Thoughts on Family Worship by James Alexander

"The daily, regular and solemn reading of God's holy word, by a parent before his children, is one of the most powerful agencies of a Christian life. We are prone to undervalue this cause. It is a constant dropping, but it wears its mark into the rock. A family thus trained cannot be ignorant of the Word. The whole Scriptures come repeatedly before the mind. The most heedless child must observe and retain some portion of the sacred oracles; the most forgetful must treasure up some passages for life. No one part of juvenile education is more important. Between families thus instructed, and those where the Bible is not read, the contrast is striking. To deny such a source of influence to the youthful mind is an injustice, at the thought of which a professor of Christianity may well tremble.”

James W. Alexander

Jesus LOVES Children

Jesus LOVES children.

Something I am led to do and I hope you might join me:

I plan to tell my children everyday how Jesus loves them. Hear me... I hope to do all I can humanly possible to communicate the truth of these words in their ears while harmoniously praying and believing the Holy Spirit will etch this message permanently into their souls so they cannot forget.

I plan to wrap them in the warmth of my cuddle and look directly and deeply into their eyes saying, "JESUS loves you! Jesus LOVES you! Jesus loves YOU!", putting emphasis on a different word each time I say it.

I plan to quote to them my sources from Scripture.

"13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them." Mark 10:13-16

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." ~Mark 18:1-4

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:5,6

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." ~Matthew 18:10-14


Psalm 127:3-5

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 139:16

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

... and there is much more to pull from.

Next, I pray the Lord will use my body to physically convey the love of Jesus through encouraging words, wise leadership, loving and serving hands, considerate and firm discipline, gentle understanding and grace. Lord, use my body to communicate Your love for these children.

Wouldn't it be a shame if I wept over children of unfortunate circumstances who have no mommy or daddy or caregiver, whom I cannot reach to tell of these wonderful words, but failed to, on a daily basis, impart them to my own blessed children? In this case, I suppose, that my own children, too, are not as blessed as they could be...

Who is better qualified to deliver than the one of whose flesh these little ones were derived? God put them into my body, He gave me strength to deliver them. Now, He has honored me to be the voice of His love. My credibility validated by my intimate understanding that Jesus must love us very much to bring us together into one family. To Him be ALL the glory!!

With God's grace, these are my plans for every day. Imagine... the foundation this would establish in the faith of our children if they became so keenly aware of a personal love from the God of all Creation. And... I can't help but wonder, as I deliver this simple, inspired message, if I might receive its reciprocating effects. Perhaps, as I speak of His love for Alexey, Catherine, Aaron, Victoria and any other child who gives me the opportunity, I might begin to more deeply take in that I, too, am His child, therefore JESUS LOVE ME!

General Notes on Titus 2:3-5

"3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." Titus 2:3-5

Some things I am learning on this journey:

Certainly, Titus 2 has much to say about the interaction of younger and older women. Though this Scripture does not speak directly to her, the young lady definitely has a role. When a younger Titus 2 woman is with her elder, she should wear an attitude of reverence and humility seeking ways she may can glean from her. She is not required to agree with all the more experienced woman has to teach, but she should give careful consideration.

When she is with younger ladies, she should continue to treat them with reverence and humility, as one might have much to learn from their freshness, but even still, she must try not to overlook invitations to share how the Lord has led her in her walk as wife and mother.

When led by the Holy Spirit this Dance of Women is beautiful and fruitful. As stated in verse 4 the outcome would be that younger Titus 2 women might better understand how to love their husbands and children, and that the older might have, by now, become seasoned at it, thereby, together glorifying the Lord in the roles He has suited for our gender.

A constant prayer of mine is that I will be both teachable as a young lady and that the Lord would give me something worth sharing with my younger generations.
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Words of warning:
A Titus 2 woman must make sure her words and actions are motivated by genuine love, continually adjusting her motives and actions to the standard of God's Word.
A Titus 2 women equips herself to defend the Scriptures and their guidelines for Salvation, as well as, defending their guidelines for her irreplaceable role in the family.
A Titus 2 woman must be prepared to be met with opposition from woman whose worldview has been influenced by feminism.
A Titus 2 woman must discern when and where the soil is not fertile lest her time and energy be wasted.
A Titus 2 woman cannot let her passions become aggravated lest she become distracted from her own calling as wife and mother. She will not likely change someone's mind who is rigid and unteachable, nor is it necessary for her to engage in such a battle for this battle belongs to the Lord.
A Titus 2 woman should remember that a majority of a Titus 2 woman's influence will come from her actions and not her words.

Encouragement to Stand

Words of encouragement from A Wise Woman Builds Her Home and her post titled We Cannot Remain Silent:

We must not allow the voices of the world

to set the agenda for this decade,

nor must we allow those voices to teach women how to be women.

Christian women must speak with boldness and clarity about womanhoood

and must live distinctly Christian lives.

Christian women must articulate a Biblical world and life view

and the implications of this perspective for women.

...Today many women are buying into New Age philosophies

because they are looking for hope in their hopelessness.

We must not abandon these women.

We must come alongside and encourage and equip them to live for God's glory...

But we cannot do it by remaining silent.

We must speak the words of life.

-Susan Hunt, Spiritual Mothering

The Titus 2 Model for Women Mentoring Women

Character Over Academics

"Good moral character is the first essential in a man." ~General George Washington

Our Catherine is working through "The Life of Fred" math book during the summer. The book is perfect except that each lesson lists all of the solutions and answers on the page after the problems, not in a separate teacher's book like what is usual for us. I had reminded her when she began this book that she would have to take responsibility for her own education by not cheating herself by peaking at the answers.

Today, she got 2 out of the 10 of the answers wrong which is not a good percentage around here, but the good news is she obviously didn't look at the answers. I praised her for her honesty, integrity and self-control by not peeking at the answers which in our home is more commendable than being a math genius.

To be the smartest, the most talented, the most popular... these are worldly pursuits and it is easy, even as a Christian, to be enticed and motivated by worldly dreams. However, upright character laid out clearly in God's Word should be the focus of our goals.

After all, Ted Kaczynski was considered a highly intelligent man. Godly virtue he had not.

Of course, we highly prize academic success around here too, but think it a natural fruit of building strong character which is where we hope to focus our training. And, it doesn't happen by osmosis, folks. Here is our family's game plan:

Daily family worship led by their dad,
Christ-centered curriculum derived directly from God's Word,
Reading books about people who exemplify strong character,
Spending time with friends who challenge and inspire us toward godliness,
Providing opportunities to serve others,
Giving lots of jobs that benefit the family

and here is the hard one...

Keeping our children with us (we consider this a full time job) so they might hopefully observe in real time their very own parents exemplifying moral character in our daily walk. I mean what I say that this one is the hardest!

YOU don't think I don't ever want to look ahead at the answers or that I don't ever want to eat my dessert first or that I don't ever feel like giving up on a hard task?!?!?! Believe me... I know its hard. This is why we are on our faces in prayer every day, and... it is why we provide lots of Bible education and books about people who exemplify strong character. ;)

The truth is they see us fail often. We are incapable of raising perfect children because we are far from perfect ourselves. What makes all the difference is that they see a mom and dad who in their hearts desperately desire to love and glorify God in all that we do. Just a mom and dad who desire to embrace God's plan for our family, submit ourselves unto Him and trust that He will raise His children for His Glory.

Okay... Back on face in prayer!!!

Publix -N-Me

"...she brings her food from afar. " ~Proverbs 31:14

Not sure it fulfills this verse, but it is worth driving to Birmingham to shop at Publix. When I match their weekly deals with their liberal coupon policy I can get a lot of groceries free. I like to focus on buying fewer items at larger quantity. Publix works for me because they accept many copies of printed coupons.

Are you ready for this? I bought all the items pictured, 8 boxes of bow tie and penne pasta, 20 boxes of Green Giant frozen veggies, and 4 2-packs (8 containers) of Shedd's spreadable butter for coupons and $2.00, and this includes tax. I had already done this veggie deal a few weeks ago, so now I have 40 in my freezer. The veggies were free, and the pasta was free. The Shedd's was almost free.

Muslims vs. Christians

This is an old feud dating back to Biblical times. You can read for yourself Genesis chapter 16 where you will find the origin of the two civilizations and the source of their tension between one another.

There are many who are ignorant about the depth of this problem even among those claiming to be Christian. Now, I don't pretend to understand it all, however I know a few basic facts and that it is real. Most news sources fail to report on the ongoing attacks of hatred of the Muslim's, who are taught to annihilate Christians, against the Christians, who are taught love one another and to turn the other cheek.

I understand persecution is not avoidable., so my only hope is that my readers might recognize this issue for what it is--reality.

I have decided to share episodes as I hear of them on my blog to bring awareness to the truth about the Muslims vs. Christians.

Our first stop? Ethiopia