Spring

Our spring has been beautiful and busy, which explains why I haven't posted much here on the blog!

Here are some recent pictures of Hope and Sydney and I before going to a banquet with Grandma Edwards (the girls are pictures with her below). The banquet had a fun black-and-white theme.  The pictures of Lane and Toby, at the end, and of Lydia, above, were taken on Easter.

Competing

Recently the kids competed in the Awana Games. Hope and Sydney's team took first on their circle, Lane's team took second.

Bill Maher Swings and Misses

Homeschooling is often the target of ad hominem attacks from those who disapprove of parents teaching their children at home. This latest from Bill Maher, infamous for his foul mouth, is particularly laughable:

"Rick Santorum homeschools his children because he does not want them eating [from the Tree of Knowledge]. He wants them locked up in the Christian madrassa that is the family living room not out in public where they could be infected by the virus of reason."

Read more here.

Bill Maher may think that the beliefs of Christian homeschoolers are foolish, but one thing is certain: Christian homeschoolers are not insulated from opposing ideas.

Rick Santorum responded to this by saying,

"All of a sudden, if you're instilling faith and teaching them about God in your home, you're a madrassa, according to these folks, and as if reason doesn't take place in the home. Our -- our children will out-reason him -- my 12-year-old will out-reason Bill Maher when it comes to understanding, you know, what, you know, how logic works because he is completely illogical." (On Fox News' Hannity 3/12, quoted here.)

I'm confident that this was no idle remark. While I don't know how the Santorums homeschool, many homeschooling families teach logic to their 12-year-olds, and I would imagine that his son is studying formal logic right now. It takes work to learn to build arguments and refute opposing views. It is so much easier to simply smear and mock, which is Bill Maher's bread-and-butter.

Santorum Wins Kansas Caucuses

If Rick Santorum holds a campaign rally near you, GO see him!

We had a great experience meeting the Santorums last Friday, ahead of the Kansas Caucuses on Saturday. He tries to shake everyone's hand and post for pictures with all who ask. Mr. Edwards and I were very impressed with Senator Santorum, who spoke for roughly half-an-hour without notes or a teleprompter. He is very substantive and gives wide-ranging speeches that explain policy and principle.

Santorum doggedly stands for freedom. He understands that our nation was founded on the idea that our rights are inalienable and freedoms are not granted by government, but protected by government. For more about that, check out this piece by Dan Henniger of the WSJ. Here's Rick Santorum's website.

We made homemade signs for the rally, which Rick signed. He even signed, "To Lane    Rick Santorum" on the sign that Lane made. A few of our friends were also at the rally, and some of them are in these pictures.

Rick's wife Karen is a gracious and accomplished woman.

It's Incredible

Each Wednesday evening at our church, I'm privileged to share the good news of Jesus to Awana guests. Many of them have never been to a church and know nothing of Jesus, except what they may have heard here and there. Last night, as I folded the Evangecube* to the picture of Jesus, risen from the dead, I explained that, "Jesus didn't stay dead. After three days in the tomb He rose from the dead and came alive again."

One boy said, "It isn't true."

Later, as I talked with him more about the truth of Jesus' resurrection, I agreed with him that it is a shocking thing. But what good would it be to say that Jesus could forgive us and save us if He didn't have power over death?

But the guest in my Awana class represents the majority view of our culture. What is it like to be a kid growing up in a church environment, but surrounded by a world that denies the truths that your church and family teaches? I think church kids tend to put church ideas into a separate compartment in their mind from the other things they learn about life and the world around them.

When I wrote Lord, Have Mercy, I wanted to help families show their kids that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God and that this incredible truth--proved by Jesus through miracle after miracle--matters today. It changes everything. It cannot be kept in a compartment of "church ideas."

Throughout Lord, Have Mercy, kids are often asked, "Why does this matter to you today?"

Why does it matter that Jesus calmed the wind and waves? Churched kids often answer with things like, "When I'm scared, Jesus can calm me," or "When my life is hard, Jesus will be with me." These nice answers miss the incredibleness of what Jesus did.  Jesus Christ stood up in the boat and rebuked the wind and waves. The storm stopped. Jesus Christ, this man from Nazereth who said that He was sent from God, stood up and controlled the weather.

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36 NIV)

The Lord, Have Mercy devotion for Week Three, Thursday asks, "In light of this verse, why does it matter that Jesus holds power over the weather?"

Jesus taught that we must believe in Him to be saved from God's wrath for sin. This is a big deal. But He also showed that He was no ordinary man. He showed that He had supernatural power over our natural world. We can put faith in Him with confidence.

If you are using Lord, Have Mercy to guide family devotions, I hope that you are able to challenge your children to realize the incredibleness and the reality of Jesus Christ.

*Click on the picture of Toby in the right sidebar to watch a video of Toby telling about Jesus using the Evangecube, when he was three years old.

I'm Not Home Yet

We saw Building 429 sing "Where I Belong" at Winterjam recently and now this song is a family favorite with the kids.



This song reminds me of what biographer Carl Sandburg had to say about Nancy Hanks Lincoln. The mother of Abraham Lincoln is mostly unknown to historians. She died when Lincoln was just a nine-year-old boy. She lived a hard life, as did nearly all American frontier women. Sandburg said this about Nancy Hanks Lincoln:

She read their Bible. One who knew her well said she was "a ready reader." She was a believer and knew--so much of what she believed was yonder--always yonder. Every day came cooking, keeping the fire going, scrubbing, washing, patching, with little time to think or sing of the glory she believed in--always yonder. (Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years, p. 6.)

Is a focus on the hope of glory just escapism? It is hard to swallow that when Paul said, "To live is Christ, to die gain." I wonder if one blessing of affliction and hardship is that we are better able to yearn for glory yonder.

Heavy and Light

There are a lot of things on my mind this week, both heavy and light.

He told them, "Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one's life is not in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)

And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor...but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy... (I Corinthians 13:3,4)

Those verses cured me of my iPhone envy and God put my priorities in order.

Like many of you, I've been watching with interest the national conversation about birth control and abortion. Many Americans do not believe preserving pre-born life is a moral obligation. If, however, you conclude that a pre-born infant has the same moral status as a breathing infant, I would imagine that you would conclude that abortion is immoral. These "experts," however, say that we might as well allow babies to be killed.

News pieces like this reinforce in my mind the consequences to our culture of tossing out theism. Without theism, life becomes meaningless. In spite of attempts to preserve meaning in life without theism, it just cannot be done. If life is meaningless, selfishness reigns.


Life is incredibly hard and often disappointing. Without the hope of Jesus Christ, I would feel like giving in, and my life is so far without significant trial. I'm reminded that without a foundation of theism, meaning in life (and death) is lost. The Universe Next Door by James Sire, a book I read last summer, helped me understand how we arrived at this point.

I read I Corinthians 15 this morning and Johnny Cash's song "I Corinthians 15:55" came to my mind. When I imagine myself crossing the river to the Celestial City, I always imagine myself old and worn, ready to cross over, in Cash's words, to my Redeemer beckoning me.

But Jesus said, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’ “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21)

Am I ready to cross over tonight, if beckoned for? With this thought lingering, I read of Andrew Breitbart's sudden death last night.

***

Oh Death, where is thy sting?

Oh Grave, where is they victory?

Oh Life, you are a shining path.

And hope springs eternal, just over the rise,

When I see my redeemer beckoning me.

***

Those are heavy thoughts. Now, on the lighter side...

We're learning about Thomas Edison! Toby and I are reading the "Childhood of Famous Americans" biography of Thomas Edison. I love this series of easy-to-read biographies. We also found that there are lots of amazing film clips of Edison from the 1920s available to watch on YouTube.

I'm adapting Rikki Tikki Tavi into a script for our Tapestry of Grace co-op to perform at our end-of-the-year school celebration. Our family loves the story of Rikki Tikki Tavi, and this will tie in perfectly with our focus on the British Empire, 19th century India, and Rudyard Kipling in the last quarter of school. We're capping off the third quarter with a Celebration Night this Friday. The kids will perform a readings of Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" and will sing Home on the Range. We'll finish off the evening by dancing the Reel.

Getting it Done

Accomplishing family devotions is difficult, particularly when evening activities pull family members in different directions. Rather than throwing in the towel, relax. Carry on with the family members that are home. Determine not to be defeated if you can only manage three nights a week. Discussing the Bible together is a habit worth forming.

Remember: even if your actual devotional attempt is chaotic, with restless kids who seem to be distracted,  just by doing it you are teaching your kids a powerful lesson. God's Word is important. It matters to life just as it was written. We might need to teach our kids and help them see how Scripture relates to their life, but God's Word doesn't need to be re-written or re-packaged to catch their attention.

If you're working your way through Lord, Have Mercy this Lenten season, and your Friday night was crazy--don't worry about it. Do not feel behind.  Go ahead and study the devotion for Saturday today and be blessed by God's Word. Whatever days you need to skip are there waiting for you to do together after Easter.

Today you'll read the Beatitudes and discuss with your family what it means to be poor in spirit and to hunger and thirst for righteousness. With what are you trying to satisfy yourself? Help your kids think deeply and get past the obvious "Sunday school" answer as you lead them through today's discussion.

Don't have Lord, Have Mercy yet? Download it here or order a paperback here.

Poured Out on Ash Wednesday

Being a mother is studying in the school of self-denial. Thankfully, my Teacher has a lot of mercy and forgiveness for me. I need it.

Potty-training might be the most difficult course in my school of self-denial. I'm in my fifth rotation and hoping for a better grade this time around. I've never started potty-training before the second birthday before, but Lydia and I are trying to get a jump on it. One week in, it is looking pretty optimistic.

But I've been sitting on the floor in front of Lydia singing "I'm a Little Teapot," "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and "Here's a Ball For Baby" again and again and again.

Lydia likes to go potty just to watch me sing. She sits on her little potty chair and grins, "Do it 'gin, Mommy! Bitsy 'pider!"

I bounce back and forth between this and more serious subjects, like long division and post-Civil War Reconstruction, and squeeze in some time to listen to Tobias sound out three-letter words.  It's not a bad life, but after the tenth round of "Bitsy 'pider" or "Teapot" (well, even after the second round) I'm wishing I could be doing other things.

But as I sing, "Here is my handle," with a hand on my hip, and "Here is my spout," with my other arm outstretched, and lean into "When I get all steamed up, I just SHOUT! Tip me over and pour me out!" I think of Jesus, who poured out His blood for me.

And I realize that singing "I'm a Little Teapot" with my sweet daughter for the umpteenth time while she learns to go potty--even as other things that seem more pressing, more important, more valuable go undone--isn't even close to being poured out like a drink offering, as Paul said in Philippians 2:14-18:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

I want to say to Lydia, and each of my children, "Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith..." and yet here I am grumbling about potty-training, deceiving myself that it is a genuine trial.

Ash Wednesday is a day set aside to grieve for sin. May we grieve over our sin so that we might glory in God's mercy.

Lord, have mercy;

Christ, have mercy;

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, Have Mercy Around the Web

Win a free download of Lord, Have Mercy at Amy's The Finer Things in Life. Just leave a comment on her post before Tuesday at midnight to enter the drawing. Winners will receive their free copy on Ash Wednesday.

Over at Equip Academy, Sharon has a guest post by her husband, Pastor Jeff,  reviewing Lord, Have Mercy. Jeff and Sharon have been using Lord, Have Mercy in their family devotions and Jeff shares what it has been like for them.

Cathy posts about Lord, Have Mercy on her blog, Women Bible Life.

(Update)
Chris graciously recommends trying Lord, Have Mercy on her blog Finnegan Follies.

Here are some other blogs who have posted about Lord, Have Mercy (that I linked to on Friday):

Ordo Amoris: Preparing for Easter? Kindle Devotional
A Quotidian Life: Devoted to the Word
Prone to Wander: preparing for Easter
The Key to the Door: Getting Ready for Easter

Did I miss yours? If you post about Lord, Have Mercy be sure to let me know!

(Clarification: I am not Amy of Amy's The Finer Things in Life.)

Will You Like Lord, Have Mercy?

Like it on Facebook, that is?

Take a minute to "like" the Lord, Have Mercy: Discovering Jesus in the Days Before Lent  Facebook page, where I'll be posting devotional and encouraging tips for your family during Lent.

Lord, Have Mercy: Discovering Jesus in the Days Before Easter: A Family Devotional Guide for Lent is now available in paperback at Amazon.com, so if e-books aren't your thing, you're all set.

Here are some excellent blogs with recent posts about Lord, Have Mercy:

Ordo Amoris: Preparing for Easter? Kindle Devotional
A Quotidian Life: Devoted to the Word
Prone to Wander: preparing for Easter

UPDATE:
In The Key to the Door: Getting Ready for Easter, my blogging friend Meredith explains how flexible Lord, Have Mercy can be for your family. I share Meredith's desire to give Easter as much spiritual attention in my home and traditions as Christmas, and I pray that Lord, Have Mercy will help all of us do that.

If you blog about Lord, Have Mercy, let me know so that I can post links to your blog!

Breakfast with the President

We began our school day this morning by listening to Eric Metaxas speak at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington (held last Thursday, Feb. 2). You must, must, must watch this speech.

When you've met Jesus, nothing is ever the same again.

Family Devotions

From the Introduction of Lord, Have Mercy: Discovering Jesus in the Days Before Easter, a Family Devotional Guide for Lent, my new e-book:

My prayer is that this book of family devotions will help your family prepare for a glorious Easter and help you succeed in bringing your family together in the Word. Rather than observing Lent as a set of rules and regulations, let’s make it a time to fix our eyes on Jesus. Lent should be Christ-centered, not me-centered. What a wonderful opportunity Lent gives us to focus on Jesus and His earthly ministry and the meaning of the Gospel.

It isn’t easy to maintain a family devotional habit. Evening activities rush us, leaving little time to gather. Differences in the ages of our children make it difficult to keep everyone engaged in what we are reading. Inevitably, at least one of the kids tunes out. Worst of all, sometimes our kids complain about our attempts to have devotions. Devotions are a time devoted to worship, Scripture, and prayer. These things are not always entertaining, and some kids lose patience and complain of boredom. For parents who yearn for their kids to know and love God, this is crushing. May this devotional help you overcome these challenges.

Each week’s devotions cover a different aspect of Christ’s ministry. While you will be blessed by God’s Word if you can do it daily, you won’t miss the main point of the week if you miss a day or two. If you can’t complete the day’s devotion, do as much as you can in the time that you have, shortening discussion by reading provided answers aloud. We often have our devotional time after our evening meal. Sometimes we take 15 minutes, sometimes 30.

Lord, Have Mercy: Discovering Jesus in the Days Before Easter, a Family Devotional Guide for Lent is available now for Kindle from Amazon.com. Remember that even if you don't have a Kindle, you may read Kindle books on your phone's free Kindle app or online through Amazon.

Bible Quizzing Countdown

Our area's Awana Bible Quizzing competition will be held in two months time. This week I pulled out practice sheets so the kids could start reviewing the verses, "word wise" definitions, and "search site" Bible passages that they need to know for the quizzing competition. I'm excited to be helping our Quizzing coach and look forward to working with the team that will be forming in just a few weeks.

Ribbons and awards earned for Bible memory are not eternal treasures, but I've seen God use the process of preparation for the competition to store up eternal treasures in the hearts of my daughters, as they memorize God's word.

The picture above shows Hope and Sydney (front row, middle and right) competing in fourth grade. This year, their sixth grade year, will be their last, but Lane's first.

Previous Awana Bible Quizzing posts:
Hope's first year
Quizzing 2010
Quizzing 2011

Reflecting on Martin Luther King, Jr.

Some Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday reading:

Desiring God is giving away John Piper's new book Bloodlines in a free PDF download.

The text and audio of King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech can be found here.

King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is here.

From my own MLK Jr. Day post in 2009:

As you think about King and his influence on our culture, consider this quotation from "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence (April 1960)" which I discovered in Tapestry of Grace Year 4, Week 23:

At this stage of my development I was a thoroughgoing liberal. Liberalism provided me with an intellectual satisfaction that I could never find in fundamentalism. I became so enamored of the insights of liberalism that I almost fell into the trap of accepting uncritically everything that came under its name. I was absolutely convinced of the natural goodness of man and the natural power of human reason.

The basic change in my thinking came when I began to question some of the theories that had been associated with so-called liberal theology....
It was mainly the liberal doctrine of man that I began to question. The more I observed the tragedies of history and man's shameful inclination to choose the low road, the more I came to see the depths and strength of sin. My reading of the works of Reinhold Niebuhr made me aware of the complexity of human motives and the reality of sin on every level of man's existence. Moreover, I came to recognize the complexity of man's social involvement and the glaring reality of collective evil. I came to feel that liberalism had been all too sentimental concerning human nature and that it leaned toward a false idealism.

I also came to see that liberalism's superficial optimism concerning human nature caused it to overlook the fact that reason is darkened by sin. The more I thought about human nature the more I saw how our tragic inclination for sin causes us to use our minds to rationalize our actions. Liberalism failed to see that reason by itself is little more than an instrument to justify man's defensive ways of thinking. Reason, devoid of the purifying power of faith, can never free itself from distortions and rationalizations.

King speaks of theological liberalism, but TOG points out that the definition of political liberalism is "A political theory founded on the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual and favoring civil and political liberties, government by law with the consent of the governed, and protection from arbitrary authority." (From the American Heritage Dictionary, see full definition here.)

Sometimes when evaluating the worth of public policy, it is difficult to ascertain what a Biblical or Christian opinion should be. Can we really say what Christ would have us do for health care? For wealth-transfers? Regarding the economic stimulus package? But the path is a bit clearer when one examines the beliefs that underpin the policy, as King relates doing in this article. We can say with confidence that a belief in the natural goodness of man not only conflicts with our experience, as King found, but it also conflicts with Scripture. We can beware of policies that depend upon this belief.

Talking to God

"Prayer is not another good thing that the Christian does. Prayer, communion with God, was bought for us at the highest price. Please do not sideline prayer to something that is really good that we nearly do. No, no, it is rather our being known and knowing the Father. It is communion with God: welcomed ones in relationship with our Father, forever in Jesus' name; ransomed ones in relationship with our Father, forever in Jesus' name; belonging ones in relationship with our Father, forever in Jesus' name."

From Bud Burk's sermom, "Jesus Prayed, So We Could Pray" delivered December 31, 2011 at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Quote from about 26:03 minutes in.

How easy it is to reduce prayer to something like mental email to God rather than seeing it for what it should be: access to God the Father made possible by the suffering and sacrifice of God the Son.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2 KJV)

Praise God for His Son Jesus, who has given us access to the righteous and holy God.