Women of Promise

Image source: simplyconvivial.com         The summer months are typically a break from the regular school schedule for my kiddos.  As a homeschooling mom with seven grades to prepare for, my summer is pretty full of lesson planning for the fall.  I have learned the hard way that the more I prepare ahead of time, the smoother the schoolyear goes for all of us.       Charlotte Mason was a Christian educator from England in the late 1800s who provided guidance and educational resources for parents and teachers.  Her books and methods have gained renewed following among homeschoolers and other educators in recent years, although they have been used for decades.  I often use one of her quotes as a motto to encourage my children to always do their best.  Sometimes I hang it on the wall where it is easily seen each day.  Sometimes I print it for the front of their notebooks.  It reminds them of who they are and whe...

  A combination of  various events recently have led me back to look at the issue of sin.  Learning about the holiness of God as opposed to the total depravity of man is mind blowing.  It is a hopeless situation. Psalm 24 tells us that only the man who has clean hands and a pure heart can stand before the King of Glory.  No human has ever attained that level of perfection, except Jesus.  Man can never dream of an eternity in God's perfect Heaven. All we can do is cry out to God as the Psalmist does in Psalm 51: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions."   BUT, Jesus!  Jesus is the answer. Jesus made the way. Jesus is the only one who can fit the description in Psalm 24.  The wonder of it is in I John 4:10:  "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."      Propitiatio...

     It's been mentioned before, but the sad reality is that 66% percent of American young people who were regular church attendees leave the church between the ages of 18 and 22.  66%!!! That number brings me to tears! As a mother that can seem like I am facing a hopeless task as I seek to raise my children to have a relationship with Jesus that is vibrant and living.  Is it a foregone conclusion that our children will most likely leave the faith? How can parents and churches shift the current trend and produce young people who are bearing light in this dark world?  The good news is that we can raise godly children in a sinful world with confidence. God's Word is the manual and His promises never fail.  We will look at some practical ways that families and churches can lead our children to a strong, personal faith in Jesus.      Some of us don't have children currently.  Perhaps you are single, dating, just married, barren, or a gr...

    This devotional is from a spiritual mentor of mine, whom I have never met yet, but have listened to and learned from for many years.  Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth is a gentle-hearted Bible teacher, who teaches women to study the Bible, encouraging them in their relationship with Jesus. I needed this this week and I wanted to share with you. This is excerpts from a study she taught called "Seeking Him" on a Revive Our Hearts  podcast. I have linked the full transcript below. I hope you will take the time to listen to or read it all at some point.   I think most of you are probably familiar with the story of Helen Keller. You may have seen the video or the play called  The Miracle Worker . When Helen was nineteen months old, she was struck with a fever that left her blind and deaf. When she was six, her parents hired a tutor whose name was Anne Sullivan, to come and help this child develop some skills. When Anne first came to live in the Keller ...

 (Repost from a couple of years ago)      I am sentimental by nature.  I love things and pictures that remind me of times and people gone by.  But when I hit different milestones myself, I grow even more retrospective.  This tendency is not always healthy. It is easy to fall into traps of self-pity and wallow in our perceived loss.  However, we can learn from meditating on the lessons passed on by those who have gone before us.  These can serve as building blocks for us to build a legacy of faith and dedication to serving our Savior.       If you will indulge me, I would like to reminisce about my mother a bit.  Mom graduated to her heavenly home almost 20 years ago.  My birthday was a couple weeks ago and  I have reflected frequently on the fact that I am roughly the same age as my mom was when she received her cancer diagnosis.  A couple of health scares (which God graciously showed to be nothing...

     “You are loved with an everlasting love and underneath are the everlasting arms.  {Jeremiah 31:3} That’s what the Bible says…”  These words were the introduction to a radio program called Gateway to Joy , hosted by Elisabeth Elliot, wife of the martyred Jim Elliot.  My mom listened almost daily to this broadcast and I loved listening to the calm, confident voice of Elisabeth as she breathed life-giving words of encouragement from the Bible into the hear ts of mothers in all stages of life.  From the women aching to hold a child to the young mother living for bedtime when she might be able to wash her face and grab a bite to eat, to the wonderful, adored grandmother or the great-grandmother whose hair has turned to beautiful gray, Mrs. Elliot shared how the work of a mother’s hands and heart is a gift of worship to our Creator and is something all women can participate in.        The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins wit...

     Boys seem to naturally love to play war-themed games, don't they?  Sticks and even fingers inevitably turn to guns.  Around our house, the boys are just as likely to turn to full-body wrestling. With seven boys in the house (I have to include the adult boys in this! 😁), it is a constant chore to referee these wrestling matches.  Their energy is never ending, and their imagination is always rolling!     Another battle is constantly raging around us.  It is entirely real. This is not a figment of our imagination.  There is a battle for our souls and the souls of our children.  Each one of us has this battle raging within us every hour of every day.  This is a spiritual battle that is always taking place in our hearts for control of our minds and bodies.  These attacks are led by the Evil One, himself.       As my children grow, I love those times when their minds are captivated by something of true...