Tag: christianity

Heart of Homeschooling – Every Christian Homeschooler Needs This Book

On By randijoIn Heart of HomeschoolingLeave a comment

Y’all knew I was talking about The Bible, right?

Yes! This is the one book that every single Christian homeschooler needs. But is it front and center in your homeschool? In your morning? Throughout your day? Sure, you probably have a curriculum with a “Bible” component. But is that really enough?

What I really want to ask is: Do your children see how much you cherish the Word of God? Do they see you turn to it for strength, comfort, wisdom, and encouragement?

I can assure you, your relationship with the Bible speaks louder than any assignments you give or any ways you try to connect your children to the Word.

When was the last time you thought about your Bible and how it is the very words of the GOD of the UNIVERSE written through human authors? It’s not just a collection of stories from history to study – it is THE story. The story of GOD and His plan to redeem humanity and create for himself a family, a home, a people. It is the revelation of Himself for us. It is our guide for life.

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GOD is Love

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Thanks to the Olympics opening ceremony, social media this week is full of debates about how to love unbelievers and what to do when we see depravity, perversion, immorality, darkness.

(Note: Many people who call themselves Christians can’t even agree on what IS perversion, darkness, immoral…. but that’s a different post. Let’s pretend that all Christ-followers are on the same page that what was presented at the Olympic opening ceremony was sin-filled, dark, perverted, and against God’s best according to His Word)

The truth is that GOD is LOVE. So if you’re not pointing to God and trying to steer people to God, you aren’t loving.

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Loving Others from A Pure Heart (Part 2)

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Continuing on from previous post …

… for you have been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God….. therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. I Peter 1:23, 2:1-3

We must rid ourselves of these types of heart thoughts (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander)! And instead crave spiritual milk: Desire Him and His Spirit. Desire to know Him better through His Word. Desire to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds“. Desire to be pure and true like Him. Desire to give Him the honor He deserves… more than we desire honor for ourselves that we don’t deserve. Desire what HE says is best more than what’s easy or what feels best.

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Fighting Discouragement

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As we get older and experience more of life, even the most idealistic personalities among us can be tempted to be truly cynical about people, the fight against sin, the world, the state of the American church, and our country. Truly, evil and injustice are rampant, and deception and darkness covers the earth… BUT we must remind ourselves that the Lord warned us about these things and HE is where we rest our hope.

But how do we overcome the heavy-heartedness and burdened mind that can descend upon us when the darkness seems to be overwhelming, when people shock and disappoint us, or when it seems that there’s really no point in even trying to do and be good — because you’re still not as mature as you think you should be, you don’t see the fruit of your faithfulness, people don’t seem to listen to the Spirit of the Lord in you and instead very quickly listen to worldly ungodly voices, and the gap between what IS and what COULD BE in Christ seems to only widen?

Of course, the answer is to “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” Hebrews 12:3

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Rest Your Hope

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“Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober-minded, rest your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” I Peter 1:13

Where do I rest my hope?

Recently I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to set my hope on life hacks, routines, and daily habits. Being a good steward of our time, money, bodies, and relationships truly does take order and intention every day… but as we get older we realize we can stop thinking that eventually we are going to figure it all out. “If I could just get all my routines down and follow them… if I could just conquer all the problem areas I have and break them all down into daily steps… then I can be healthy, happy, really start living, and start blessing others”. Wrong. Life is always changing. Schedules are always changing. What worked one month won’t work another. We’re never going to figure it all out. And anybody that looks like they’ve got it all going on? They don’t. There are weak areas and they also need constant correcting and re-balancing too. They’re never satisfied if they’re looking to be satisfied in themselves.

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Remain

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Sometimes it’s very apparent when we have to “gird up the thoughts of our mind”. The thoughts have become so plentiful or negative, that we are tripping all over the place or we are truly “stuck” by them all and we are unable to move forward. We can thank the Holy Spirit for those “wake up call” times and for helping us recognize the danger we are in. We can dramatically “gird up” all the worries and cares and bitterness and negativity we have let fester and can have renewed, sharpened focus on Christ & His Word. But girding up the thoughts isn’t only a re-active action step when we’re already in danger. It is a pro-active one to too.

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Breathe

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Jesus is the source & sustainer of life.  

When He, the Creator, breathed life into Adam (Gen 2:7) it was not only the beginning of humanity but also a foreshadowing of the divine plan He had prepared for His children.

In John 20:22 …He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”… This sacred breath that gave Adam physical life also breathes into us new spiritual life, sustaining us moment by moment. Every breath we take physically can be a reminder of His constant presence and the eternal life indwelling in us.

Whether we feel His presence or not…whether we feel fully alive or feel lifeless… Christ is sustaining us, always! His Spirit within us is a constant blessed assurance that we are alive in Him – not just now, but for.ever. He holds our faith together, unshaken and eternal!

He doesn’t want us to worry about how many breaths we will take on this earth. He knows exactly every breath He has for us and has hidden that from us. We are called to trust in the one who has numbered them all. Let each breath we take be a reminder that He is with us and HE IS life itself.

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Disciplining the Gluttonous Mind

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So I knew I wanted to Detox from Mind Junk – but how??? The Lord empowers and helps His children in such unique and personal ways, but fasting and denying the flesh (delayed gratification) are battle secrets that the Lord uses every time.

I’m confident that the far-majority of Americans understand how beneficial fasting from food is for us physically. And I believe most Christians understand how important and beneficial physical fasting is for us spiritually. Jesus Himself fasted to prepare Himself for the testing in the desert (Matthew 4). It humbles and empowers at the same time. Weakens and strengthens.

Fasting from food absolutely is a discipline of the mind as well. There is great work done in the thought life in physical fasting. But this same denial of the physical impulses for food can be has to be applied specifically to the overfed, gluttonous mind too.

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