Amazing GRACE

Amazing grace how sweet the sound

That saved a retch like me.

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see

(Amazing Grace by John Newton)

Grace.  It is the very foundation of the Christian faith. It is what makes Christianity different from every other faith and belief system. It is the major theme through the entire Old and New Testaments. We sing about it, talk about it, and preach about it, yet I think very few of us really understand it. Before getting into what grace is, I want to address what grace is not.

1- It is NOT something we earn: Grace by definition is unmerited favor. There is nothing anyone can do to earn grace. Eph 2:8 tells us God's grace is a gift and not a result of any works. There is no decision you can make, action you can take or ritual you can perform to earn God's grace. We cannot bargain with God for grace. We cannot bribe Him for grace. We cannot influence whether He issues more or less grace. The Ephesians passage goes on to tell us we cannot brag or boast about grace. The grace we have received is despite all we do and we have no cause to boast about it.

2- It is NOT an excuse for sin.  Romans 6 is very clear that grace does not give us a free pass to sin. When we truly understand grace, it frees us from sin. It drives us to flee from sin to be like Christ and His righteousness. Grace never says, "Its ok".  It does always say, "You are forgiven."

3 - It does NOT free us from the consequences of our sin.  Through grace we are spared the punishment of sin - death and separation from God. It does not guarantee we will avoid the consequences of our sin. David was a "man after God's own heart". He committed adultery and murder, and by God's grace retained God's favor. But, his sin led to the death of his infant son and deep divides within his family. We are forgiven, but we must still bear the consequences of our actions. Giving our children grace means we forgive them, we lead them to God who forgives them, but it is not an excuse not to discipline. 

So what is grace?

It is God's unfailing, unchanging, unmerited love for unrighteous, lawless, self-serving humans. The book of Romans contains a long theological discussion of grace.  Chapter 1 begins to establish that righteousness means perfect inward, as well as outward, conformity to Law. The punishment for not obeying even one aspect of the law - death. Yet, the Law was given for one purpose - to point us toward our need for God by defining sin. Romans 3 states "None is righteous, not even one;.....no one does good." Even the most pure outward appearance of righteousness does not meet the standard because it lacks God's understanding.  Then comes Jesus. God's son.  He came to earth as a humble human, subjected to all the temptations and impulses known to man - yet lived a truly pure, righteous life.   He lived a life that completely fulfills the Law.  God takes this perfectly righteous Son, and puts on Him the punishment and torment of our sin. With the price of sin paid, God takes the righteousness of Jesus and gives it to us. That is grace - God giving us a righteousness we do not deserve. This grace is given to us through one means - faith in Jesus death and resurrection. 

So....what does all this have to do with parenting? As Christians, everything!

Grace tells us we cannot do this on our own! We are no better, no more righteous, and no more law abiding on our own, than our children are. Without Christ, we are the blind leading the blind. We can be faithful parents because we trust in the grace and love of God. We can trust that He will give us the wisdom, strength and perseverance to raise our children in a manner that is pleasing to Him. Grace also relieves us of the responsibility of saving our children. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot save our children. Our children's spiritual salvation lies in the hands of God and God alone. Our faith allows us to trust that He has placed each child in our home, when He did and how He did for a reason. It assures us that He loves them even more than we do. He knows every one of our failures, he knows every mistake we will make - and He gave us these children anyway. It is because of grace we are motivated to continually point our children to Christ and to teach them about his love and salvation.

Grace teaches us to parent toward Christ, not toward law. The ultimate goal of our parenting is to raise adults who are fully committed and lost in the love of God. We do not want "good" children, because we know that is impossible. We want God to capture our children's hearts and turn them into young men and women who are devoted to Him. Grace teaches us once they have been captured by God's love they will not be able to help but strive toward "goodness". God gave us law to expose our need for Christ. When we teach our children law, our first goal should be to expose their need for Christ and share with them His forgiveness and acceptance because of His work on the cross. 

Grace teaches us a need for personal discipleship - both for ourselves and for our children. If we are to lead our children to Christ, we must be walking with Him ourselves. We need to be studying His Word, spending time talking with Him, fellow-shipping with other believers, and being held accountable to His teachings. The Church has a very vital role in families by supporting parents in personal growth so they may in turn lead their children. 

God created a wonderful institution in which grace should be clearly visible to our children - marriage. God designed the family as a father and mother who work together to lead their children to Him. All too frequently this does not happen. Next, we want to take a little time to take a look at grace within the context of marriage. But be assured, if your situation does not match the dad+mom+children equation, God in His abounding grace, is still living and working and nothing can hinder His plan!!

'Tis grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved.

How precious did that grace appear,

The hour I first believed. 

The House that Grace Builds

As we have headed into the active summer months and now a busy-as-ever school-year, I have taken very little time to blog. By the end of the day I can barely decide whether to read or watch a movie, no less construct coherent written sentences and paragraphs! Over the next few months I want to share with you something that has been very heavy on my heart for the American Church, and which has greatly convicted, challenged and changed me, my faith and my family.

Over the last 15 years, we have watched children from "good Christian homes" grow up and leave the faith with, at best, an indifferent tolerance for the church or, all too frequently, outright rejection and hatred. We have watched even more children gain the ability to do and say the right things, but show very little heart understanding of our faith in their lives. They were motivated "be good" and to "make Daddy and God happy"- living as if their salvation, acceptance, and worth relied on their actions.  We saw the same things in the most liberal families and the most fundamentalist, conservative families.  Most painful, was the day we realized our children were no exception. They knew the stories, the songs, the Sunday School answers, but when it came to real heart-felt motivations and answering deeper questions - it just wasn't there. We were raising "good" kids who didn't truly understand the depth of the love and grace of God.

It began what is a continuing quest of mine to question "christian" parenting across the fundamental to progressive spectrum of theology  - because, quite frankly, it doesn't work. If generation, after generation of children raised in Christian homes are continually, and with increasing frequency, turning its back on the faith, than we, the parents, are not passing the faith on to them. We have done a fantastic job of passing down religion, but not the faith and love of a gracious Savior.

So what I want to do over the next several months is share with you what we will be sharing with our church. Not because we have all the answers, or have come upon any new revelations, or are perfect in parenting ourselves, but because I believe every Christian, especially every Western Christian, needs to take a very good, hard look at themselves, their families, and their churches before we completely loose the next generation.

One of the things we quickly realized, is our "parenting theology" is a big part of the problem. For some reason, we tend to drop good hermeneutics at the door when it comes to parenting. We need to start with "rules" for reading the Bible. (We are beginning with an assumption in the inerrency, authority and divine authorship of all of Scripture.)

1 - Context, context, context  - Every verse, every word of Scripture must be read within the context it was written. Probably some of the most frequent mis-uses of scripture come from pulling passages out of context. A very common one is Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord" Begin and end it there and you have a verse that demands wives be subservient to their husbands. The entire context though, completely changes the meaning. The prior verse end with "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ". Verse 25 commands "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." Verse 33 reflects 22 with "let the wife see that she respects her husband". No longer do we have a dominating relationship, but one of mutual submission, self-sacrificing love and respect.

2- Literary Genres are Important - It rarely fails when going to a parenting workshop, Proverbs 13:24 is quoted. "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him."  This is coming from Proverbs, a book of wisdom literature. Wisdom literature, by its nature, intent and structure, is different from law, history, and gospels.  Quite frequently this Proverb is used as law - children must be spanked. But it isn't law, it is wisdom. Its intent is not to demand spanking, but to impart the wisdom of firmly disciplining children.

3 - Redemptive History- All of scripture should be read in light of God's promise to redeem man, namely through Jesus Christ. Without the light of redemptive history, one could claim that Genesis 22 teaches child sacrifice!

4 - Reading in Light of the Whole - Scripture cannot be the Word of God and conflict with itself.  Our interpretation of one passage, must be consistent with what is in the rest of scripture.  It is inconsistent to think we can predict the date of the return of Christ from Revelation and Daniel in light of Jesus' words in Matthew 24, "no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son".

5 - Avoid moralisms - This has become one of my personal pet peeves, especially when teaching children Bible stories. David and Goliath. How many children have been told that they have to "be like David" and God will help them defeat the Goliaths in their lives? There are several problems with this: 1- the passage is mainly about God's redemption of His people (Redemptive History) 2- The passage is quite clear that David gave God the credit for the victory, and it was not David's actions, but God's power through David that saved the Israelites  3-God does not always allow our Goliaths to be defeated. Sometimes we must walk through a fiery furnace. Sometimes we are stoned to death. My all time favorite was the Sunday School lesson that directed me to teach the Tower of Babel  The curriculum's goal: That the children would understand that every language was created by God, so we should love people of all languages. Um, that is no where near the message of the passage. Different languages were given as a curse for pride and idolatry!

6 - Read more complex passages in light of more clear ones - Much of scripture can be very difficult to understand and accept. Some of it makes me scratch my head and say "Why in the world would God put this in here?" Fortunately many of those passages are more easily understood in light of easier passages (and when #1-5 are also applied). Read Song of Solomon 7:7. I wouldn't allow my children to touch any other book with this type of imagery in it!

Now that we have laid basic ground work on how to read scripture, next week we will look at the defining and most unique concept of our faith - Grace.

Back to School!

The Calvin Institute for Higher Learning opens the 2013-2014 school year in 11 days - which means this Mommy-teacher is in overdrive organizing and lesson planning. With 8 years of home education under my belt, and about 16 more to go, I have learned that starting the year over-organized helps keep us running smoothly all year. While I still have a few finishing touches to go, mostly storing unneeded books from last school year, everything should be in its place and ready for, um, eager students.My primary goals have been: ease of use for everyone, allowing each child to be as self-sufficient as possible and keeping costs to a minimum. I also took appearance into greater consideration this year. After 8 years of my dining room looking like a kindergarten classroom, I was ready to try to make all the school stuff blend in more.

One of the best things I did when my oldest girls were little was color code everyone. Every child has an assigned color, and all their things are in that color - towels, toothbrushes, bedsheets, school supplies. Last fall I discovered  Post-It Notes can be bought individually for about $1 at Walmart and Target! I now keep a supply in every child's color. They are slighly more expensive bought this way, but they have paid me back in time and stress relief many times over.

 This year I designated a shelf for myself. All my teacher's manuals, reference books, planning aids, and supplies are there. This year I needed to rebind all my math manuals - year after year of use had them in shambles. They are all in 3-ring binders, with Post-it tabs separating the different sections (lessons, worksheet answers, test answers etc..) Each manual contains a Post-it corresponding to the color of the child using that book, marking what lesson they are on. 5 kids schooling full time this year, I can't remember who is using what most of the time! This has been very helpful when I have multiple children using the same book, but are working at different points. I just need to grab the manual and I am ready to go - no looking up lesson plans that usually don't get done! The top shelf is all the manuals currently being used; middle shelf planning and reference; bottom shelf is art, music and PE activities for rainy days.  The cabinet next to my shelf has a shelf designated for books and supplies that will be used this year, but not right away.

We are going to start the school year trying block scheduling. Homeschool Tracker Plus has been my new toy! It allowed me to put each child and each subject into a set time - color coded by child! (YIPEE!) At a glance I can see who should be doing what. This year I planned an hour for lunch followed by 45 minutes of reading. That gives me almost 2 hours mid-day for some snuggle time with the toddler and quiet time to myself if need be - something I have learned is a necessity for this very introverted mom!

To help the children keep track of what they have done and what needs to be done I put together this board. Each tile (color coded for each child) has a picture of a subject. The tiles of the subjects that need to be worked on are moved to the "To Do" side each morning, and get moved back when its been completed. This was new this past school year and a HUGE hit with the kids. I also purchased a simple kitchen timer for each child to help them keep track of how long they have worked on a subject - early time management training!

Each child has his own shelf, or two, containing their books and a 3-ring binder for each subject - color coded of course! All the workbooks have been pulled apart and placed into the binders. Not only do they sit better on the shelves, but it is easier for the children to work on them. If we need to take school out they can bring only the pages needed to be completed. It also allows more freedom in working in different areas of the house, or outside. The magazine holders contain workbooks that could not be taken apart, soft cover texts, folders for Sunday School and Sermon Notes and anything else that doesn't stand well on its own. These are inexpensive cardboard ones from Ikea.

Each binder and book has a color coded Post It to be used as a bookmark.

Paper storage. Those children who still need handwriting practice have a drawer with their sized handwriting paper. There is also one for notebook paper, colored paper and graph paper.  My label maker has been invaluable when organizing supplies! With everything clearly labeled there is no excuse for things not being put away or not being able to find something.

                 

My big challenge this year was science supplies. With one studying high school Biology and 4 elementary physics, there are a tremendous amount of supplies - some of which are toxic or dangerous to little ones who love to play with anything they can get their hands on. These drawers from Walmart, with organizing bins from Family Dollar, will hopefully make everything easier to find and put away. Everything is labeled on the outside of the drawer and inside on bins. Supplies that anyone can play with are on the bottom; "not intended for small children" items on the top. These have given me a great way to store the recyclable supplies I like to have on hand - cardboard roles, empty soda bottles, pill bottles etc.. In the back corner of my kitchen pantry is a second set of drawers with the really dangerous or fragile stuff - dissection kits and specimen, chemicals, microscope and slide-making supplies. 

 

 The Community Supply Shelf. Everything that everyone needs easy access to! The drawers on the top shelf (from Ikea) hold office supplies - pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, rulers etc... This summer I went through and got rid of all the cheaply made items and restocked with higher quality materials. I found that those $.25 crayons may be cheap, but they are so hard to use that they would deter the kids from crafts and creativity. They also break easily and need to be replaced more often. These are now stocked with Crayola crayons and markers, 100% wooden pencils and rulers, metal protractors... It is usually a lot less expensive in the long run to buy higher quality materials.

The second shelf holds reference books from a children's dictionary to Roget's Thesaurus, a rhyming dictionary, a variety of atlases, a study Bible and concordance.

The bottom shelf is coloring books to keep little ones entertained and science field guides and encyclopedias.

 Another new addition this year is our Memorization Wall. We never get to our memory work, because unless it is in front of me, I don't think about it. I put white posterboard into frames from GoodWill, hung them up and can now write our memory work in wet erase markers. I would like one more for Science, but right now I have room for Poetry, History, Catechism  and Scripture

 Books, books, and more books. They take up space I don't have and can be quite expensive - so I don't want to keep buying them. After trying several things we discovered a system of storing them that, so far, is working well for us.

In the garage, is a tub for each subject, storing everything that isn't being used this school year. Unfortunately, even after getting rid of 5 boxes of books this spring, we are outgrowing many of these tubs. Yes, my tubs are color coded. Grey ones are for school, blue is outdoor clothing, green is Christmas supplies,  and pink is Easter supplies.

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We don't have room in the house for all the books required for a Classical education for 6 children. I have gotten rid of everything I can easily find at almost any library, with the exception of classics, but we still have more than the house can handle. My husband came up with an ingenious solution. Books are now stored on shelves in the garage in tubs. Each tub is labeled with a number. Every book has been recorded in a spread sheet with title, author, publisher, ISBN number - and the tub it is in. The database has been printed out and stored in a folder where anyone can look up a book, or browse titles, go to the garage, and find the book they want. As I need to add books, they are entered in the database and put into a tub with room in it. Absolutely not ideal! I would rather have shelves, but we now have a record of every book we have, where it is and where it needs to be put away. I take the spreadsheet with me when going to garage sales and used bookstores to prevent buying multiple copies of any work.

Finally - record keeping! Still very much a work in progress. We have never lived in a state that required it, so it has never been a priority for me. I have a heavy duty 3 inch color coded binder for each child. At the end of the school year they choose 3-4 of their favorite examples of work from each subject which are filed behind a divider marked with the school year. This year I began one for high school level work for our oldest. Since she is completing high school courses before reaching the typical high school age, I have divided that one by subject. Behind each subject divider are tests, lab reports, and essays in a plastic sleeve labeled with the course name and date completed. I purchased Home School Tracker Plus to help me with keeping grades, amount of time worked, course descriptions, curriculum and lesson plans that are needed for college admissions. The binder provides paper-proof of work done just in case it is required by an admissions office or scholarship board.  I rarely have time for daily lesson plans, and have purposely chosen material where daily plans are already written, so this year I put together a spread sheet with each course across the top (color coded by child) and lesson numbers going down. Now I can just date when each lesson has been completed and quickly see where each child is, pacing and what needs to be done.

 This is the time of year where everything always looks and sounds its best. The real test to all of this will be around November to see if it is working!

Waking From a Dream

You know that feeling when you have slept well and it is time to wake up. Slowly your mind begins to come out of an alternative consciousness, realizing the real world is waiting. At times you cling to the dream state - wanting to stay in a state of rest and the idealistic world of pleasant dreams that is so far removed from reality.

Then there are those times you run toward the light of reality. Plagued by restless sleep and disturbing dreams, reality is much more attractive than that "sleep of death".

How often life it like that!  We have periods of unrealistic euphoria, where life is lived through rose colored glasses.  We push away anything that may remind us that life isn't always as idealistic as we feel it is. We are teenagers in love, only able to see how wonderful things are, and unwilling to see fault or upcoming pitfalls.

Life can also be a very bad dream.  When everything seems covered in a hazy mist, or oppressive fog, of pain, hurt, betrayal, and sin. We can't see what is in front of us. Light struggles to get through so we live in a world of darkness and shadows. We yearn for the light, but fear what it will reveal. We "rather bear those ills we have/ Than fly to others we know not of".  At times we try to move the fog on our own, believing we caused it so it is our duty to make it go away. Other times we lash out at the injustice of others placing that fog around us,  yelling "Its not fair!" and expecting that a just God would remove it all. Then there are those most dark of times when we just want to give in to the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and instead of "by opposing, end them" we are ready "to die, to sleep".

So often the church's response to those times makes them more difficult. We are told to fight our Goliaths with the faith of David; to search our hearts for the sin that so easily entangles and through repentance break the chains of sin and darkness. There are platitudes of "just keep looking up" and "keep on your knees praying". Much like Polonius's speech to his departing son in Shakespeare's Hamlet, while full of wonderful and true wisdom, they miss the mark. They are like the ghost king, telling us to fight a battle that is not ours, with strength and wisdom we do not have.

No matter what the cause or situation, those darkest of times will never be solved by any work of our own. When overcome with darkness, we know are incapable of fighting our Goliaths. Many times there aren't even Goliaths to be fought, but fiery furnaces to be endured! Our own sin clouds our view of itself. We can't look up because we can't see and we can not pray because there are no words.

"I am the light of the world" There is only one way out of those dark times - God. He is the only One who can see through the darkness of sin. He is the only One with the strength to fight our Goliaths. He is the only One who can withstand the fiery furnace. He is the only One with the words to express what our hearts yearn for. Only He has the faith to move mountains.

And He loves us so much, that He does all those things for us! He gives us His strength and His weapons to fight Goliath. He wraps us with his protection to endure the furnace. The Holy Spirit prays for us when words fail. His Son took on all our sin, paid for them and has given us His righteousness.

So if you are in one of those times of complete darkness, when all seems hopeless, and you feel utterly powerless, be encouraged. Though you cannot see, you cannot speak, you cannot hear - God is doing it all. He is carrying you. He is fighting the battles. He has forgiven the sin. He is the light and He is there working, powerful and active even if you can't see it.

He is bringing you out of that terrible dream. Keep fighting knowing He is doing the battle. Keep

enduring, knowing He is your protection. Keep praying, knowing He has the words and already knows your heart. Keep looking up, because He is lifting your head.

Unlike Hamlet, we are not stuck in a tragedy. Our journey does not end in an "undiscovered country, from whose bourn/No traveller returns". When we awake from this dream, it is to find ourselves wrapped in life and light, in the arms of One who has prepared for us "more than we can ask or imagine" because He defeated the darkness and came back to take us home.

And I know.....because He is doing it for me!

Surprised By Monsters

I have never done a movie review before, but today's fun family activity took me by surprise.  Monsters Inc. has been a family favorite since it was released in 2001. "Boo" was one of our oldest's first words. We were excited to finally see Disney/Pixar's prequal, Monsters University, this afternoon.

It was what I have come to expect from a Pixar movie - fun, well done and positive. What surprised me were the messages contained in Monsters University - because they fly in the face of just about every other family movie, especially Disney movies.

I have come to expect children's movies to contain characters who defy authority only to have them justified by the results.  Frequently our children are given the message that it is ok to do whatever they want, as long as the results are good. Heroes in everything from Curious George to Harry Potter do not need to be held responsible for their "bad" behavior if everything turns out ok in the end. The end justifies the means. As a Christian, I have a very hard time with that message. God gives us very clear boundaries of "right" and "wrong" and though He always uses our "wrong" to His glory and our benefit, there are still consequences to wrong decisions and breaking His laws. Even if our intentions are good, they do not justify sin.

The second message contained in most family movies is "you can do anything if you put your mind to it and don't let anyone tell you otherwise". While it sounds like a noble concept to instill in children, but it is an outright lie. We all have limits and weaknesses, and sometimes they are ones that we cannot change. No matter how much she studies, practices, fights or dreams about playing football for the Bears, my petite gentle daughter is not going to be able to do it! (Not that she'd want to, but I think you get the idea.)  I don't want my children following their dreams, I want them discovering God's plan, His dream, His design for their life and making His their own.  I want them to pursue, study, practice, and fight to be who He has created them to be, not necessarily what they want to be. What they want to be may not be what they were created to do.

This is why Monsters University surprised me so much.  I will try to explain without giving any spoilers! There is a very clear message of design.  Mike begins dreaming of his work at Monsters Inc. during an elementary class field trip to the plant. He studies, works, graduates and finally arrives at Monsters U to master his chosen field. Sully arrives at the school assuming he will excel simply because of his family background and natural talent. During the course of the film, both characters learn that sometimes your dream is not your design and it takes more than a dream, talent, hard work and education. While all those are included in their eventual arrival at Monsters Inc, it does not happen in the way either character expects.  Both characters learn to accept who they were created to be, that nothing can be taken for granted, and sometimes in life the road we want to follow is not the best one for us.

The second message that surprised me was one of consequences. Mike and Sully make some very poor decisions through out the movie. They are prideful, mean and selfish. They use each other, and friends, for their own purposes. They directly defy school rules and the authority of the school dean - but - they don't get away with it! Pride leaven them sad and alone. Arrogance causes them to be publicly humiliated. Defying authority, changes the entire course of their lives, putting them into  humble positions  having to work harder and prove themselves more than they would had if they hadn't.  They accept the consequences of their actions by taking full responsibility, asking for and offering forgiveness, and humbly submitting to authority. While the school dean is portrayed as being mean and heartless through most of the movie, she has a change of heart toward the end.

Obviously Sully and Mike end up achieving a lot in their fictional lives. This is a prequel, so unless you have yet to see the first movie, you know where they end up. How they get there, and the messages they teach, make this movie worthwhile seeing. It will probably end up in our video library once it is released on DVD.


(Side note)
There are some dark and intense moments during the climax of the film that had my younger ones stressed, but they do not last long and end with some comic relief.

"Sinful" Words

It started as a simple spelling lesson.  My son was sailing along with his spelling list and showing mastery of the phonetic rule we were focusing on, until we hit the last couple words on his list. He struggled with them and finally exclaimed, "Mommy, these words don't follow the rules. They are sinful!"  I laughed to myself, as I began to question his reasoning. See, the words did not follow the rule we were focusing on, but they did follow a different phonetic rule that he knew, but wasn't expecting.

As we have gone through this week, I have seen how that same lesson applies to so many areas of my life. How many times have I stepped into the middle of an argument between children, made a quick judgement only to have one child explain that I wasn't seeing the whole picture.

How many times have I felt someone was being selfish and demanding, only to find out later that they saw the situation completely different and were working from a different set of principles. From their perspective their actions were not selfish, but from mine they were.

It reminds of me the adulterous woman in John 8. She was caught in an act that by Old Testament Law demanded she be stoned to death. The mob took her to do exactly that, but brought her to Jesus first. The scribes and Pharisees were technically right in their assessment of how she should be dealt with. There is no question about what she did and what she deserved. But in bringing her to Jesus, they were confronted with a different, and for them a "new" and higher law. The law of mercy and grace.

Jesus saw something they did not. He saw the bigger picture. He looked at not just the sin, but the hearts of the accusers and the sinner.

We are not told what He saw in the woman, but we do know what he saw in the crowd. He saw sinful hearts, whose view of the woman was tainted and distorted. While eager to judge and condemn the obvious sin of the woman, they were overlooking that every single one of them deserved the same punishment. While Jesus saw sinful hearts in need of salvation and grace, they saw a single sinful act in need of condemnation.

Jesus deals with this earlier in Matthew 7 when he reminds us to "take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye". Paul points to our limited view in 1 Corinthians 13, "For now we see in a mirror dimply, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."

Sin has corrupted our view of ourselves, of others and of God. While on this earth, we cannot see the big picture. We cannot see ourselves, others and God clearly, so our perspectives, views and judgments are always cloudy and distorted. Even in our most clearest God-moments, we are only seeing a dim reflection of God and His truth.

It is not that we should never call sin, sin. God has not told us we are to just allow sin go - in fact we are told the opposite. Sin must be confronted. But, we are to keep our own sin ever before us. We are to always be aware that we are just as wrong, just as sinful and just as deserving of condemnation as the worse of sinners. We are to always remember that we have no righteousness on our own. Anything good, upright and righteous in our lives is Christ's righteousness that He has given to us and we do not deserve it. That is why we are to always approach people with grace. Grace does not excuse sin, but it does say "Your sin has already been paid for".  We are to "bear one another's burdens" because Christ already took all of our burdens on Himself to the cross. We are not to point to our, or other's, ability or choice to avoid sin, because it doesn't exist, but to the power of the resurrected Christ who has already overcome sin for us.  The law of sin and condemnation is always overshadowed by the law of grace.

So next time I enter a room to yell at children to stop fighting, I need to take a good look at whether I am looking to stop an argument that is disrupting the peaceful home I want, or am I aiming to point fellow sinners to the cross of Christ and the wholeness He brings.  When I am judging the selfishness I see in someone else, am I seeking to go to the cross with a fellow sinner, or am I attempting to change someone else's heart on my own terms.

Just as my child needed to take a good look at what law he was applying to his spelling lesson, we need to take a look at whether we are living under the impossible, distorted rule of law, or under the Law of Grace Jesus bought for us on the cross.

I Did It My Way

It has been quite some time since I have added a new blog entry. I have been working on one that has turned into a bigger project than I originally anticipated, but that will save until God and I have worked it out. We have had 3 weeks of illness in our household, and given that I have been the one of the people sick, twice, it has put quite a damper on the usual routine and schedule.

Sunday morning I was feeling quite well, looking forward to a morning of fellowship and worship and an afternoon with my girls. My husband and son had a Cub Scout event, so I thought I'd take my girls out for a fun "girls day out".  Then we get to church - and the Lady Bug (child #5) starts complaining of a stomach ache. Before I knew it, I was hurrying her out of the middle of the service as she is throwing up across the front of the sanctuary, down the hall and on the bathroom floor.

Waking this morning, I was thinking of all that needs to be done - grocery shopping to fill empty shelves, books to be sold at a used book store, school work (as we haven't had a full week of school in almost a month), preparing for our garden etc... I was looking forward to getting out of the house and maybe even a stop at a playground. Before my feet even touched the floor, a child peaks her head around my door. "Mommy, my tummy hurts." 10 minutes later I am cleaning up the bedroom floor, helping her change clothes and tucking her back into bed.

It will be another day of being stuck in the house, which seems to be getting smaller by the hour. This is becoming very frustrating. My plans are being thwarted daily. I can't get done things that should have been done a month ago. I would love to be able to do one thing without someone crying. I have a ton of organizing I want to do in preparation of next school year's curriculum and supplies arriving. We are approaching  mid-may, and I have done nothing to get our garden started.




Then that still small voice whispers, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9 ESV)

God, this is not how I wanted to spend my spring, but this truly isn't my spring, is it? You have placed me in this place. You have blessed me with these children. You have entrusted me with their care, education and up bringing. You have given me this home. You have provided for every need and many wants. You have graced me with a godly and loving husband. This is not my life to live. It is the life granted to me to live for You. Make my will, Your will, and my thoughts, Your thoughts. You have much to teach me, grant me a heart willing to learn.

So instead of focusing on all my plans that are falling through, I will embrace God's plans for me this day and I will focus on the blessings I have been granted: the opportunity to stay home with my children, teach them and care for them, a strong sturdy roof over our heads, an amazing husband who loves me, flour, honey, oil and water to bake bread for lunch.....and Amazon Prime that will ship anything to my door step in 48 hours when I can't get out of the house.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55: 10-11 ESV