A wise woman

I've been challenged this morning in I Samuel 25, the story of David and Abigail, another wonderful picture of doing things God's way.

We see David, who is still living in the wilderness, hiding from Saul, sending messengers to Nabal requesting food for his men.  He reminds Nabal how respectful and helpful he and his men had been to to Nabal's sheepshearers before.  Nabal scorns him and refuses aid, acting according to the meaning of his name, "Fool."

Here is where David gets off track.  Normally, he seeks God in every situation and then obeys--"Shall I attack?  Shall I pursue?"  The Lord always gives him specific instructions and perfect victory is the result.  But here, David's mind of the flesh takes over and he reacts in anger, even making a rash vow to kill every male in Nabal's household.

Enter Abigail, Nabal's wife (her name means "source of joy").  She is declared in the Word as a "woman of good understanding," and she is told of this perilous situation.  Her response is courageous and very wise:  she takes food for David's army and heads off to meet him.

I love her approach, which shows something very key.  She couldn't have had "good understanding" without having known God's Word!  Watch how His wisdom permeates her appeal and counsel.

First, she agrees with David's righteous indignation and admits to Nabal's foolishness.  Then, she goes to the heart of the matter--David's own sin in avenging himself.  The Law in Leviticus 19:18 says, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people."

Next, she presents the lavish gift of food to these hungry men.  Proverbs 21:14 says, "A gift in secret pacifies anger, and a bribe behind the back, strong wrath."  One could argue that Proverbs hadn't been written yet, but this was obvious practical wisdom that was a common practice when approaching a ruler or king in any culture.

Then, in her impassioned speech, the Lord actually gives her prophetic words as she reminds David of who he is--the anointed king-to-be--and saves the punch for last:  "And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you...that this will be no grief to you...that you have shed blood without cause...or avenged yourself."  A king shouldn't act like this!

Her wise words wake David up and he sees that God has provided a way to keep him from sinning.  When he gets out of the way, letting God be his vindicator, God quickly intervenes and Nabal dies.

This amazing story is concluded with a final step in doing things God's way--both David and Abigail gather the spoils.  David takes this beautiful and wise woman to be his wife, and she is moved by God from a very difficult marriage to a place of blessing.

Wow.  A lot of truth here to chew on.  I have a personal saying that this illustrates:  You can't go wrong doing the right thing.  Having your mind renewed in the Word gives you His wisdom for any situation.  Choosing to be Spirit-led rather than flesh-driven puts you in a place of safety, with God handling all the "stuff."  And there's also this idea that we need to skillfully and courageously point people to God's truth, that His blessing may be upon them.

Thank You, Lord, that your Truth is ever new!

A call to PRAISE!

Some wonderful thoughts from Psalm 107 this morning...

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.  Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy."

We are redeemed--"set free by avenging or repaying" according to Strong's.  It foreshadows the full work of Jesus' work on the cross for us.  But look at the fullness of our redemption:  we're redeemed from...being lost, hungry, thirsty, faint and longing... redeemed from affliction and distress caused by our own rebellion and rejection of God...redeemed from foolishness and sickness and sin...redeemed from trouble without and fear within...redeemed from poverty and lack, barrenness and loss and sorrow!

And what does He do for us in our redemption?  We are delivered from our destructions, led by the right way, established and satisfied, our chains broken and bars of iron cut in two, saved out of our distresses and healed of our sicknesses by the Word, brought to peace in the storm, brought to our desired haven, led to drink from springs in the wilderness, established and blessed, given a dwelling place, a fruitful harvest, increase and abundance, families like a flock, and peace!!

Good grief, what has He left out?  Nothing!  Every need met by His love and goodness and mercy.  This is my own testimony and to Him is all my praise.  No matter how difficult things get in the world, His "mercy endures forever."

The Hebrew style of poetry in music shows up so beautifully in this Psalm; four times is this wonderful refrain, "Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men," with this added in verse 22, "Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing."  Lord, today I declare Your goodness and mercy with profound praise and thanksgiving.  You are good!

And as a majestic finale to this call to praise, the last verse gives us our challenge with a promise, "Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD."

Amen!  "Let the redeemded of the Lord say so!"

 

Spring fever

I'm so glad it's spring break time at our house because we're dealing with a major case of spring fever!  The whole natural world around us is waking up early this year and it's nigh unto impossible to stay inside.  I can't wait to wrap my hands around a rake and start snipping with the pruning shears.  SweetPea and I spent a lazy morning today planning our gardens and some kind of "fort" project for her.

Let's see...how about a quick update on our lives...

...We're moving steadily through Sonlight's Core 6 and will probably finish it by the end of May.  I've really loved the in-depth study of world history this time around (we did an intro in Cores 1 & 2) and have really gotten a better picture of how things connected in the Roman and Medieval civilizations.  We loved "Master Cornhill" as a read-aloud and for the first time I really understand the Plague and the great fire of London.

...SweetPea is doing pretty well with Saxon 8/7 though we've slowed the pace a bit.  I'm more concerned she really master the stuff with algebra in view.  Math is just not her thing but she's trying anyway.

...She's part of a special baroque piano concert in a week so is busy polishing her three pieces.  It's been quite a discipline to do this type of music--not her favorite, but I think she's gained some valuable skills.

...She's loving Apologia General Science.  What a well-written program and suited so well for independent work.

...I'm trying to focus on better nutrition for all of us--less sugar, more alternative grains, interesting new recipes.  I get lazy and default to "quick" foods but then we don't get enough fruits and vegetables.  It takes time to wash them and cut them up!  But we all really need the benefit of these good foods God made so I'm recommiting myself to a more diligent effort.

...We're all waiting for really warm weather to try out our new canoe!  Hubby got a wonderful-condition used one that has some features I like...non-tippable, non-sinkable.    I guess some fishermen designed it so it should serve us well.

...I'm enjoying a book study with some other homeschool moms, "Age of Opportunity," by Paul David Tripp.  A great approach to parenting teens, with some excellent and very practical ways to keep their hearts.  I highly recommend it.

Blessings on your weekend!  May the Lord be especially sweet to you today.

A writer's checklist

In working on the third rewrite for a homeschooling article this past week, I learned (or re-learned!) an important lesson, one that I'm going to make sure I teach my daughter...that of really organizing your thoughts before you begin writing.

Sounds pretty elementary, I know.  Most language arts or writing programs we use in the homeschooling community teach this.  But I've seen again in my own writing that while you may think you know where you're going with a piece, you can quickly find yourself in a mucky swamp of words, not sure where you're headed or how to get out of the mud.

So I'm going to use a master checklist something like this from now on, both for myself and for my daughter's assignments.  I want to make sure this analysis will include both pre-writing and post-writing editing.

1.  In a sentence or two, state clearly what you are trying to communicate to the reader.  (A "nutgraph" for your writers out there.)  Narrow it down as far as possible.

2.  Describe who your audience is--who you're trying to influence or persuade.  Then talk to them.

3.  What will your tone be?  Playful?  Serious? 

4.  What point of view will you be writing from?

5.  What format will you use for this piece--an essay?  A story?

6.  What anecdotes, quotes, and references will you use?

7.  How long will your piece be? 

8.  Have you done an outline?  Include intro/hook (what type), all sub-topics, conclusion.

Writing books will tell you that the real craft of writing happens in the editing phase after your first draft.  I wish it weren't true but it is.  Rarely--if ever--will you come up with something really stellar the first time around.  This is the hard part with kids; they don't want to work and rework their words.

So when your final draft is ready, it's good to sit on it for a couple of days.  Then go through and check:

1.  Did you promise something in the intro that you didn't deliver on?

2.  Have you used smooth transitions to lead the reader from one thought to the next?

3.  Can you change any passive verbs ("was") to active ones?

4.  Have you used colorful, sensory descriptions?  Metaphors?

5.  Reread each paragraph carefully.  Does it follow the topic sentence/supporting sentences format?  Does anything need to be put elsewhere or in a new paragraph?

6.  Did you show us, not tell us?

7.  Have you done a grammar and spelling check on the piece?

8.  Do any of your facts need to be double-checked?

9.  Have you had another pair of eyes read it for an objective view and input?

I'm sure there's more but these are some key things I have to walk myself through in my writing.  It's hard to keep all this in mind at once!  But I think it will come easier with practice, as with most things.

 

The birds are back!

And that only means one thing...no matter what they say...SPRING is coming!

I cleaned out the bird feeder outside our kitchen window yesterday and we've had the funnest time getting reacquainted with our bird family...pretty orange-breasted finches, squawky blue jays, robins, chicadees, juncos, flickers, and sparrows.  The finches are busy searching out their old nest sites in the ivy by the window, fussing and funny in their efforts.

No matter what craziness is going on in the world, the simple sweetness of the birds and the order of their lives rest my heart in the knowledge that 'God's in His heaven and all's right with the world.'

Trusting

It's a cold and snowy January day here, quite a switch from the record-setting 70s earlier in the week.  God is good to give us those little reprieves though; it reminds me of one of the things I like about winter...spring is next! 

Our pastor gave a very good sermon today on trusting God.  Timely, of course, with all that's going on in the world and our country.  He laid the familiar foundation about why we can trust God--"assured reliance" on His character, ability, strength, truth, faithfulness, and so on.  A wonderful reminder of Who it is we love and follow.

But what really struck me was the second part of the sermon, "Can God trust me?"  He asked, Can God trust your opinion of Him?  This touches so deeply on an issue we all struggle with, I think.  What do we really think about God when someone we love suffers or our prayers don't get answered or tragedy strikes?  A right conception of God is crucial to life and without it we're destined for doubt and unbelief, bitterness, or the shipwreck of our faith.

A precious friend of mine has lived this out before me in a profound way.  She and her husband lost their middle son, in his mid-20s, engaged to be married, to cancer a bit over a year ago.  Their prayers for his healing were not answered, at least not in the earthly sense.  But all I have heard from her is their praise and love for the Lord.  They have not gotten off in the ditch of bitterness and railing against God.  Instead, their Christmas letter said their desire was to "make His Name glorious."  They are pressing on to seek His will for what's next and are not lost in a sea of grief.

Wow.  A right conception of God?  An unshakeable foundation?  I guess.  I didn't do so well in my own hour of testing a few years ago, but eventually I saw that if I did not choose to trust God with all the unknowns and seeming contradictions--based on what He has revealed of Himself in the Word--then I would go from one bitterness to another until I lost Him completely.  An unthinkable course.

I'm glad to have had this reminder early in the year, to set my course and goals by this truth.  And to be reminded that this is one of the most important things I can impart to my daughter, that God is good, all the time, and that He is completely faithful and worthy of our trust.

A prayer friend

Of the many things I'm thankful for--and that's a lot!--I'm so very thankful for a special friend God brought into my life early on in my homeschool journey.  She's a kindred spirit in the truest sense, and the Lord has grown a precious friendship between us through the years.

One of the greatest things we share besides our love of the Lord and His Word is prayer.  Every Sunday that we're able, we have a phone prayer time over our coming week.  We pray over our schools and kids, our husbands and schedules and stresses.  Even just the freedom to talk out our needs and concerns helps to unburden our hearts or clarify our thinking and faith.

And wow, what a difference it makes in my week!   Not only does God answer prayer! but as the week unfolds it is no end encouraging to know that she's praying for me about whatever specific needs I have.  We have gone through many deep waters together...illness and serious health concerns, job layoff, support group crises, spiritual attacks and oppression, discouragement and weakness, parenting issues, homeschool stresses and needs...the list goes on.  We've had a safe place to talk it all out and know that nothing but love and support are there for us.  Thank You, Lord, and thank you, my friend.

We've seen the Lord's faithfulness and VICTORY through it all, whether the answer comes right away or has been a process.  It's become a commitment that we can't afford not to do, even with our busy schedules.

So I strongly encourage you to ask the Lord to give you a prayer friend if you don't have one.  I think homeschooling is a 'front-line' work of God that the enemy targets any way he can (you know what I mean, don't you?!), and in such agreement God promises to show His power.

"As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend."  Pr. 27:17

This 'n that

It feels good to back to our routine!  I guess we all function better that way around here.  The weather is mild enough to be out and walking regularly with sunshine to lift the winter doldrums.

School this week looks like this...

- The waning years of the Roman Empire, the invasion of the Huns (we're using both the Usborne Encyclopedia of History and the Kingfisher History Encylopedia--they compliment each other very well)

- Very interesting read-aloud on St. Patrick called "Flame Over Tara," excellent description of early life and Christianity in Ireland (I don't think I'll ever view St. Patrick's Day quite the same)

- Planet study and Moody videos on our galaxy and space

- Newspaper journalism/analysis and writing practice

- Oral presentation prep for our support group class on (I can't give away the topic lest any class participants might be reading this!)

Not to mention...SweetPea's practice and rehearsal for a special spring piano concert on Baroque music, the set-up of the latest of our animal menagerie--a hermit crab, and the start-up of her first little business--jewelry-making.  We have a friend who runs a homeschool bookstore who sells cottage crafts and is willing to see SP's stuff.  (I think I can count it as economic study, right??)

I'm having fun experimenting with my new pressure cooker, although I think I can safely say "timing is everything."  Did you know that by overcooking meat it actually gets dried out?!  But if you keep on cooking it it finally falls apart and gets tender.  ha!  Who would have thought?  Sounds like some kind of a safety net to me.  But I have had a couple of good successes so I press on with the pressure!  (Bad joke.)

Have a great week!

 

Back to school, back to Life

Happy 2009! 

We're back from our 2-week Christmas vacation with our families in Arizona--wow, what a wonderful time.  It was heart-satisfying on all counts, one of those "appointed" times when you know the Lord has had a hand in all the little stuff.  Weather was good, we stayed healthy, and most of all, our cups were filled with great family time and wonderful memories.  Thank You, Jesus!  You are the Giver of all good things.

I came home with a pressure cooker and an eagerness to cook again, something that has waned in recent months.  Yay for fresh inspiration!  I've tried a couple of recipes and I think it's going to be a boon for time savings.  Any great tips to share???

SweetPea surprised us just before Christmas by announcing that she had made the (momentous) decision to quit a horse program she's been in for three years.  This is a mounted drill group that takes a pretty big chunk of time and commitment to be in it.  We'd both been feeling the stress of "no margin" for some time, but I wanted such a decision to be her own, not influenced by me.  It was!  She wants to write and pursue other interests, and now is free to do so.  I was proud of her for having the courage to leave behind a good thing for something better.

So 2009 stands as an open door before us, promising all sorts of joys and delights inside.  Funny how the Lord works--one of my homeschool goals for SweetPea this year was that of writing, really getting solid in the basics before moving on toward high school work in a year or so.  And here it's just what she wants, something she feels God is calling her to.  So as we've begun school this week, it's been with a fresh excitement for us both and an assurance that the Lord is leading us into new things.

Heads-up for homeschool moms

I had the funniest dream last night.  I was at a homeschool conference and had paid $15 to attend some kind of unspecified special session.  We were all seated in an auditorium when the presenter and two helpers instructed us to all put on our coats.  There was a flurry of activity as we obeyed.  Then on the floor at the bottom of either side of the stage the helpers turned on two tall black smokestack-looking machines, which hummed and puffed out some kind of mist.  The presenter told us all to lay down as best we could in our seats, snuggling down in our coat-blankets, that the mist was going to help us all go to sleep. 

By now I was thinking this was all pretty weird, so I was fighting the effects of the sleep-mist, looking around and trying to figure out what was going on.  The rest of the gals in the auditorium started passing out poppies-of-Oz style.  I struggled to stay awake, on my guard, while most of the alloted session-hour went by.  I was getting pretty mad by now at the false advertising and waste of our money. 

At the end, the presenter woke the audience and said,"Okay, ladies, this is what this was all about.  Most of you moms never get enough sleep so we thought we would build a nap into your day. You may go now."

Ha!  So either I was really tired...or you need to go and get a nap!! 

A glorious way to start a day...

Shoveling!

We had a good snow last night so I was out early to clear the driveway and sidewalk.  For some reason, this morning it was breathtaking.  The sun was starting to peek out, touching shades of gold and pink over the treetops and sending sparkles glittering everywhere.  Once again I was struck at how snow beautifies everything--each little twig, dry grassblade, fence post are draped and softened by the white blanket. 

And I was reminded anew of the funny 'revelation' that the snow brings:  tracks of animals here and there telling of their secret lives we don't normally see--stray cats, dogs, skunks, rabbits, squirrels, perhaps even red foxes.

It was good to breathe crisp, fresh air, good to have legs and arms that work, strength to meet the need, eyes to see the masterpiece the Lord had painted this morning.  Good to be alive!