children | Designing 31

is that ENTHUSIASM I see? {day 14}

Sunday’s and today’s “be still and know” posts both come from the messages yesterday.

Last evening the preacher spoke from Psalm 119:33-40 about several attitudes of King David that caused him to have such a close relationship with God.

Amid the points such as: be teachable, desire understanding, bend your ear towards listening to God, and others…. the point that I suppose stood out the most to me was the last one.

Coming from verse 40: Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness…

and focusing in on the word quicken, he went on to give an example of it…

**At the end of music camp where where his granddaughter attended this past summer, he and his wife went to here the grand performance that would close the 2 weeks. Not really knowing what to expect, they were pleasantly greeted with beautiful music well-performed by dedicated teenagers.

What impressed the evening on him most was the obvious love and enthusiasm the conductor had! He described him as taking the wand and pointing vigorously at the different sections and waving it up and down and all over to direct the various instruments in their different parts of the music. The way he was gesturing to convey what he meant left me tired. {lol} To think of a man moving with such vigor for an entire symphony is exhausting. He had an evident joy for the music… for leading the orchestra. And the students played with equal enthusiasm to the point they were not still but moving and swaying with the music during the entire performance.**

This… this obvious enthusiasm and excitement was used to describe the word: quicken.

And David used quicken to describe how he wanted to live righteousness-with enthusiasm!

And it got me to thinking…. about my children {of course!}. How it brings an unspeakable joy and thrill to my heart when my children are happy to see me.

But I think especially of those few months as small babes when they cannot express their joy verbally… and their whole little, tiny bodies express it for them. Their arms wave, their faces nearly split from smiling, their little legs just pump like they are trying to push themselves into orbit { 🙂 }.

My heart melts, and I just enjoy holding them.

When I have obvious [meaning others notice it] enthusiasm for whatever I am doing …simply BECAUSE I am serving the Lord… could that not bring God a little bit of a “parent thrill”?

I realize that I am giving God my finite emotions, but we know that God joys in knowing His children obey His word, desire to serve Him, have His joy… and He patterned the Christian relationship after “father & child” for a reason.

Maybe He wanted us to have the opportunity to know more about Him as we teach and train children for His glory.

And today, I am trying to be enthusiastic about some housework I need to get done! { 😉 }

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Let’s connect on FACEBOOK!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I’m also on Instagram!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

and I’m on Twitter!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

the seed, the Word {day 20}

by tascha

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear…But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. from Luke 8:4-15, the parable of the Sower

These verses, this story, was in my scheduled Bible reading for today. I intensely wish for my own life to bring forth fruit, and I know it requires patience to see it.

But just as fiercely I wish for my own children to receive the Seed of the Word of God [become saved] and also bear fruit.

Only on the “good ground” is the Word received AND fruit is born. As a mother, my prayer is for my children’s hearts to be good ground… I am not a farmer, but I do know a few things about the general type of soil needed to grow good crops.

First it must also be rich in nutrients. All plants of the earth require different minerals to produce their various fruits. We must allow God to prepare the soil of our children’s hearts through consistent Bible reading [family devotions are a wonderful way to do this!], Bible memorization, and Scripture verses displayed where they can read them [when they can read!] Only through the principles learned thus will an honest and good heart be produced. [Mark 10:18]

It must also be moist. A dry heart is less likely to hold onto a seed. Moist soil is soft and pliable. We must ask for and then allow the Spirit of God [rivers of living water- John 7:39] to regularly and consistently pour water into our children’s lives. Our children need to see the Spirit’s work in our own lives. We must teach and exemplify the truths and principles found in Scripture to help their hearts to remain tender until such time as they understand their personal need for accepting Jesus.

It must also be able to receive sunlight daily. As saved parents, we are light to our children. [Matthew 5:14-16] Our testimony affects how our children receive God. This is a scary thought. My children see me at my absolute worst and know if I strive to allow God’s love to shine through me even during the frustrations and difficulties or if it is an act. And we must also be diligent to surround our children, as much as possible, with others’ whose lights shine brightly for the Lord.

And last of all, it needs to be in a good location to receive nutrients and water and light. When we neglect to take our children to church or read the Bible at home or speak of the Spirit leading us throughout the day, how can they know?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Let’s connect on FACEBOOK!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I’m also on Instagram!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

and I’m on Twitter!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

the trust of babes

by tascha | 1 comment

If you are a momma or have ever been close to small children, you will recognize what I am talking about here.

{not my kitchen sink! but isn’t that tile pretty?}

I stand still. My hands are immersed in that sudsy, warm water known to all women… at the kitchen sink. {smiles} My mind wanders a million miles away-to time past or our children’s future…. or just a few feet away to thoughts of my honey.

And then I feel it, the little fingers tugging at my skirt {and my heart strings!} while little legs struggle to stand. This miniature body leans full force into me. He knows I will not let him fall {at least not too hard, yet}. He trusts me.

I sit. I bend my body all the way down to the floor. They need mommy to be accessible. Sometimes all at once, but usually one by one, little bodies come to me, wanting arms to wrap around. The baby pushes through on hands and knees still. He grabs whatever he can reach and uses my strength to help him stand, again. His body lunges for me. He trusts my love.

taken over a year ago!

This trust, all my children showed it as babies. This all-consuming confidence is how I must trust God my Father to care for my day-to-day. He DOES care, even for the nitty gritty!

I must rest knowing that He will catch me should I fall when struggling to stand. He never moves. [Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8], so He is always right where I need Him to be when I need Strength.

I must trust, rest as securely as my child using me to learn to stand, in His love for me.

And so should you… because His love for you is the same!

growing

by tascha

growing

While my 14 month old still crawls, and seems content to do so, I often remember that my 2 middle children walked before they were 10 months old! The oldest walked just before her first birthday.

And I am struck with these differences.

Some of it does have to do with gender, and how girls and boys mature differently. But people in general mature and grow differently-at different paces, in different orders.

baby toes

Our oldest was speaking fairly clearly with full words at 11-12 months, but she never crawled until about 2 weeks before she started walking… right before she turned 1.

The next two both crawled by 5/6 months and were walking soon after, but they both had trouble forming words coherently until they were well past their second birthdays.

This little baby-man we now have… he took his time learning to crawl. He is taking his time with walking too. And I think he’ll follow those two who took their time talking also.

walking up stairs

And I found a lesson to be learned…

every person will grow differently from every other person.

We may meet someone who has had similar experiences as ourselves, but they will not have grown exactly the same. Even siblings, growing up with the same parents, same house, same experiences, same church, same everything… still become different people. And they learn things in different ways and from different circumstances. They even learn the same things in a different order.

And so do baby Christians.

Just because a person was saved at the same time you were does not mean they will automatically be at the same place spiritually that you are every step…. even if you’ve been in the same church and had similar experiences.

And we cannot push people to learn something other than what God is teaching them –right then. Others can observe my growth and be encouraged that God is not done with them. And in turn, I can observe their growth and realize God is not done with me, either!

sisters walking

I may learn a particular lesson earlier in my Christian walk than my husband or a friend, but that does not make me more spiritual. My husband had learned many things I had yet to encounter when we were first married… and now the Lord allows him to be right there helping me through as I learn them later-in different ways.

All of that to say, every other person is going to grow and mature in a different way than I do, just as each of our children grow and learn differently. And I cannot and should not try to push or shove people in their Christian walk…

I must gently guide those the Lord puts in my path to guide {my children, a SS class, close friends, etc}.

I must pray for those He does not give me the authority to instruct {other people’s children who are not in my care, people who do not know my testimony, even those who simply seem to resist me as a person}.

And I must be an example to any who care to observe my life that God does indeed grow people. And I must allow Him to work!

While my 14 month old still crawls, and seems content to do so, I often remember that my 2 middle children walked before they were 10 months old! The oldest walked just before her first birthday.