Where He leads, I will follow.

It's a new year and that means time for a resolution. Mine? Stop procrastinating. I've been trying to keep up with this, but it's hard. I mean I've been working 35+ years on perfecting the art of procrastination. I'll continue to work on this, because I think it's important and will help in every area of my life. However, I read an article recently that made me rethink the whole idea of a New Year's resolution (http://justbetweenusmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/01/give-yourself-spiritual-makeover.html?spref=fb). The article's author, Laura Leathers recommends having a spiritual theme or goal for each new year. So I devoted this to prayer. I wanted to take this seriously and for it to be something that God wanted to teach me this year. I admit I got very hung up on trying to make it snappy and rhyme with 2011. For a couple of days I went around and around in my head; back and forth between waiting quietly for God's lead and listening to my own "great" ideas.

I must say that sometimes when you ask for God to show you something He really shows you! I must also say that sometimes I miss the forest for all the trees. During these few days of prayer and consideration, a few things happened that should have made it very obvious, but again those pesky trees were getting in the way. First off, a plan I had for the near future fell through. This caused me to question some other decisions that had hung on this plan of mine. So while I'm wringing my hands wondering what to do now, I was going back and forth about this theme as well. When I finally stopped being so preoccupied with all the leaves and bark and limbs that were in my way, I realized exactly what I need to learn. I need to learn to follow God's lead instead of asking Him to jump on board with whatever I have in mind.

I've decided to title my theme: Where He leads, I will follow (I abandoned the idea of it rhyming or being especially snappy). I've jotted my theme in the front of my Bible. I've shared my theme with a few people in hopes that they will pray for and encourage me. Rob and I are reading through The Purpose Driven Life together. I've found a few scriptures that support the need to follow His lead. I still need to write those in my Bible and start keeping a prayer journal to work through this and see how God is working. Since I'm working on that procrastination thing, I'm sure I'll get that started very soon.

I saw Jesus!

This summer has been ridiculously busy and at times very stressful. We have had so many camps, meetings, appointments, trips, VBS's...the list goes on and on. Now that the summer is coming to a close, I was thinking about all that we have done and am just dumbfounded. We have had some amazing opportunities and gotten to know some really great people. The pinnacle of the summer was this past week. I saw Jesus!

I saw Jesus in six teenagers who paid money to sleep in tents, get eaten by bugs, sweat their socks off and work very hard for people they've never met. I saw Jesus in three adults who gave up a week of their time to do all that and show love to six teenagers. I saw Jesus in a man that stepped out of his comfort zone and let God show him amazing things. I saw Jesus in a couple who is preparing to move to New Zealand and plant a church. I saw Jesus in a young woman who gave up her plans and let the LORD lead her to establish and work for a non-profit organization to support an orphanage in Kenya. I saw Jesus in college students and campus ministers who are sold-out Christians and are open to His leading. I saw Jesus in a couple who is preparing to move to Thailand to teach and share the gospel. I saw Jesus in a tearful minister with a heart for all of God's people. I saw Jesus in a woman who works all summer in a busy kitchen for no pay so that under-privileged kids can have an opportunity to come to camp. I saw Him in breadline workers, generous strangers, ranch hands, a middle-aged woman and a hard-working camp staff. I saw Jesus in a little almost-nine-year-old girl who chose to ask Him into her heart and is now embarking on the most amazing journey of her life. I even caught a glimpse of Jesus in me.

It was a phenomenal week! There were little things that warmed my heart and big things that broke it. There was discomfort and sweat and dirt and manure and I wouldn't trade a second of it. I would have loved to stay at camp and keep that mountain-top high just a little longer. But all good things must come to an end, right? I had to pack up our things and say, "good-bye" to so many wonderful people that I met. I had to come home and wash our laundry and water the plants and feed the cats. But I hope I never, ever stop seeing Jesus. I want to look for Him and find Him in people I encounter every day.

2010-2011 Curriculum

I am getting very pumped about the start of our 2nd year homeschooling! I'm currently in the lesson planning stage. I'm looking forward to adding some new elements and doing things a little differently.

I was thinking of doing workboxes, but we just don't have the space to do it properly. I really like the idea of both the kids knowing what they have to accomplish each day, so I've decided to make up lesson plan books for them and for me, this year. That way, every morning they will have their day mapped out and know how much they have left to do.

Working along with that, I'm getting ready to make up some folder games, flash cards and other "busy" work that is also entertaining. I really want to make an Anti-bored Board to hang somewhere. I haven't decided exactly how to go about this yet, so I'll post more about that later.

Here's what we're using for curriculum, this year:

The Weaver-Volume 2 (http://www.aophomeschooling.com/weaver/overview.php)

Penmanship To Praise (http://www.aophomeschooling.com/weaver/resources/penmanship-to-praise/)

Success In Spelling (http://www.aophomeschooling.com/weaver/resources/success-in-spelling/)

Wisdom Words (http://www.aophomeschooling.com/weaver/resources/wisdom-words/)

Math-U-See-(http://www.mathusee.com/catalog.php)

We're also adding Logic & Latin. Here's what we're using for those:

Prima Latina (http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/prima.htm)

Dr. Funsters Think-A-Minutes (http://www.criticalthinking.com/series/001/index_p.jsp)

Oops, I mean THIS is the final installment

I was mistaken. Here is the last Pure Purpose excerpt. Leave a comment if you would like to be entered in the giveaway.

Endurance

What if someone took a snapshot of you and made it an example for others so that’s all others know about your life? Some snapshots of our lives can be framed into a nice photo that accurately reflects a particular situation in our lives. However, our lives aren’t mere snapshots. Our lives are rich recordings, capturing our thoughts, emotions, relationships, situations, struggles, growth…every detail of every moment of our lives. Our lives are a marathon. We may stop to walk along the way. We might make a wrong turn and need to get back on track. We may enjoy the refreshing wind at times and sit by the side of the road in tears sometimes. Endurance is movement through the marathon of life, regardless of the varying types and speeds of movement. Endurance involves perseverance. Sometimes we persevere at a sprint, and sometimes we barely shuffle our feet.

When have your legs felt strong and you felt the refreshing wind in your face as you ran through life?

When have you been completely overwhelmed with the path ahead, your legs feeling like massive weights, and you wanted to stop for a long rest?

Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God's glory. We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us. Romans 5:1-5

When we have problems and trials, we can develop endurance. (We can also sit and mope and whine and become self-focused.) Endurance develops character. Character develops our hope in salvation. And yet…isn’t it our hope in salvation, our relationship with Jesus, our acceptance and understanding of God’s character, that helps us deal with our problems and trials in the first place?

You see, we often stop where we are because we’re waiting on something. We think we need more faith or we need more strength or we need more courage. We may even ask God for it. And then we wait and wait and wait….when we already have what we need! If you have a relationship with Jesus, you have his strength and courage. You may not always feel like you have it, but it’s there. We may feel completely drained and insufficient and incapable, but it’s not because we actually are. Standing on the promise of Romans 1:5.

The Holy Spirit gives us everything we need. The strength and courage we need is already in us, and not only is it in us, but the Holy Spirit fills us! You have access to God’s love, courage, strength, joy, discernment (and the list goes on…) inside you, accessible at all times. So why do you think we still want to sit beside the road, bury our head in our hands and quit?

My thoughts might not be even close to yours, but here are a few I’ve considered.

1. Even when we know God provides all we need through him, we try to rely into our own strength and courage instead of tapping into his.

2. We wait to tap into his strength and courage only when we’re completely exhausted. We try to hand him the baton, expecting him to run the rest of the way for us, not with us.

3. We rely on the Holy Spirit to guide, equip, and encourage us so infrequently that we’re not sure how to listen and rely on him.

We’re human. I don’t want this to become a crutch we rely on, but we have to admit, we’re going to struggle with our past baggage, current struggles, and future apprehensions. The key is whether we try to manage it all or rely on God to equip us to persevere and endure.

Our marathon doesn’t start the moment we get the phone call, receive the diagnosis, or discover the betrayal. We don’t run through the crisis and check it off our list. Our marathon is our entire life. Challenging uphill climbs. Downhill coasts. Crushed by crowds of people. Feelings of isolation. Encouraged by others. Discouraged as others fly by. Inadequacies. Doubt. Injuries. Milestones. Rejuvenation. It’s all part of the marathon. And you’re in training through the entire marathon. Increase your endurance through consistent training.

Training isn’t just a to-do list. It’s a to-be list. What you do prepares you for who you become. Who you are influences what you do. Both are intimately connected. What is God prompting you to do and who is he prompting you to become?

Adapted from Pure Purpose by Susan H. Lawrence. Check out Susan’s blog at http://purepurposebook.wordpress.com/ and follow Pure Purpose on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/PurePurposeFB

Pure Purpose - Week 4

Here's the 4th and final installment of the Pure Purpose excerpts. I also have a pdf sample. If you'd like to take a look at it, just leave your email address in your comment and I'll send it to you. Don't forget to leave a comment so that you can possibly win a free copy of Susan's book!!!

Authenticity

Lord, teach me what you want me to do, and I will live by your truth. Teach me to respect you completely. Psalm 86:11

Authenticity is “being actually and exactly what is claimed.” (www.merriam-webster.com)

Have you ever given advice you have difficulty applying in your own life? Have you ever stretched the truth (a.k.a., lied) to make yourself look a little better or perhaps a little worse in order to avoid doing something? (Perhaps you’ve even deceived yourself.) Are there areas of your life in which you know there are principles you should follow, but you just don’t seem to be able to discipline yourself to apply them or you struggle with how they apply directly to you?

Truthfulness isn’t just about what you say. It’s about the way you live. It paves the way for an authenticity in our lives, a perspective that reflects actually and exactly what we claim. Authenticity is a reflection of God, which means if we want authenticity, we can’t look in our own mirror; we have to use God’s.

Truthfulness affects others. It affects their faith, because it affects how they see God. Whether I have a long-term relationship or momentary encounter with someone, my character, the way I behave, my attitude…all combine to reflect the God who created me for purpose on this earth. No moment, no situation, no person is insignificant.

And here’s the truth. I don’t always reflect the truth of God’s character. Sure, sometimes it has nothing to do with deceit. It might have to do with ignorance. But in all honesty, how often are we ignorant in a situation…versus how often we rationalize we’re ignorant? It’s much easier to plead innocence than to take responsibility.

Not listening to God isn’t the same as not knowing his character. We live in a “shirk responsibility” culture. It’s easier to blame someone else. But when it comes to your personal walk with God, it’s between you and him. I can assure you, he’s not the one creating space. Are we distant from God sometimes? Yes, but we can acknowledge the distance and move. Or we can choose instead to try to figure out the distance, whine about the distance, and end up in the same place weeks or months from now. Are we hurt or confused sometimes? Yes, but again, we can acknowledge our emotions and experience and begin the process of moving to another place, or steep in the turmoil and end up in the same situation, or worse, weeks or months from now.

You’re not a victim. How can I be so sure? Because I know my God. He’s not a victimizer. He’s a Victor. He created you. And he is Truth. There is truth in you. We need to let him reveal it to us, so you see the reflection God sees. So others see the reflection God sees.

God understands all hearts, and he sees you. Proverbs 24:12

(For practical tools for how to “get R.E.A.L.,” authentic in your Relationships, Experiences, Attitudes and Leadership, check out Week Eight of Pure Purpose by Susan H. Lawrence.)

Check out Susan’s blog at http://purepurposebook.wordpress.com/ and follow Pure Purpose on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/PurePurposeFB

Pure Purpose - Week #3

Here's another excerpt from Susan Lawrence's study entitled Pure purpose. Be sure to leave a comment and you will be entered into the drawing for a free copy!

Communication

Each of us is impacted by our past experiences, family, health, education, relationships, and much more. Consider everything and everyone who has impacted your life from teachers to friends to coworkers to ministers. Jot as many as you can in one minute.

Each time we communicate, we bring our background with us. We use it to make sense of what we’re saying. Others bring different background to their communications. We may have some similarities, but no two people’s lives are exactly the same, and no two people will communicate in exactly the same way. We filter what we say and what we hear. So every time you say something, it goes through two filters: yours and the person’s to whom you’re talking. Every time you hear something, it goes through two filters: yours and the person’s who is speaking to you.

Understanding our filters helps us understand our communications better.

Consider a situation in which you made an assumption that was later proved to be inaccurate about someone.

If one assumption you’re made has been proven inaccurate, consider the possibility than any assumption you make about people might be inaccurate. We hear and give information based on our filters. But our filters aren’t purely clean. Our experiences, relationships, and attitudes clog our screens…and the screens of people we’re communicating with. That’s why we sometimes think someone said something they didn’t say or insist they didn’t tell us something when they actually did.

Being aware of your filters means acknowledging the possibility there’s been a miscommunication. When there’s a miscommunication, who’s responsible?

There are at least two people involved in communication. Both have filters. Does it really matter who’s right and who’s wrong when there’s a miscommunication? If the goal is communication, and communication isn’t complete or effective, strive to focus on the goal-communication- instead of getting stuck in a blame game.

No one should accuse or blame another person. Don't blame the people, you priests, when they quarrel with you. Hosea 4:4

We can’t assume everyone shares our experiences. It can be frustrating to start at the beginning to explain something to someone when we just want to move on, but again, if the goal is communication, and communication isn’t complete or effective, we need to strive to focus on the goal, communication, instead of getting stuck focusing on our filters, who should already know what, how much time we need to take to explain something, etc. Building relationships with healthy communication is always worth time and effort.

Here’s my list of communication tips.

ü No one is a mind-reader. If you want or expect someone to know something, tell them.

ü Take a breath before speaking. Once it’s spoken, you can’t swallow it.

ü Communication will fail. Do your best, but know it’s not foolproof.

ü Communication is not avoidable. You can be quiet, but you’re still communicating.

ü Communication assumes…based on past experiences, relationships, and personality.

ü Communication involves relationship. It’s not just about you, your intentions, and your goals.

How will you reflect God in your communication?

It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Matthew 10:20

Adapted from Pure Purpose by Susan H. Lawrence. Check out Susan’s blog at http://purepurposebook.wordpress.com/ and follow Pure Purpose on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/PurePurposeFB

Pure Purpose - Week #2

Here's your weekly taste of Pure Purpose from my friend, Susan Lawrence. If you'd like to win a copy of this excellent study, just leave a comment.

Compassion

How have you shown compassion to someone you didn’t know. It doesn’t have to be huge. Have you helped someone carry groceries? Paid for someone’s lunch when her debit card was declined? Listened to someone’s struggles while sitting on a plane or in a doctor’s office?

Compassion is sincere. To share a burden or to sympathize with someone isn’t motivated by guilt or obligation. It’s a tug into action, rooted in love, consideration and kindness.

When do you avert your eyes from a need? Who do you pass by? Consider any groups of people or situations you consistently avoid.

Need help? Consider the following:

ð Roadside beggars

ð Veterans

ð Drug addicts

ð Foreign missions

ð Homeless

ð Poor

ð Single moms

ð Door-to-door solicitors

ð Hitchhikers

ð Donation solicitor

What are some reasons for avoiding people?

There are certainly some safety issues we must consider. If you’re walking alone in the mall parking lot and are pursued by a man asking to use your phone to call for help, you should immediately move toward a populated area.

But I wonder how often we rationalize not showing compassion because of an exception, not a rule. How often do we assume we know someone’s motives, and we don’t want to be taken advantage of, so we pass by?

Jesus answered, “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead. It happened that a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. Next, a Levite came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. Then a Samaritan traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him. The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him. The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”

Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”

The expert on the law answered, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Jesus said to him, “Then go and do what he did.” Luke 10:30-37

Consider this happening in today’s world. Picture the roadside where you might see this man and what your reaction might be when you encounter him? What are your assumptions, and how do they determine your response?

What happens when we assume we know someone’s past, motives, etc.?

Isn’t it funny, when the other fellow takes a long time to do something, he’s slow. When I take a long time to do something, I’m thorough. When the other fellow doesn’t do it, he’s lazy. When I don’t do it, I’m busy. When the other fellow does it without being told, he’s overstepping his bounds. When I go ahead and do it without being told, that’s initiative. When the other fellow states his opinion strongly, he’s bullheaded. When I state my opinion strongly, I’m firm. When the other fellow overlooks a few rules of etiquette, he’s rude. Tom Knight, quoted by Charles McHarry, New York Daily News

Brothers and sisters, do not tell evil lies about each other. If you speak against your fellow believers or judge them, you are judging and speaking against the law they follow. And when you are judging the law, you are no longer a follower of the law. You have become a judge. James 4:11

Adapted from Pure Purpose by Susan H. Lawrence. Check out Susan’s blog at http://purepurposebook.wordpress.com/ and follow Pure Purpose on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/PurePurposeFB