Life Update
March 31, 2009 at 12:20 pm | In Craft Projects, K's Posts, Photos | 2 CommentsSince we were busy blogging daily commentaries for the Scripture memory challenge this month, we didn’t have time to write about anything else going on in our lives. A lot’s been happening here at home, so let’s see if we can give you a re-cap…
:: A lot of time in March was spent working on craft projects to enter in our county youth fair. We did enough sewing, knitting, painting, gluing, crocheting, stitching, and general creating to last us a good while. 
Here are a few pictures of various projects our family entered.
:: One weekend, our parents went to Atlanta by themselves for a conference. It was a challenging weekend for us children at home on our own, but, praise God, we survived! No major emergencies, and we even potty-trained the twins. Cherry, the baby, missed Mommy especially, and was so happy to see her again!
:: March 27th was the scheduled day of my (Kayla’s) first CLEP test as a Verity dual-enrollmentstudent. I had been studying for this Humanities CLEP exam for six interesting weeks learning about everything from classic literature to art history to classical music. Praise the Lord for answered prayers because I passed! This week, I’m starting another six-week study schedule for a CLEP, this time for English Composition.
:: Last week, our grandma had a birthday. A few days later, she started having some internal bleeding and was admitted to the hospital. She is still there, now in the ICU, while they are trying to determine the cause of the bleeding and stop it. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.
Congratulations
March 28, 2009 at 10:41 am | In Bible Verses, K's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | Leave a Commentto those who completed the memorization of Colossians 3!
Allison H.
Desiree M.
Kayla H.
Stephanie H.
If your name is not on this list and you completed the challenge, please let us know by sending us an e-mail. I know there are several who attempted this challenge, but weren’t able to complete it by the 25th. I would encourage you to keep going! As they say, it’s always better late than never. You will be blessed for your perseverance!
“Blessed is the man that walketh notin the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Psalm 1:1-3
P.S. We’re also blogging at Living the Journey today!
Day Twenty-Five ~ Colossians 3:25
March 25, 2009 at 2:15 pm | In Bible Verses, K's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | 2 CommentsToday is the last day of our Scripture memory challenge! How have y’all been doing? I hope and pray that many of you have been blessed by the meditation and engrafting of God’s Word. I know that I have been deeply encouraged by this chapter and plan to continue meditating on it for some time.
I would like to recognize those of you who persevered and completed the entire challenge. If you are able to quote the whole chapter of Colossians 3 (verses 1-25) by memory to either a parent or older sibling by midnight tonight, March 25th, please e-mail me within the next few days to let me know! I am planning to compile the names and post them here on Saturday. Now for our last commentary post…
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“But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons.”
“respect of persons” – partiality or favoritism
Several times throughout the New Testament, it is said that God does not show favoritism. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Whenever we are tempted to do something wrong, we should remember this verse and the fact that God punishes every sin regardless of who commits it.
~ Kayla
Day Twenty-four ~ Colossians 3:24
March 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm | In Bible Verses, K's Posts, Photos, S's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | Leave a Comment“Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
I think it is a safe assumption that nearly everyone likes rewards, especially little children. When potty-training the twins recently, we used peanut butter m&m’s as rewards, and that worked very well. When we are completing a task, whatever it may be, having an incentive always motivates us. However, most of the things we do here on earth do not come with visible rewards. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get a prize for washing the dishes or changing a diaper. But here is where we have to remember this verse. We will be rewarded for these things someday, if we are serving Christ. Ephesians 6:8 says, “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.”
Now, we shouldn’t take this idea to the extreme and only desire to do good things because of the promised rewards. True love and generosity is shown when there will be nothing given in return. We do not deserve these rewards because the only reason we do good things in the first place is because of the grace of God. However, we serve an incredibly loving and merciful God, and that alone should make us eager to serve Him.
~ Kayla
Day Twenty-Three ~ Colossians 3:23
March 23, 2009 at 10:23 pm | In Bible Verses, S's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | Leave a Comment“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”
Heartily: from the heart, with sincerity, with zeal, actively, vigorously. (from Webster’s 1828 dictionary)
When I think of something being done enthusiastically, I think of talking, greeting, smiling, and singing. But it is not only these obvious things that we should do with zeal. The verse says ”whatsoever ye do, do it heartily.”
Think of the most unpleasant task you must do. If Jesus asked you to do it for him, wouldn’t you do it more heartily?
~Stephanie
Day Twenty-Two ~ Colossians 3:22
March 22, 2009 at 8:40 am | In Bible Verses, K's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | Leave a Comment“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God;”
Like Stephanie said yesterday, some of these verses might not seem applicable to us at first glance because of who they are addressing, but there is always something we can glean. This verse is speaking to servants, the employees of the household. In today’s time, it is not common for typical families to have servants, but that doesn’t mean we can dismiss this verse.
The phrase “singleness of heart” here catches my attention. God commanded servants to have a single-hearted devotion to their masters, not working merely to please them, but to also please God. When we work for our authorities, do we consider whether or not God would be pleased with our work? Oftentimes, if I think about Who I am really doing things for, the work doesn’t seem as tedious or difficult. I am able to have joy in knowing that I am serving the Lord with “singleness of heart.”
~ Kayla
Day Twenty-One ~ Colossians 3:21
March 21, 2009 at 11:54 am | In Bible Verses, S's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | Leave a Comment“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”
This verse is addressed to fathers concerning their children, but it really applies to all of us. It’s easy to provoke others to anger when you’re angry yourself and things just aren’t going right. But we have the power to overcome those feelings through Christ! Remember verses 8-10? “But now ye also put off all these: anger… seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”
So instead of discouraging others, do the opposite! Encourage them with praise, verbal blessings and by praying for and serving them.
~Stephanie
Day Twenty ~ Colossians 3:20
March 20, 2009 at 10:09 pm | In Bible Verses, K's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | Leave a Comment“Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”
“Obey” – [ Greek: hupakouo - to listen attentively, to head a command or authority]
Obedience is doing what you are asked to do, when you are asked to do it, without complaining. We must choose to be cheerful when we are doing what we are told or it is not true obedience. This verse tells us to obey our parents in all things, not just some things or the things we feel like doing, but all things. If we want to please the Lord, than we must first learn obedience towards our parents. If we learn how to do it with them, we will then be able to truly obey the Lord in what He tells us to do. Trying to obey the Lord without first obeying our parents is doing things backwards.
Obedience is a hard lesson to learn sometimes. We must daily ask the Lord for grace to cheerfully and quickly obey, remembering that He gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)
~ Kayla
Day Nineteen ~ Colossians 3:19
March 19, 2009 at 8:38 am | In Bible Verses, K's Posts, Scripture Memory Challenge | Leave a Comment“Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.”
As I don’t think we have any husband or would-be husband readers (correct me if I’m wrong!), I would like to address today’s post to the wives or would-be wives mentioned in this verse, if that’s okay with y’all.
Girls, do you pray for the man God has chosen to be your future husband (if His will is for you to marry someday)? It might sound weird, but praying for this young man has the potential to be an amazing ministry opportunity for you to start even now, in your own home. If God has marriage somewhere in His plan for your life, it would be wise to start now in preparation for your relationship with that person, even if you haven’t yet met them.
Here are some ideas on how you can pray for your future husband…
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Pray God’s blessing and protection over him as he goes about his day
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Pray for the building of his character
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Pray for his relationship with God, his parents, and his siblings
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As well as anything else the Lord lays on your heart each day. The Lord frequently impresses a certain issue or character quality on my mind that I feel led to pray about.
You should also pray for his protection against bitterness. Bitterness is something that keeps one in spiritual bondage and has even been known to cause digestive problems. It is no wonder that God’s Word warns against becoming bitter.
Be careful not to allow all this talk about husbands compromise the purity of your heart and mind. It’s best not to try putting a face to the person you are praying for, but rather let the Lord take control of it completely. If, when praying, you find your mind wandering improperly, stop and open your Bible to a passage such as Lamentations 3, Matthew 5, or Psalm 51 in order to get your mind clear of temptation.
Miss Serenity had a good post on this topic awhile back and I would like to quote a portion of it in which she talked about how she prays for her future husband.
“Another way I keep my thoughts pure is by frequently praying for my future husband. Not when I’m struggling with temptation, as that could lead to more impure thoughts (i.e.: “Please bless my future husband ~hmm…I wonder if Fred is the one?~ while he is going about his day today ~he’s probably going to church…I bet he’ll look good all dressed up…~), but while I’m doing every day things, or while already praying. My favorite time to pray for him is at night when I’m in bed. I like to take a few minutes to specifically ask God to help him grow in certain areas, such as knowing the Bible or having a good work ethic, and to bless him the next day, making it a good day for him and helping him to guard his heart, mind and eyes…something that I hope he is praying for me too!”
~ Kayla
Day Eighteen ~ Colossians 3:18
March 18, 2009 at 9:00 am | In Bible Verses, Guest Bloggers, Scripture Memory Challenge | 1 Comment“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”
Here we see Paul begin to address the household codes among a family. Wives are told to submit to their husbands and the phrase “as it is fit in the Lord” gives us instruction as disciples of the Lord. It is our proper and natural order to submit to our husband, our duty as a Christian wife. The relationship between husband and wife must embody the Lordship of Christ. It will bear witness to the new life they share in Christ.
~ Kathy
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