Why Americans Should Care about the Wunderlichs

A week ago, the German police raided a home in Southeast Germany with a SWAT-like team and stole away the family’s four children. The parents' crime was believing the Bible. Deuteronomy 6 instructs each of us that we should teach our children when they sit in our house, when they walk by the way, when they lie down, and when they rise up. We call this "homeschooling" or "home-based education". It is God’s biblical design for education, and after being rediscovered, it has been a remarkable success here in the United States.

But why should Americans care about what is going on in Germany? After all, it is a different culture. Aren't they just trying to control the Muslims with mandatory schooling? Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, though in some states, like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, the laws are less than ideal. But isn't America the land of the free and Germany the land that long ago traded liberties for socialized healthcare and 30 days of mandatory vacation?

• Obviously, we should care because it is simply inhumane to have police break into a family’s house and take well-cared for children away from their parents. Germany is a major economic power and world leader that should, frankly, know and be better then this. Their own history should make them abhor this type of action.

• The second reason is the Romeike family. The Romeikes arrived in the United States from Germany, fearing that this exact same thing would happen to them. In 2010, an immigration judge granted them political asylum. However, Eric Holder and the Obama administration specifically took up the cause against the Romeike family by appealing the judge's decision. They convinced the courts that coming to America to escape persecution and to follow Deuteronomy 6 in educating children was not worthy of refuge. The justice department apparently must have been educated in the public school system; a system which missed a major part about the founding of modern America. I refer to the historical event in which some people called "Pilgrims" landed from England to escape religious persecution in 1620.

All homeschoolers and all who believe in parental liberties should be concerned about this event. Even if you aren't a Christian and don’t believe in Deuteronomy 6, what if the political tide were to turn some day? Do American Muslims or atheists want police breaking into their home to take their kids off to Bible school?

Not worried? Hasn't homeschooling gotten to be too big of a force to stop in the United States? In one fell swoop that may be true, but who would thought that the U.S. government would force large companies in America to give birth control pills to their employees? Every parent needs to be vigilant. There are many in America who no longer believe that America is about liberty, but is instead about mob rule. This is a philosophy which states that  "as long as we can get the majority opinion, we can do whatever we want", including controlling your children. Why else would the justice department have made such a great effort in the Romeike case to deny that controlling the education of your own children is a human right that all should enjoy?

What can we do about this?

1) We need to pray. We will not be able to win this battle on our own cunning, strength, and ability.

2) Support HSLDA as they fight for the Romeikes and the Wunderlichs.

3) Support parental rights wherever you can, including supporting the parental rights amendment.

4) Don’t participate in government school programs which pose as homeschooling programs here in the US. These programs will be the easiest avenue for those opposed to homeschooling to get control of homeschooled children and put an end to parental control of education. We know the money is very nice, but don’t sell out hard-fought rights for a laptop.

5) Support politicians who believe in individual rights, justice, and freedom more then short term economic development, special interests, and “crony” capitalism.

6) Become a member of a Bible-believing church that supports parental discipleship, training of children, and persecuted Christians around the world.

Four Books: Gratitude, Vision, Attitude, and Ability

If you want to have the gratitude required, vision and attitude needed, plus the ability to really succeed in homeschooling over the next 16 years these are four books you need to read. They probably aren't ones that you have seen listed together before.

Gratitude: Home School Heroes -This book by Christopher Klicka gives the history of how homeschooling became legal in the United States by giving the stories of the individuals and the battles they fought to make it possible. As more and more homeschoolers look to the government for support of their efforts, it is helpful to remember that homeschooling was made possible by those trying to avoid a monopolistic government education system that wanted to arrest them for doing so. This education system that has only gotten worse sense the first homeschoolers started.

Vision: The Second Mayflower - This book by pastor, radio host, and avid homeschool promoter Kevin Swanson does the best job I have seen of the possible nationwide impact home discipleship could have on a nation that is in rebellion against the Word of God. When times are rough, it is always good to know that  your efforts are part of a bigger picture and home discipleship can have great impact on not only your family but society.

Attitude: One Thousand Gifts -This smash hit nationwide best selling book by Homeschool Mom Ann Voskamp is the most famous of the four books. It uses the background of tragedy and hardship to turn our hearts to see the joy that is right in front of us all. You will need this ability to succeed at homeschooling. Everyone needs this, that is why it has sold so well.

Ability: A Praying Life -This book by Paul E Miller is the only one not written by a homeschooler but is one the best books I know of on the helping us connect to God in a distracted world with daily prayer. It most importantly helps us understand the hindrance's to prayer. The author shares his own successes, tragedies, and challenges with a real and honest heart. If you think you will succeed by your own skills, abilities, without the power of God...think again.

What Do You Mean My Grandchild is a Dog?

Recently, we just had our seventh baby. This time we did something a bit strange. We waited two days to officially announce the name. We had a good idea of what the name would be, but we wanted to make sure it was going to fit. But since we couldn’t use this name during the "waiting" time in case we had a change of heart, we had to use names that came up at the moment. We typically chose names that reflected the characteristics of our baby itself. It struck me that this was a lot like how one might name a puppy. A child notices that your new puppy has a spot on its back and for the rest of its life its name is spot. I started to think what would the most popular baby names be if we named children like we name a new puppy.

We came up with names like Peanut, Red Squash, Cutie, Noisy, Red Tomato, and our favorite Mr. Scrunchy. But then I began to question myself, do people really name their dogs like this any more? I checked. And guess what? They don’t. Sure enough, just as plentiful as there are baby name sites. Their are top puppy name sites too. The top name right now is Max. This is the name of the boy who lives next door to us. And sure enough all the rest of the top puppy names are names that could pretty much pass as people. Names like Jake, Charlie, and Buddy are are all on the list.

A while back while I was in church, and the pastor made a comment that struck me as bizarre. Maybe it was not that bizarre considering we are living in a city with more dogs then children. He mentioned something about children and then he added on after that, "I guess now some of you have dogs instead these days." I was a bit dumbfounded. Not that I don’t like dogs, I like dogs. I don't own one because I would don't have time to properly take care of a dog as it should be taken care of. However, I wanted to shout or at least whimper, as I was sitting in the back row of the sanctuary with a squirmy child on my lap, hold it a second. Where does it say in the Bible that blessed are those who have a quiver full of pet dogs?

When we were visiting the small resort town of Leavenworth in Washington a couple summers back, and I ran across a sign in a gift shop that seemed to sum up an attitude that is creeping into our culture. Do you mean to tell me that my Grandchild is a Dog? What a world we would live in if instead of pandering to the crowd, and making an observational comment about dogs now being the new kids, the pastor instead had implored, begged, and encouraged the congregation to have children! And if you can’t have children adopt. If you can’t adopt, support those who have children, support the crises pregnancy center, support efforts to make adoption easier. Then please bring your well cared for and happy dog and let it play with the children, but don’t treat it and pretend it is a child. As the sign of the pleading grandmother points out, everyone know that dogs really can’t replace children. Has our society slipped so far that we don't get this anymore?

Yes, yes I know having children does not make you a superior Christian. There are no superior Christians. What is important is being a faithful Christian  “like a child”  following His "commands". Each of us serving God in the place we are called, in the situation we are in, serving him as the Bible instructed as we go forward no matter what mess we have gotten ourselves into in the past. That is what is important. And for a lot of us still capable. That means having children…possibly even lots of em. See Genesis if you doubt me or check out one of my favorite Psalms.

Psalms 127

"Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he gives his beloved sleep. Children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Here's hoping you have so many children you run out of good names!

Five Dangerous Homeschool Parenting Stereotypes

If you are like me, you may feel that you have read enough "how to" parenting books to fill several bookshelves. And you have been to enough homeschool conventions and been part of enough homeschool cooperatives that they begin to blur. (But we are always happy to go to or join up with one more!) You may also have noticed that homeschool families can start to fall into certain categories. I wanted to share five dangerous stereotypes we can find ourselves falling into if we don't pay attention:

Attack Parents: These parents want to control everything and live by the philosophy that their children can easily be turned into small miniature robots. These robots will later be used to cure every social ill in the world and will achieve great things simply by recognizing the errors of other generations and applying to correct formula of superior parenting. Often, those of us in this category forget to fix ourselves first.

Surrender Parents: These parents feel sorry that their children will not have the opportunity to live the "high life" that is the American Public School education. They believe that all children must be given as much rope as possible or they will rebel. These parents will usually follow all worldly patterns, lifestyles, and educational philosophies but tattoo on (literally sometimes) a little Jesus sticker to worldly activities and events. Those of us in this categories live in terror that our children will not be "cool" or "relevant."

Overload Parents: These parents have tried to create there own private schools by signing up for every program, co-opt, and extra curricular event that they can find. Their children, and more importantly themselves, can not be allowed to get bored! There is a 50- 50 chance that you will see these parents shortly dropping out and enrolling their children in school because that is what they really wanted anyway. After all, it is hard for us to go to the gym and participate in Rotary the same time you are supposed to teach Chemistry.

Post Modern Parents: These parents live by the philosophy we only do what we like. We only study what we like, show up when we like, participate when we like, believe what we like, go to church when and where we like. Those of us in this category have a deep envy of the Rainbow People and would like to make a living studying Indian Basket Weaving or driving at Nascar depending on our liberal or redneck tendencies.

"Harvard or Bust" Parents: These parents believe that Plato, Jesus, and Mark Zuckerberg are kissing cousins and that success in college, or at least attending the right college, is the ultimate success in homeschooling, life, and pretty much everything else. Those of us in this category  have a Harvard application for admittance stapled to the back of the Bible and a Stanford application tucked in just before Revelation.

Biblical Parenting: These parents try to find the balance of providing correct daily discipleship, good peers and activities, and leading our children in the direction and blessing of our child's design.  Our parenting and our lives should be most marked by Joy despite sometimes very trying circumstances and our own failures. Our Bible is our blue print and our goal is Heaven. Christ is the center and purpose of our lives. Let us repent and move forward toward the goal!

A Cartoon from the Old Days

Here is a cartoon I drew a long time ago with some questionable "artistic" quality, but I believe its message is still very true.

A "Vision" Statement

Awhile back, we did a Family Vision Statement. After all, doesn't Proverbs say that where there is no vision the people perish? This was something to let our Family know what we are supposed to be about. In some ways, this is a futile attempt. A complete Vision Statement would be a Bible with the words Family Vision written on it. But this was our effort to bring out what we want to focus on. I thought I would share it in case someone wanted a template to build on.

Our Family Vision is...


To Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 3:16-18

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.


To Follow all Scripture and not just Pick and Choose what we Like
2 Timothy 3:16

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

To Walk in the SpiritGalatians 5:16-26

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

To Love Others, Keep Ourselves Unspotted from the World, and Make Disciples
1 John 2:9

9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

James 1:27

27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Matthew 28:19

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

To Train our Children Daily
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

To Have our Children Honor Their Parents

Exodus 20:12

12 “ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

To be Parents that don't Aggrevate Their Children

Ephesians 6:4

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

To have a Biblical Marriage (and be who we want our children to be)
Ephesians 5:22-33

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

To be Joyful, Prayerful, and Thankful
1 Thessalonians 5:16

16 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

To have Our Treasure in the Right Place
Matthew 5:19-21

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

A Response to Home Educating Family

Home Educating Family recently published my response to an article they ran painting the Family Integrated Chruch movement in a fairly negative light. I would like to thank them for publishing the below alternative view point.

"I will assume by “Family Integrated Church” you are talking about a church that has searched the scriptures and has determined that they do not see a Biblical model showing churches broken up by age group for separate teaching of the scriptures. And because of this, they have deliberately eliminated the more traditional type of Youth Groups and Sunday Schools (except for care of the youngest children) commonly seen in most churches here in the United States at the moment.

Overall, I think the Family Integrate Church movement is a natural outgrowth of changes we have been seeing among more conservative Christians here in the United States over the last 30 years; when individuals began searching the Bible asking themselves the question, “Now why do we do that and why do we believe that?” This question caused Christians to begin waking up in the 80’s, and they started asking themselves where in the Bible does it show us we should send our children to Government Schools? Maybe Deuteronomy 6:7 really means what it says? Perhaps we should be with our children throughout the day training them? In the 90’s, a lot of these same people began looking at the church and asking themselves, why do we have a humanist educational format for our training and discipleship on Sunday morning also? Christians started to form churches that they felt were more Biblically based in its mode of teaching and discipleship. Mostly, they had to start new churches because as we know traditions are very had to break.

Recently, your magazine ran an article that called these churches more dangerous to homeschool families then the traditional church. Having seen families abandon homeschooling due to influences in their church, I was a bit surprised by this comment. Of course, the author could be right. The individuals in the churches she may have known and visited may have very well been dangerous. I am sure it could be very possible that there are some people out there who claim to be Christians who are isolationistic, preach bad theology, and worship the family over Jesus Christ. (This can be a very popular mode of operation as the Mormon Church has proven.) But just because someone misapplies Biblical principle, doesn’t make the Biblical principle wrong. I believe the principle behind the Family Integrated Movement is very solid and needed in the American church today.

Our personal experience with the Family Integrated Model has been good. Of course, we all know that that there are no perfect or superior churches. I do think these churches will continue to gain a footing as a whole among Christians in the United States. It will take a lot of them awhile to mature and gain more acceptance among the general Christian community at large. But the reality of poorly performing Youth Groups will continue to cause some to seek out a more Biblical approach. We have seen growth recently in the Family Integrated Church we attend from people outside the homeschool movement. Though I think we should be weary of judging success by growth only in numbers. I don’t see anywhere in the Bible where Christ judges success in this manner."

IndoctriNation Released

Anyone who is seriously interested in Christianity and the work of Jesus Christ among his people in America can not ignore the influence that the United States Public School System has had on the followers of Christ. Both in its influence on the temperal Christian Culture here is America, and its influence on numerous and numerous cases of eternal destiny. Liberal movie producer Davis Guggenheim came out last year with "Waiting for Superman" which took a critical look at the state of public education in America calling for an overhaul of the system due to its inept and damaging effects on our land.

The Gunn Brothers just introduced "IndoctriNation" which questions the level of involvement Christians should have in the system at all. If you have seen "Waiting for Superman," you will find "IndoctriNation" a more humerous and easily watchable movie. And one with a doable solution. Its solution is not breaking the backs of the teachers unions and developing more Charter schools as "Waiting for Superman"calls for, but a challenge for Christian Parents to join the millions of other Christians who have pulled their children out of the public school system and take charge of their education themselves.

You can buy IndoctriNation at:

http://indoctrinationmovie.com/about-indoctrination

Avoiding "Christian Parenting" Burn Out

Margo recently had the chance to give a talk to the Mom's of our local homeschool group on avoiding homeschool burnout. I thought I would pass along the hand out that she had. I think the principles apply to almost any part of the child raising process even if you don't homeschool (which of course we recommend). Add your suggestions to avoiding burnout on the comment box below.

How to Avoid Homeschool Burnout~

Are You in it for the Long Haul?

I. Catch a Vision-

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18

          *ask your husband *write it out *look long-term, think grandbabies!

“Always be ready to give a defense (or answer) to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” I Peter 3:15

         

          *be prepared to talk to the people the Lord puts in your path

II. Try it God’s Way

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deut. 6:6-9

www.lifestyleoflearning.org

III. Keep the ‘Home’ in Homeschool- Being Joyful at Home

“The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish woman pulls it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1

*don’t give up the best for good things *successful Homeschooling require you to be at home *who is influencing your children’s heart?

IV. Put on Your Earmuffs- Are you listening to negative voices in your life?

“I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down.” Nehemiah 6:6

      *get inspiration on a regular basis *surround yourself with people with similar goals *don’t put your fragile olive shoots out in the cold to freeze

v. You Deserve a Break Today!

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

        *daily time with the Lord *daily fresh air & exercise & fun with your children *daily sprucing-up        

You may be embarrassed to be a Christian if...

1. The night before your airline flight, you purchased an electronic book reader so you can sit in the lobby of the airport and read your Bible undetected.

2. Your church recently removed any reference to God, Christ, or denomination from its name in order not to offend anyone who may be driving past who may have had a bad experience with God, Christ, or said denomination.

3. When your neighbor mentions they just read the first chapter of Genesis, you are quick to make an excuse for God and point out that this is the one place God didn't quite write it down correctly.

4. When someone mentions Christians and history, you immediately start apologizing about the crusades even though you never had anything to do with them, they happened over 700 years ago, and you still have never met anyone who had the slightest desire to emigrate to Iraq, Jordan, or Syria.

5. When someone accuses you of being a member of the Religious Right, you vehemently deny it even though you have Psalms 139:15,  Ephesians 5:22-33, and Exodus 20:15 underlined in your Bible back at home.

6. The only reason your children know about God is that  you occasionally show them talking vegetable videos.

7. You tape on a Coexist bumper sticker over your Jesus fish when driving into San Francisco, Seattle, or Washington D.C. scared of what may happen to you if your car breaks down.

8. You will wear any contemporary fashion making only the occasional minor adjustment to modesty, but you quickly point out to your friends that those silly women in long dresses and head coverings are all legalists.

9. When the BBC compares Muslim fundamentalists with devoted Christians in the United States, you are quick to point out that you love all people. That is you love all people but over zealous Christians who hand out tracts on the street and make you look bad by implying there actually may be a hell.

10. When your neighbors walk up to your house at Christmas time, they notice an apology note on the outdoor nativity set saying you are extremely sorry for taking over the season and diminishing the importance of Winter Solstice.

Feel free to add your comments, complaints, and your own "You may be embarrassed to be a Christian if..." to the list in the comments.

Family Devotions Among Other Things

We drove 40 miles south on a dark night in a rain storm to go to a family conference. Two things were presented to me. One, I should get rid of my TV. Two, maybe I was a little lax on family devotions? After going a week without turning on my TV, I decided maybe I didn’t need to get rid of it. (A subject for another day.) But when it came to family devotions, I was convicted.

The speaker’s we went to see were the Maxwell family. A large homeschool family most famous for an organization book Mrs. Maxwell had written. They talked about giving up playing youth and high school baseball and other activities for they could be home at night in order to do devotions. They talked about doing devotions even when guests were over. They meant that the family did devotions every night, and not just two or three times a week when convenient.  It struck me as a radical concept, putting God first in our lives by actually putting God first in our lives even if that meant eliminating activities.

When it came to devotions, I had fallen into a common trap of thinking. The trap of believing God grades on a curve. We think that just because we know someone else that does not do something, in this case family devotions, that we must be doing well since we occasionally do them or at least think about doing them.

With help of my wife, we have managed to get on a better track with family devotions. Though in no way do we think we have them nailed down, nor does anyone gain greater favor with God by doing or not doing devotions, but they draw us closer as a family to him and focus us in the right direction on him.

Here are some things we and a few others we know have found to have worked when it comes to family devotions:

- Place the Bible on the table at dinner. Dinner is a great time for devotions.

- Go through a Book of the Bible. And to get off to a good start, try an Epistle. If you are worried about not having time to prepare? Use a Bible that has notes. All of a sudden you have commentary and a lot of times the notes answer a question your child may ask. You don't have to be perfectly prepared.

- We enjoyed going through Kevin Swanson’s Proverbs study at Generations with Vision.

- Lately, we have been using a book called  365 Days of Praise by Julie Lavender. It works surprisingly well. Our smaller children really like it. It works especially well when you get home from a hard day and you don’t have the faintest idea of what to talk about. This is my greatest challenge to devotions. The challenge of being plain worn out when it comes time to do them.

- Go through one of the Catechisms just like families throughout history have. For little kids, there is the Westminster Shorter Catechism , and for "bigger folks" there is of course the longer Westminster Catechism.  And the one that I have enjoyed going through at our church is the Baptist 1689 London Confession of Faith.

- Check out the Maxwell's themselves. They have resources on family devotions at Titus 2.

What works well for you when it comes to doing family or "even individual" daily devotions?

Hurrah for Advent!

2010 Advent Reading Calender

For years, it seemed I would bungle through Advent hit or miss. I would start thinking about Advent on December 1st, and then when I looked at the reading list and realize I was already days behind. That is if I could manage to find the reading list from where I had tucked it away last January. Then throughout December, I would pull out the list and wonder... now which verse are we on tonight. Are we in the 3rd week 4th day?

But I finally got smart. By getting smart, I mean that I made up a calender. A calender which shows which day each reading was supposed to be done. Not only that, but I  could also write each child's name down on the day that was their day. The day they were to pick the song, light and blow out the candles on the advent wreath, then hang up the marker on our countdown to Christmas calender forever indicating that we were one more day closer to Christmas.  


(For a copy of our advent calender just click the link below)

http://www.scribd.com/full/44162653?access_key=key-2aqabym1nt1fkffwo6l

There is certainly is no right or wrong way to do Advent.  There isn't even anything in the Bible instructing us to celebrate Christmas much less establishing a formal Advent season. After all, Jesus most likely wasn't even born in December. The Puritans, who I consider arguably one of bravest and greatest Christian groups in all of history, didn't even celebrate Christmas because it had degenerated into a raucous party back in merry old England.

But today, who would want to miss out on a chance to join the rest of the world in the biggest of all celebrations. Especially, when it is our celebration. And Advent keeps our family focused on what it is all about: The virgin birth of Jesus the Christ.
 
How does your family do Advent or keep your focus on Jesus Christ over Christmas?

The Bearable Lightness of Being

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." -  Jesus

Mathew 11:28-30

I am sure a vast majority of us have always taken great comfort from the words, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” But strangely, I had never connected the earlier verses in Matthew leading up to this well known statement of encouragement.

We see earlier in verse 24, Jesus crying out to the cities who should have been his greatest “supporters.” Those who were most familiar with him, but who refused to repent either with the preaching of the "greatest of old testament prophets" John the Baptist or the miracles of Jesus.

In verse 25, there is the challenging revelation that Christ reveals himself to the "babes." The unexpected part of the population. Throughout the new testement, he brings out that he most often reveals himself to those who would not be considered wise and full of common sense by the establishment.

And to these, those who come to Christ by his call. Who the establishment would consider the least, to these who walk yoked, connected like oxen, to Christ. The burden or phortion  (the freight of a ship) is light or elaphros (agile).

The key word here that I have often missed is repentance. To be yoked with Christ, we must be repentant. We must turn from our selfishness, greed, love of the world, and love of the world's approval.

I also am suspect that in our pride and over zealousness, we try to carry burdens we aren't capable of carrying. Burdens that are Christ's, but we try to do alone. Things that belong to God.

The saving of the world…The changing of hearts...The separating of the chaff from the wheat....

Do you feel that we as Christians here in America feel unnecessarily burdened?

Family Integrate? Pro's and Con's

Have you ever thought about changing the "procedures" on how we conduct church? It could be that you have thought that there should be a better way each Sunday to help the local body of Christ feel connected as one unit instead of various different groups? If so, a Family Integrated Church could be what you are looking for. These Churches minimize activities and programs. Especially, those that segregate groups by age (i.e. Sunday Schools and Youth Groups). They also emphasize the parents responsibility and privilege of discipling their own Children.

Here are some Pro's and Cons to Family Integrated Churches:

Pros:

- They are as close to the Biblical model as we can find. The Bible is not filled with detailed instruction on how to conduct a church service. Even though there is room for debate on this, from the best we can determine the early church did the following: Preach the Word, administer the sacraments, share a meal, and share hymns. Nowhere is there mention of Sunday Schools and Youth Groups in the Bible. (Please note that just because they aren't mentioned does not, in and of itself, mean we should not have them.)

- They provide an encouraging environment for parents to disciple their own children. There is always that feeling in our current model that there is a safety net just in case we don't get around to doing it ourselves. This means that sometimes us parents just don't get around to it.

- They eliminate the need to recruit Sunday School teachers. If you have ever been in charge of this, you understand what a daunting and frustrating task this can be. Plus, not all Sunday school teachers are qualified for the job.

- They limit "counter recruitment" opportunities. Not everyone in Sunday School and Youth Group is there to grow in their faith or to ask honest questions. I have had many a Sunday lesson diminished as one child  tries to mock and distract those who are enjoying and learning. Or maybe you were asked, as I was, when growing up to join the church youth group on a retreat because it was a great place to smoke pot.
     
- They are easier on Moms. Most people who teach in Sunday Schools are Moms who have kids in the Sunday School. This means after watching their children all week, they go to church and watch their own children, and everyone elses, and miss the the nourishment of the service.

- They help put families all on the same page and teach children and young adults that church is not an oddity reserved only for grown ups. Everyone hears the same sermon and can later chat about it. This is great news!

Cons:

- They go against our current tradition. This means that if your church switches to this "format" some people will leave your church.

-  They can be a bit noisy. But not as noisy as you may think.This is especially hard for pastors who are producing a TV show each Sunday to be aired over the Internet or local television.

- They can be hard on Moms. It isn't always easy to sit in the service with your children. Of course, even in Family Integrated Churches kids and young adults aren't always perfectly behaved. There is no "format" that leads to perfect behavior. Some Sundays can be taxing. But your children can do this, and most enjoy it.

- There isn't the opportunity to teach Sunday School. For me, a now defunct Children's Pastor this is the worst part. However, most likely, you are the best person to disciple your own child.

A couple books worth checking out are Family Integrated Church by Mark Fox or Voddie Baucham's Family Driven Faith.

Comments and Questions?

5 Reasons You May Be Better Than the Rest of Us...

1. You don't need to pray. In Luke, the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. However, it's great that you have  life well under control and don't need much of God's assistance.

2. You don't need to go to church. The rest of the Body of Christ drags you down from your spiritual high. After all, you have missionary work to do at the ski slope. Next week, it is the yard work ministry.

3. You always know more than the Pastor. Every Sunday is an opportunity to critique the delivery, message, and dress of your local servant of God. A career on American Idol as a judge is sure to come your way soon.

4. Certain parts of the Bible just aren't for you. Because of your outstanding negotiation skills, you have made a special deal with God. Parts of the Bible have been ruled "not applicable" to your life.

5. You have the 67th Book of the Bible at home on your laptop. Included in it are all the solutions to the World's problems. If only God would get it in gear and have some knucklehead  publisher agree with you...

If one of the above five reasons has caused you to chuckle at yourself good, I have not wasted my time.  I confess that I have been guilty of most all of them at one point in my life. My hope is that you really are better than the rest of us.

I have lately seen the words pride and legalist bandied about quiet a bit. Most of the time, it appears the victims of these words are those people who are passionate, sometimes overly so, about certain positive aspects of the Christian life. I think pride can sometimes be a little bit more sneaky. It comes when we are tricked into believing special rules apply just to us. In James, we are reminded to work out our salvation with "fear and trembling." But often our own pride can blind us into complacency. Your thoughts?

Ramblings of Encouragement for a Demographic I Love

In the Apostle Paul's famous chapter 13  in the book of Corinthians, Paul wrote about heaven that, "...I shall know just as I also am known."  These words stand against an American  media culture (i.e. reality TV etc...) which says all should clamor for attention. A world that says it is better to be known for something, even if it may be bad, than to live a life of obscurity. It appears from many of our actions that we are easily tricked into thinking that God notices and rewards people in the same way the world does. There is no Biblical proof of this I can find. We are encourage to live quiet lives both in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and 1 Timothy 2:2.

Interestingly, there is nothing in the Bible that indicates that there is such a thing as obscurity for the believer. Paul says we will be known. I believe we will not only be known to God but also to our fellow saints in Heaven. Our enemy, the Devil, would love to discourage us otherwise. He would especially like to discourage what I see as still a small but growing phenomena in American Christianity. Women who put off glitz and glory of our time to live quiet lives for the blessings of our nation's children and for the community.

The hope of American Christianity lies with their work. We all must support them and their families. I have read reports that it takes 40 people in a church to bring one person to Christ. But the average home school mom has a 90% success rate in producing Godly offspring. Do the math. It is no wonder that our enemy would like to trick this demographic into thinking that putting all they have into child raising is misapplied energy. Even near where I live, there is a popular ministry focused on children and young adults started by a women who got tired of being home with her children. Go figure.

Moms: You are the most critically vital and important demographic group in America. Be encouraged. God is not overlooking anyone doing His will. I can tell you even from my business world experience that those who focus their energy on raising children are not missing out.  Most weeks, I would rather spend a week at home with my kids than traveling about the country.

God knows us. And in Heaven, we will be known. We will be rewarded for the small things we have been faithful in (Mathew 25:14-23). How that reward plays out. I do not claim to know. We can only have faith that it will and our work will not be unknown. Not only that, but God says whatever we do for our own glory will be of no importance in Heaven. God is not tricking any of us into giving up anything of value. He saved us from destruction and perdition and is only keeping us from wasting our lives. Even though the work of child raising and daily discipleship can be hard, those doing this are doing a great work!

Your thoughts: How can we encourage families and especially Moms in raising their children for God?

The Pursuit of Happiness

Independence Hall

We are a nation  in which one of our declared purposes is the pursuit of happiness.  I have always thought that this was a bit of a hedonistic statement. Did our founders make an error? Some historians think that the statement was from John Locke and originally read, "life, liberty, and property." It was then improvised by Thomas Jefferson to read, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

But if we truly are or were a Christian nation (which some critics claim we never have been), shouldn't Jefferson have said something a little bit more selfless? Did our brave forefathers goof causing us to veer off course tricking us into building big houses on golf courses instead of more important pursuits?

Of course, happiness is hard to define. In academia, they don't even like the word happiness. They prefer the term "subjective well being" instead. If you think America is the best place for "subjective well being," you may want to check out Eric Weiner's book "The Geography of Bliss." Be prepared to grab your wallet, passport, and plan on moving soon because America may not be the spot you think it is. We are somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to this certain type of "well being."

In ancient Hebrew, the word 'ester' is often translated blessed. But it also translates happy.  Strong's defines 'ester' as "happiness, blessedness." In Psalms 84, the Psalmist puts it plainly. 'Ester' (happy) are those who live at your temple. Happy are those who are always praising you. Happy are those who strength is in you. Happy are people who trust in you. Happy are those who cry out to be with the Living God. In short, happiness is found in the pursuit of God. The pursuit of happiness is actually an ideal goal for a nation founded by various groups of Christians based on Christian ideals.

I pray America's greatest legacy will not be be our riches and the liberty we enjoy at least for the moment. But that we will be forever known as a nation that pursues happiness in pursuing God. The Psalmist implies that in our pursuit of God comes all the things we may long for and desire in our nation. What can we do to change the direction of America and make us a nation chasing happiness in God instead of riches or a socialist utopia?

We Bought our Van from a Christian Punk Band

The car dealer told us the 12 passenger van we had just purchased had been used by a local band previously. As we were test driving the vehicle,  I pictured a bunch of high school kids driving around in the van with tubas packed in back. But when we looked up the band name he had mentioned upon return home, we found that the group was a popular punk band. In their brief bio, they also claimed to be known as unapologetic Christians. Though I praise God for their salvation, the one video I watched didn't seem very "Christian."

Watching the video, brought up a question? Should music like Rap and Punk Rock, which are essentially born out of rebellion and defiance of authority, be used in glorify God? Does using this type of music draw those on the outside into the church as its performers and proponents claim? Or does it draw those on the inside of the church away from God to the world as an unintended consequence? (Right now, some claim 70-80% of youth are separated from the church at the end of college). In other words, does form matter as long as the lyrics say "Praise Jesus?" After all, weren't some of the great hymns of the faith originally viewed with suspicion and written by ex-scoundrels.

What do you think? Is one form of music or style better in the glorification and worship of God?  Or should those who think so be forever banished as a legalists?

Faith, Worry, and Sin

In the middle of the night my wife asked me why I wasn’t able to sleep. I had to confess, “I am just lying here sinning. I can’t keep from worrying.” I thought I had a lot to worry about. We just had a new baby and needed a new car. I was debating on whether or not to take a new job offer, should I let two of our daughters go and tour Europe with a local orchestra they played in, etc... Though none of these things are life and death matters, I did think I had a lot of legitimate things to worry about.

As I was lying there going over the same thoughts, the same scenarios, the same conversations again and again, it struck me that I had been teaching our children that we need to live out our lives as the Word of God instructs. We don’t have to the right to underline the parts of the Bible we like, only living those parts out, and ignore the other parts we don’t like.  The apostle Paul tells us in his 2nd letter to Timothy, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

That must include Jesus statement in the Gospel of Matthew to not worry about even the basic things of food, drink, and clothing. I must also follow Paul’s letter to the Philippians, when we are told not to be anxious about anything. When we worry, going over the same things over and over in my mind, we are actually rebelling against God. He does not give us the right to worry.

But here is the rub. Quitting worrying doesn’t seem that easy. Worry just sort of happens. I think it would be easier to quit something more tangible like robbing banks. That would be easy to quit. Bank robbing is dangerous, takes a lot of work, and there is severe consequences for failure, plus it is obvious to everyone that it is wrong. But worrying is easy. And everyone worries. Don't they?

In order to stop worry, we must have faith. A faith that God just might know what he is doing. A faith to trust that even if our worries come true. We can know that even then God never abandons those he has chosen. Even if we have to look to the end of the age for things to be made right.

Though a subject for another day, I also realize that not worrying is not permission to engage in foolishness. But the question of the day is how do we quit worrying? We have to have faith that what God is telling us is correct. But sometimes it is hard to apply that faith. Paul tells us to cast our cares on him with prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving. Here are some suggestions I have found to help stop worry. But feel free to help add to the list?

1)      At night, quit lying in bed worrying,  get up and read your Bible. (This is from Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa fame.)

2)      As soon as worry starts begin going over a memory verse in your mind

3)      If late at night when worry seems to strike with a vengeance, get up and click on the worship network www.worship.net (in my opinion one of the few good Christian TV programs)

4)      Start going through your mind, good things that have happened…(i.e. thanksgivings)

5)      …..

What's Your Sign?

What's does your Church sign say?  There is one down the street from me which says,"Soul Out of Shape, Let God be your Personal Trainer." Another states,"Sorry Looks Back, Worry Looks Forward, Faith Looks Up!"  An hour south from my home, I saw a sign which read, "Every Choice Leads Somewhere."  The quote was even attributed to God himself.

I have become increasingly burdened about how our major media outlets ignore the pain and suffering of people around the world because they are Christians. Five hundred Christians, mostly women and children, in Nigeria murdered and there is barely a word mentioned.  A young poor Pakistani girl attacked then thrown into prison for contacting the police? Nothing on CNN. China repatriating escaped North Korean Christians to almost certain death. You don't read about that on the news flashes when you sign onto your Yahoo email account.  A father of ten and a pastor in the most dangerous place in the world killed for his faith in Christ. That doesn't make the evening news.

We Christians do, however, have tens of thousands of  church sign boards across the USA. What if instead of telling people to "Smile for Jesus Today" we say, "Pastor Thrown in Prison. Wife Hungry " "Korean Girl Thrown in Concentration Camp for having Bible." What if we turned from catchy snippets to telling a blind world about the battle going on with "principalities of darkness." It may get peoples attention; which we don't have now. It might get some to walk back through those church doors because they are looking for something of such value that people are willing to give their lives for it. Let's not let such great promotional real estate go to waste.