The best part of Homeschooling Part @ : Team Spirit

In April I talked about the best part of homeschooling being family unity and how important it is to remember to love one another like the Bible says and not to forget that it includes those inside the four walls of our homes.

Our church recently finished a sermon series called “Stop Monkeying Around” which focused on do no evil, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. After some really silly and fun monkey song we used to introduce the sermons, it got me thinking about how important those basic concepts are for our families and how by following those concepts in our homes we can keep a “Family Team Spirit “.

I mean think about it, if your family isn’t a team what is the alternative?

I don’t believe the team concept happens automatically. You need to build that concept as early as possible. In fact the opposite is true. If you do not make it a focus and priority the devil will do everything he can to destroy our families. The Bible warns us of this, in John 10:10 “ 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.—1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

I have found there are some simple ideas that I believe have brought a more abundant life to our family. I like to call it a “team spirit attitude.” Today I will share them with you.

Speak no evil…..Pray together: we have all heard that the family that prays together stays together. An increased amount of unity in our family can happen if we pray together and it does not have to be a long one, a simple gathering together 5 min before you go to bed, or before you start your day at school or maybe even before daddy walks out the door to work. Whatever works for your family, you can make it happen.

Laugh together! Learn to laugh at mistakes and through the trials. I am sure you have at least one member of your family who can keep the whole family laughing. When we learn to take ourselves less seriously ,life becomes a lot easier.

Be careful what we speak-We have to be sure not to allow our children or ourselves to speak evil words or negative thoughts to and over each other. In our family the words stupid, hate, dumb or foolish are banned period!
There is a clip from one of our favorite movies “ Cheaper by the Dozen” that goes something like this… as an older sister tells her little brother “ Yes, there are days I want to kill you…… but there is not a day that goes by I would not kill FOR YOU!!”

Making your family more focused on the team spirit concept and a attitude that strives to honor God does not assure they will not have conflict but it can assist in a quick resolution. Hopefully without the lasting effects of hurt and bitterness to remain for years to come.

My children have been told more then once “ This is the only brothers/sister you will ever have so you need to get along.” As parents we have to guard ourselves from pitting the children against one another, by favoring one child over another. When you are with your kids, be with your kids and try to give each some time that they can have all of Mommy each week. It is equally important to be an encourager to all your kids. Let them know they are the single most important person in your life. I have a saying I tell my kids; for my only daughter I tell her “ You are my most favorite little girl in the whole wide world.” I can get away with that because she the only one. For my 2 boys I had to become more creative so I shook it up a bit and said “ You are my most favorite 8yr old in the whole wide world” (then just change it with each year they are old).

Hear/See no evil….Watch what goes in because it will come out! Have you ever heard the story of the frog in the pot of boiling water? Well the story goes something like this, the easiest way to cook a frog is not throwing it in a pot of hot water, but placing it in a pot of nice warm water then slowly turning up the heat until you cook it. In the same way we need to be aware of those so called innocent TV shows, dvds and movies we allow our children to watch/listen to. It has become the norm in our society for kids to talk back to their parents and be downright mean to their friends and siblings while it is all taken as socially acceptable.
If we allow our children to watch these shows or listen to music that promotes such things without guidance and direction we are shooting ourselves in the foot.

Do no evil: “honoring others??”
This concept was never so well played out as when we do service project together. When Katrina hit the gulf coast several years ago, our family collected several thousand pounds of food and several hundred dollars from our community. Then our family took off for a 14 hr trip to deliver the food to those in need. My kids still talk about that trip. One special memory we have is when we met a family at a hotel along the way who was taking refuge in there. Together we went and bought items that they had expressed a need for. We have regularly served at the local community food pantry and have often organized food drives in the community with the help of our homeschool group. Whatever your niche is I encourage you to find it and get your family involved. When we focus outside ourselves it bring us to a level of humility. Then we learn to put others first above ourselves.

Work on family projects together… 2 yrs ago we decided to tear the siding off our house and strip it down to the original wood siding . This required a ripping off the old siding, then going back around the house pulling out all the nails, then back all around the house to fill up the holes the nails left, then back around power washing the house to strip the old paint off the house, then back around to be painted with primer and again to paint the house. Together as a family we tackled this project assigning each family member a job.
No matter what the ages of your children are you can make them feel valuable by assigning them responsibilities around the house. Younger children can put away the silverware after the dishes are done or fold clothes.

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I recently heard a radio talk show host talk about the importance of teens having a purpose in the family, because otherwise the children become self absorbed thinking they are self deserving of things rather then working for them. I don’t believe that concept just magically starts when they are teenagers. If you begin this concept at early ages it will be much easier than waiting till later.

At our house each child has responsibilities such as cleaning up the kitchen or living room, by about 10 yrs old each child is responsible for doing their own laundry.

I think these simple concepts of do no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, are basics we as families should know and remember.

Don’t Look Back!

Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62

Recently this scripture has been coming to my mind and I have pondered what the Lord might be trying to say. I am sure some commentaries would say ” Once you have decided to follow Christ if you turn away or go back to living for yourself, you will not go to heaven.” and I suppose that is one way to look at it.

But what I am getting out of this is not the looking back part, but the encouragement to keep looking ahead. Not to get distracted by the things in our past.

So many times we forget to look forward because we are so busy looking at what mistakes we feel like made in the past. That we are scared to take a step toward the future.

We forget that how we handled the mistakes made, define our character for the future plans God has for us. We forget the only person who has never made a mistake is the person who has never done anything. God is looking to take all of us higher, higher in His plan for our lives, higher in His calling to us.

God has a greater and bigger plan for us then we could ever imagine, if we will only take that step toward the future. We can’t give up we can’t give in. It would be easy to crawl in a hole and let the world pass up by, but God called us to “Go into the world” Not run from it! Everything that we have seen and done in our past has prepared us for the future. There will always be challenges in life. It is up to us if we tackle those challenges with all our might or we let those challenges tackle us!

When we realize we do not walk this life alone but God is walking it with us, we can know that whatever comes our way. God is in control.

It was almost 11 yrs ago when I called a homeschooling friend of mine and mother or 5 just to see what she was up to? When she announced to me ” Well, I just told my kids that I have breast cancer” You could of knocked me over with a feather. I could not believe this was happening! It was less then a year later that. as I walked to her graveside I walked pass 2 other graves that made a huge impression on me. See I had two giant question in my mind how could a God of love, take this mother of 5 who’s ages ranged from 2yrs old to 16yrs old. Why would he take these children’s mother and what would these children do??? The questions whorled through my mind. But as I passed the 2 other graves next to where my dear friend was buried, the answer was clear. God had not left these children alone, God had placed them with the most experienced person these kids could have that would teach them how to deal with lost and make it. That teacher would be there grandmother because as I walked to Fran’s grave, I walked passed two of her siblings graves as well. These 5 kids grandma who had always been instrumental in their lives would now be the teacher to her grand-kids and the greatest lesson taught would be how to overcome lost and keep on going. This lady had a wonderful heart for Jesus and although 3 out of 5 of her children had been taken from her, she displayed the character of Christ and I had to ask myself then, who else would be better equipped to take care of these children in this time of need. So at that point I realized that if God needed another Angel in heaven Fran Mc Collum was the best Angel he could of choosen because he knew her babies would be in perfect hands!

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, (NASB ©1995)

As our summer started with Memorial Day weekend a time we remember those who have served us and our country it is a time to reflex on the past. But do not linger there long, do not stare at the past but glance at it quickly because looking forward is what God has called us to do. Follow Him, reach forward not backwards and reach high in the goals He has for you. No matter what your past may hold, a lost or victory, a mistake or glory. None of it really matters what does matter is we can know that through it all God had his hand on us and if we follow Him, He will not leave us but He will lead us into the great plans He has for us. We may not understand why or how things have happened but God does. God promises that all things work together for those that love Him and are called, According to His purpose.

Don’t Look Back! Keep reaching for what lies ahead! God is right here waiting to go with you!

One day, a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.
The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway.
It just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.
They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.
Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the
well and was astonished at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!

Shake it off and take a step up!

Author Unknown

Well, it looks like Spring is officially here! The weather man is predicting temps close to 80 today the wind is blowing, (like it does on every good spring day in Kansas). Yesterday, I woke to at thunderstorm which is a sure tail sign of spring in Kansas. The Tulips, Iris and Daffodils are in bloom everywhere the grass has turned a beautiful shade of green, all marking the beginning of the new season. Just to think, 2 weeks ago we had 8 inches of snow on the ground and we thought we would never see daylight again. 2009/2010 winter has been one of the hardest yet. We have been stuck in our houses, receiving twice as much snow as we’ve had in 30yrs. There were days that were so dark, it seemed like we had not seen the sun in weeks. Anytime there was the slightest bit of sun that shine through the clouds. Talk on facebook, was comments like ” What is that strange bright light in the sky”. People were longing to see a break in what seemed to be a eternity of drab depressing weather. Some of us were beginning to think we had been mysteriously moved to Alaska. We longed to see the light of day and warm weather come. Instead of being locked in the house bundled up feeling cold and alone.

All this got me thinking about our Spiritual lives, there are some days even weeks and months, where you go through a time when you feel like it is winter and you will never see the light of day again. You may even feel like the “Son” has left you and all you have to hold onto is the faith in the calendar that says “Spring is coming” I am so thankful for the scripture that says ” He who is faithful to start a new work in you will complete it” God promises “He will never leave us or forsake us” and sometimes in our lives that is all we have to hold onto. We can look outside our spiritual windows of life and see the sun isn’t shining, but we can hold fast to the truth that God is there and He is faithful. Then, just like on that 1st beautiful spring day we wake up to see our prayers have been answered and the sun has come out and the flowers are blooming again.

So if your Spirit is still in winter, not to worry… Spring is coming!

The other day a close friend of mine, told me ” You never worry about anything” This totally took me off guard because this is not at all the way I see myself. I see myself as a person who battles everyday the thoughts that come through my mind. I remember back in the late 80’s when I refused to leave my house or answer the phone for weeks on end. It was during that time that the following scriptures became real to me. It was at that time,after a period of self pity and anxiety, I had to pick myself up for the sake of my family and hold on to all that I knew was true, and that was God’s word. You see man will fail you, your family will fail you, your finances will fail you, your friends will fail you, but God will NEVER fail you. It was then God became real to me and showed Himself to me in His word that I found these scriptures (along with others) that helped me pull myself up from the pit I was laying in and move forward in life. I hope you enjoy!

2Cor 10:3-5 NKJV For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

So many times we forget that it takes an intentional effort to take captive the negative thoughts that come through our minds and then intentionally replacing those thoughts with positive scripture. 2Cor 10:3 says ” For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” I believe the mind is where the devil likes to play his games with us. Dropping negative thoughts in our minds, that unless we take captive we begin to feed on. Thus, allowing to grow into something that God never intended us to think.Then we act out what we think, which usually turns out to be a negative experience. So when we fight this battle of the mind- we must fight it spiritually with the word of God.

In vs 4 where it says “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,” The Word of God is a sword of the spirit in our spiritual armor. But how many times have we went to battle without our sword. Would the famous Spartans ever do that NO! No warrior ever leaves his sword behind when he goes to battle, but yet there is days that we as Christ Followers will go all day or even weeks, without picking up His word. That is why, you will find all around my house little strips of paper with scriptures printed on them, So everywhere I look I see a promise of God’s. So when those negative thoughts pass through my mind they can be replaced with ” the truth”.

Verse 5 says “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” when I hear that verse I see in my minds eye, someone literally taking their hand and pulling the negative thought out of their mind. Then throwing it as far away as they can throw it! We see in that verse, Casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. That phrase that says “exalts itself against the knowledge of God”. So to know what exalts itself against the knowledge of God we need to know what the knowledge of God is right? Well, I know that God says “Every good and perfect gift comes from above, I know that God says the steps of a righteous person are order of God.” So what I have to know, is when a thought comes through my head before I dwell on it, it must line up with what Gods word says or it must be cast out!

It is like my daddy use to tell me ” You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from making a nest in your hair”. So perhaps the outside persona that people see of me, is simple that, I choose what is nesting in my hair (i .e. head, thought life) and I choose LIFE! I choose to focus on the promises God has given me, instead of the faults and disappointments that this life has to offer. The question is, what is nesting in your hair??

I was reading something today that reminded me that God is God in the Valley and on the Mountain top. Our problem is sometimes we want God to do it our way in our time and when we believe it should be done. But if He did that then, He would not really be God now would He? He would be our servant and He did not come to follow us and our wishes but He came and asked us to “follow me”. That means He is the leader and it is about His timing not ours. When our children were younger they did not understand why we would sometimes say “No” or “Wait a little while” But we knew why our decisions were being made because we knew what was best for them at the time, because we could see how their choices might affect their future and yes sometimes we even had to let our children be so unhappy with our decisions that it sometimes caused them pain. But all the time we were there holding their hand with our arms around them even carrying them if we needed to. God is like that with us. He loves us so much and He will see you through these times. I can understand being so frustrated with the circumstances of life that you are looking anywhere you can to find an answer. But be assured Jesus is the only answer you need. He will carry you through if you only allow Him to. So just follow Him.