Author: Vickie

Chosen To Give

Weeks before the day, Lilly, age two going-on-three, talked about her Birthday Party. What the cake would be like. Oh, and there would be presents. She loves surprises and just could not wait to open her gifts. That is why what happened was so amazing.

As she picked up each new package, and her mother helped her discover who it was from, she opened it and squealed with glee as she took it to the person who brought it for her. The kids, the adults, they all just smiled as Lilly brought them, a stick pony, a doll, or a new outfit. She thought those gifts were hers to hand out once she opened them.

Her joy was spreading joy and let me tell you it was happiness all around that room. Could we all just use a little or a lot more of this?

This little one had no idea that she was giving away a possession that would later give her hours of enjoyment. No wonder Jesus tells us “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)

Have you ever wondered why you were chosen to be who you are?

Why you were chosen to be born even? Let alone, why were you chosen to be the child of your parents, born into the country of your birth, the generation of your family? Someone made a choice and you exist. You are a gift that was chosen to keep on giving.

Before you think these are foolish thoughts, allow me to say this: You are not here by accident. You were chosen to exist by a Creator God that knew you in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:14-16) God chose to make you and re-make you into the image of His Son. (Romans 8:29) You are a gift, chosen, to keep on giving.

I love these words from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth in Portrait of a Woman Used by God, “I believe there is a special sense in which God created us women to be bearers and nurturers of life. Whether or not He grants us physical children. He wants to use us to carry the life and light of Jesus into the world – to be spiritual reproducers, bringing forth His life in the lives of others.”

Someone made a choice and you exist. You are a gift that was chosen to keep on giving. “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit…” John 15:16a

Giving life is giving the best gift of all. That is why Jesus is everything to believers, He is life to us. He died to give us life everlasting, a gift that cost us nothing but cost Him everything. We are the chosen to give a kind word, a sacrifice of our time, our energy, our patience.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10

Jesus is a friend of saints and sinners. His love is for all and we are called to love and be a friend to all. To take His love and pass it on and on and on.

“Friendship is a gift from God… a friend loves at all times.” This little shelf plaque sits to the right of my desk to remind me of a gift. A friendship. A gift that gives. The words inscribed were taken from Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Most of the time we only see the first portion of this verse because the second half sounds kind of negative. But really, it is as positive as can be. My study Bible explains it like this, “a true friend has unquenchable love that is not diminished by adversity.” A true friend is a precious gift.

Like little Lilly, let’s accept this gift, and joyfully give it to those in our lives that need a gift, a present, in their present situations?

Judging God?

I was so angry when I found out. Someone dear to me lost a child. A little baby, full of promise and it just wasn’t fair. I wish I could have been that shining example of trusting God with this hard thing, but I wasn’t. I just couldn’t understand why He let this happen. This happened nearly two decades ago, but I remember it just like it was yesterday.

I had been praying for this woman. I was so certain that everything that was possible was being done to make sure the outcome would be her baby safely delivered into her arms. But it didn’t happen that way. This sweet soul went into the arms of God. He was delivered, but with a still heart into the arms of broken hearts that day.

This past summer, as I was memorizing Hebrews 11, saying it over and over and meditating on it, so many lessons for my heart were born. Since it is considered “The Hall of Faith” chapter, God pressed into my mind teaching and examples I hope I never forget.

 “Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11

Faith is not in our genes. It cannot be passed down from one generation to another in that manner. We aren’t Christians because our parents are. It doesn’t seep into our lives because our best friends are full of faith or all our teachers were. We become Christians by personally making a decision to follow Jesus Christ. We must believe in Him for ourselves, place our faith in Him.

I’ve heard it described this way. A chair promises to hold you when you sit down but you’ll never really believe in it until you actually sit down in it. Put all your weight in the promise it makes. Sarah sat down.

Sarah had a judgement call to make. Either God was faithful or He was not. Every time we doubt, dwell in our anxieties or worry, we judge God unfaithful. How could we do that? I can do it though, every single time the “awful” happens. Because I am so forgetful, and need reminding that He is faithful, that He does indeed know what’s needed before the asking.  

 “…For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8)

But if He knows we have need of certain things, does that mean He gives them to us every time we ask? Even with faith, believing? I think not. Not because He cannot. Because “…with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) And to follow Jesus into this truth we have to pray His example: “Father, all things are possible for You; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36)

He loves us too much to give us things that are not in His perfect will. Even if it hurts, we have to realize that He hurts with us, He grieves with us, because He is Emmanuel, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) He is always the answer to our prayers. When we are not satisfied with the way things turn out, and we become angry or bitter, could we be telling God that His being with us is not enough?

How many times have things not worked out the way I prayed, yet a better outcome surfaced? More times than I can count.

A few years later, that precious woman in my opening paragraph welcomed a child into her family through adoption. I had lost touch with her until we bumped into each other at SAMS. She caught me up on her children. It was awesome! Such joy after such sorrow. God was and is and always will be faithful. 

What I am becoming is always more important than what I can accomplish. If I am becoming more and more a woman of faith, I am being successful in the only thing that really matters. Because to have more faith is to know and trust God with more of me and my life. All of it.

Sarah, herself, is an example of this. I cannot imagine how many times she had to have given up on having a baby. In her impatience, she gave her own handmaid to her husband so that she could have a child through her. That didn’t work out so well did it? (Read Genesis 16) Every month the disappointment. Every year the emptiness of her womb. All the way through menopause even. Can you imagine? it may have happened in her old age, but she finally did it, the Scripture says it happened, “she judged Him faithful… ”

Why do we pray and then get impatient for the answer? Could it be that we expect God to do things on our time frame when He is far too wise to do that? 

Even if it hurts we have to realize that He hurts with us, He grieves with us, because He is Emmanuel, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

We tell Him we are praying in faith and He already knows that. We tell Him we need it now and He says we have Him now, and that is always enough.

Enough to cause us to experience peace while we are waiting.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14: 27)

Enough to cause us to experience the reward of keeping the faith.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Could it be we are seeking the “thing” more than we are seeking Him? I believe that the more we seek Him, He gently impresses on our hearts the desires that match His. Our requests may change as we seek Him because He changes us instead of our circumstances. Only a God that knows us better than we know ourselves is worthy of that kind of faith. And as we study His Word, seek Him in prayer and obey His leading are we transformed into the women of faith who can do all things. How powerful is that?

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

The verse that comes before this one is crucial to note in order to not take such a statement out of context, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I have learned to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” (Philippians 4:12)

Whether we get the answers we want or we get the worst news we could imagine, we can “do” it because of His strength. Because our own certainly won’t be enough. We can never forget this, because when we do, we judge God unfaithful. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

If I _______________, then I lack self-control

You can fill in the blank. I could make a long list. I was feeling pretty convicted at the Revive 2017 Conference when Mary Kassian gave her talk. It only lasted 20 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to me, a woman who is trying to hit the mark, but my arrow is falling far short.

A talk earlier that day from Susan Hunt, a dynamo for the cause of Christ, got the ball rolling that God was pitching for a strike against all my idols. I had a lot of pins to knock down that weekend. She was telling me that my whole reason for being here on this planet was to “Glorify God and enjoy Him.” My desire of trying to do everything “right” was clashing with this idea.

I looked in the mirror this morning and didn’t like what I saw. I had too much salt yesterday and too little rest last night and the puffy eyes were the evidence. This is what I see “here” but Susan shared:

 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

I want His glory to be showcased in my life, (who cares what the package looks like, I’ll be trading it in one day.) Susan spoke the truth “We become what we behold.”

I like this mirror image better. The one that reflects the glory of the Lord. How is this even possible?

This brings the two speakers together. Self-control is biblical in the sense that we do have a freewill. We may know what to do, but the follow-through is up to us most times. So how and where do we get the “want to” for follow-through? Susan says it comes from the gospel. “We become what we behold.” Says this wise woman.

The dictionary definition of the word “behold” is “to observe, look at, see.” It is intentional. Imagine our loving Lord, cupping our faces gently with His strong hands and causing us to look at Him for the self-control we need. Beholding causes focus. From reading our Bibles and meditating on Scripture, God speaks to our hearts and ignites a passion to be more than we are, but for Him. To do more than we think possible, but for Him and His glory. Not because we are strong, but because we are weak and weak is a good thing.

Did I mention that Susan Hunt is 77 years old? She knows what she is talking about because this “little old lady” exuded more strength than you can imagine. She lives out the beauty of the gospel and tells it like it is ladies. I wrote in my notes, “Jesus is the story – not us – don’t worry about our story.” When we pray for grace to finish strong, we must finish weak because His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) She tells us that the sooner we recognize our weakness, the sooner God’s strength can show up. (2 Corinthians 13:4)

I needed a new perspective on self-control. I needed to go to God with my weakness and choose to allow His strength to do those things I procrastinate away. That way He gets the glory for anything I am accomplishing and becoming. And this is so right, because if I boast of being anything apart from His grace I am prideful and a liar. Every single breath is a gift from Him.

It is my prayer that this post encourages you to exercise self-control, but not just so you can accomplish “things.” But so you will acknowledge your weaknesses, give them to Jesus, and become the woman of God that shines His glory and likes what she sees in the mirror that matters.

Welcome to what’s coming up! These are events I would love to share with you and invite you to.

What: Women’s Bible Study — A time in the Word of God, just for Ladies who are thirsty for more of an understanding of scripture and want to share thoughts and questions with others and get to know Him better.

When: Tuesday Evenings at 6:30 pm, October through December, 2017

Where: Bethel Lighthouse Church Gym, (County Road 126, Marietta, OH, close to Lane’s Farm Market)

What: Women’s Walking Group

When: Thursday Evenings at 6:30 pm, October through December, 2017

Where: Bethel Lighthouse Church, (County Road 126, Marietta, OH, close to Lane’s Farm Market)

What: Harvest Festival, Hayrides (weather permitting)

When: October 28, Starts at 5 pm with Food at 6 pm,  Fellowship and Fun till?

Where: Bethel Lighthouse Church, (County Road 126, Marietta, OH, close to Lane’s Farm Market)

A Lot Has Happened…

Isn’t that the truth? And a lot of it has not been good. But there has been a lot of good in the mix. There have been hurricanes, earthquakes, mass shootings. I’ve had a friend lose loved ones, two at a time. My husband got injured, I crashed my car, caught a cold and lost my voice on a weekend I had looked forward to for half a year. That last sentence was “small stuff” but not good and hard to make sense of. Because, you see, my husband is a very safe, careful man, I looked before I pulled out and I really do try to take care of myself and avoid illness.

Things happen and most times we don’t see them coming. I look around and think, “Why?” and there are no good answers. We live in a fallen world that was originally created perfect. That means that even though there are no reasons why bad things should happen to good people, they do. And good things happen to bad people. And we cringe, because it is not fair.

Jesus said “…for He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45

So for the one-millioneth time, I have to remind myself that God is always good, because even the evil cannot defeat the good, even in the very midst of it. We find heroes when the worst happens. We find the good shining and breaking the curses of the darkness and realize that evil does not triumph. There are people that take bullets for others, that run in when others are running out. Others are donating their own blood and working extra shifts to help. There are folks praying again, after they thought they could control their own lives. They are realizing the truth that control is an illusion.

Only God is in control “The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19

We live on a tiny, blue speck in the universe where He took pleasure to create life and set down some ground rules so that we could enjoy it in perfect friendship with Him. But, we thought we could disobey. We believed a lie. And then this happens. He loves us enough to allow us to, but how could we say “Why?”

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

When will we learn that having faith in God, in the midst of all of this, is the only answer we will ever need? Would you pray this with me now…

Father, there are so many hurting people right now, You know each one, and You care. I pray that Your love finds them and holds them close and brings to them the answers their hearts are seeking right now. I pray that Your peace seeps into the broken places of their hearts with comfort and healing. In Your Son Jesus’ Name, Amen

This was not the post I had planned, but I believe it is the one God had planned. Ladies, don’t allow the hard things to harden your hearts but give your feelings to God and keep doing the good that He leads you to.

I Missed Grandparents Day…

Writing this as a kind of apology, Jesus revealing to me that I’ve been using my little kids too much. That even though we learn so very much from them, I have learned so many crucial life lessons from grown-ups too. Taking some space to share a bit of what I have learned from seasoned Christian women on this journey.

My grandmothers. On my father’s side, I have learned so much from my grandmother, Edna Grace Ludwig, posthumously. She was ill most of my formative years, so I did not have much time with her, but she certainly made up for it when I had to go through her estate after the passing of my dear Aunt Mary.

My greatest treasure is the notes she left from an exhaustive Bible Study she worked on during her later years. I have her handwritten answers to the wise instructor’s questions. No computer to write with and store her wisdom. Just pen and paper. “Spirit” duplicated worksheets, with corrections and additions from the wise hands of her discipler. My Grandma Ludwig sought God. She cherished His Word and I hope she sees that her faithfulness is a legacy that I am so extremely grateful for.

Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man (woman) who walks not in the counsel of the ungoldly, nor stands in the paths of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his (her) delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law doth he (she) meditate day and night.” (God’s Words are for all of us.)

On my mother’s side, I have learned so much from my grandmother, Clara Mae McElfresh. This “grandma” influenced me much before she went to be with the Lord. She was a caregiver. She wanted so much to be a registered nurse, yet she was able to provide nursing care that more than made up for the fact that she did not have a “degree.” I saw how she made a difference to those who suffered and I wanted to be able to do the same thing. However, she first and foremost loved Jesus. He rescued her and she never stopped praising and serving Him in the new life He gave her after she was saved.

2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

These women had struggles.

Grandma Ludwig, lost a baby shortly after he was born. She raised a son with challenging health problems; polio and a seizure disorder. She operated a small general store where she extended credit to many families who were never able to pay. I am sure she talked with Jesus about all of these heartaches and more. Those are just the profound highlights of what had to be the darkest nights. Add those to the inconveniences of getting your water from the well and doing laundry on a wash board!

Grandma McElfresh had what I have understood to be a difficult upbringing.  Yet Jesus found her and turned things around. One of my most poignant memories is watching her care for her dying husband, crying out to God to ease his suffering. I had the privilege of staying day and night with her during those first few days of grieving for her loss and they made an impact on my life that will always stay with me. Such a tear-filled gift. She also lost two sons from this earth before the Lord took her to Heaven. Again, just some highlights of her darkest nights for she also lived in a world without the many conveniences we have today.

And I could go on and on about the wonderful example my own mother, Donna Ludwig, has been of a grandma that goes above and beyond to make sure her grandchildren know they are loved and precious and that Jesus is her Lord. She is still going strong, even now that she is a great-great grandma!

Some of you may have your own stories of how much of a difference a grandmother, or older-wiser woman has had on your life. Remember them and think of how we can have an impact on those women who are coming after us.

I am finishing up a study focused on the directions God gives to older and younger women, based on Titus 2. We older women are to teach younger women to follow Jesus in all the many directions their lives take them. This is not the same world we inherited from our grandmothers. There are so many distractions from the true, holy life God requires to experience His blessings. Younger women need our guidance and better yet, our support and prayers. The example of our faithfulness will make a difference, even if that difference is realized many miles down the road.

I am going to a conference this weekend in Indianapolis, Revive ’17. Women will gather together from many places in this country and will be watching via livestream from all over the world. We will be praying and worshiping together and learning together the importance of “passing the baton” to those who will be coming after us. Please join us at this address, https://buff.ly/2y7gWhl , or go to reviveourhearts.com and see what this is all about.

Teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.

They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

…so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

TITUS 2:1-5, 10

Don’t Pick At It!

She looks like she bumped into an unyielding object, quite hard. Bruise on the forehead, abrasions on the side of her little nose and between the other eye and eyebrow. It seems she took off running, not realizing that something was in her way and BAM! Can you relate?

She knows there’s something there, even though she can’t see it and so she tries to pick it off. Only it’s not ready to come off yet. I told her “Jesus is healing it.” He has placed a protective cover over the boo-boo until it’s ready. To pick it off will interfere with healing and “He will have to start all over.” Hard concept for a two-year-old to grasp. Can be hard for us grown-ups to grasp too.

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11

Several lessons there, huh?

1.       There are times when Jesus heals immediately. The time when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus and Peter would not stand for it. He grabs his sword and swings at one of the soldiers and the ear gets sliced off. Well then, Jesus would have none of that, and reaches up and restores what the impetuous Peter has done. Immediate healing. (John 18:10 and Luke 22:51)

I remember a time when I witnessed my little boy jumping off the end of my bed’s footboard and heard his blood-curdling scream when he hit the floor with his little two-year-old feet and ankles. We prayed together and the tears stopped and he hopped up and played like nothing ever happened. Immediate healing.

2.       But sometimes, and it seems like most times, healing takes time. But we have to remember that time does not do the healing, Jesus does. If we leave it alone and let Him do it. If we stop picking at it and picking it back up and reopening the wounds that He promises to heal. If… and that’s a pretty big IF, we grow up a little bit in our faith and start trusting Him more. Start thinking like a grownup in Christ.

Remember, we “…walk by faith and not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7.

3.       We need to trust that God is working things out, healing what needs healed, even when we can’t see it or feel it. We must remember that just like picking at physical wounds can introduce bacteria that complicates healing, we can put complications in our own path to spiritual healing and growth. Holding on to anxiety and grief can impede recovery from wounds we have experienced, when it is possible to experience the peace of God through prayer.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6

I asked for boo-boos to pray for in Sunday school class, and this same little girl asks for prayer for the small scabs on her knees. I asked about those on her face and she says, “I don’t have any boo-boos on my face.” Out of sight, out of mind. Hmmm.

So remember, if it’s a physical injury, bring out the peroxide and antibiotic ointment, and don’t pick at it! But remember the advice from the Word when it comes to the wounds of the heart. Walk by faith until those wounds are out of sight. Pray, asking for what you need, remembering to give thanks, and then enjoy the peace of God. Don’t try to understand it. God’s healing surpasses understanding. Rest in the protection of His Spirit that guards you in every step of this journey.  

I Want the Cymbals!

Music time with my preschool Sunday school class can be a bit deafening. But one thing can be said for sure, they make a joyful noise!  I think they all want to be the one who gives the loudest praise. The two instruments that are fought over more than any others are the drum and the cymbals. So we take turns. How fun it is to watch them pound that drum and clang those cymbals. They have to be reminded to sing, but they don’t miss a beat on those two noise makers.

As much as I appreciate their “music” I can be glad when we go to a “quieter” activity. Cymbals have their place in an orchestra at just the precise second, but a consistent clanging of them can be quite unnerving.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1

So starts the “love” chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. Words are important and I love to communicate but if what I have to say is equated to a clanging cymbal, I am sure those who read my words or hear me speak would rather I just shut up. How much love is in my talk and how in the world can I say what I think needs to be said without seeming unloving?

I’m feeling a bit guilty about a note I sent to someone where I honestly expressed my opinion on something and it was not all that positive. I hated to do it but felt like I had to do it, you know, one of those things that bugs you so much, you just have to spill it. I’m not sure how it was received because I have not heard anything back. I still stand behind what I said, yet I wonder if I could have said it in a more loving way.

God has used this as a lesson. No matter how much I am offended by something, I need to always respond in love. Love can do hard things. Love can say, “I disagree with you.” Love can say “No, I’m sorry but I can’t fit that into my life right now.” Love can say, “Your words have hurt me, but I still love you.”

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

How can I love like this? A pretty tall order, huh? A kind of love that is impossible for us to do on our own. Only with God’s help can we love like we should. And with God, ALL things are possible. I know I have problems loving people like I should. I can say I feel like it is getting easier as I am getting older, but oh my, when I read what some people write or hear what some people say, the clanging cymbals of it all is enough to stir in me some pretty unloving thoughts. I want to put my hands over my ears and scream STOP!

“But Jesus looked at them and said “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27

When Jesus spoke those words He was teaching about salvation. How impossible it is for a man to enter the kingdom of God on his own. As impossible as “a camel to go through the eye of a needle…” verse 25.  Loving someone well is just as impossible without God. God is love. (1 John 4:16) How could we truly love without His help?

There’s this little ceramic statue of Jesus that sits on a shelf across from my desk. Jesus, holding little children close. It’s a picture of the love that He has for us. Holding us close. Always holding us close. He was and is the perfect example of how to love in word and deed. And I can love that way with His help. That truth makes me hopeful.

If Jesus could love through the suffering of the cross, I can love through the times when I feel slighted or misunderstood. I can love when I am used or ignored or taken for granted. When things are going badly and we just don’t see eye to eye, I can still love.  I can always, always respond with love. It is possible because God can make it possible, YES! – cue the cymbals!

First Days…All Over Again

I loved the first day of the new school year. It was fun and exciting to get to wear my new clothes and shoes. Backpacks weren’t around when I was little. I carried a “book satchel.” It had twisty closures and a handle. Too cool, right? I didn’t go to kindergarten, let alone pre-school. The first grade opened my eyes to so many new experiences and I got in trouble on the very first day. It’s funny how vividly I remember it. I chased a boy down the hallway yelling his name “J.J” over and over, quite loudly. He was dropping some papers and I just wanted to help. I didn’t know I was supposed to use my “inside voice.”

I love seeing all the posts with the pictures of all the little ones experiencing their “first days.” Wasn’t it just yesterday I held them as tiny babies? Time does fly, doesn’t it? They can’t be babies forever, it just wouldn’t be right. They have to move on. And so do we.

With each of my four, I watched as they boarded that big school bus, knowing that they would never be the same. Their world would get bigger and I would fear that they would think less of the world I made for them at home. I wanted to protect them from everything and how could I if they were out of my sight? I learned that I could do something for them that would mean much more than following them around all day. I could pray.

I could prepare for the scary stuff by bringing it to God and trusting Him to surround my little ones with protection and love. I could seek wisdom for how involved I should be in their formal education. I could follow through with a commitment to support their teachers, as they were entrusted with my most precious possessions. I could cheer my little ones on with praises for their papers and stickers and sign up on all the “volunteers needed” sheets. I could be right there with them, doing my part as they did theirs. I was “in” school too.

I certainly didn’t do it all right. Looking back, I would have this advice for those of you sending your little ones off this Fall. Your child’s teacher should be very important to you. He or she needs your prayers and support. Any good teacher will appreciate the help and will realize that cooperation at home is the key to the success of the child at school. Mammas, make sure your little ones have good rest and nutrition. A school-night should be protected and regarded as preparation for the day ahead.

I read something so sad the other day. In some school systems a well-known washer and dryer manufacturer has donated these appliances to the schools; this is not the sad part. The sad part is that they have discovered that children who had clean clothes to wear had better attendance and participation in school. There were many homes where the children didn’t have someone making sure they had clean outfits to wear. Attendance improved because the schools picked up where the home life dropped the ball.

It all starts at home. Whether God has led you to homeschool or given you peace about sending your little ones to church-affiliated or public schools; you are their first teacher. As you keep learning new things with excitement, you are setting an example that they will follow. Learning is fun and has rewards that no other endeavor holds.

First days are great, whether they are the first-ever days of school or the repeat first days of the new   years. Let’s start each new day as a first day. Forgetting and letting go of the mess-ups of yesterday. It does us all good to remember that awesome advice from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:13-14:

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Let’s go onward and upward, following the example of those little ones on their first days of this new school year. Say cheese!