories. In fact, his family would have been directly touched by these events recorded in Judges.

Now notice the connections in 1 Samuel 11. Nahash the Ammonite is attacking the people of Jabesh-Gilead — Was Saul’s mother from there? His aunt? His best friend’s mom?

Saul took the yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them to all the other tribes in Israel — Just like what the Levite had done with his concubine’s body. It had worked last time to get the people involved, and it worked this time for Saul.

Our family’s traditions, the stories we grow up hearing, the attitudes of people around us, they impact our lives. How I react to my husband, my children, and the cashier at Walmart is shaped by my upbringing. The takeaway for me in this is twofold. One, as a mom, I want to consider the impact I’m having on my children. How am I shaping them by how I behave and what experiences I invite into my children’s lives? Two, as a grown person, how are my actions today being shaped not by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God but by my past. How am I following my passions, instincts, and impulses rather than the Lord?

Heavenly Father, I love You. All Your ways are right. All You do is good. Father, I want to follow You all the days of my life. I want to be conformed into Your image. Make me more like You. I pray that all my actions would be led by Your Holy Spirit who dwells in me and Your Inspired Word that is a lamp to my feet. Give me wisdom as a mother to recognize how my attitudes and actions, what I let into my children’s lives, what I put in front of their faces, will shape their lives in the future. Help me to live for Your glory. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

A Prayer from Hannah’s Prayer in 1 Samuel 2

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Samuel 2.

Let’s pray and worship the Lord together with Hannah and believers around the world.

My heart rejoices in You, Lord, for You have raised me up from the ash heap and set my feet on the solid rock of salvation in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I rejoice in You, my God, for there is none holy like You. There is none besides you, Father. Indeed, there is no rock like our God.

Keep me humble, Father. Let me not become arrogant or proud. Help me to remember that You are a righteous judge, knowing and seeing all things, both visible and invisible. Help me to see the log in my own eye. Keep me on my knees in humility before Your throne of grace.

Increase my faith, Lord. You break the bows of the mighty, and You give strength to the weak. You make the full hungry and the hungry full. You give children to the barren, and You take children from those who have many. The number of every man’s days are held in Your hand.

You have given Your only Son, Jesus Christ, that we may be forgiven and redeemed and receive the gift of eternal life with You. Make us ambassadors for Your kingdom, sharing the good news to all four corners of the earth and making disciples of all the nations.

You, Father, are the giver of every good gift, of children and wealth and power and wisdom. Help us to be good stewards of these gifts. Make us instruments of Your peace, blessing the needy with all that You have blessed us, our time, talents, treasures, and testimonies.

The whole world is in Your hands, Father. We pray for the leaders of our nation and the nations around the world. Guide them. Grant them wisdom. Give them strength. Humble and exalt in Your perfect wisdom and timing, and help us to trust and worship You no matter the cost.

In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we pray. Amen.

Instruments of Your Peace

For These Children I have Prayed – Raising Your Children for the Lord. 1 Samuel 1.

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Samuel 1

For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him.

1 Samuel 1:27 ESV

I prayed for each one of my children, the ones waiting for me in heaven, the ones delivered out of my womb, and the one brought to me from a foreign land. Each one of them is a gift from the good, sovereign hand of the Lord. And I have given each of them back to the Lord – not literally, I suppose, but given back to the Lord nonetheless. Ever since they were infants, I’ve seen myself as a steward of God’s creation.

This belief that I am a steward, a caretaker for God, of my children has had huge implications for my life. How would God want His children raised?

Read the Bible to them.

Teach them to read the Bible for themselves.

Pray for them.

Pray with them.

Worship the Lord with them on Sunday and everyday.

Sing with them.

Teach them to sing to the Lord for themselves.

Be a godly model for them to follow.

Teach them to go through life seeking God first.

Raising children for God is so much more than just teaching them about right and wrong, the Ten Commandments, and Jesus Loves You. Raising my children for God has been my full-time pursuit for over twenty-five years, a pursuit that won’t end when my youngest goes off to college.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the children that You have given to me and my husband. They are a gift from You. Help us to train them up in the way they should go, to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Help us to be faithful stewards, day after day and year after year, remembering that You are their Creator and that their lives are in Your hands. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

God Speaks to Women, Too: A Lesson from Judges 13 in the Life of Samson

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Judges 13

An angel appeared to Hagar in the desert (Genesis 16) and to Mary, the mother of our Savior Jesus (Luke 1). The Lord answered the prayers of Hannah when she asked for a son (1 Samuel 1). Abigail’s discernment and quick actions spared David from having revenge on foolish Nabal (1 Samuel 25).

Here, in Judges 13, the Lord has chosen Manoah’s unnamed wife, a barren, childless woman, to be His messenger to her husband.

Sisters, God wants to use you as a blessing to your husband, your children, your church, and your community. He has a purpose for you.

Whether you’re married or not, whether you have a house full of kids or not, if God has chosen you as His child, then He has chosen you to be His ambassador, a messenger of the most high God.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I would call out to You, seeking You, morning by morning and evening by evening and that I would hear Your voice as You answer me. You have chosen me to be a vessel of Your grace. May that grace overflow to my husband and my children and their children. May that grace bring glory to Your Name. Give my husband and I discernment as we listen for Your voice. Help us to know when You are speaking and grant us unity in Your Holy Spirit. Help us both to be humble toward each other and to You. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Who’s Fighting Your Battles? A Lesson from Gideon and Judges 7.

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Judges 7

The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

Judges 7:2 ESV

This passage has had a special place in my heart since one night about twenty years ago when the Holy Spirit convicted me about how often I used manipulation to get my husband to do what I wanted. That night, the Lord opened my eyes to the importance of trusting Him to fight my battles, rather than trusting my own skills of argumentation to get my way. That night, I decided to quit fighting against my husband and to start praying for him. That night, I finally recognized that I might be winning these marital battles, but I was losing the war for my marriage.

Can any of you relate?

Ask yourself what weapons you’re using to fight your own battles: Nagging and complaining? Threatening and yelling? Silence and the cold shoulder? Put those weapons away, friends. They’re not the Lord’s weapons; they’re the enemy’s.

If the Lord can cause the entire Middianite army to kill one another, giving the Israelites success by merely blowing their trumpets, then surely He conquer the heart of your stubborn loved one.

Put on the whole armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. And take up your weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and start praying in the Spirit, asking Him to fight for you. (Ephesians 6:12-17)

Join forces with the Lord.
Remember who your real enemy is.
Quit fighting your spiritual brothers and sisters
and start fighting the spiritual forces of evil.

Heavenly Father, we need You to fight our battles for us. Open our eyes to see the spiritual battle that we are in. Make us soldiers in Your army, wielding that Sword of the Spirit, your Word, with excellence and accuracy, praying without ceasing, and seeking Your face for direction day after day. Let us not grow weary of well-doing. Give us clean hands and pure hearts. Help us to root up those spirits of bitterness and selfishness. Protect us from pride and manipulation. Make us more like You. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Brother, we pray. Amen.

Rock of Ages

Deborah and Jael, Women Called to do Hard Things: Judges 4-5

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Judges 4-5

God has often asked me to do things that, frankly, I don’t want to do. I didn’t want to homeschool. I didn’t want to start a ministry to women who were continuing their pregnancy after finding out something was wrong with their unborn baby. And every time the Lord has told me to go talk to someone I’m having conflict with, I’ve tried to come up with excuses for why I’m not the right person for the job.

Why did God call Deborah to judge Israel? Why didn’t He choose Deborah’s husband, Lappidoth, or that mighty warrior, Barak?

Why did God choose Jael to put a tent stake through King Sisera’s skull? Wouldn’t her father or her husband or her brother or her son have been a better choice?

The answer to these questions is this: I have no idea. 🤷‍♀️

But I do know that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-8), and God uses the weak to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). I do know that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5) I know that it is the Lord who gives both life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Samuel 2:6), and He can use whoever He pleases to accomplish His purposes.

Is God calling you to do something hard,
something impossible,
something you don’t want to do?

Listen carefully to His voice.Fix your eyes on Him and allow Him to guide you by the truth of His Word and His Holy Spirit.

Fix your eyes on Him and allow Him to guide you by the truth of His Word and His Holy Spirit.

Walk by faith and not by sight.

Do the next thing – by faith in His power and might.

Heavenly Father, what a blessing and gift to know You, to be clay in Your hands. Use us for whatever You’ve called us to. Make us Your vessels, Your instruments, Your servants and ambassadors and ministers, that the lost would find hope and rest and peace at the feet of Jesus Christ, our deliverer and judge. In His Name we pray. Amen.

A New Generation: Judges 2

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Judges 2

Earlier this month, my youngest son was baptized. Watching him commit his life to Christ is a joy like no other.

I have found such peace, comfort, and hope in knowing the Lord. I believe His Word that eternal life is only available to those who trust in Christ and that eternal damnation awaits those who reject Him. It absolutely breaks my heart into a million pieces to think that any of my children or grandchildren might abandon the Lord and wander away after other gods.

I believe that I have done my best through many ups and downs to be faithful to the Lord in shepherding and discipling my children, but ultimately their faith must be their own. I can’t force anyone to believe. God has to open their eyes, and they have to receive Him by faith.

Heavenly Father, I pray that my children and grandchildren and the generations not yet born will come to You by faith. Let us not want away after other gods and turn our backs on You, the One True God. I pray especially for Daniel as he walks day by day in his new life in Christ. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Act Like Men: Stand Firm, Be Strong, and … Love Well

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Corinthians 16

We hear 1 Corinthians 13 read at every wedding. Love is patient and kind. Love does envy or boast. Love is not proud or rude. Isn’t it beautiful?

But love is also steadfast and firm, immovable and strong. Love is a mother telling her toddler, “No,” a hundred times in the same day. Love is a grown daughter telling her alcoholic mom that she’s got a problem. Love is refusing to stand idly by while pornography tries to ruin your marriage or homosexuality tries to steal your teenager.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith,
act like men, be strong.
Let all that you do be done in love.


1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

Love takes guts. Love takes strength. Love takes the stamina of a thoroughbred racehorse and the patience of Job. Love requires you to be willing to get battle scars for the sake of another because you believe they’re worth the fight.

Ladies, sisters, friends, act like men. Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

Heavenly Father, Your Son, Jesus Christ, is the perfect manifestation of manhood and love. Strength and humility. Stamina and kindness. Make us more like Him. Teach us, show us, how to love like He loves, how to give up our lives for another, to be willing to suffer to save someone else. We need You, Father. We can’t do it on our own. In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Lover of my Soul. Amen.