Down boy!

Thoughts on what to do as we wait in the midst of crisis:

Yesterday I heard one of our congressmen use the word “panic” as he discussed our nation’s, and the world’s, state of financial affairs.

I have to admit to feeling a bit of panic rise up within me when I listen to the television or when I allow myself to stop the radio dial on a financial report, when I pick up the newspaper or when a bill arrives in the mail!

I first get the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then it rises to my heart and, if I continue to dwell on the negative topic, the silent swish swish of the wonderful pump that keeps my body alive steps up to a roaring thump thump thump!

Next, an overwhelming feeling of sadness creeps up my throat and into my tear ducts. At some point I have to put a stop to the rising panic.

Quickly I must reason with myself.

“Today’s affairs are out of my control.”

Down panic!

“What I do have control over is my focus.”

Down panic!

“God is my refuge.”

Down panic!

Slowly the Holy Spirit takes over and reminds me to refocus as I wait for the circumstances in my environment to settle down.

So what becomes my focus? I can turn to areas of my life where my prayers, activities, and efforts make a difference.

I can reach out to my neighbor living out what I claim to believe: “the peace that passes all understanding.”

I can help my mother-in-law in the areas of her life where she is no longer capable.

I can encourage my friends.

I can pray for my family.

There is something else I can do. I can make a difference in a ministry where I find great satisfaction. That would be Proverbs 31 Ministries.

You can too!

Read today's devotion: Encouragement for Today

and consider becoming a partner with this incredible ministry

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A MOST DIFFICULT MOVE

When God directed Joshua to enter the Promised Land He gave directions that today seem very harsh. In fact most of us do not like to read in the Old Testament the events that took place as the children of Israel began to settle the land God had given them. Part of the settlement included purging the land of its citizens.

What kind of a God tells his children to “destroy with the sword every living thing?”

I cannot begin to visualize and understand the cleansing that occurred as Joshua and his armies marched into Canaan.

What I do know is that many of my moves required cleansing.

For reasons I don’t understand God’s plans for my life including a purging of my past and a clean new future.

When Joshua entered Jericho, “the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it…” (Joshua 6:20-210)

Moving includes putting the past behind, starting a new.

Not unlike Paul’s words in Philippians 3:13, “one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…” ,

Those things which are ahead are called the prize, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus' way is perfect. God calls us to perfection.

He told Joshua and his army to wipe the land clean, to perfect it. His plan was to give His people a clean start- no other gods, no messed up past history, no cultural customs that would divert their eyes from the Almighty- just a pure, clean slate.

God loves me (and you) so much, He wants my full attention. He requires that I remove anything that might distract me from a full and intimate relationship with Him. Is that the plan He had when He invited His children to enter the land He had set aside for them? He wanted their full attention – no distractions?

I know God has moved me so He might cleanse me and give me a new start on life.

Is God laying out a clean slate before you? What is He asking you to clean up so your new life might glorify and honor Him?

Last week I was asked the following question after Proverbs 31 Ministries published a devotion I wrote about sin.

This question came to me:

“When is it a good age to teach and warn children about sin?


When the pastor took my first born in his arms during the baby dedication service he said something like this, “We dedicate our children to the Lord promising to bring them up to follow Christ. We anticipate the day when they realize their sinful natures and ask God’s forgiveness. As parents and leaders in the church it is our responsibility to point the children in the right direction. It is not necessary to point them in the wrong direction. They go there automatically. We do not have to teach them to make the wrong choice. They do so naturally. It is our duty to teach them to make the right choice beginning with the decision to follow Jesus.” Then our pastor asked the congregation to join us in the spiritual guidance of our son.

So when do we begin to teach about sin?


James 4:17 reads, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”

When we teach our children to do what is right and they deliberately disobey it is time to begin to steer them in the right direction. I am not sure of the age when these teachings begin, but I do believe a mother who is engaged with her child can tell when deliberate disobedience takes place.

Some time in my sons’ preschool years they asked “why?” That was the perfect opportunity to explain God’s law. I told my children, “Because God says so.”

It certainly took the burden from my shoulders to be able to say, “This isn’t my idea. God designed it this way. He said so.”

God’s Word says “obey your parents.”

God’s Word says we are to be kind to others.

God’s Word says we are to tell the truth.

And on and on…

Why?

Because treating others with respect and dignity is what Jesus came to earth to teach so that we would live in unity and please our Father God.

A wonderful way to teach sin and its consequences is to read to our children and discuss the plot and characters, their choices and consequences. Good stories have the capacity to help our children learn from others what happens when we sin and then begin to learn how to avoid it.

Got any ideas on this topic? I am sure we would all benefit by your thoughts and experiences.

Welcome to you who are visiting me after having read my devotional on today’s Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today.

I don’t know about you, but I found the responsibility of parenting my sons to be one of the most joyful, yet most overwhelming tasks I ever undertook!

Not being much of a homemaker, I worked for ten years after I married and before my first child was born.

Taking on the new career of parenting, I believed my new job description simply included feeding, cleaning, entertaining, you know, providing the basics. It didn’t take me very long to realize my role as a mother also included not only the physical, but the emotional and spiritual as well.

I realized it was up to me to model love, selflessness, and teach the most important lessons my sons would ever learn: lessons in spiritual devotion.

How’s a mother to make sure her children grasp an understanding of God and step into a relationship with Jesus Christ?

Guess what? My task was not as daunting as one might think it would be! With lots of prayer, a little knowledge of God’s Word, and a desire to listen to the Holy Spirit I began to feel my Father gently prod me to introduce my sons to Him.

My time spent with God each day lead me to teach my sons the way Jesus taught His disciples. Remember, when He walked along through the fields or into the forests, He pointed to the birds and the flowers teaching about God’s provision. He pointed to sheep, describing the perfect shepherd.

So, as my little boys and I experienced each day I learned to point to nature, showing them God’s handiwork and miracles. As they grew, discussions about God were as common as conversations about family, friends, and food.

Then one day our family made a choice many families make. We decided to add a dog to the family portrait. Taking a trip to the local animal shelter, we found a little dog and brought him home.

While bathing him and cleaning him I felt such a strong presence of the Holy Spirit, I stopped to understand the significance of the moment.

“Tell Benjamin this is what happens at baptism.”

Benjamin is my then-11-year-old, son.

The “this” was the fact that we had chosen a filthy-as-rags puppy to become part of our family and we were in the midst of washing away his past. We removed the dirt from his prior life as a stray, disobedient, wandering-around-lost creature.

So I looked at Benjamin, pointed to the dog, and began to teach, just like Jesus taught.

“Consider the dog,” I said. “He was once a lost puppy, dirty, disobedient, resulting in a life of captivity. He ended up in the pound. Death was his certain destiny. But you found him. You reached out to him. You touched him. You called to him asking him to follow you, and he obeyed. Now he is free. He has a new life and a future with a master who loves him.”

As I shared this happy story, my son completely understood what Jesus had done for him.

All we like sheep have gone astray, just like our new little dog had wandered away.

Jesus chose us, we didn’t choose Him.

Jesus reaches out to each one of us and invites us to follow Him.

He says, “Come.”

When we obediently follow we soon learn we each have a Master who loves us, protects us, and provides for us. Jesus is the Master who is preparing a perfect place so we can live with Him forever.

Since our little dog came to live with us, we have learned many lessons, lessons in spiritual devotion, lessons illustrating for us what it looks like depend on Jesus for our every need.

I began to write down all the similarities between the life of our new family pet and every child’s journey to the heart of God and discuss these similarities with my family. Soon it wasn’t long before I realized I had a story to tell. A story similar to the ones Jesus told.

Consider the dog…

I realized God wanted me to put the story into a book, and then a DVD for children. Today, my doggie and I travel to churches and preschools where we tell our story, perform tricks, and sign books. ( Yes! My little dog autographs his story.)

What a delight to see the faces of children when they realize obedience isn’t something adults force upon you for no good reason. Obedience is God calling you to step into a journey with Him and the Master. Obedience leads to joy, success, confidence, and purpose. Obedience leads to a relationship that changes our life forever.

In the case of our little dog, obedience took him
From a life of desperation to a life of liberty,
From a life of wandering around lost to a life of secure direction
from a life of rejection, abuse, and neglectto a life of aCceptance, protection, and care…
From the life of a caged animal in a Pound to the life of an adored puppy in the Palace (compared to an animal shelter, that is!)

FROM THE POUND TO THE PALACE

And that is exactly the title of the DVD I created and produced for children – a story telling my furry friend’s tale, a story explaining to every child who will listen…

“Do you know you have a master too? His name is Jesus…”

Benjamin named his dog, Air because he could jump up in the air and catch balls. Air has his own blog. IF you would like to visit Air and let your children leave comments you can log onto www.fromthepoundtothepalace.blogspot.com
and “talk” with Air. He will be happy to respond to your comments. See you at Air Dog Blog!