Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

How We Handle Halloween

We don’t celebrate Halloween. If you don’t know why, you can google it and see the origins and why lots of Christians choose to forego celebrating this holiday.

I don’t want to talk about why we don’t celebrate it. I want to talk about what we do instead.

We have done basically the same thing for years, but we now have a theme that we center these activities around – something we can sink our teeth into celebrating. We celebrate FREEDOM!

We know people who celebrate The Reformation on this day because it was Oct. 31st when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door at Wittenburg. We considered that, but after we learned more about the Reformers, we decided there was something even more important that we wanted to celebrate than what the Reformers did.

We decided to celebrate the freedom we have in this nation – the freedom of speech and religion especially.

Because of these freedoms, we are able to homeschool.

These freedoms are being threatened and taken from us during these days, so it is even more important that we take this time to thank God for what we still have and to pray for preservation and restoration of the freedom and liberty that God provided for us with the founding of this nation.

Well, that is what we have chosen to celebrate at the end of October.

And here is how we go about celebrating it:

1. I write out questions for each set of kids that correspond with things they have learned and things I expect them to know.

2. I buy a bunch of candy.

3. I ask each kid a question. I try to get somebody to help me with this part. One year my parents were visiting us at that time of year, so I had them take a page of questions and hand out candy when the child answered a question correctly. Gary takes some of them sometimes, and sometimes the older kids help with this.

4. I usually have questions for the older kids, too. (After all, they want candy too!)

5. One year I had them wear Mario shirts because almost all of the kids had them already. They could wear a costurme if they wanted to.

6. Basically anything that will combine learning, review, fun and candy, so that we can celebrate our freedom to homeschool, our freedom to worship God, our freedom to believe what we think is true, and our freedom to say what we believe.

As I write this, I’m reminded of how great the threat is to these freedoms under the current administration and in the present climate in this country. This year on Oct. 31, I think that we will spend some time in prayer that these freedoms will remain in our nation and that revival will come and the foundations will be restored.

We can take this opportunity to celebrate what God has done in giving us a free country to live in, and we can also pray that God will protect us from those who are trying to take that freedom away from us.

The enemies of liberty are all around us. But God is greater.

Now that is something to celebrate!

If you want to see the progression of how we came to celebrate Freedom Day you can check out these posts from the last couple of years:

https://www.penneydouglas.com/2010/11/01/happy-freedom-of-religion-day/

https://www.penneydouglas.com/2011/10/31/snow-and-a-mario-party-homeschool-review/

Judging Other People’s “Enough”

You aren’t praying enough.

You aren’t reading the Bible enough.

You aren’t speaking the Word enough.

You aren’t giving enough.

You don’t have enough faith.

You don’t go to church enough.

Because if you were, you wouldn’t be going through the trial you’re going through. All of your needs would be met, and you wouldn’t have any lack.

Okay.

Except for the one verse I have read that says, “Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we had received the [very] sentence of death, but that was to keep us from trusting in and depending on ourselves instead of on God Who raises the dead.” 1 Cor. 1:9

And this verse: “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” 1 John 3:17

You know, God really does allow trials to come into our lives. And He uses them to produce patience and stronger faith in us.

And then He speaks to His people around us to help us. Many times, they listen and respond. And the person in the trial gets the help they need. Sometimes, people don’t respond in love when they see a need.

Instead they judge and say in their heart: “Well, that person must not be doing enough of something right, or they wouldn’t be in that predicament.”

Then things get really bad for the person going through the trial.

And then the people around them really judge them and say, “They must have brought it on themselves.”

Lord, help us to walk in love and fulfill Galatians 6:10: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Help us to LOVE enough.

I Have Been Thinking

I haven’t written anything here in a while because I’ve been thinking and reading too much, and my brain is about to explode!

That little pink hippo at the feet of “The Thinker”? That’s me.

I have been thinking about politics – Obamacare and Common Core especially – they are tied together in a subtle way – the attack on religious freedom and freedom in general

I have been thinking about education – Common Core and kids who are stuck in public school but desperately want out and the attack on homeschool freedom and religious freedom – the history of education that reveals how the public education system has been hijacked by socialists

I have been thinking about Bill Gates and how he is acting like “The Brain” in Pinky and the Brain and trying to take over the world.

I have been thinking about religion – Taking care of orphans and widows, if you see someone with a need and you can help but don’t help, what does that say about your love level and your religion? Why do Christians have to fight among themselves about details that don’t matter while the enemy is attacking and defeating us in the war?

I have been thinking about theology – The “quietness camp” and the “confidence camp” – they’re both right, but they’re both wrong – these terms are taken from “The Fire of Delayed Answers” by Bob Sorge

I have been praying for this little guy: Matt Yong Clement He has a tumor that covers half of his face and has almost cut off his breathing. Kim and Jane Clement adopted him from China and brought him here to California to get the tumor removed. The doctors (19 of them!) are consulting right now about how to proceed. He had a tracheotomy, and now they are having trouble getting him off the ventilator. He has been delirious because of the drugs. I have been praying for his healing, and my heart hurts for him and for his new parents.

And I have been playing chauffeur to two sons who have jobs but no cars (no licenses for that matter!).

And my camera broke, so I don’t have cute pictures that inspire me to write.

So which topic should I write about first?

After Nine Months of Unemployment – We Have a Job!

We finally got our breakthrough today! Gary starts his job tomorrow! I’m very excited!

More radical changes are on the way. Here are a few in the last month:

1. Shawn has been working at his job for a month and a half.

2. Patrick is working at Family Dollar. He just started Saturday.

3. Anna helps a friend of ours with cleaning jobs. And Anna is learning Karate, self-defense, assault prevention, etc., and she is now a white belt. She wants to be an instructor.

4. Gary starts a new job tomorrow. A full-time job. With benefits. We haven’t had benefits in about 12 years.

But we never go to a doctor, so it hasn’t been much of a problem.

But the Lord is so good to us. I just had to share. Rejoice with us! We were on the verge of losing hope. It has been very hard lately. But God has answered our prayers. He is faithful. If you have waited a long time, don’t give up. I still have a prayer request that I write every time I give. We want our own home and farm. We are believing God for it. In the natural it is impossible. But With God All Things Are Possible!!!

We are still believing for this miracle. This job for Gary is a sign that our God is with us and answers our prayers. Believe God for great things. Don’t stop believing.

Never, never give up!

Time to Beef Up Our Bible Study

It would seem that we need to work harder on our Bible knowledge, judging by Morgan’s performance today during our Bible study time.

I read to some of the kids several of the main concepts from the Gospel of John today. Then I asked some questions to find out what they had learned.

I asked if John the Baptist was the same as the John who wrote the book of the Bible. None were too certain, so it was quiet for several minutes. Then Morgan said, “Wasn’t Matthew the one that was called “The Rock” after he wrecked and was bit by a snake but didn’t die?”

I stared at him. Was he being serious? Or was he joking? I found myself praying that he was joking.

I told him, “No, Matthew was a tax collector. Peter was called “The Rock”. And Paul was the one who was shipwrecked and bitten by a snake but survived.” “Oh,” he said.

Then I asked the names of John the Baptist’s parents. Nobody said anything, so Morgan volunteered. He got Elisabeth right. Then he tried to think of his father’s name. “Artaxerxes?” I stared at him again. NO! I said, “Morgan, we’re in the New Testament now.” “Oh.”

Nobody knew the name of John the Baptist’s father, so I told them that an angel had told him that his wife was going to have a baby. Morgan shouted out, “Abraham!” My eyes could not open much wider, and my brain could not take much more of this mishmash of Bible knowledge. It was hurting, and I was starting to panic.

But Morgan wasn’t done. He suddenly blurted out, “Then wasn’t it Matthew that fell off his donkey and was struck blind and then the donkey started talking to him because he was beating him?”

He must be doing this on purpose.

To top it all off, he held up his index finger in an “AHA!” gesture and announced, “Luke and Peter – The Thunder Brothers!”

Morgan is a funny guy. And he prides himself on being obnoxious. So I’m not sure if he was goofing around, but just to be sure, we will definitely be beefing up our Bible study from now on.

The questions I asked aren’t even things that are covered in John. They are in the other Gospels. But I thought they were general knowledge that everybody would know. Guess I was wrong!