Over the last few years there seems to be a trend toward Christians ceasing their celebration of the traditional American holidays, especially Christmas.
Reasons I’ve heard given include: God didn’t command us to celebrate them, Jesus didn’t celebrate them, They started with pagan beliefs, and they are really a celebration of pagan holidays with a veil over them to make them appear Christian.
I understand and totally respect that you feel that way, if in fact you do. However, that is how YOU feel, not me, and I’m a christian too. So I’m going to address this from my perspective, and why I choose to celebrate Christmas.
Jewish tradition doesn’t celebrate birthdays, so God didn’t actually COMMAND anyone to celebrate the birth of his son, HOWEVER, the biggest party ever went down the night of Jesus’ birth, and you better believe there was celebrating going on all over the place. The only people mentioned at the time of Jesus’ birth that were not celebrating were actually not good people... (Herod). A lot of babies died in that time too... because someone choose not to celebrate... now don’t get me wrong, this will further my point, but I’m certainly not saying that not celebrating is going to end up killing people... don’t jump to conclusions that I don’t intend, but do hear me out.
Who was scared but chose to celebrate anyway? Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wisemen. Who didn’t join the celebration? The innkeepers, I think, did not join this celebration, don’t know why, but aside from showing Mary to a barn to birth her baby (wait, I know you scholars will probably tell me it wasn’t a barn, but it was where animals were kept, so lets call it a barn for that particular reason alone and leave the rest of that argument out of this article) the innkeeper isn’t mentioned again, so I think it is safe to say they ran back to the house they lived in or had other business to attend to. Herod didn’t attend the birthday party either, why? Cause he thought this kid was going to grown up to take his thrown, and that wasn’t acceptable so he tied what he could to annihilate the kid and secure his thrown. What is the difference between Mary’s fear that she wasn’t good enough, or prepared enough to be the mother of GODS child, and the fear that Herod would loose his thrown to this kid? The difference is in their hearts. Mary wanted God’s will but she was scared she wasn’t good enough, however she trusted the Lord and His plan. Herod was scared his thrown would be taken away and didn’t trust the will of God, so he tried to kill God’s son. In Herod’s heart was distrust, selfishness, and desire for more, in Mary’s heart was trust, and obedience, and willingness. Their hearts approached the birth of Jesus with completely differently.
Now how did God celebrate? I ask first, what do we do for the biggest parties? Food, yes, Music, yes, presents, yes, decorations, yes, guests, yes. So what did God do? He put the biggest decoration ever in the sky, a brand new star. Then he got a choir and musicians to go down to a field and sing and announce his child’s birth, he invited guests, the shepherds, to come see his baby, and he sent wisemen (rich guys from another country) to bring presents, expensive presents I might add, but orchestrated by God nonetheless, because each gift represented something significant that would occur in Jesus life (that is a different topic though, if you are curious please look it up, it is pretty cool). The only element of this birthday party that I don’t find in our current celebration is food. So maybe this is God’s way of saying ‘don’t get fat on my account’... but otherwise I think it is pretty safe to say that God was excited for his child’s birth and had a party.
True he didn’t celebrate any year after (at least not that we know of), and true Jesus May have been born in either September or in the spring, but in the lack of an actual date, any date is fine, just like when a child’s birthday is around a time of year that is not convenient to celebrate some people choose to celebrate the child’s half birthday instead... lets not get annoying over the date that has been chosen.
The birthday of Christ was actually estimated to be around Dec 25th BEFORE pagan holidays began to be celebrated around that time anyway... look it up if you don’t believe me, my husband just showed me a very short video that had a timeline showing when Christ’s birthday was estimated and then when the pagan holidays began, and then some other interesting facts as well, and all he did to find it was google the phrase, “Why Christmas is not a pagan holiday”. But to be fair to the scholars who have looked all this stuff up already and don’t care to argue about it, here is my simple truth. Jesus cared more about your heart than he cared your holidays.
He addresses the hearts of his people over and over again, constantly looking not at the sin, or act, or behavior, but at the heart of the matter and then addressing the person about their heart rather than their actions. I don’t think he would be upset that we are so THANKFUL that he came to earth to live among us, and eventually offer himself as the greatest sacrifice ever that we celebrate a day in our year saying thank you to him for the gift of his birth as a HUMAN... how could that be wrong?
Well, it can actually, and this will sound counterintuitive to my whole argument when I say this, but celebrating a holiday that isn’t sanctioned by God himself CAN be sinful.
Why would I say that? Because each person needs to take a very serious look at the traditions they do each year to celebrate these holidays, and figure out the answer to two things... 1. Why do I traditionally do this? 2. Does this tradition point to Jesus?
Sometimes the answer to one question will also answer the other, but not always... so look carefully, are you celebrating the birth of Christ because it honors Jesus? Or are you doing it because someone taught you to, or any number of other reasons. And then look again, if you do it because you think it is a good reminder of Christ at this time of year, then when you do it are you standing in awe of Christ while you do it? If no, then maybe you need to get back to the heart of it, or cut it out because it no longer serves the intended purpose.
Here is a glimpse into Christmas at my house.
I decorate my house, why? Because I love to have a home where people feel inspired, and comfortable, and festive... why? Because I think it honors Christ to make people feel that way. Also, the stars and the angels, they were God’s design, and I can’t recreate that, so I do what I can with Christmas lights on the outside of my home. Ordinarily I would only decorate with red and white lights, but my family over ruled me a few years ago, and we got multicolored lights, and when the lights, die I intend to go back to red and white.
I decorate a tree too... why? Because The evergreen tree has two important qualities about it that I think represent it’s creator (GOD) really well... first it is shaped like a triangle, having three points and three sides, and God has three parts to him as well, we call him the trinity, but some disagree with that term as it isn’t in the Bible, what is in the Bible is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is incredible to me that God has seen it all, and created a tree that so accurately shows himself to be one.... also the evergreen is always green, always growing, always alive, and so is God, who is biblically referred to as Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. God is, was, and always will be... and my tree is green, was green, and always will be green... even after I cut it down, bring it into my house to decorate it, and then as I drag it outside it will still be green (mostly).
I have two traditions in my house, that go with tree decorating. 1. Each family member chooses an ornament that represents the year and themselves in that year. And 2. My tree aside from the ornaments my children choose will be decorated with red and white with an acceptable addition of silver only.
First I’d like to look at tradition number 1. Why do I do that? It goes back to my first Christmas alone as an adult in an apartment. I had NOTHING... I bought my tree and a bunch of multicolored bulbs to decorate with (this is back before I’d decided red and white only) and then I set it all up in my apartment. And I was lonely. So lonely. And my tree was expensive and the ornaments were hard to afford on my first real job’s pay after making sure I could pay my rent and afford to eat. So I decided that my kids would have at least one ornament every year to collect and take with them when they have their first tree. And to remind them of a year of God working small changes in their hearts, and showing himself to them.
The second tree decorating tradition is that I decorate in red and white only... this is because the red symbolizes the blood Jesus shed for my sins, and the white is the pure as snow state he leaves me in after washing away the guilt of my sins with his own blood. This is a reminder that not only did a tiny baby come to live with us, as a human among us, but he grew up and did the one thing none of us could do for ourselves, he cleansed us with his blood and made us capable of entering into God’s presence.
I give gifts. Why? Oh so many reasons! I love that I can give to others, and make them have a tiny bit of the Joy that God’s only son’s birth gives to me, through a gift that I truly thought about the receiver with. I love that the wisemen gave gifts at Jesus’ birthday party, and that they gave three gifts, if that is enough for Jesus, then that is enough for my children. They receive three gifts, and just as Jesus had practical gifts I also give my children well thought out practical gifts as well. Not just ‘things’ for the sake of things, but things that I know they will get use out of and be drawn back to time and time again, for extended use... if a present could be forgotten in a few days I don’t want it in my home. I gift things to my children whether they are naughty or nice, not because they deserve it, but because they do NOT deserve it, just as I do not deserve the love of Christ, but he gives it freely to me daily, forgiving me of all my sins. I give gifts to strangers whenever the Lord directs me to do so, filling their lives with hope, a gift that God offers to each of us, through the birth of his son. I give because he gave. I give gifts so that my children learn how to receive gifts as well as how to give them to others. Because learning to graciously receive a gift is just as important as graciously giving them.
I make a giant christmas breakfast every year, why? Well this doesn’t show up in scripture, around Jesus birth, but rather in his life... because I want to SERVE. I prepare a giant meal and serve it to my family because I want to be an example of a servant to my children, as they grow, so that they too will want to serve others. And then since I make the meal so big we can enjoy it all day and I have the chance to sit and truly be with my children on the holiday, which is something I want to do every day, but doesn’t happen as often as I would like... but it is purposeful on Christmas.
Christmas Eve we wear matching pajamas and watch the nativity story on DVD. Why? Because matching pajamas are fun, because the kids always need new pajamas, and because it is a unified house, with one motive, to love God, and to love each other. And the movie? Well it is a really amazing portrayal of the first Christmas. And I want everything we do to reflect Christ at Christmas, and every other time of year.
What we don’t do:
We don’t lie to the children, there is no giant elf that leaves them christmas presents, and if they ask about Santa we gladly tell them the true Santa story, about St. Nicholas, and how he was a gift giver, and the legends that are around the man behind the story are because there was some truth to it, but he doesn’t fly in a sleigh, live forever, or watch them while they are awake and asleep. I tell my kids that every house has a Santa, usually mom or dad, and that we do it because it is a fun reminder to be a gift giver like that man was a gift giver, offering (like God did) very practical gifts that filled a real need, but there is no reason practicality can’t also be fun. And on occasion the kids do leave out cookies for ‘santa’ and then they speculate on who will eat them, mom or dad.
We do not have pictures with Santa. Why? To be honest there’s is one Santa that I would take my kids to, but he isn’t in the same state as we are currently, and the only reason I would go to him is because he is a good Christian man, and a friend of mine whom I usually only saw at Christmas time when he was playing Santa at a retail store that also gave him floor time to read about Jesus’ birth every day. Otherwise we don’t have pictures with Santa because it would confuse the message I’ve given to my children about the man being dead hundreds of years ago, and how we don’t celebrate him, but rather Christ at Christmas.
We do not have an Elf on our shelf. Why? Because again this confuses the kids, no one is watching to see if they are good or not, my kids get presents not because they were good, but because I love them... I don’t want to use anyone other than Jesus in their lives to encourage good behavior.
So there you have it, I have so much more I could say on the subject of Christmas, and why I’m still a good Christian even though I celebrate Christmas, and want to keep him at the heart of it.
The last thing I’d like to say is that if Christ isn’t at the center of your Christmas, perhaps you shouldn’t celebrate it, but if he is, do so without holding back. Sing, Dance, laugh, love, and celebrate so long as the thing you are celebrating is Jesus, and not all the traditions and ‘stuff’ that has to be done.... it just isn’t Christmas when it becomes about the traditions instead of the man you set out to honor when you do the ‘stuff’ you do.
There is no stress in my home pertaining to Christmas, it is all about Jesus, and I know he sees my heart before he sees anything that I do, so stress isn’t a thing in this house, not at Christmas. Busyness sure, but stress no.
Mommy and Me
Sharing life with you is fullfilling
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Ponderings
I've had so many things on my mind lately that I struggled to figure out which blog I would like to post these thoughts on, in the end I realized that some where appropriate for my business blog, some for my home schooling blog, and others for this one, my general speak your mind and other stuff blog.. none of these blogs are very populated so I would be surprised if more than a handful of people read any of the thoughts, but all the same each thing weighing on my mind had very different topics and didn't belong all jumbled up in the same space.
At first I turned to my business blog, because there is a lot of uproar going on in the birth world, and I as a birth doula have a lot of jumbled thoughts I'd like to unjumble in a thoughtful blog post, but then I realized that I'm not quite there yet, and writing too quickly on the subject (Midwifery Today and the Amish venue they chose for their conference) could potentially alienate or offend my clientele and so I really shouldn't make my thoughts known until I know them fully myself.
Then I wanted to write about how our school year is going, and how it is so different from last year, terrifying and peaceful all at the same time... but then I'm not quite sure where I want to go with that thought yet either... so here you find me.
I've had so many friends turning aside from traditional Christianity lately, not away from God, but away from the church as it is currently, and those who I have recently met have also turned aside... and I've been studying and questioning myself for a long time now. This is a subject I know my heart on.
What are the turns in the path of Christianity that I've witnessed lately? The different directions I've seen lately vary from strict adherence to biblical law, a total acceptance of grace without acknowledgement of law, a total denial of sciences (including medical, and physical, and go ahead and throw in some astronomy as well).
Some of my friends have decided the earth might be flat after all, some of them have decided that anything that has changed since biblical times (i.e. added holidays, or holidays taken away, acceptable foods, and what the sabbath really is and how to hold it) is not biblical and is not therefore acceptable, and some of them have decided that the law in being 'fulfilled' by Christ is no longer worth following.
The people questioning these things have been my friends for quite some time, and none of them agree with each other about the things that they are turning from. i.e. my grace only friend says that the earth isn't flat, and we don't need law, one of my flat earth friends says that we need law and grace is a cop-out (essentially), another flat earth (questioner) friend is all about grace and law alike, then there is my totally law friend, who I'll be honest hasn't weighed in on the round verses flat earth subject.... but every one of them has talked to me about their thoughts on these matters and each one of them, knowingly or not has made me run back to my bible to look and see EXACTLY what I believe.
I thought I was pretty well versed in the bible, but it turns out I still question everything too.... although in the end I always get my answers directly from the word of God. That is where I decided to start... all scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16), but I also want to hold a lot of weight on Jesus' actual words... Partly because my church is doing a series on 'red letters' which is where some bibles put all of Jesus' words in red and the rest of the text in black, and partly because one of my law abiding friends challenged me on a subject that specifically has to do with the words of Jesus.
I have been reading Mark right now, and looking closely at all the words of Jesus as I go through, and you know what? The best advice I've found from Jesus is simply to let these Christians be... why?
Because we each have a place in the kingdom, and a useful purpose... we are each uniquely formed, and created to serve different purposes, so of course we would fulfill them differently. If a cup decided to be a spoon, true they both hold liquid, but the user of the cup wouldn't be very pleased if the cup refused to be used for drinking water but instead only held small amounts of soup, or pudding. It just isn't reasonable that I should try to fit into the mold of ANY of my friends.
Following Love
A long time ago when I was a child, I thought like children do, and I was afraid that the Lord would come to get us all and I'd never have a chance to be a missionary, a ballerina, a mom, a singer, and an Avon sales lady.... my dad was kind of pushy with his belief in the Lord returning soon and VERY soon. At that time God spoke to my heart and told me how my method of reaching others was not one of being loud and pushy (not saying that is a bad method, it just isn't mine), but rather just loving on people where they are, and welcoming them to God's heart so that he can correct them where they need correcting, but my love and lifestyle would be the start, not my telling them how wrong they are on whatever they are wrong about.
Sometimes we Christians get wrapped up in right or wrong, and forget about love. Sometimes we want to be fast to point the finger, Jesus told us to avoid that when he said "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:5. So I'm asking myself now, do I have any planks in my eyes? Did you know that eyes has all the same letters as yes? Well I do, sometimes I don't even know about them, but there they are, obvious to all of my family and friends.
What has the Lord revealed to me lately? The anger and frustration that I feel burning inside myself when someone tells me to 'learn' or tries to teach me something they think I don't know... that is my plank. It isn't right that I get mad when people want to 'educate' me. I'm wrong, and for any of those people I've gotten mad at for trying to teach me something, I'd like to apologize. I'm sorry.
I'm not the first person in history to have this problem, in fact the disciples saw a man casting out demons in Jesus' name and preaching to people and they told him he had to stop. Why? because he wasn't part of their group, he wasn't a member of the squad, he was an outsider with the same knowledge, or perhaps more understanding than them, and they were offended and went to Jesus and told him how they commanded that man to stop... maybe they were expecting Him to pat their shoulders and say they did right? But what really happened is that Jesus did the opposite, he said 'those who are not against us are on our team' and he told them not to stop that man, or any others from doing God's work, no matter what team they were part of, Mark 9:38-42.
The following is just speculation and will not be found in scripture... but what if that man , after doing some amazing things for the Kingdom of God went away from seeing the disciples and hearing them tell him off for what he was doing decided that perhaps he was wrong, and stopped doing anything for God... what if he walked away from that chance encounter and stopped, just stopped... or what if he retracted his good, what if he told others it had just been an illusion, that he thought great things were happening but maybe they were not. What if the disciples in rebuking that man stopped the great work that the Lord was doing in a community the disciples would shortly move away from?
And so instead of being angry about learning new things I'm starting to just let it be. Instead of telling people they are wrong to believe differently than I believe, I'm starting to pray for them, and ask God to use them to work miracles in the lives of the people they touch every day... whether that is through social media, or anywhere else. I'm starting to pay attention to the good that comes of their questions, the answers they have found, and the fact that they are SEEKING truth. I can't blame even one of them for seeking the Lord, even if the answers they seem to have found are against what I currently believe about the Lord.
I'm also praying, earnestly that the Lord will help me take the planks from my own eyes as he reveals them to me, and allow me to learn new things from unlikely sources (and friends too 😜). And then I pray that if my friends are right and I'm wrong that he will reveal that to me, and if they are wrong and I am right that he will also reveal that to them. I'm not trying to make waves, I just want to get through life witnessing by action instead of word that the Lord is good, and his ways are right.
What about sin the bible really does say is wrong? There are a few things the bible specifically says are totally wrong, in the New and Old testament, and what if my friends are saying those things are OK? I'm not going to go into any detail, because honestly this question came to mind without any kind of specific friend or situation presenting it, it was probably just my mind looking for loopholes to God's word, who knows. The more I read about sin, the more I really begin to see that we ALL have sin in our lives, and when we are truly following Christ, he will reveal that sin to us, and once it is revealed we have a choice. Continue living in sin, knowing it is wrong and that the Lord condemns it, or stop.
If we continue then Christ dying on the cross was in vain, and every time you do that thing you are nailing Jesus to the cross again, and showing him how little you care that he is there in your place, and therefore risking your own salvation because you are not repentant. If you stop then you have shown Jesus you care, and don't want to continue punishing him for your own sins, and therefore you must stop sinning, your conscience demands it.
And so , even in the case of sin, it is NOT my place to correct them, though a gentle reminder of God's thoughts on a matter are appropriate from time to time. It is Jesus who took the punishment, and it is his place to make our sins known to us. It is ours to simply love like Jesus loved.
And there you have it.. I plan to love, and not let my own frustration get in the way. No matter how strange your way of loving Jesus is.
At first I turned to my business blog, because there is a lot of uproar going on in the birth world, and I as a birth doula have a lot of jumbled thoughts I'd like to unjumble in a thoughtful blog post, but then I realized that I'm not quite there yet, and writing too quickly on the subject (Midwifery Today and the Amish venue they chose for their conference) could potentially alienate or offend my clientele and so I really shouldn't make my thoughts known until I know them fully myself.
Then I wanted to write about how our school year is going, and how it is so different from last year, terrifying and peaceful all at the same time... but then I'm not quite sure where I want to go with that thought yet either... so here you find me.
I've had so many friends turning aside from traditional Christianity lately, not away from God, but away from the church as it is currently, and those who I have recently met have also turned aside... and I've been studying and questioning myself for a long time now. This is a subject I know my heart on.
What are the turns in the path of Christianity that I've witnessed lately? The different directions I've seen lately vary from strict adherence to biblical law, a total acceptance of grace without acknowledgement of law, a total denial of sciences (including medical, and physical, and go ahead and throw in some astronomy as well).
Some of my friends have decided the earth might be flat after all, some of them have decided that anything that has changed since biblical times (i.e. added holidays, or holidays taken away, acceptable foods, and what the sabbath really is and how to hold it) is not biblical and is not therefore acceptable, and some of them have decided that the law in being 'fulfilled' by Christ is no longer worth following.
The people questioning these things have been my friends for quite some time, and none of them agree with each other about the things that they are turning from. i.e. my grace only friend says that the earth isn't flat, and we don't need law, one of my flat earth friends says that we need law and grace is a cop-out (essentially), another flat earth (questioner) friend is all about grace and law alike, then there is my totally law friend, who I'll be honest hasn't weighed in on the round verses flat earth subject.... but every one of them has talked to me about their thoughts on these matters and each one of them, knowingly or not has made me run back to my bible to look and see EXACTLY what I believe.
I thought I was pretty well versed in the bible, but it turns out I still question everything too.... although in the end I always get my answers directly from the word of God. That is where I decided to start... all scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16), but I also want to hold a lot of weight on Jesus' actual words... Partly because my church is doing a series on 'red letters' which is where some bibles put all of Jesus' words in red and the rest of the text in black, and partly because one of my law abiding friends challenged me on a subject that specifically has to do with the words of Jesus.
I have been reading Mark right now, and looking closely at all the words of Jesus as I go through, and you know what? The best advice I've found from Jesus is simply to let these Christians be... why?
Because we each have a place in the kingdom, and a useful purpose... we are each uniquely formed, and created to serve different purposes, so of course we would fulfill them differently. If a cup decided to be a spoon, true they both hold liquid, but the user of the cup wouldn't be very pleased if the cup refused to be used for drinking water but instead only held small amounts of soup, or pudding. It just isn't reasonable that I should try to fit into the mold of ANY of my friends.
Following Love
A long time ago when I was a child, I thought like children do, and I was afraid that the Lord would come to get us all and I'd never have a chance to be a missionary, a ballerina, a mom, a singer, and an Avon sales lady.... my dad was kind of pushy with his belief in the Lord returning soon and VERY soon. At that time God spoke to my heart and told me how my method of reaching others was not one of being loud and pushy (not saying that is a bad method, it just isn't mine), but rather just loving on people where they are, and welcoming them to God's heart so that he can correct them where they need correcting, but my love and lifestyle would be the start, not my telling them how wrong they are on whatever they are wrong about.
Sometimes we Christians get wrapped up in right or wrong, and forget about love. Sometimes we want to be fast to point the finger, Jesus told us to avoid that when he said "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:5. So I'm asking myself now, do I have any planks in my eyes? Did you know that eyes has all the same letters as yes? Well I do, sometimes I don't even know about them, but there they are, obvious to all of my family and friends.
What has the Lord revealed to me lately? The anger and frustration that I feel burning inside myself when someone tells me to 'learn' or tries to teach me something they think I don't know... that is my plank. It isn't right that I get mad when people want to 'educate' me. I'm wrong, and for any of those people I've gotten mad at for trying to teach me something, I'd like to apologize. I'm sorry.
I'm not the first person in history to have this problem, in fact the disciples saw a man casting out demons in Jesus' name and preaching to people and they told him he had to stop. Why? because he wasn't part of their group, he wasn't a member of the squad, he was an outsider with the same knowledge, or perhaps more understanding than them, and they were offended and went to Jesus and told him how they commanded that man to stop... maybe they were expecting Him to pat their shoulders and say they did right? But what really happened is that Jesus did the opposite, he said 'those who are not against us are on our team' and he told them not to stop that man, or any others from doing God's work, no matter what team they were part of, Mark 9:38-42.
The following is just speculation and will not be found in scripture... but what if that man , after doing some amazing things for the Kingdom of God went away from seeing the disciples and hearing them tell him off for what he was doing decided that perhaps he was wrong, and stopped doing anything for God... what if he walked away from that chance encounter and stopped, just stopped... or what if he retracted his good, what if he told others it had just been an illusion, that he thought great things were happening but maybe they were not. What if the disciples in rebuking that man stopped the great work that the Lord was doing in a community the disciples would shortly move away from?
And so instead of being angry about learning new things I'm starting to just let it be. Instead of telling people they are wrong to believe differently than I believe, I'm starting to pray for them, and ask God to use them to work miracles in the lives of the people they touch every day... whether that is through social media, or anywhere else. I'm starting to pay attention to the good that comes of their questions, the answers they have found, and the fact that they are SEEKING truth. I can't blame even one of them for seeking the Lord, even if the answers they seem to have found are against what I currently believe about the Lord.
I'm also praying, earnestly that the Lord will help me take the planks from my own eyes as he reveals them to me, and allow me to learn new things from unlikely sources (and friends too 😜). And then I pray that if my friends are right and I'm wrong that he will reveal that to me, and if they are wrong and I am right that he will also reveal that to them. I'm not trying to make waves, I just want to get through life witnessing by action instead of word that the Lord is good, and his ways are right.
What about sin the bible really does say is wrong? There are a few things the bible specifically says are totally wrong, in the New and Old testament, and what if my friends are saying those things are OK? I'm not going to go into any detail, because honestly this question came to mind without any kind of specific friend or situation presenting it, it was probably just my mind looking for loopholes to God's word, who knows. The more I read about sin, the more I really begin to see that we ALL have sin in our lives, and when we are truly following Christ, he will reveal that sin to us, and once it is revealed we have a choice. Continue living in sin, knowing it is wrong and that the Lord condemns it, or stop.
If we continue then Christ dying on the cross was in vain, and every time you do that thing you are nailing Jesus to the cross again, and showing him how little you care that he is there in your place, and therefore risking your own salvation because you are not repentant. If you stop then you have shown Jesus you care, and don't want to continue punishing him for your own sins, and therefore you must stop sinning, your conscience demands it.
And so , even in the case of sin, it is NOT my place to correct them, though a gentle reminder of God's thoughts on a matter are appropriate from time to time. It is Jesus who took the punishment, and it is his place to make our sins known to us. It is ours to simply love like Jesus loved.
And there you have it.. I plan to love, and not let my own frustration get in the way. No matter how strange your way of loving Jesus is.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
School is starting again!
Dear Readers, I'm not so great at this blog thing, I've had years to get it, but it hasn't come to me yet... however, lately it seems that I'm being drawn back to writing, so maybe this time... or maybe not...
Today is the first day of school, you might be wondering why in the world we are starting school on August 1st, which is typically way too early for a school year, and also happens to be a Thursday... but that is the beauty of home school!
Last year among all the chaos we decided to move back to Michigan... a decision that I felt was right, but also hated entirely. There were of course good things about the move, being close to family, and our best friends who had moved back there the year before, but I had made our last home HOME... and I really wanted to stay there. We named it 'Sometimes Creek' I painted a sign for it, it was beautiful, and I loved every part of it... and then God called us away.
Right in the middle of a school year!
So now as a family we have moved a total of 14 times. I really hope that phase of our life is done, and it seems for the first time EVER, my husband might be on board with living out our days in one spot.
Last year we had a baby, took an unplanned scoping vacation to see what we could find for housing in Michigan, moved to a parsonage for temporary housing, spent MONTHS looking for a house to buy, and then moved into our home, our school year was WRECKED. And among all the craziness it just wasn't working to do school every day, so where we should have finished the year in May, we were still hard at work into June, and even most of July. The kids finished their school work as they were able, and I stopped pushing at all.. Its a new thing for me, to let them determine their education and find their own way through stuff... but I'll explain that in a minute.
Caeden was the last to finish his workbooks this year, and the last page was finished Tuesday, July 30th, leaving me ONE day to prepare for school to start on August 1st... starting on this date also lets us finish next year when we usually finish without stressing too hard, we can still take a good amount of breaks and enjoy things throughout the year. I'd honestly like to go to year round schooling next year and this lines us back up to being able to do that.
Today we begin a journey, today we start again, today we are starting school.
I said I would explain how I'm not pushing the kids anymore, so here goes. In the past I lined up everything meticulously, I knew how many pages had to be finished every single day in order to complete a school year on time. I also found that it was stressing the kids out, having this deadline over their heads, childhood should be a time with no stress, helping them grow and form patterns in their brains that will last a lifetime.. I want my kids to be hard workers, but I don't want them stressed out. So, for this school year I'm going to provide them work to do, and set a timer for each subject and let them go as fast or slow as they want to on each thing. I'd love to see their determination grow, and their work ethic along with it, but if that doesn't happen I will see something else happen, less enjoyable, but still just as important, they will see that they have the power to determine somethings in their future... they will see (if they don't work hard) the consequences of their inaction, which will be that they don't get to move onto the next grade level in each subject unless they finish the one they have... which could mean years in the same grade if they don't do anything.. but I have faith in my kids, they will do well.
As a first day of school starter, I also wanted to interview each of the kids.
Here is Micah's interview
Age: 5
Grade: Kindergarten
What was your favorite part about school last year? "coloring"
What are you looking forward to this year? "That I can finally color"
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "Reading"
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "I like dinosaurs"
Here is Caeden's interview
Age: 10
Grade: This year or last year? (this) 5th grade
What was your favorite part about school last year? "I liked what History was about last year.
What you are you looking forward to this year? "My new math"
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "A LONG Summer break."
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "You've done a good job Caeden, Thank you Caeden."
Here is Sapphira's interview:
Age: 9
Grade: 3rd
What was your favorite part about school last year? "Doing my math really fast"
What are you looking forward to this year? "because we haven't done school in a long time."
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "That is really hard, I have to think about it, read 7 books."
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "I did very well"
Esmarie isn't starting school but I interviewed her anyway.
Age: something
Grade: ummm Esmarie
What was your favorite part about school last year? "umm, school last year"
What are you looking forward to this year? "this year, um, do"
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "this year, potty trained" (I might have fed that one to her)
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "sister"
With that, I guess you are as ready as we are to start this year up! I'm excited! Can't wait to tell you how our first day goes!
Today is the first day of school, you might be wondering why in the world we are starting school on August 1st, which is typically way too early for a school year, and also happens to be a Thursday... but that is the beauty of home school!
Last year among all the chaos we decided to move back to Michigan... a decision that I felt was right, but also hated entirely. There were of course good things about the move, being close to family, and our best friends who had moved back there the year before, but I had made our last home HOME... and I really wanted to stay there. We named it 'Sometimes Creek' I painted a sign for it, it was beautiful, and I loved every part of it... and then God called us away.
Right in the middle of a school year!
So now as a family we have moved a total of 14 times. I really hope that phase of our life is done, and it seems for the first time EVER, my husband might be on board with living out our days in one spot.
Last year we had a baby, took an unplanned scoping vacation to see what we could find for housing in Michigan, moved to a parsonage for temporary housing, spent MONTHS looking for a house to buy, and then moved into our home, our school year was WRECKED. And among all the craziness it just wasn't working to do school every day, so where we should have finished the year in May, we were still hard at work into June, and even most of July. The kids finished their school work as they were able, and I stopped pushing at all.. Its a new thing for me, to let them determine their education and find their own way through stuff... but I'll explain that in a minute.
Caeden was the last to finish his workbooks this year, and the last page was finished Tuesday, July 30th, leaving me ONE day to prepare for school to start on August 1st... starting on this date also lets us finish next year when we usually finish without stressing too hard, we can still take a good amount of breaks and enjoy things throughout the year. I'd honestly like to go to year round schooling next year and this lines us back up to being able to do that.
Today we begin a journey, today we start again, today we are starting school.
I said I would explain how I'm not pushing the kids anymore, so here goes. In the past I lined up everything meticulously, I knew how many pages had to be finished every single day in order to complete a school year on time. I also found that it was stressing the kids out, having this deadline over their heads, childhood should be a time with no stress, helping them grow and form patterns in their brains that will last a lifetime.. I want my kids to be hard workers, but I don't want them stressed out. So, for this school year I'm going to provide them work to do, and set a timer for each subject and let them go as fast or slow as they want to on each thing. I'd love to see their determination grow, and their work ethic along with it, but if that doesn't happen I will see something else happen, less enjoyable, but still just as important, they will see that they have the power to determine somethings in their future... they will see (if they don't work hard) the consequences of their inaction, which will be that they don't get to move onto the next grade level in each subject unless they finish the one they have... which could mean years in the same grade if they don't do anything.. but I have faith in my kids, they will do well.
As a first day of school starter, I also wanted to interview each of the kids.
Here is Micah's interview
Age: 5
Grade: Kindergarten
What was your favorite part about school last year? "coloring"
What are you looking forward to this year? "That I can finally color"
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "Reading"
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "I like dinosaurs"
Here is Caeden's interview
Age: 10
Grade: This year or last year? (this) 5th grade
What was your favorite part about school last year? "I liked what History was about last year.
What you are you looking forward to this year? "My new math"
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "A LONG Summer break."
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "You've done a good job Caeden, Thank you Caeden."
Here is Sapphira's interview:
Age: 9
Grade: 3rd
What was your favorite part about school last year? "Doing my math really fast"
What are you looking forward to this year? "because we haven't done school in a long time."
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "That is really hard, I have to think about it, read 7 books."
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "I did very well"
Esmarie isn't starting school but I interviewed her anyway.
Age: something
Grade: ummm Esmarie
What was your favorite part about school last year? "umm, school last year"
What are you looking forward to this year? "this year, um, do"
If you had one big goal that you wanted to work toward what would it be? "this year, potty trained" (I might have fed that one to her)
What would you like to tell yourself at the end of this school year? "sister"
With that, I guess you are as ready as we are to start this year up! I'm excited! Can't wait to tell you how our first day goes!
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