pamela – Page 83 – The Welcome Home

home’s cool

I needed to write an article for the next issue of Making It Home magazine. And I thought what shall I write? It’s the May/June issue and I wanted to write something appropriate – meaningful for mothers. And then I thought on the retreat I’ve just attended and the thoughts still swirling around in my mind. I thought on some of the questions also that I’ve received lately and was amazed (but never surprised!) at God’s weaving of different messages and themes.

I’m often asked and often contemplate the question: Why home school? I’m asked, “Do you think everyone should homeschool?” I usually hear that translated: “I don’t homeschool, and you probably think I’m __________ (fill in the blank; bad, wrong, etc.) for not homeschooling.” I get that kind of question/statement regarding a myriad of other topics… motherhood, no birth control, homemaking, submission to one’s husband, church, modest clothing and on and on. People tend to feel judged by those who are “different” than they—especially when it comes to these particular topics.

I’m often asked if I think homeschooling provides the best education for children. To which I reply, homeschooling doesn’t really provide ANY education for children—parents do—I know, a little glib there. I do think that parents need to do or undo what the government schooling does or doesn’t do to and for children – but the mere fact that children are at home and out of the government school atmosphere isn’t the only reason we school at home. There are many schools, I’m told, that are excellent for the care, guidance and education of children. I imagine that’s true and, in fact, I’ve met numerous believers who were government school educated and their lives are dedicated to following the LORD. But almost across the board there’s this underlying currant of thought — it’s subtle in some cases, but it’s there. It’s something that believers the world over just gloss over and don’t even really realize it and it is the educating of men and women to be equal in all ways. It’s the conditioning that boys and girls receive year after year and like the analogy of the frog placed in a pot of cool water and over time the water is heated to boiling and the frog is slowly cooked to death, the identities and distinctions of boys and girls are slowly steeped in the pot, and over time, like the frog, the distinctions and identities die.

They go in distinct and they leave blurred. Dead. The boys aren’t trained up to be godly, responsible, obedient, hardworking providers, protectors and strong leaders; and the girls are not trained up to be godly, responsible, obedient, homeworking MOTHERS, protectors of life and home, lovers of husbands and children, nurturers of God’s gifts.

In our home (and I know this is true for *many* homeschooling families) we’re seeking to live, learn, love, serve, obey, create, pray and follow the LORD so that we will not be educated otherwise. This phrase: “educated otherwise” comes from listening to talks by Nancy Campbell of Above Rubies. And, O my, I cannot get those thoughts out of my mind… and I don’t long to lose them, either, by the way. Women are/were uniquely created for the most blessed, precious, important, noble and sacred role: motherhood. Women are to be taught to love their husbands, love their children, to be good, chaste, keepers at home. Men are to be taught to be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience (in addition to many other virtues, qualities and characteristics of godly men).

So I say… hmmm… God has designed each for specific and distinct roles and the world seeks to blend, blur and blot them out. Boys could or should be men, but they’re being educated otherwise. Girls could or should be women, but they’re being educated otherwise. I take a moment to ponder and then I am gripped with unquenchable fervor to *be* what God’s designed and called — to teach the children to *be* what God’s designed and called ———and I must go from here: to that calling!
So, why would I send the children to government schools to be educated otherwise?

Another hmmmmmm…

You know… you go along and think that perhaps it’s not all going south. Maybe you’ve overreacted or have been a bit too critical. You think maybe you ought to just sit back, take a deep breath and study the matter a bit longer before making a judgment call on the matter. In yet another “Hmmmmmm….” moment and another shaking of the head and aching in the heart moment I sort of cannot believe a video clip I just watched. No it wasn’t at all akin to the American Family Association’s mail and video clip sent out yesterday… (the vulgar “Gay Pride” parade clip and plea by the AFA to contact reps. regarding the new hate crimes legislation) though that was more than a hmmmmmmmmmm moment – this clip is really perhaps more sickening bcz, while the footage of the pride parade was truly unsettling, it was, after all, clearly a secular event.

What’s grievous about this link/clip is that it was a “church service” and the excuse made by the pastor several minutes into the clip is probably very telling of the state of the church in America. The subtle nuances, the blending of secular and sacred – or worse: a very low view of the holiness of God and honour due Him. So here’s the clip… and maybe coming soon to a church near you: church Springcreek style.

Home Free

I am deeply saddened at the passing of a tremendously blessed and gifted musician, pianist, Roger Bennett.

I will greatly miss his marvelous gift and ability to share gospel truths, encouraging words, laughs and… hope in sorrow. I will miss his integral part of the beautiful dynamic of Legacy 5. I will miss anticipating and attending the music concerts of Legacy 5. What a blessing it is to have most all their CD’s… the music is tremendously inspiring. I love that he wrote of his journey and trials in his Midnight Meditations.

I love that he walked with God – that he trusted Him through the highest and lowest points of his life. I love that he had a fabulous sense of humour. I love that he was compassionate and considerate of others despite his own painful condition. I love that he used the gifting of the LORD to bless others and that the legacy of his life will play on… One of my favourite songs he sand was: Home Free, a Wayne Watson song. So today, I’m remembering Roger Bennett… finally: ultimately healed and: Home free!

Home Free
Wayne Watson

I’m trying hard not to think you unkind
But Heavenly Father
If you know my heart
Surely you can read my mind
Good people underneath the sea of grief
Some get up and walk away
Some will find ultimate relief

Chorus
Home Free, eventually
At the ultimate healing we will be Home Free
Home Free, oh I’ve got a feeling
At the ultimate healing
We will be Home Free

Out in the corridors we pray for life
A mother for her baby, A husband for his wife
Sometimes the good die young
It’s sad but true
And while we pray for one more heartbeat
The real comfort is with you

You know pain has little mercy
And suffering’s no respecter of age, of race or position
I know every prayer gets answered
But the hardest one to pray is slow to come
Oh Lord, not mine, but Thy will be done

Let it be…

Chorus
Home Free, eventually
At the ultimate healing we will be Home Free
Home Free, oh I’ve got a feeling
At the ultimate healing
We will be Home Free

Home Free, eventually
At the ultimate healing gonna be Home Free
Home Free, oh it’s more than a feeling
At the ultimate healing
Gonna be Home Free

Today’s Slices

Blogging is sort of like riding a bike… sometimes it’s easy, like riding on a smooth path; other times it’s a challenge, like a steep incline or like attempting to get back on and ride after falling off the bike. Anyway… this is for my friend who, yesterday, asked me to keep blogging.

So today I don’t really have anything original or inspiring to write but I do have a couple of matters that are weighing on my heart. Ironically, they’re completely unrelated and in the scheme of things have drastically different weight as far as importance goes. But sort of like noticing the potty needs to be scrubbed when you’re on the way to a funeral, sometimes odd things grab our attention. So, I sit here today attempting to catch up on all the mails that need replies and I read of very difficult circumstances, grim realities and heavy loads others bear. Then I consider… bear ye one another’s burdens. And I pray.

I pray for the family of a young lady who, while doing missions’ work in the UK, contracted a flesh eating bacteria and has undergone surgery to amputate the infected leg. I ache for this young woman, I ache for her family and for the one who sent me the mail and link for updates. The enemy may intend things for evil, but God allows them for good, I think as I read the entries. And as I read, I pray for wisdom for them. I would ask others to pray for them as well; her story is here.
Having just gotten off the phone with Kathryn in Uganda, I’m mindful of the sacrifice God calls many to make on His behalf. I’m more mindful than ever that God is the blessed controller of all things and is sovereign and merciful. He can only be merciful and will only do/choose/provide/etc., that which is for our good and His glory. Always and only. So when I think of Kathryn there holding a baby sick with malaria, taking her into her bed for the night to sleep safely under the mosquito net, I think: praise the LORD ~ He is good. How merciful He is to have provided arms to hold that helpless child.

And then I browse through the hundreds of images taken this past weekend as we visited friends in Idaho… a family dedicated to serving the LORD and caring for their husband/father as the ALS continues to weaken his body. They care for every single thing that concerns him as he, for many years, has had no use of limbs – both arms and both legs. But God is truly rich in mercy and His blessing IS on that home and household and He IS guiding and providing. One only need look into the beautiful face of his loyal and dedicated wife to see the tremendous blessing of the LORD. Her eyes smile… what a blessing it is to be taught of the LORD through the testimony of her life.

I’m getting ready to attend the Pacific Northwest Above Rubies Retreat this weekend. I look forward to not only seeing/hearing Nancy Campbell, but also to spending time with sisters in the LORD and with women I rarely see or only see once a year. It’s a sweet time of fellowship that I treasure. I’ll be missing Kathryn as I’ve come to so delight in sharing these sorts of occasions with her now that she’s older… but I’m so pleased to have Hannah come down for the retreat for one of the days. She’s doing Kathryn’s nannying work while she’s away and so is prevented from attending the whole weekend. I think she’ll enjoy the time ~ and the blessing of Nancy Campbell.

I think it’s interesting how the LORD has used and is using Nancy in women’s lives and homes. I think it’s interesting how, like Elisabeth Elliot, she’s used to reach so many women on so many levels – young and old, rich or poor – across the globe. Interesting too, that they both do not fit the stereotypical “modern Christian woman” and don’t even attempt to. I think that’s one (among many) of the things, I respect most about them both. They’re not attempting put on a “sports stadium” event for women. In fact, I’d hazard to guess that many would be turned off by their message. But it’s fairly obvious that many (many-many???) Christian women are turned off by the truths of the Word. It’s foolishness to them and it’s “old-fashioned” to them. I guess that’s why I pray so fervently that women will read the Word, pray and study to know the will and way of the LORD. His Word is plain—it’s true and simple. I am praying many will be touched with the message of the pure Word and that their hearts will be turned to the LORD, to their husbands, to their homes and to their children and their lives will reflect His glory.

I will look up

If I look down and see my feet and the rocky ground beneath — or look down and see not my feet but shifting waves crashing all around me, a wave of panic washes over me and I fear I will sink or be washed away in the flood of fear.

But, in the most peculiar of all, the most wonderful of all experiences I know is the sweet peace that washes over when I look not down but up — when I lift my eyes and see that not only am I not in perilous straits or not only am I not sinking in the mire, but I am being lifted up and it is in the able hand of the LORD that I stand.

All around me points to possible failure and loss, all around me the tasks are too great and I, in those moments of despair, see I cannot possibly do this task of guiding this home, teaching these children, directing them on the path, filling all the needs and doing all that needs to be done. All around me, the giants of doubt hover. The enemy brings to mind past failures and accomplishments seem to pale in comparison to the number of losses.

But wait.

What does God say… what’s really true?

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”

Deuteronomy 33.27

O, blessed morning, sweet, sweet morning… I look out to see the sunrise and I cannot count or name all the blessings of the LORD. Sunshine floods my home and I cannot list quickly enough the ways of His gracious mercy. In giving thanks I see that this is His home, these are His children, my husband is His man and He has, is and will guide my husband’s steps — all of our needs, all of our hopes, all of our plans are in His Hands.

Why would I fear? Who else is there beside the LORD? Why would I resort to the shifting sand? Why would I look down? Why do I have this work of being a homemaker, doing all these tasks, looking after these children and missing the others? I instantly stand and clutch the blessing of the plan and work of the LORD in my life and I gladly walk in this path and zealously guard it. For I would want no other to take my place in this home and no offender to come in. I would want no other task and pray to not squander these blessings another minute to doubt or fear.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm 121.1

truthy stuff

When I open up this program, one of the first things I see is: “Write a Post.” And when I first opened this page I did have something to write, rather, something else to write. But as things were loading and I was checking mail and so on, I browsed an article about the wanna-be-president Obama. I’m not sure exactly what caught my eye, but then I went back through and read the article or the transcript of a talk he gave at a Unity breakfast in Selma, Alabama. Now, this post isn’t going to be about him or really anything in particular about what he shared in Selma, Alabama, or even the contradictions in his speech — well, except one: a series of misinterpretations, really.

In the last few days I’ve been particularly impressed with the glaring contradictions, misinterpretations and reinterpretations or revisions of time honoured documents and Truths. When Timothy came home for the weekend, he shared that one of the teachers at the Bible school has returned from doing a bit of work in Washington DC and shared about the massive reinvention or revision of history being taught there to visitors of the US capitol. I’ve been mulling over all the revisions of the Word of God – volumes that are passing for Bibles, revisionist bibles. Consider… a tour guide at the Capitol called that tablet of stone – “the first Ten Amendments.”
So what did I glean from the Obama speech? It was the sobering reality that there is a dearth of biblical knowledge and understanding. It’s probably most grievous that “spiritual leaders” were present and probably not only allow for the inconsistencies but likely applauded the speech. I know politicians lie and are people pleasers (read: liars) when necessary to be so. And I know that given specific circumstances, they’ll pander to the players and the audience. So, it probably ought to just be expected that these things will occur and that we just do better to accept and move on.

But that’s where perpetrated lies become part of the accepted thinking on a matter – and part of campaign slogans that engender loyal followers. But what we must guard against is taking the slogans and believing them as truths and allowing them to be part of our speech. It’s important to search out when you hear things that don’t quite gel. Maybe others would think such little things are fairly innocuous, but it’s little things that become foundational principles by which people stake their lives. Take the term “separation of church and state;” if you didn’t read further, you might believe that it is part of the original wording of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

So, now, were you to read (or listen to) Obama’s speech, you’d have a very poignant picture of Joshua and of Moses, too, for that matter. You’d consider that it was truly their work, their ambition and original idea to march through the wilderness into the Promised Land. And… you’d think the “Promised Land” is a metaphor for whatever one wants to succeed and achieve in life. And, that he does reference God, you’d think the story is retold with Biblical accuracy. But then, that’d be a wrong assumption. Very wrong assumptions become very big platforms.

Guard the Truth. Know it. Tell it.

where would I go?

Whew, what a week, but… O, What a Saviour!

I often wonder where I’d be without the LORD. Who would I turn to and where would I go? O to be found in the Hand of the LORD and to be sitting at His feet. What a tremendous blessing we have… freedom to sit at the feet of the LORD, to read His Word and to be freely welcome to bring our petitions, our grief, our sorrows and our hopes to the throne of the living LORD. Living – not a statue, not a concept, not a changing imagination, not a vision… but the living LORD.

I was mulling over the passage where Peter says to Jesus in John 6:68 –

Lord, to whom shall we go?
thou hast the words of eternal life.”

Where would I go… seeing that Jesus alone has the power to save, to guide and to provide for everything that concerns me. Why would I consider then going this life without Him?

He is LORD in every prayer… in plenty and in want, in disappointment, in trials, in sickness, in surgeries, watching over waywards, in travels, in ministry, in everything we hope and everything we need: He is our provider and LORD.

So, where would I go, LORD, seeing You have the words of eternal life. To whom would I turn, seeing that You alone are my salvation.

the truthy stuff of global warming

Our older’s just came in from a late night snowball fight… I was talking on the phone to Kathryn in Uganda (yes, she’s great, thanks for asking!) and she was saying that it really isn’t terribly hot in Jinja. she was, however, stunned that we have snow here! It’s morning for her there at the orphanage in Jinja and a beautiful day. She had just completed the task of clipping the babies’ nails. Many of those tasks are the sort one might not consider when thinking of the care and feeding of children in an orphanage. But it is, among others, a very important task.
So, mugs of hot chocolate, clumps of snow on the floor, soggy clothes and boots tell me it’s cold outside. And then I think of the new pieces, the ones decrying global warming, and I think: right. Which globe is warming? I remember a teacher I had in high school warned of the impending ice age and was extremely concerned about the environmental impact of the cooling earth. Imagine what would have happened had we had the internet with its explosive and expansive news sources in those days. So, if global warming is truly a problem, I’d sure like a little of that problem in the Pacific Northwest. I don’t mind the weather all that much and I don’t hate snow, I just hate to be cold.

I know… what in the world were those boys doing outside at this time of night? Friends stopped by and… well… that’s what you do if you’ve got snow in the yard.

the awesome task

It’s always hard to blog a post when it’s been some time since the previous. It’s sort of like exercising. There are a million and one excuses for not doing so or for avoiding the task, but once begun, it’s always a refreshing thing. And, like exercise with many breaks between, blogging is awkward and probably painful to the reader of the flabby blogger.

I marveled at this Spurgeon quote:

We have come to a turning point in the road.
If we turn to the right mayhap our children
and our children’s children will go that way; but if we turn to the left,
generations yet unborn will curse our names
for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word.”
Charles Spurgeon

Well, that puts a whole new spin on tomorrow’s plans. Have you ever thought that the decisions you are making today will affect the children’s children? Or, do you consider what you’re doing day by day in light of eternity? It’s sort of silly, then, to fret over this covering or that plastic storage thing or what they were wearing at the Oscar’s, isn’t it. For in our hand we hold the clay of the future. We’re molding and shaping the vessels of tomorrows work for the LORD. What a marvelous task we have been entrusted to carry on. What an awesome thing it is to be a mother. For if we do not teach them… another will. They will be taught. What will they be taught and what will the effect be on their children?

Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me.

the dailies

It seems sometimes like the dailies get in the way of the dailies. That, or there are just too many dailies for one day. I think, then, that the best we can hope for sometimes is to have sort of a weekly, rather than a daily, perspective concerning most things. I mean, for example, it’s probably best to look at the children’s diet or food consumption that way. Consider that on any given day, they may or may not take in the proper amounts of food for particular food categories. They may be taking in more grains and breads one day, more fruits or veggies on another day, maybe a bit more protein one day and a bit more chocolate another day. When seen from the daily perspective, it might not look all that favourable… but from the weekly perspective, well… it’s all pretty okay.

So… I guess that’s sort of the way housekeeping needs to be considered sometimes. There’s just more of a day than the day can hold sometimes and so sometimes we have to see things from the perspective of a bunch of days. I was thinking about this a bit this morning as I was working around. And I realized that there’s this basic pattern of things that must be done—then there’s a bit of a pattern of things that ought to be done and things that could be done. Or not. Some days things just sort of bunch up and we miss the all-over-tidy at noon-time but I just have to not fret over it and recognize that it will get done during another all-over-tidy up that day. Sort of like the merry-go-round will eventually com around again and someone will be able to hop off the horse and tidy it up.

We try to make a game of it every day. All the chores of the house are sort of divided up according to age and ability (and availability) and so long as everyone is riding together, things go fairly well each day. The earlier the better it seems. It’s when one or two don’t stay on task that others are sort of pulled down. So… invariably, one of us is pushing and pulling at the same time. It’s generally easy to get everyone back on track… especially when it’s sunny outside! The merry-go-round goes round and round a whole lot nicer when the sun’s out.

So, speaking of the merry-go-round… I’d better hop off this one and get busy. There’ll too much of this day to fit into this day if I don’t.