Just Enough

Too many times I've forgotten to check the ingredients before preparing a recipe only to discover I had "just enough" of something. What a relief that often is, especially when you're far into the recipe, the items are costly, and guests are on the way.

And "just enough" describes how God often deals with us.

For the Israelites, God provided "just enough" manna for the day. Hoarding reaped gross consequences. They had to trust the Lord would provide.

I know what it is to have just enough gas for the car until payday or just enough money to pay the bills.

I'm thankful when things last just long enough to replace them. The water heater. The car with over 200,000 miles. The years-old dishwasher. The worn clothing.

I'm thankful for just enough strength to not grow weary at the end of a long day, or in the midst of an overwhelming trial.

"Just enough" is a most fertile soil for growing faith and cultivating gratitude. It's a prime spot for worship.

When we have "just enough," our eyes stay fixed on Him. We remember Who provides. We remember how fragile our frames are, and how great our God is. 

In our mixed up world, "just enough" is considered not enough, and it sure isn't how we would describe abundant living. We want to be prepared for years to come, know how things will always turn out, and stuff our pockets full of self-sufficiency.

But God's economy is different, and in giving us "just enough" of what we need each day, He offers us truly rich living. Rich in faith. Rich in thankful hearts. Rich in complete dependence on Him. And His provision always leaves us satisfied.

What encouragement!  No matter what our trial, our heartache, our need, God will provide, and His "just enough" will always be plenty.


With love,
Trisha

Because Mothers Are Always On Call

“Mothers are always on call, expected to have all the answers and limitless energies. They’re supposed to do everything; it’s taken for granted. How can you be and do everything expected of you? What you need is a habitual sense of the presence of God. Think that Almighty God, who created the stars and keeps the seasons revolving in perfect rhythm, is there in your kitchen, in your bathroom, in the laundry room, in the grocery store. Mothers, be prepared for an arduous struggle. Your calling is impossible without prayer, the comfort and instruction of the Scriptures and fellowship in your church.”

~Elisabeth Elliot

5 Stumbling Blocks to Obeying God's Will

Lately I've been pondering life changes and wrestling with difficult circumstances and understanding God's will. And though some things are still unclear, and fear keeps creeping in, I understand a bit better why our decision making  gets so tangled.

1) God's will doesn't always feel good. We're in deep with the world and its belief that we should only do what feels good. But, as Christians, we're still at war with our flesh, which means obedience brings resistance. It feels good to obey God when His plans line up with ours, but what about when His will means the surrendering of our hopes and dreams?

2) Some of our friends will tempt us to take the road often traveled. This is the friend who cares more about comfort and ease than about sanctification. This is the friend who lives in "deserve" mode. Life is all about deserving a break, not about dying to self. She'll list your many sacrifices, as though sanctification is accomplished in 10 Easy Lessons instead of a lifetime of daily taking up one's cross.

3) We equate obeying God's will with a "good outcome". After Paul is blinded on the road to Damascus, and Ananias is told to minister to him, God declares that He is going to share with Paul the things he will suffer in Christ's name. The things he will suffer. He didn't say, "Paul has obeyed, and there will now be no hard days or challenges or pain." Obeying God does bring blessing, but it's not always the blessings we think of. Obedience doesn't always bring reconciliation or peace or more money or a bigger house or less difficult people in our lives. Sometimes the blessing is the gift of resting in the joy that you are honoring God and being made more like Christ even when everything around you is unpleasant or downright hard.

4) Our hearts are deceitful. I've sometimes clearly known God's will about something, not because I had a vision in the night, but because I read His Word and cried out to Him in prayer, and yet, I still resist doing it. My heart whispers that I must be the exception and the surely God wouldn't want me to have to work so hard. My heart lists all the reasons I can't obey, when the truth is that I don't want to obey. Perhaps our struggle with knowing is more of a struggle with obeying.

5) We leave no room for faith and trust.  My life is one big Ebenezer of God's providing in the most unexpected ways. And yet, I'm still tempted to listen to the naysayers who plan everything out and have no time for faith and trust. They think they're simply being prudent, yet all of their plan-making is often a cover for not believing God will wisely direct their paths. How does our faith and trust increase if we never take that step into the unknown? Why do we cry out for daily bread, but put our confidence in the world's wisdom or our preparations or our bank account?

The good news is that God is faithful to give us wisdom when we cry out for it. We have His word right before us, and we have His ear. And though obedience might not bring joy and peace right away, the surrender eventually becomes sweet, and we're able to praise Him for keeping us from leaning on our own understanding.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5,6)

With love,
Trisha

So Much Home-Work

Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others; whereas a humble saint is most jealous of himself; he is so suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The spiritually proud person is apt to find fault with other saints, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they be, and crying out of them for it; and to be quick to discern and to take notice of their deficiencies: but the eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home, and sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with others' hearts; he complains most of himself, and cries out of his own coldness and lowness in grace, and is apt to esteem others better than himself.
~Jonathan Edwards

Always Second Guessing

"Strong passions without a settled judgment, commonly produce weak resolutions."

~Matthew Henry

"Thoughts ripened into resolves by serious consideration are likely to be 
kept always in the imagination of the heart, whereas what is soon ripe is soon rotten."
~Matthew Henry

*****

You've been having family worship for a long time now. It's crazy sometimes, but in a world that encourages family members to live independently of one another and to forget the One who gives them every good thing, this concentrated family time of singing and prayer and Bible reading ties heartstrings and keeps you focused on eternity.

Then you read THE article. The one telling you that there's nothing in the Bible that commands us to have family worship. It's enough to talk with your children about the Christian life throughout the day.

You've finally settled into daily times of Bible reading and prayer. You're amazed at how much you hunger for the Word now, and even on those mornings when your start is slow, you're thankful for the habit you've made to hear His words first.

Then you read THE article. How silly for Christians to put themselves in such bondage to a completely unscriptural principle as the "quiet time." Free yourself!

You love to care for your home. You delight in the smell of homemade bread and watching little people rush to devour the work of your hands. You linger over a freshly cleaned kitchen, and you're amazed at your daughter's skill with a sewing machine.

Then you read THE article. The one that mocks mothers in their aprons making homemade bread, accusing them of forgetting grace and looking to the domestic arts for their salvation. Don't you know salvation is by grace, not by a Kitchen-Aid mixer?

Though many of these articles focus on a legalistic attachment to some of the things we do, all too often, we interpret them as a solid case AGAINST a practice or perspective. We worry that we've been wrong to have family worship all of this time (and actually teach our children that they should do this with their families), or train our children in the habit of independent time in the Word each day, or bake our own bread while wearing an apron. 

This is why it's essential to know why we do what we do and to teach the WHY to our children. When our practices are not thought out, but are rather the product of what's trending on the internet or in books or magazines, we're building our lives on a shaky foundation that crumbles in the presence of any opposing views. We find ourselves habitually changing course and chronically second-guessing everything we do. What kind of legacy is that to pass on to our children? 

Second-guessing is an inherent complication of information overload. It's the result of having too many opinions in our faces, and our relying too much on others to think for us.

It's not so much a reflection of a teachable spirit, but instead the consequence of lazy reasoning. Because we haven't thought our practices through, we're easily swayed by the next eloquent writer who comes along, being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine or some woman's declaration of "freedom" from ____________ (fill in the blank).

Instead of spending more time second-guessing everything we're doing, from family worship to quiet times to modest dress and more, let's spend time making sure we know WHY we do what we do. Let's dig deep in the Word and think through our principles and convictions and preferences. And then confidently, without apology, teach them to our children.


With love,
Trisha

Christless Leisure

To Awaken Them All With Love

Here's a lovely and encouraging piece from John Piper about rising early and fighting that temptation for a bit more sleep, a bit more slumber. What a priceless gift we give our families when we feed our own souls and commune with our Lord, covering our loved ones in prayer.

God, I’m tired. Help me. Please open my eyes so I can see wonders in your word. O God. Mighty God! Maker of heaven and earth and all the galaxies of the universe. That you should lend an ear to me in this little room half awake. That you should occupy yourself with me while millions of your people pray and all the while you hold New York and Tokyo and Paris in the palm of your hand. That you should call this tempted flesh the temple of the Holy Spirit. That you speak to me from off this page as personally and powerfully as though you sat here on the couch and talked. O God, what condescension. What unutterable mercy to attend to a little ant like me. Help me believe, O God, and feel this truth: that all my hairs are numbered. Why are you downcast, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

“And now my wife, Lord. Thank you for her. Protect her from harm and from the evil one. Give her joy in the ministry with me. Waken her this morning with a song of praise in her heart and on her lips. Give her vision for service in this neighborhood. Incline her heart to the word and not to getting gain. Fill her with your Spirit—of wisdom and joy and righteousness. Make her a wise and happy mother. O bind our hearts together as you bind our hearts to yours.”

“And finally, my sons. Even in their sleep, Lord, turn their hearts to you. And when I wake them with your word, sow that seed in humble, open soil. And send its roots down to the inner heart and make an oak of faith. O Christ, take my sons for your servants. Obliterate rebellion from their hearts. And may they grow to godly manhood, full of love to you and love to men. Let them not love the world, nor give a hoot for things or praise. But may your glory be their passion day and night until the Kingdom comes.

The grandfather’s clock gives half the Westminster chime. It is 6:30. My heart is full. My eyes are open. My faith is alive. My joy is warm. My conscience is still. My hope is strong. I will awaken them all with love!

~John Piper

Be sure to read the entire article here.

With love,

Trisha

Chesterton and Phil Robertson

When your children speak truth, you thank the Lord. And you pray He'll keep them walking in the truth, all the days of their lives. And you know they'll take hits, hard ones, but that's what happens when light shines on the darkness, and you praise God for that, too.

As a culture, we wolf this sort of thing down. Why? Because the aberrancy of sin is always easier to countenance under a thick layer of psuedonymous goop. Sodomy is no exception. We’d rather not think about what the homosexual act actually involves, so we avoid anything that might remind us of it, even accidentally. We go out of our way to tippy-toe. And when everybody tippy-toes, the man who puts his foot down is promptly knifed in the back.

Read all of it:   In Which Chesterton and Phil Robertson Mix

When This Happens, There Will Always Be An Explosion

The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because 

I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

~John. 7:7

 

*******

There's plenty of commentary on The Duck Dynasty affair, but I think this excerpt from D. A. Carson's For the Love of God is very timely:

"Rather naively, some of us think that if Jesus were alive today, our tolerant culture would not give Him a really rough time, much less crucify Him. We would simply marginalize Him, treat Him as if He were a harmless eccentric. Is that true? Not according to John. The issues are bound up with the nature of fallenness and its response to holiness.

Both by His flawless character and by His candid speech, Jesus makes 'the world' horribly uncomfortable. How long would Jesus have lasted in Stalin's Russia? In Hitler's Germany? Or in Northern Ireland? Or the Balkans? Or in the United States? The least we would do, I imagine, is have Him committed for psychiatric evaluation. But I doubt that it would end there. Consider just one small arena: Some of my friends have had their lives repeatedly threatened because they publicly oppose homosexual marriages. These are not homophobes or gay bashers. Some of them have proven wonderfully fruitful and loving in their ministries to gays and straights alike. Were Jesus ministering among us today, I have no doubt that such death threats would have become assassination.

The implication of 7:7 is that Jesus' brothers belong to the world. That is why they fit in so well. Are we being faithful if no one hates us? This candid exposure of the world is not smug one-upmanship, disgusting self-righteousness. Jesus is righteous; He is holy. Where sin and holiness collide, there will always be an explosion. And we sinners must come to recognize our deep sinfulness, or we will never turn to the Savior for help."
~D. A. Carson, For the Love of God, Vol. 2, December 17th

What's Best for Our Souls

My family and I have been making a certain request to the Lord for over two years. Last week He answered. And the answer was "no", or at least, "not right now."

And even though I know so well the truth of His providential care of us, that He is always doing what is best, this answer felt like a kick in the gut. I had put too much hope in a "yes" answer instead of in God Himself.

The Lord is our Shepherd, and He leads us in the paths of righteousness, not leaving us to ourselves. What a mercy this is, even though we are often clueless about His ways.

One of my favorite books of 2013 was Stephen Altrogge's The Greener Grass Conspiracy. In this passage, he reminds us that it is God who knows what is best for our souls:

In Psalm 23:2-3 David says of the Lord, "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." Notice that David doesn't say, "I plot the best course for my life. I am the captain of my ship. I will go wherever my heart desires." David realizes that God is his shepherd, his captain, his leader. God will lead him to places of rest. God will restore his soul. God will lead him in righteousness.

We're convinced that a particular thing will bring peace, order, and restoration to our souls. We look around, and we see other people who have what we want, and they look so happy. They skip down the street holding the hands of their little children. They gaze into the eyes of their lovers. They smile as they mow the lawn of their new five-bedroom, four-bath, three-car-garage house. Meanwhile, our lives seem so whacked out and dysfunctional.

But we really don't know what's best for our souls. If God allowed us to follow our own plans, we wouldn't end up on the paths of righteousness that lead to still waters. We would end up in empty, barren wastelands of sin and destruction. God is the one who restores our soul. Sometimes he restores us by giving us what we desire, and sometimes he restores us by withholding it. In either case we can be assured that God knows the best path for us and that He'll lead us on that path.

With love,
Trisha

The Myth of the Disqualified Mama

A mother once told me she couldn't correct a great sin in her child's life because she herself committed that sin. Our conversation reminded me that our past sins are often chains that weigh us down. They bind us to parent from fear or guilt instead of from His Word. Satan uses our past to convince us we have no authority to teach our children His truths, whispering that we're only hypocrites if we tell our children not to do the very things we once did. He convinces us that ALL children do such and such or that ALL teenagers go through phases of rebellion and defiance. In other words, he affords us excuse after excuse to neglect our duties as parents. 

Yet, our struggles with past sins should encourage us all the more to parent intentionally, with much focus and vigor and grace and truth. We express the depths of our gratitude to the Lord for redeeming our own lives when we faithfully disciple the children He has given us.

I married an unbeliever. Praise God for His mercy in saving my husband. But, there are still consequences of beginning a marriage as an unequally yoked bride and groom. And this is why I can especially explain to our children that light and darkness cannot dwell together in unity.

It is because we have chosen foolishly at times, have walked in the power of the flesh instead of the power of the Spirit, that we are very qualified to warn our children of the danger of leaving His paths of righteousness. So, use those past sins for His glory and walk in thanksgiving for the life God has given you, teaching your children well.

If, then, you would deal wisely with your child, you must not leave him to the guidance of his own will. Think for him, judge for him, act for him, just as you would for one weak and blind. But for pity’s sake, give him not up to his own wayward tastes and inclinations. It must not be his likings and wishes that are consulted. He knows not yet what is good for his mind and soul any more than what is good for his body. You do not let him decide what he shall eat, what he shall drink, and how he shall be clothed. Be consistent, and deal with his mind in like manner. Train him in the way that is Scriptural and right and not in the way that he fancies.

~J. C. Ryle

Much love,

Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~Because Hope Isn't Buried With Our Loved Ones

When a loved one dies, our life's foundation is exposed. Is our faith, our life, built on Jesus, or was it built on the one who's no longer here? I witness a precious friend fight for joy in the Lord as she grieves the loss of her son, and I witness others continuing to sink lower in a state of despair, their grief years old, but the defeat coming fresh with each sunrise. One has hope, but the others live as if all hope is gone, something that was buried with their loved ones. They have forgotten who they are in Christ Jesus. They have forgotten that He is their hope!

Here is truth given by a pastor who recently buried his infant son. As I was reading his words, I was reminded of the goodness of God in using the afflictions of others to encourage and strengthen the body of Christ and to bring Him glory!

"The sting of death was sin, but when sin has been fully paid for, there is no more sting. The sting is gone, and now death is swallowed up in victory. Death is still hard. It is like a long journey, like going into the wilderness. But it isn't loss. It isn't the end. It isn't defeat. Now, for all those who know Jesus, death is a great adventure, a new beginning. For when we die, we go down into death armed with the Spirit of the well-beloved Son, the Son back from the dead, who holds the power of unending life. For those who believe in Jesus, though we die, yet we shall live."
~Toby Sumpter

Please read the rest here:
The Gospel of the Well-Beloved Son

Praising God today for the hope we have in Christ Jesus, a hope that keeps us from being swallowed up by our grief, a hope that allows us to rejoice in the midst of great sadness.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~Daily Blessings For God's People

"You do not praise God, indeed, unless you want others to do so. It is a mark of sincere thankfulness that it desires others to assist it in the expression of its joy. ...Do your utmost to be the means, in God's hands, of bringing others to praise him. Tell them what he has done for you. Tell them of his saving grace. Invite sinners to Christ. Let it be:—

"All your business here below
To say,"Behold the Lamb!"
and in this way you will be setting other tongues a-praising God, so that when your tongue is silent, there shall be others that will take up the strain."
~C. H. Spurgeon

The entire sermon is linked below. It's most encouraging and a powerful reminder of God's goodness!

Daily Blessings for God's People

A Month of Thanksgiving~The M Files

"But home conversation needs more than love to give it its full influence. It ought to be enriched by thought. The Saviour's warning against idle words should be remembered. Every wise-hearted parent will seek to train his household to converse on subjects that will yield instruction or tend toward refinement...the whole effect upon the family is elevating and refilling."

~J. R. Miller, Home-Keeping

*****

The M Files. Short for The Miscellany Files. This is my collection of topics and articles to discuss at dinner. I gather them from news sites and blogs, as well as from my current reads, and it's proved a profitable means of redeeming the time and lingering a bit longer around the table.

Here are just a few of my favorite sources for filling my M Files:

Student News Daily
Afterthoughts (Brandy has a great weekly post of links on Sundays)
The Ink Slinger (Ink also posts a Flotsam and Jetsam a couple of times a week)
Desiring God

The sources are endless. Just keep your eyes open.

And if you have just younger children, your M Files might simply include jokes or catechism questions or stories about heroes. Customize the time to the season of your family, and remember to keep it enjoyable. You're making memories around that table of yours, good or bad, so make the best of your captive audience and give them more than just food for their bodies. Feed their hearts, minds, and souls.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~A Life of Hearing Sermons

"...we ought to see our relationship to preaching as a lifelong relationship. To be sure, it is good to consider each Sunday how the truth we have heard that day should shape our lives right away, but there is more to it than that. Each of us also ought to be storing up a deep reservoir of biblical convictions over the course of his life. Those convictions may pay off down the road in ways that you never anticipated.

Let us all be reminded of the good counsel that the Westminster Larger Catechism provides about hearing sermons:

Q. 160: What is required of those that hear the word preached?

Answer: It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the word of God; mediate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.

Notice that language, 'hide it in their hearts'. The Christian life is, among other things, from start to finish, a life of hearing sermons, and it is vital that we hold on to the truth we have heard. Who knows what the circumstances will be in which you will have to bring forth the fruit of the things you have stored away?

...No disciple is too young to start hiding the truth in his heart. Maybe when he is twenty-eight--or younger--he will find out that he has cancer. That is not the time to start thinking about the goodness, wisdom, and power of God. Far better for him to have those truths already deeply rooted in his soul, thanks to years of faithful preaching and listening."

~Paul D. Wolfe, My God is True

A Month of Thanksgiving~A Nib for Your Pastor and Lots of Prayer

One year for Christmas, we gave our pastor a fountain pen nib with a pledge to faithfully pray for him, along with a note explaining the symbolism of the nib. The gift was inspired by this story told by Charles Spurgeon:

"There is a sermon by old Matthew Wilks about our being epistles of Christ, written not with ink, and not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart; and he said that ministers are the pens with which God writes on their hearts' hearts, and that pens need nibbing every now and then, and even when they are well nibbed they cannot write without ink--so he said that the best service that the people could render to the preachers was to pray the Lord to give them new nibs, and dip them in the ink afresh, that they might write better than before. Do so, dear friends, do not blot the page with your censures and unkind remarks, but help the preacher by pleading for him even as Christ prayed for Peter."
~Spurgeon, The Preparatory Prayers of Christ, emphasis mine

God has given us the privilege of interceding for those who shepherd us. How important this is, to pray for the Lord to keep them, to preserve them, to strengthen them! Not praying for our pastors is just one way of many of taking them for granted, of being ungrateful for this gift from the Lord.

Gardiner Spring puts it this way:

"Nothing gives a people so much interest in their minister, and interest of the best kind, as to pray for him. They love him more, they respect him more, the attend more cheerfully and profitably on his ministrations, the more they commend him to God in their prayers. They feel a deeper interest in his work the more they pray for him; and their children feel a deeper interest both in him and his preaching, when they habitually listen to supplications that affectionately commend him to the throne of the heavenly grace."
~A Plea to Pray for Pastors

Perhaps at the core of many a church's disillusionment with their pastor is their failure to consistently and fervently pray for him. When we find ourselves becoming increasingly critical of our shepherds, maybe the first thing we should ask ourselves is if we're praying for them. Truly, how often do we send our ministers into the pulpit without once having prayed for them during the week, and then we roast them over Sunday dinner and make of list of the many ways they displease us? Oh, God forgive us for neglecting this duty, this privilege.

Today is the perfect time to make a commitment to regularly pray for your pastor. And go one step further--let him know you're faithfully praying for him, be it by packaging up a lovely fountain pen nib or just sending a note. And what shall we pray?

Thomas Brooks, in his book Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, asks his congregation to pray in this way for him:

"That ye would pray for me, who am not worthy to be named among the saints, that I may be a precious instrument in the hand of Christ to bring in many souls unto Him, and to build up those that are brought in in their most holy faith; and 'that utterance will be given to me, that I may make known all the will of God' (Eph. 6:19); that I may be sincere, faithful, frequent, fervent, and constant in the work of the Lord, and that my labour be not in vain in the Lord; that my labours may be accepted in the Lord and his saints, and I may daily see the travail of my soul.

But, above all, pray for me, that I may more and more find the power and sweet of those things upon my own heart, that I give out to you and others; that my soul may be so visited with strength from on high, that I may live up fully and constantly to those truths that I hold forth to the world; and that I may be both in life and doctrine 'a burning and a shining light,' that so, when the Lord Jesus shall appear, 'I may receive a crown of glory which he shall give to me in that day, and not only to me, but to all that love his appearing.' (John 5:35 and 2 Tim. 1:8).

~Thomas Brooks

Of course, that's just a start. There are many prayers to pray for our pastors. The important thing is to just do it and do it faithfully.

Thanks be to God for our pastors and for the duty and privilege of interceding for them before the Lord!

With love,

Trisha

A Bit of a Mom Brag and Why Men Should Read Fiction

My Corey has written a delightful piece for The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. I'm so proud of him!

"I have no quarrel with non-fiction. I love reading about history and theology and philosophy and culture. I love Paul Johnson and John Calvin and Aristotle and Ken Myers. What I do not love is a reading pile that makes no room for stories about magic rings and an Earth that isn’t quite Above and isn’t quite Below but is very comfortably in the Middle. If you have no use for Elfland (as Chesterton calls it), do not take it as a reflection of your mighty intelligence; take it as a reflection of your lack thereof. Real men step into Elfland and become as children again, and they are better men for it."

You can read the rest here: Casting Out Pearls: Men and Reading Fiction

Such Teachers May We Be

I know aged Christians who seem every time they speak, to drop diamonds and emeralds from their lips; one could wish to treasure up every syllable they utter, not because there is anything very ingenious or original in any sentence, but because there is a sound of abundance of rain in every word; a divine depth, a sacred sweetness, a leaping of life, even in each broken utterance which is born on their lips. You say, "That man knows more than he tells. He does not expose all his wares in the window. He has been in the secret place of communion. His face shines though his voice falters." Such teachers may you and I prove in our riper years, having light in ourselves and illuminating all who are within the range of our influence. What God has led us to understand, may we be the means of communicating by our ordinary conversation, by speech easy, simple, unostentatious, yet earnest, faithful, and heavenly minded.
~C. H. Spurgeon

Keep Fighting

You're in that same place with that same child once again, and you wonder if he's ever going to learn. You realize that every time you faithfully discipline him, you're fighting. Fighting for his soul. Fighting for him to master Self, so it doesn't master him for the rest of his life. Fighting against your own weariness and discouragement. You're fighting for the unseen, and it often wears you down.

Sometimes it's hard to walk this way, the way of faith, especially when we're so goal-oriented, so motivated by what we can see and touch.

But the seeing and touching isn't always immediately possible as we disciple these tender souls God has given us. When our child has sinned and been corrected but there's no fruit or repentance, it's easy for our spirits to grow heavy, weighed down by whispers of doubt.  "When will my child learn?"

We often want to do the work of the Holy Spirit. Of course, we know we can't, but our behavior and our thoughts reflect otherwise. Can you imagine how boastful and prideful we would become, how ignorant of our own sins we would be, if we could always SEE the fruit of our labors? We would actually begin to believe that this was fruit of OUR labors instead of the work of the Spirit, the grace of God.

Heart-tending is hard work. It requires more than just making a child obey.  It requires dying to ourselves, not growing weary in doing good, forbearing in love for the sometimes oft-repeated sin.  It requires humility and an utter dependence on the LORD. It requires walking by faith and not by sight, because though God in His goodness does show us the fruit of His Spirit in our children's lives, there are many days He leaves us searching.

"The Lord will sometimes strip you of the leaves of evidence to teach you to live by faith..."~Charles Spurgeon

So today when you child just doesn't seem to get it and your heart is aching because of it, when you long to see your child delight in this amazing love Jesus has for him, but he's just not moved by it, when you weep because your precious one is refusing life-giving instruction, continue walking, my friend, continue fighting for your child. 

Guard against trading God's parenting wisdom for man's. Desperate times often lead us to unwise remedies, as our hearts echo the age-old question,"Did God really say?"

Embrace the little spurts of growth that ARE happening in your child. A kind word to a sibling? Not grumbling about the food set before him? Giving a bigger piece of pie to his sister? Giving a kind word instead of an angry one? Write it down, and praise your child accordingly. "See, this is the work of the Holy Spirit in you!" "What a testimony of God's grace!" "Isn't the power of the gospel amazing?"

Love your child and keep your heart tender towards him. Repent of any bitterness and guard against letting the tiniest bit creep in. You know better than anyone when it's there.

Get serious about praying for your child. Really serious.

Remember God's patience and goodness to you, especially if you have a sin that you repeatedly battle. Remember His many mercies poured out on you.

Be faithful to know the state of your flock. Thank God for His goodness in showing you your children's sin NOW and for the privilege of training them up in the way they should go.

And trust God, our mighty God who keeps His promises, to finish this work He has started in your child and in you.

Love,

Trisha

How to Make the Most of a Sermon

From Puritan minister Richard Baxter, here are ten exhortations regarding "Directions for holy Resolutions and Affections in Hearing."

"The understanding and memory are but the passage to the heart, and the practice is but the expression of the heart: therefore how to work upon the heart is the principal business."

Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.~John 17:17 

1)  Live under the most convincing, lively, serious preacher that possibly you can.   What man that is alive and awake, doth not feel a very great difference between a dead and a lively preacher?

2)  Remember that ministers are the messengers of Christ and come to you on His business and in His name.

3)  Remember that this God is instructing you, and warning you, and treating with you, about no less than the saving of your souls. Come therefore to hear as for your salvation. Can that heart be dull that well considereth, that it is heaven and hell that is the matter that God is treating with him about?

4)  Remember that you have but a little time to hear in; and you know not whether ever you shall hear again. Hear therefore as if it were your last.  How would I hear if I were sure to die tomorrow?

5)  Remember that all these days and sermons must be reviewed, and you must answer for all that you have heard, whether you heard it with love, or with unwillingness and weariness, with diligent attention or with carelessness; and the word which you hear shall judge you at the last day.  (John 12:48)

6)  Make it your work with diligence to apply the word as you are hearing it, and to work your own hearts to those suitable resolutions and affections which it bespeaketh. Therefore be all the while at work, and abhor an idle heart in hearing..

7)  Chew the cud, and call up all when you come home in secret, and by meditation preach it over to yourselves.  

8)  Pray it over all to God, and there lament a stupid heart, and put up your complaints to Heaven against it. The name and presence of God hath a quickening and awaking power.

9)  Go to Christ by faith for the quickening of His Spirit. Your life is hid in Him, your Root and Head; and from Him all must be conveyed; he that hath the Son hath life; and because He liveth, we shall live also. Entreat Him to glorify the power of His resurrection, by raising the dead; and to open your hearts, and speak to you by His Spirit, that you may be taught of God, and your hearts may be His epistles, and the table where the everlasting law is written.

10)  Make conscience of teaching and provoking others. God often blesseth the grace that is most improved in doing Him service; and our stock is like the woman's oil, which increased as long as she poured out, and was gone when she stopped.

With love,
Trisha