52 Weeks of Family Scripture Memorization Comes to a Close

Our last Family Scripture Memorization verse! A BIG thank you to all who have followed us through this journey.

  I pray you have had a blessed 2014 and that 2015 brings you even closer to God- the one who loves YOU most!

Blessings,

Unto You- 52 Weeks of Family Scripture Memorization

OK, I know we do not know exactly when Jesus was born.  I get that.  But none the less, we celebrate His birth in 6 days!  6 days ya'll!

And regardless of when THIS DAY really was, He was born for us!

You and me, friends!

Celebrate that!

Blessings,

Great News!- 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

Have you ever had good news to share with others?

A new job?

A pregnancy?

The graduation of a child?

A wedding?

A special unexpected blessing?

I love good news.  I love hearing it and sharing it. To share our excitement with others is fun.  To see excitement on a friend's face as they share warms my heart.

But the best GOOD NEWS of all was shared by an angel!

Can you even imagine?

Good news of great joy.

Sure, our news can bring fun and excitement, but JOY?  Only that comes from the Lord!

And it came many years ago in the form of a baby!

For all people!

And that, my friends, should be taught to our kids!

Blessings, 

How Was the Birth? 52 Weeks of Family Scripture Memorization

As we focus on our Savior's birth this month of December, I thought it would be fitting to end our 52 week scripture memorization journey with verses that point our children towards Jesus!

If you have kids, do you remember their births?  Surely you do, even if only a few faint memories.  After all, after hearing the gender of your child, their weight and height and then their name, everyone wants to know "How was the birth?"  Some of us details people want to know even more details...what was your labor and delivery room like, were the nurses nice, what did you eat, did the doctor show up on time?  

OK, mostly women ask those kinds of questions.  But those are the things we think about.  I mean, I remember obsessing over whether I would have a private room or have to share with someone I didn't know.  Or whether the bathroom was in the room or down the hall.  Or if a shower or better yet, a whirlpool tub, was at my disposal.  You know, the important things! ;)

But Mary.  Well, she was unlike the rest of us I imagine.  We cannot know what the scripture does not tell us, but I would imagine that the only details she cared about were that she was giving birth someplace safe and warm.  And that her baby, God's son, was healthy.  The little details paled in comparison.  Because only one detail mattered.

THE DETAIL!

God's own son, Jesus, was born!

And the wise men and shepherds- bet they didn't ask a thing.  I would imagine all they could do was bow at His side and worship Him.

Shouldn't we?

Blessings,

Follow Him!- 52 weeks of Family Scripture Memorization

What kind of parent are you?

Gracious in your words and actions?
Merciful?
Patient?
Kind and loving?

Does it just depend on the day?

I would like to say that I am a great mom.  Always gracious and merciful and patient and loving.  But if I said that I would not be completely honest.

Because sadly, I am not.

I would like to be. I long to be.  And on some days I may come close.  But often stress gets the best of me.  Busyness takes up my time.  Anger creeps in.  I fail.

And then I do and say things that I wish I had not done and said.

But, God... well, He is not me.  And He never fails!

While I strive daily to do better and show my children what graciousness, patience, mercy, and love look like, in my human weakness I will never be perfect and sometimes I will fail.  

So instead of saying "follow me," I am trying to teach them-

Follow Him!  Jesus.  The one that is perfect.  

As we get closer to the Christmas season and turn our eyes to Jesus, let us remind our children that by following Him we can learn what graciousness, mercy, patience and love really look like.

And then let's take the time to show those things to those around us.

Blessings,

*For the rest of the year we will be focusing on scripture from the Christmas Story!  We hope you will join us!

Keep Your Eyes on God!- 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

Let's face it, some days are just harder than others.  Some weeks are like that!

I feel like I am stuck in one of those seasons.

As I so often say to my close friends- KEEP YOUR EYES ON GOD!  

Yes, I am shouting that to myself.

 

We need to teach our kids that when things are good we need to keep our eyes on God.  And then when things get hard, we need to continue to keep our eyes on Him as well. How easy it is to take our eyes off God and drown in our own helplessness.

I am a momma.  I love my kids and I want to supply their every need.  Make everything all better.  I want them to come to me with all of their sadness, hurt, and pain.  But before even that, I want to teach them to take all that to God first.  I am human and I can only do so much!

He is God, and He alone will  give us refuge and sustain us!

Teach your kids to keep their eyes on God and make Him their refuge!

Blessings, Michele

Oh Be Careful Little Mouth!- 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

Oh be careful little mouths what you say, oh be careful little mouths what you say.  For the Father up above is looking down in love, Oh be careful little mouths what you say.

Bring back memories?

Does for me.  We used to sing that song to our little kids all of the time.  It's cute.  It's catchy.

And boy is it full of truth!

We need to start singing it again.  Trust me.

We have one child in particular that tends to lash out in anger with ugly, often hurtful words.  It is his line of defense. 

I am mad.  I will say mean things.
I am confused.  I will say mean things.
I am scared.  I will say mean things.
I am tired.  I will say mean things.
I feel threatened.  I will say mean things.

See the trend?

We are working on it daily, but it surprises me almost every time.  How can this sweet, loving boy turn into such a hateful little guy so fast?

We have talked about how your words have consequences.  How once you say something you cannot take it back.  How once you hurt someone, they tend not to trust you anymore.  How it grieves God's heart when you say unkind things.

It is a heart issue, I know.  Something deep inside of him that he can't quite put into words yet.  But he is working on it.

He is not alone.  Because every time I point out to him that speaking unkindly is a sin and that when we sin we are hurting not only ourselves and others, but we are also  hurting God, I wonder how often I, too, have a heart issue.  How can sweet me turn into a hateful person so fast?

How often do I get mad and say mean things?
How often in my confusion do I say mean things?
How often do I get scared and say mean things?
How often do I feel tired and say mean things?
How often do I feel threatened and say mean things?

I am working on it too. 
How about you?

And so instead of just singing the song, this week we are reciting the verse!  Over and over again!

Let us not sin in anger!  And let us allow the Lord to close our mouths and heal our hearts!

Blessings,
 

Crawling Out of the Pit- 52 weeks of family scripture memorizatioon

Psalm 139 is my favorite chapter of the Bible.  One day I hope to be able to memorize the whole thing.  The first time I heard it was while watching a VHS (remember those?) of Michael W. Smith in concert.  He prayed Psalm 139 and at the time I had no idea it was scripture.  I was in high school and I just remember thinking wow, what a prayer.  Years later, after being saved and while reading through the Bible, I ran across those familiar words.  It was like a revelation- I too could pray that prayer.

The whole thing speaks to me, but today I want to point you to two particular verses- 23 and 24.  In the NIV translation part of the verse reads "Try me and know my anxious thoughts."

So here goes for honesty...

I have had some pretty anxious thoughts lately.  Our family got very sick the day my husband left and have been sick since.  Four out of five of us have been down for the count and thank goodness the oldest was spared and is able to run a household.  A friend commented on how sorry she was because she knew how hard it was to be a mom and sick at the same time.  No worries- I haven't been a mom for the past week!  Just keeping it real!

I did however lay in a bed for 6 days straight.  And since then, I often head right back there after being up for more than an hour.   Pneumonia and bronchitis will do that to you.  Bed has become my place.  And it has given me a lot of time to feel anxious.

What if I get even sicker?

What if we cannot take care of ourselves?

What if we cannot get through this next year without my husband?

What if we misread God and should have retired instead?

What if...

I spiraled down into a pit of panic more and more everyday and realized I had the potential to take the kids right along with me.  Anxious thoughts have a way of doing that to you.  They affect you and they affect those around you.  They can cripple us with irrational fear.

And they are not from God.

I know that.  I tell friends that all of the time.  But man, when it is you going through a crisis, things can look very different.  You stop seeing truth and you hyper focus on lies.  And it grieves the Lord.

So my prayer for the past few days has been for God to know those thoughts (He does!) and help me take them captive (He can!) To help pull me out of this pit.  Because on my own I am not able.

But God is!

Our circumstances are not a surprise to God.  Depending on what you believe, at the very least He allowed them.  At the most, He orchestrated them.

I do not like the way my life looks right now.  Heck, I do not even like the way my heart looks right now.   I do not understand things.  And I feel like my sweet, simple life just got turned upside down and shaken. 

But minute my minute, and trust me when I say it has to happen about every minute, I am asking God to search my heart, find those anxious thoughts and help me move past them to crawl out of the pit of despair and into His everlasting truth and life.

If we can pray for you, please let us know.  Anxiety and despair are hard, but you do not have to suffer alone!

Blessings,

Michele

Thankful despite sickness! 52 Weeks of Family Scripture Memorization

I am typing this post from bed Thursday night.  It is here I have been since Monday night, sick.  Achy body, cough and high temp.  Quick fact- did you know that when an adult's temp is 102.6 (at least this adult) you think you might die.  And then once it breaks, you feel magical.  Unfortunately, I am stuck in that cycle for now.  By the time your eyes see this post I pray I am done.  

Oh and for the record...I  thought this was just a virus.  Now I think maybe the flu, which I have never had before.  If this is the flu, or even just an inkling of what the flu feels like- line me up for the shot and then some.  Seriously, people, I am willing to take my chances!!  The past three and a half days have made my hysterectomy look like a cake walk, I kid you not!

Anyway, I digress...

In an effort to not lay here in misery feeling sorry for myself (yes, misery) I have spent a lot of time in prayer.  A lot.  And one of the things I have tried to do over and over and over again was remind myself of the many things I have to be thankful for.  So many gifts from God.

• Like children who are self sufficient and able to run a household while their mom is down for the count.

• For friends who a week prior had already scheduled to bring a meal this week.  Could that timing be any more perfect?

• For a friend who showed up at our door with supplements, raw honey, soup, tea, and juice.  That may be the only reason I am able to actually type right now!

• For a husband who despite being extremely busy still calls to check on me.

• For generally good health.  I am counting this as my one time a year to be sick, just in case you want to know! ;)

• For a warm house and cool baths.

• For the countless messages from friends the past few days to remind us we are not alone.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  In the middle of our trials, sicknesses and stresses- God is still good and He always loves us.  Forever.  

I am so thankful for that reminder tonight.  How about you?  What are you and your children thanking the Lord for today?  Make a list and hang it in your home...you may the reminder sometime down the road.  Ask me how I know! ;)

Blessings,

Rejoicing in this day!- 52 Weeks of Family Scripture Memorization

Each day has been given to us by God.  

Each day we should wake up and rejoice in that!

Because let's face it, otherwise there is a lot to be discouraged about.  If we take our eyes off God and put them on our circumstances or the circumstances of those around us, we will not feel much like rejoicing.  It is just that simple.  Life is hard.  Days are hard.  Sometimes minutes are hard.

But we have a God that loves us.

He has given us our time on this earth to love Him, glorify Him, and tell others about Him!

To rejoice in Him and the day He has made.

Each day.  No matter our feelings, no matter our circumstances.

Or maybe, despite our feelings and despite our circumstances.

God is bigger than any of that!

Teaching that to my kids and myself this week!!

Blessings,

Say Thank You- 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

We love manners in this house.  Between a military dad and southern roots, we are sticklers for manners.

One of the first things we teach our kids is the phrase thank you.

"What do you say when someone gives you something?"  Thank you

"What do you say when someone does something nice for you?"  Thank you

We drill it into their heads and, hopefully, eventually into their hearts.

So much so that once while playing UNO with our first born son, we asked him what he needed to say with just one card left.  His response..."thank you?"  Ummm, no, in this case, UNO will suffice! ;)

People like to hear the words thank you.  People need to hear the words thank you.

So it makes sense to me that God, the giver of EVERYTHING, deserves to hear the words thank you as well.

Thank you, God, for life.

Thank you, God, for family.

Thank you, God, for all that you have blessed us with.

Thank you, God, for loving us.

Thank you, God, for salvation.

What are you and your children thankful for today?

Blessings, 

Are You Afraid?- 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

What are your children afraid of? 

The dark?

High places?

Small spaces?

The old house down the road?

What are you afraid of?

Being alone? 

Dying?

Spiders and ticks? (maybe that is just me)

There are many things in this world that can lead to fear.  But God calls us to not be afraid.

Each night I reassure my youngest that he does not need to be afraid.  That God is watching over him.  That he is not alone.

But do I really believe it?  Do I live like I believe it?

For someone that easily falls into the fear trap (that's me friends), it takes a constant reminder to myself that God tells us to not be afraid.  He commands it of us.  More than several times.

When I really want my kids to listen to me I will repeat what I say.  I am willing to bet God has the same strategy! ;)

So, this week, let's make it a point to listen to Him!

And to fight fear with the word of God!  Maybe we cannot handle it, but He can!

Blessings, 

My desire today- 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

The scripture today is all about me today.  Well, for me.

Funny though, it was the one originally scheduled today.

GOD KNOWS WHAT WE NEED and WHEN WE NEED IT!

While things in this life may shock and dismay me, He is never shocked. 

And He is always steadfast.

May I be as well.

More to come one Monday, but until then my family asks for your prayers- for peace, pure hearts and steadfastness in Him!

Blessings,

Angry Words- 52 Weeks of Family Scripture Memorization

Today we are adding on to our verse from last week.  Go ahead and try- you can do it!

Anger

An emotion that can get the best of us, and our children if we are not careful.  

My youngest knows this well in our home.  His natural tendency when angered is to lash out.  When he first came home at age 21 months he would slip into times of rage when he did not get his way, when he was frustrated, or when he was scared.  At times is was terrifying.  Praise The Lord, most of that behavior has subsided, but he still battles with controlling his temper.  

Words slip out of his mouth that are hurtful and harsh sometimes, and I have to remind him that while it is ok to feel angry, it is NOT ok to use hurtful words.  Let's just say, we work a lot on the "catch your words" concept.  That once you say things, you cannot take it back.  That once someone hears something, you cannot make their ears forget what they heard.  Words spoken in anger hurt other people.

Oh, how many times a day does God wish I would "catch my words?"  It is not just a little kid problem.  It is a human problem.

I see it in Walmart when a parent yells at their child for disobedience.

I see it on the street when a driver yells at someone who accidentally cut in front of them.

I see it on Facebook when someone responds to a post with harsh words because they disagree.  

I see it in spouses who are suppose to love and respect each other.

Honestly, I see it in me more times than I care to admit.

And it always leads to evil!

This week, let's hide God word in our hearts and remember to "catch our words" as we teach our children about God and His love.  His words are the BEST!

Blessings, Michele

Patiently Still- 52 weeks of Family Scripture Memorization

Did you think I forgot you this morning?  Running a little late around here!

To start off- this is the verse we are working on this week.  Heads up- we will add on to it next week as well.

These memorization posts were never meant to be a commentary from me really, just a 'hey, here is a verse or two we are working on, won't you join us" kind of thing.  But surprise surprise.  Sometimes I have something I want to share with you.  So.... today I want to comment on a few phrases that really struck me in this verse.

BE STILL

Ummm, really?  Being still is hard for some of us in this family.  I have a bouncy boy who does not sit still.  I have a preteen boy that has places to go and people to see.  I have two girls very busy with life.  We do life and often we do it at a fast pace.  So to BE STILL, well, that is hard. 

But it is God-commanded.  Did you know that God does not make suggestions?  The Bible is not a list of "hey, why don't you think about this?" verses.  Just like when I tell my son to sit still to keep him safe, God commands us to be still.  Not to take away our fun, but to ground us, calm us, and give us the opportunity to sit at His feet.  The only true place of safety.  

WAIT PATIENTLY

Well, we all know how good I am at this.  NOT!  Patience is not my strong suit.  How about you?  Just last night my family had a discussion about being box checkers.  Identify a problem, find a solution, fix it and check the box- move on.  We are guilty of that a lot of times.  But sometimes we cannot just take matters into our own hands and check a box.  God commands us (there is that word again) to wait patiently.   Sometimes the process God has for us takes longer than a moment or a day.  And sometimes, many times, He asks us to wait patiently for that process.  

DO NOT FRET

I think I can hear a few of my friends snickering as I type.  Fret use to be my middle name.  It is a battle I face daily.  I am a worrier by nature.  But I am working on it.  Because 1- God said DO NOT FRET and 2- because I trust that He has got it- whatever "it" is.  And I want to live like I believe it!

Ok, so I know the verse is about so much more that.  Remember I said that these Scripture memorization Fridays were about hiding God's word in your heart, not a Bible study.  That I am not  qualified for.  But each time we read and learn a new scripture the Lord pricks my heart, challenges me, and reminds me of His love for me.

Remember that love today and take time to teach it to your kids.  You will be forever blessed!

Blessings,