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Saturday, September 12, 2009

A Full Post...and a Register to Win!


Big Rally....If you read to the end, you can register to win a FREE gift...one so priceless to me, that every time someone asks to borrow one of mine, I say...."I'll just get you one." :)

Leave a comment here or on my facebook page, and you'll be registered to win your OWN free copy! Please forward the link to your friends...let's see how many people we can give some goodies to! I'll close the register to win on Wednesday, late afternoon. :)

There is much on my heart to share with you tonight. So much, I'm not quite sure where to begin.

I was pondering Psalm 23 tonight, but in a brand new light.

Perhaps I should back up a bit...

I've been watching a DVD series by Ray Vander Laan on the Kings & Prophets of Israel. As I'm sure you've realized by now, I could sit and listen to him/watch him on site in Israel, for hours at a time.








He's a Biblical historian, and the way that he makes the stories of the land of Israel come alive...the way that he makes them real to me today, and helps me to see the application or the "Faith Lessons" as he calls them, is just life changing for me.

In one episode that I watched recently, he was discussing the difference between how a Westerner and an Easterner might describe God.

I'm going from memory here...so it won't be word for word, but he was explaining how a Westerner (American) might describe God as powerful or all knowing.

Yet, an Easterner might describe Him by saying "The Lord is my refuge, my rock. The Lord is living water, or my Shepherd."

Then this week, Shane and I were debating about whether or not to put Caedmon into an upcoming Latin class. Shane took Latin in high school (and maybe college too?) and has spoken of it many times, so I thought it was a no-brainer that we'd put Caedmon in it.

Yet, when Shane came home one night and we had time to discuss it, he said "Jes, they'll be translating Caesar."

"Really?!"

"That's what we did."

So, we thought about that some, about how that's contrary to what we want to be giving our kids at this juncture in their lives. You see, as much as possible, we want them to learn more like Easterners...from more of a Hebraic way of learning.

We've realized that there are two very different ways of learning. There's the Greek way...through philosophy and scholastic answers, which is what Shane and I both received

in school, and then there is the more Hebraic method...which teaches reasoning, both on an inductive and deductive level, and also teaches through imagery and keen observation.

The latter is what we want for our children.

We don't want great philosophers. (makes me think of that verse that talks about empty philosophy...)

We hope and pray for children who will know how to reason through any situation God allows into their lives.

Reason.

We've lost the art of reasoning through things in our culture, all too often.

We were trained to wave our little hands in the air, begging for recognition that we had the "right" answer.

Remember those days?

Ugh. Those were a drag.

Had we been asked, "Who is God," in the USA, would "He's Living Water," or "He's the Door" or "He is my cup and my portion forever" have been considered "right" answers?

What a difference it is to sit with a group of kiddos, all studying the same subject, and tell them "Listen, I'm not just looking for right answers. I'm looking for thinkers. I want you to dig deep into your minds before you answer me. I want to know that you can tell me the WHYs and the HOWs behind the questions that I'll be asking you."

See what I want from them?

I want them to learn to reason.

So...back to the Latin class. We decided that we'd rather opt for Hebrew and Greek from home...we don't want Caesar. We want God's Word, and books about people who have chosen to live their lives according to His statutes.

So, we'll be using our Bibles;
 


a missionary to India, who served to set children free. I think it will coincide wonderfully with our study on slavery, and I absolutely LOVE this series of books...so much so that we bought the whole set for our kids for Christmas a few years ago. They love them too!
And I'm so excited, because NOW they have curriculum guides to go along with the stories, to give you ideas of how to use the stories to create unit studies. Love it!



Heroes of History by YWAM, and on and on...

Today, we packed up our homeschooling items, and went down by the pond. We studied about Harriet Tubman, and even acted out one of the chapters of the book...the one when "Jim" didn't want to go on...he kept telling "Moses" that he wanted to just go back to the plantation and take his lashings.

Harriet encouraged him and cajoled him, and when nothing worked, she stuck a shiny silver revolver in his face and said, "You either gonnna press on, or you gonna die right here."

(I paraphrase a bit, but that was the gist.)

Seemed Harriet had to do that quite often.

Slaves would get part way through their journey of freedom with her, in the underground railroad, and they'd grow tired and weary, and want to turn back. Nothing but pure fear would motivate them to keep pressing on.

They'd known fear since childhood, so fear worked when grace didn't.

Yet, once to freedom, they thanked Harriet repeatedly.

Made me think about us.

You know how it's just plain HARD to keep our minds off of Egypt sometimes, figuratively speaking.

You know THAT sin..we all have it...THAT sin...THAT one that keeps you thinking it's alright to visit Egypt for the day. It's ok to go back to the plantation...just for the day.

I talked with the kiddos today about what the gun that Harriet pulled on Jim really represented.

I asked them first, if they knew....

Caedmon had some pretty deep insight.

Brennan thinks in word pictures...she must be Hebrew. :)

Then I told them...that gun represented the freedom of the slaves that she was transporting, as well as the ones along the line that may have been helping her out.

Then I boiled it down for them....

We ALL have to have Harriet Tubmans in our lives. We ALL have to have those people who can speak the scary, tough, and sometimes hard to hear truths into our lives, because what they want for us is total freedom.

We HAVE to have people who love us enough that their eyes are focused not upon the immediate, but upon our freedom.

Total freedom.

Yes, we are free in Christ...but some of us in Christ are still allowing ourselves to go back to Egypt for a visit, and we're justifying the whole thing.

I know I sure can...I find that I am not slow to anger. I am not slow to speak and quick to hear.

I hate some of the things that come out of my mouth...especially through this whole MS thing....talk about unglorifying!

Yet, I praise God for the people in my life who love me enough to get up in my face with that silver revolver called "words of love" and help me refocus, and then repent.

There is no justification for sin.

Ever.

Psalm 23 - ever read that like you're the sheep saying it?

Hmmm...that was so cool tonight...it's worthy of it's own post.

But first....a promised give away....register your comment on this post, and if you're the chosen winner, I'll give you a brand new copy of the very first "Christian Heroes: Then & Now" book that we ever read.

It's based upon the life of Gladys Aylward, and it's fantastic! Talk about growing your faith!

The miraculous story of Gladys' life will surely do it. How God worked through her will leave you dumbfounded, and hopefully inspired that He can use your life in amazing ways for Him, too!




So, just leave a comment here for me, or on my facebook page. If you add the name of someone whose salvation I can be praying for, you'll get entered into the drawing twice! :)

You can be anonymous in your commenting, but if say, "anonymous #3" ends up winning, I'll need your name then. :)

Hey! It's time to have some fun! Call it a blog party giveaway!

Please hit the envelope button below and send this to your friends....the more the merrier! :)

Maybe because it's late, or maybe because I'm crazy for people to grow in Christ.....I'm going to up the offer....if we can get 20 people to comment between now and next Wednesday, I'll offer a Precept Upon Precept study of Ruth, our Kinsman Redeemer, as well.

It's a life changer!

MMM..wonder what I'll give away if we get to 30?


Love you guys!

Jes

 

17 comments:

Michelle said...

I just love hearing your heart for the Lord and the way you challenge all of us. Wish we were in the same town so we could just chat over a cup of coffee or something.

Paula Hemann said...

Awesome post! What a wise, amazing woman of God you are. SO looking forward to meeting you face-to-face one day! LOVE your heart for your children, and the ways that you want them to learn. Praying this for my own son as well. And Jes? I'm praying for "strength upon strength" for you today, as you continue teaching and growing, even in the midst of your physical struggles right now. Your testimony humbles me...and points me, yet again, the the ONE WHO IS ABLE.

And, since you asked, here is yet another name of one who needs to know our Lord: Betsy. Thank you for your prayers for her! Much love to you today, my friend.
Paula

Win Noren said...

I share three names of people whose salvation you can pray for: Paul, Rob, and Noel.

latteloulou said...

Jesica,

Your comments on Psalm 23 reminded me of a great book...maybe you've already read it...A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller? If not, you should check it out. It's an oldie, but goodie!!!

KimG in AZ said...

Jes - I LOVE being challenged to think of things in a new or another way. Thinking of how the Eastern vs Western ways of thinking. It's not natural for us to think another way, of course, unless we have experience in it or someone shares it with us. Thanks for sharing and helping me to realize that American learning is usually just the shortest race to the answer without really thinking about it. How quickly can we get through the test? How quickly can we get this over and get on to what we want to do? I like the encouragement to slow down and look at things from a different perspective. Excellent!

Smith Family Updates said...

I agree with you... children need to be taught to think and reason, not just know the right answers. I always knew the right answers as a kid in that dangerous cult... knowing what was expected of me to say... but when I questioned anything, I learned quickly that I was not to question ANYTHING that went against their teachings of their "truth". I am thankful for knowing a young woman (you) who wants her children to really know the only true God & King! You are a mighty example to me dear Jes! I love you so much!

RenaeSal said...

Your children are SO blessed to be given this kind of critical thinking training as they grow and learn. I'm definitely Western in my thinking/upbringing/training but am hopfully growing into a more Biblical mindset as I study and learn with Precepts.

Thanks for the great book recommendations. I hadn't heard of the "Now and Then Heroes" series before. I went to their publishing site and ordered (a 2 for 1 book special they were having) (:>). They sound great, and I've always LOVED biographies!

Strange to me to think of a gun to the head as freedom, but now that I've read your post, I see the link....our emotions can often cause us to be our own worst enemy, can't they? Thanks for a great post, Jes!

Heather@Cultivated Lives said...

As always, I love hearing about how you are sharing with your children! It reminds me so much of how I was raised and how, Lord-willing (and He is), I will raise my own three children.

I would love it if you would life up my sis-in-law Becky.

Anonymous said...

I think you've read Christian Overman's book, ASSUMPTIONS, haven't you? (It used to be titled DIFFERENT WINDOWS, but was changed.)

I loved reading your posting...I tried to teach Latin to two sons using Douglas Wilson's Latin course. It took us 2 years to get most of the way through the first book! I gave up after that.

I would like to add my sister, Pam S., to your prayer list. She is 53, has MS, and neither she nor her husband are saved. (They have no children.) Her husband's name is Ed.

I echo what L. said - if you haven't read Phillip Keller's book, A SHEPHERD TAKES A LOOK AT THE 23RD PSALM, it's a good one.

Thanks for your desire to bring good from pain, in addition to whatever else the Lord is doing with it.

Shelly said...

Is it too late for me to post a comment? I hope not! Please pray for Curtis and Kathey Matthews.
Thank you for the inspiring post! Beautifully said! Ilove you! Shelly

chandy said...

Hi Jes! Those biographies sound very interesting...I'll have to look for those. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for some of your homeschool lessons! I'm sure I would learn a lot!

Nancy said...

My Dear Friend, How it warms my heart to read your thoughts. I rejoice in your joy, and I weep for the pain you are enduring. How right you are to raise those beautiful children to reason. Surely they will "rise up and call you blessed." Know that I bring you name to God every single day and request that He will direct your life in every detail, to His glory. I love you, Jes.
And here is another name for you to raise up to God when you are praying: Tami.

Ruth Simmons said...

You really made me think alot differently about or children's education. Thanks for all the time you put into this blog. Am looking forward to reading through it and learning alot!

Zelma Milller said...

Good Morning Beloved One.
There is no greater experience in life than training up your children in the way they should grow. You will be blessed forever for doing it.
I did not home school but I did train them up in the Bible so that they knew it. I also taught it to my grandchildren. Life here on earth is not our home.we are strangers and aliens walking thru a strange land.
We are in the world but not of the world. The most important thing for any child to know is How much Jesus Christ loves them. That if they were the only person in this world that Jesus still would have come and died for them. Our God is a Precious God full of Grace Peace Mercy and love for His Children. The most important thing is to show them the love of Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to work thru you and share what God would have you share with them. The Bible stories are some of the greatest I have ever heard and there are so very many that you can bridge to our Heavenly Father.
The examples that the Bibles gives us are timeless and precious. Children seek to be loved and approved off. Jesus when He uses Children in the Greek is actually Darling. God is so good He gave.
No matter what trials or tribulations will come our way, God is in control and walks us thru them. When we wear out, that is where He carries us. Take it all joy that God is allowing us to go thru trials and use them for an example to show His Love. If we suffer with Him we will reign with Him.
My prayers will be with you and your family and if you even need me do not hesitate to call me. May God Bless you all and envelope you in His Grace, Peace, Mercy and Love. May we all run the race to finish and win.
I learn daily something afresh from the Word of God. But the main thing He always shows me is How much He loves us. He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for us. What more could He give. I could go on for hours about the Gracious God the Father, The Messiah Jesus Christ and the Beloved Holy Spirit. My example would be read the first three chapters of Ephesians and see just what all God ha done for you, then read the next three and see what God want you to do for him.
Maranatha and Jesus says surely I am coming quickly!
Agape
Zelma

Unknown said...

Jes, Please pray for my half-brothers and their wives: Milburn and Rita, Randy and Tronnia. Thanks, Kristi

Craig Miller said...

Hi Jess!

My Prayers are with you with your fight against MS. I am battling a dormant Staph infection & a destroyed left hip joint & 3 slipped discs. I don't think about it, I just work within my given & do the best that I can. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! We can learn from our difficulties & use what we have learned to help others or our difficulties can destroy us. This walk here is only temporary, in the greater scheme of things in the Lord, this is Not our home. By making Christ the Lord of our lives, we become the New Man in Christ, burying the old man of our past, thru the indwelling Holy Spirit, let us really bury that old man, that has been trying to destroy us (Ephesians 4:22-27). We can use the things that the Holy Spirit has enabled us to overcome in our past, as examples for teaching others. We can point to ourselves as having struggled with a problem and overcoming it, thru our walk with our Lord. Have our failures serve as a teaching aid, not just forget about them and not want to go there again in our minds. When you teach what you have learned personally, the changes that we have made are reinforced. I agree with you that studying the Bible is Important. I got out of a cult, because I dared to question & just started to read the Bible myself, instead of reading someone elses condensed, digested version. God has written us His Love Letter, the Bible. Most christians have never bothered to just sit down, in their busy life & just read it, let alone Study it. The Whole Bible is our Instruction Book on how to live our lives, complete with great examples of consequences to varying behaviors, cause & effect. We can learn to love, even if we were never taught/shown it as children. The examples are timeless & written simply. In this time frame, I believe Homeschooling is a great option, if done with your whole heart, properly. May God Bless you in this endeavor.

Your Brother in CHRIST!,
- Craig

Dianna Bowers said...

Hello Jes,

My name is Dianna from southern Illinois.

I clicked on your blog through a Precept Forum comment...I said a little prayer for you right there on the spot & now here I am reading your wonderful posts & wanted to say hello to a fellow Ray Vander Laan listener! I was excited to see that you love listening to him too! My heart is like that song "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee", whenever I hear him explain the scriptures, as I like to say, through "Jewish & Hebrew eyes". I love how he explains the eastern way of thinking! My favorite one out of the whole series of Faith Lessons is "In the Dust of the Rabbi". Have you seen that one yet?

I started taking Precept Upon Precept classes around 1994 when I was a brand new Christian. And now, after all these years, I have recently taken some training & have led a couple of little bible studies, "Lord I Want To Know You" & "Lord Teach Me To Pray in 28 Days".

I am humbled to read your posts. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity. You are quite an amazing lady in love with your Lord!

May God open up the windows of heaven & pour out overflowing blessings on you!

Sincerely, a sis in Christ,
Dianna Bowers
dianna_bowers@yahoo.com