Notes of Encouragement and DaySpring: Part 1

One thing I love to do is send notes of encouragement.  It is one of my "spiritual" gifts that I found out about over 15 years ago at the church we were attending at the time.  I didn't even know that there was a way to find out what your gifts were.  After taking the class, all the things that came out as my top 3 were so true, and encouragement was number one.  

Now, have I used my gift to its full potential?...NO!

Have there been times that I have been moved to send a note and it hasn't happened?....(sadly YES)

Do I want to be more faithful at obeying the still small voice of the Lord when he prompts me?...YES!!!!!

However, my desire to obey my heavenly Father in this area is foremost because I Love Him and I want to do what He is calling me to do.  Secondly, I have heard testimonies from people of "how it came at just the right time", "it lifted their spirit", they were "blessed by the scripture", they "didn't feel alone".  So knowing these two very important things, how can I hide my gift?   

One way that will help me use this gift, is that I was given some beautiful cards from DaySpring that will certainly bless the person who opens and reads it.  Several weeks ago, I had been alerted by a dear friend and mentor of an opportunity to do a review for DaySpring.  At the time, I thought how cool to get some free stuff in the process.  However, when I got the cards, I was amazed at the beauty of them and the sweet words and scripture that were written on them.  As I was reading through them, different people came to my mind as to who would get each one.  This may sound a little hokey, but that is how the Lord has done it in the past, and I am sad to say....I had not heard Him speak to me like this in a VERY long time!  

I'm learning that we can get so FOCUSED on our life, that we have tunnel vision, and we can not see the hurting, suffering and needy people around us.  What good is it to the Lord, if we are so stuck right where we are that we can't be his feet, hands or loving voice to the lost and hurting world or a brother or sister in despair.  I am the chief sinner in this area, and the Lord has begun to show me the time I have lost and how He wants me to broaden my view to see what is going on around me.  

I am encouraged to see what will happen and what He will do.  Maybe I wont ever see the fruit on this earth, but knowing I am following the still small voice that leads and guides me is ENOUGH for me!

What are your gifts?  How do you encourage others?

Blessings,

Denise

*The pictures are of several of the "So True" series of cards that I was sent at no cost by Dayspring to give an honest review.  Stay tuned for part 2 of my review!

When in doubt, Seek HIM out!

Many of us experience seasons of sadness and helplessness here in this life.  However, if you call the Lord your Lord and have received Jesus as your Savior, you can be assured of He faithfulness to provide for you in the darkness of the hour.

This afternoon, I was crying out to the Lord about issues in my life that have become weights to hold me down and that the enemy has used to discourage me.  I cried out with a deep sense of longing asking Him to help me.  I turned to Psalm 25 (because today is the 25th day of the month...so spirtual huh?), and there He was consoling me, teaching me, and loving me.  How awesome is our God!  Are you in need today?  When in doubt, seek Him out!

¹ In you, LORD my God,
   I put my trust.
 ² I trust in you;
   do not let me be put to shame,
   nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you
   will ever be put to shame,
  but shame will come on those
   who are treacherous without cause.
 ⁴ Show me your ways, LORD,
   teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
   for you are God my Savior,
   and my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
   for they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth
   and my rebellious ways;
  according to your love remember me,
   for you, LORD, are good.
 ⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;
   therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
   and teaches them his way.
¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
   toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, LORD,
   forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
 ¹² Who, then, are those who fear the LORD?
   He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.^[b]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
   and their descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The LORD confides in those who fear him;
   he makes his covenant known to them.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the LORD,
   for only he will release my feet from the snare.
 ¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
   for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ Relieve the troubles of my heart
   and free me from my anguish.
¹⁸ Look on my affliction and my distress
   and take away all my sins.
¹⁹ See how numerous are my enemies
   and how fiercely they hate me!
 ²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me;
   do not let me be put to shame,
   for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me,
   because my hope, LORD,^[c] is in you.
 ²² Deliver Israel, O God,
   from all their troubles!

The joy in homeschooling

It is such a privilege to be able to teach my children at home.  Besides the “reasons” we homeschool, the best is that I get to actually see the joy when my child first learns how to do something. 

Yesterday, my 5 year old completed the first level in his Hooked on Phonics reading program.  To see how excited he was when he finished was a true “delight” to my heart!  He did it!  He pushed me to let him keep going on and he pushed himself and tried so very hard, and he did it!  I’m proud of him and excited that the more he learns to read, the closer he is to being able to read God’s Word on his own.  I think I just may bawl my eyes out when I hear him read his bible for the first time!

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."    

Proverbs 22:6

It's a battle: Got Armor?

“Give ear, O my people, to my law;

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 

We will not hide them from their children,

Telling to the generations to come the praises of the Lord,

And His strength and His wonderful works that he has done.

Psalm 78:1-4

Well it is day 10 of the 21 days of Prayer for Sons which I have been participating in.  While I have been so blessed by the encouragement and wise words that Brooke Mc Glothlin has shared in her ebook Warrior Prayers, I have to confess that it has not been a cake walk.  The enemy has been on the prowl discouraging me in so many ways and by reminding me of my failings and causing me to doubt that anything good will happen from this.  He has even used the voice of earthly people in my life to make me doubt what I am doing.  However, I know this must be the enemy, because what I am doing is what God has encouraged us to do as parents…pray for our children and raise them up in HIS WAYS!

One example happened today when we were with some family and the boys were interested in watching a movie, and when my son asked my permission I had to tell him “no”.  It was difficult to stand up for what I believe is right for my children, especially when it makes them stand out as “different”, or as “a party pooper”.  It was bothering me all the way home.  Then while I was making dinner, my daily encouragement from A Heart at Rest devotional flip calendar by Nancy Leigh DeMoss was as follows:

“As easy as it is to shift blame to peers, entertainment, or secular culture, the fact is parents are accountable for the spiritual condition of the flock God has given them to shepherd.”

And the scripture that was referenced was

 “I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them”

1 Samuel 3:13

Why did this encourage me that what I was doing was right?  Because I am responsible for my children’s spiritual conditions and I need to guide them through this world protecting them from things that will corrupt them and teaching them what is right in God’s sight.  I trusts that the Lord will help them understand in time so that when we (their parents) are no longer there, that they will choose what is best according to the Lord.  This is certainly my prayer.

Then I read my daily devotional by Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries and he referenced Psalm 78 which talks about how gracious and kind God is in continually providing for His people, taking us back and loving us in spite of our rebellious ways.  Several places he talks about how we need to make known to our children and other generations of His commands to us.  For example:

“For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.” Psalm 78:5-8

So I continue on in this battle with the enemy of our souls for the heart of my children.  When we were on our way to spend time with family today, I was thinking about this prayer experience and the following picture came to my mind.

When there are battles, soldiers are called to battle.  If you are in the frontline or on the battlefield, the fiery darts come at you and you are prepared with all your armor and your weapons, because you are expecting them.  If you are on the side lines, you are less likely to expect a dart to hit you, although there is a chance that that will happen.  So as I look toward the next 11 days on this journey, I am securing my armor and taking up my weapons and will be battling for the precious hearts of my

Please share with me your thoughts or encouragement by commenting on this post.  I would love to hear from you!

Happy Helper

"David my sweet helper today!"

 He absolutely loves to help out around the house.  It was truly amazing to see him, at 5 years old, loosen and tighten the bolts on the bed we were moving around today.  Later, he put on his apron and helped his Daddy make chili for dinner tomorrow night, while I made our dinner for tonight.

It delights my heart to see him desire to help us and want to be involved with us in all we do. I hope that we will be able to see him maintain this desire as he grows older each year.  It is so important that our children learn to work, doing it with a good attitude and not expect to be served.

I remember the words of Jesus when he said in Mark 10:42-45:

"But Jesus called them to himself and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.

And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,

 and to give His life a ransom for many." 

Balance

In the daily grind and the busyness of life, we can tend to miss the joy and fun in each day and even miss actually "being" with our kids.  It struck me today, that I focus so much on school with my 12 year old, health issues, behavior issues and my desire to "train him up" well, that I am really missing out on getting to know him.

Today I had the opportunity to take my son on a field trip, just the two of us.  I enjoyed time to talk to him without any interruptions.  It was fun to see his extreme joy when he saw the "Google" logo on the building as we were approaching.  Then I heard him say, "Oh, I have always wanted to see this place".  He had a blast and he participated well.

It changed my perspective and caused me to reconsider what is truly important.  There needs to be "balance" in our lives or we can miss out on so many of the special moments with those who are closest to us, especially if we are so busy or focused on the detail  that we miss what is in front of us. 

After today, I am determined to stop more often and enjoy this sweet boy who is in my life and spend some time one on one doing things that are fun and just getting to know each other more. This could be just what he and I need so that our learning becomes more enjoyable.  After all, he is my miracle from God and an answer to a deep longing that I had over 14 years ago to be a Mom.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. 

Delight yourself also in the Lord and He WILL give you the desires of your heart. 

Commit your way to the Lord.

Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. 

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. 

Psalm 37:3-7a

Oh Mr. Sun...

I heard something utterly delightful this afternoon that truly blessed me!  While I was clearing the table of all the school books,computers, markers and clutter leftover from the school day, to get ready for my child to start setting the table, I hear the most beautiful music.  It was my sweet little 5 year old singing "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun please shine down on me" as he sweetly sauntered around the house.  Oh, how that warmed my heart!

To some, this may not be a big deal, but if you knew where this boy was a year and four months ago (not talking, not able to communicate, had severe meltdowns, seizure episodes, just to name a few) you would be amazed and understand my delight at hearing him sing freely as he played.

When he saw how delighted I was, he kept singing it and laughing and we had a good old time singing about Mr. Sun.  It was so fun to be enjoying our silly time together and making memories.  Oh, how different that life can look when we stop and find joy in something, right where we are in our life. 

R-R-Rejoice!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;

 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

My little guy came home tonight with this cute little craft that he made in his Royal Rangers group.  I couldn't help but take this picture to capture the joy in his face and he sure looked CUTE!   It caused me think about the joy that this little guy brings to us. 

We have had challenging issues with him over the last 3 years; delayed speech, test after test and evaluation after evaluation, behavior issues, potty training, seizure episodes and changing to a gluten free, casein free, soy free diet.  However, he is such a sweet gift from God.  Through this experience we are learning to:

REJOICE ALWAYS: on days when things are difficult and even overwhelming, when we are exhausted and feel like we can't go on.

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING: because we can't do it without the strength of the Lord.  He can heal our child, He knows our children better than we and has a plan for their lives.

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS: even when he has written all over the walls, plugged up the toilet, hit his sibling for the tenth time today, and has melted down one to many times.

FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS! Amen..we are the parents that He has chosen and the Lord doesn't make mistakes.  He will guide us and give us what we need to raise this child.  He doesn't promise it will be easy, but we can be sure that He will be with us and guide us in all our decisions...we just need to ask Him for help.

R-R-Rejoice!

Scribbles to Showpiece

What to do with a child who is angrily scribbling on all the paper at his table?  That appeared to be my dilemma with my 5 year old.  I told myself, "don't get angry and tell him not to do that".  Then I remembered something I did as a child and set forth to enlighten him about how he can scribble. This is how it went:

I told him to get a piece of paper and then I used "hand over hand" and helped him to scribble slowly all over on his paper. He was intent to find out what to do next.  Then I instructed him to watch as I colored in one of the spaces.  He was delighted to see the result.  I finished by telling him, "now you need to color in each of the other spaces and you will see a beautiful picture".  He was determined to work on the project, and best of all he stopped scribbling angrily on all the paper at the table.

The end result was this beautiful masterpiece! 

My son's masterpiece embellished with patriotic stickers. I think it looks like a hen.

I love Crafts!!

I love to do crafts!  Having a PreK child gives you plenty of opportunity to do a little crafting throughout the day.  I often use crafts to keep my 5 year old’s hands busy.  He gets practice using his fine motor skills by cutting, drawing, coloring and even some writing.  However, you can’t leave him alone or he will cut the curtains, linens and anything the scissors will cut.

Today, my son had to miss pre-school due to illness, so I capitalized on the opportunity to work on various fine motor and cognitive skills.  You can see the shamrock project that he completed.  This was a last minute craft I printed from Enchanted Learning to have him work on while I worked on another subject with my 12 year old.   First my son completed the dot-to-dot; working on drawing straight lines from one dot to dot another, and following the sequence of numbers from 1 to 42.  After he completed that, I thought he could work on building the muscles in his hand by coloring it in and I reminded him to try and stay in the lines. While he was so diligently coloring, I remembered we had glitter glue that I had bought for him to use, because he loves any type of media.  He was so excited to use something new!  I made sure to work on sensory issues by having him move the glue around with his index finger.  We also made this cute little green hat which gave him a chance to practice his cutting skills.

While all this was helpful to my sons development and fun for all of us, reviewing the life of St Patrick was the most important lesson today.   He was not Irish.  He was kidnapped by Irish pirates and forced to live as a slave in Ireland.  Later, he went back to Ireland to minister to the people of the country that held him captive.  He used the (three leafed) Shamrock as way to explain the three persons of the Godhead. His heart was full of love and forgiveness for the people of Ireland.  He was an example for us of a servant of God who walked out the “great commission” that Jesus gave before he ascended back to his seat at the right hand of the Father.  So today, it isn’t about the luck of the Irish for our family, but the faith of one man who was obedient to the Lord and a great example of one who truly did love and forgive like Jesus. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!          

Encouraging

What a "delight" it was today to receive a special call from a friend in my home school group who oversees and assists me with writing an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for my son.  She called to check in on me, because she knew I was struggling.  Hearing her voice and her encouraging words were so precious, and just what I needed.  Besides giving me ideas of how to handle certain situations that I was dealing with in homeschooling my son, she told me "you can do it", and she reminded me that God has a plan and He will help me in this season of our homeschooling life.


It is so important to not isolate yourself when you are struggling, but to fellowship with those who can build you up and encourage you on in the things you are going through.  God calls us as the body of Christ to encourage one another. 

"Therefore, encourage each other and build one another up, just as you also are doing"

1Thessalonians 5:11

Weeds and Winning

 

Today, I pulled weeds in the yard with my 5 year old.  The experience was full of spiritual analogies.  There was one that I thought was worth sharing. 

I started pulling weeds and I realized that it seemed so much harder since the last time I pulled them about 6 months ago.  (I know, I should pull them out more regularly)  As I continued to work, I realized that the ground was so much harder because we have not had much rain lately and I don't know how often the sprinklers are going on.  The lack of water created this hard soil and it was difficult to get the tools in under the weed so that I could get it out.  This required so much more muscle and the process was so much slower than the last time. 

As I continued pulling weeds, I kept thinking about how the weed represents sin or bad habits that hinder our walk.  Sometimes we allow the weed to grow for a long time and don't have the time to stop and pull out the weeds that have sprung up.  We may say "oh I know I really need to do that, but I'll do it tomorrow".  I thought about how the water represents a combination of the Holy Spirit and the Word, and how when we are not walking in the Spirit or reading the Word regularly, we are not getting watered enough and our hearts can become harder and harder and harder.  The more we put off pulling out these weeds and not getting watered, the weeds in our life become larger and the process of removing them is harder and takes more effort.

So this week I will be watering more so that I can remove the weeds that have grown and I'm sure when I get a closer look, I may see some  smaller weeds to pull out before they become large and are harder to get to the root so they can be removed.  Happy Weeding!

Winning....

Here is my son who won First Place in the Pinewood Derby Car Race that his Royal Ranger Troop participated in today.  He was so excited.  Way to go buddy!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Phil. 4:13

Whatever...

Raising two special kids can be a challenge, especially when one is “pre-teen” and the other is "pre-K”.  Some days I’m so exhausted; I don’t want to repeat myself one more time, I feel like a piece of taffy being pulled this way and that,   I notice my ASD child’s behavior is showing signs that he has had a food “infraction” and I don't feel I have the energy to deal with the situation, my FAS child has misplaced his multiplication chart and continues to walk around complaining, “I don’t want to do school”, etc…  I could continue on and on, and there are other Moms of special needs kiddo’s that may have experienced some of the same frustrations and feelings of giving up.  When other things in your life are tough too, it is recipe for disaster!

  This season I’m in has been very difficult and this week all hope seemed lost.  I was ready to give up homeschooling, but knew in my heart that it wasn’t the answer.  “But it is so hard and he is fighting me at every turn” I whine.  “I just yell all day and I’m miserable and so unhappy”.  I could go on and on, but how will that help the situation?  It won’t!  I am blessed to have friends, family and seasoned homeschool parents that were there for prayer and to help me to refocus on that which has “eternal” value.

Thoughts and scriptures circled about in my head, and I committed to several people, including my husband, that I was not going to yell anymore.  If my son began to whine and carry on and my blood pressure starts to escalate, I would just walk away and regroup.  One of the words I kept hearing in my head was “whatever” followed by “things are true, whatever things are lovely”  and a light bulb went off in my head (not like I hadn’t been told this before). I am focusing on the negative and being dragged down by the circumstances in my life.  Then I looked up the scripture and read “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, and whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.”(Phil.4:8)

            So the last two days I have worked to think on the praiseworthy things in my sons, and there are so many things that are praiseworthy, first of all because they were created by God for His purpose and that in itself is enough. However, through the day, I find myself thinking “whatever” when I start getting frustrated.  The last two days have been so much better, and my circumstances have not changed, and my children are the same, but what has changed is what I am setting my mind on.  The Lord created these boys and my sons are creative, funny, sweet, loving, they love to sing, and read the Word together, they are smart and see things that I often overlook, they love people and I could go on and on.  I’m thanking the Lord for them more and realizing what great kids they are and what a privilege it is to be their Mom. So if you are feeling like there is no hope and you want to give up, just remember to tell yourself “whatever” and think on those things.