31 Days of Life: Day 2

Sometimes the more stressful mornings bring the most blessed evenings. Today was one of those days. A busy day for this procrastinator (me) tends to bring out the grump in me. I get so focused on all that needs to be done, which leads to plenty of guilt over not having done things sooner or in a more orderly way. So, I hurry my precious family along so we can check things off our list. These are good and right "things", but my flesh reacts hastily to each of the darlings that love me so much. We press on and get things done, and it is when I sit down to pray with a few dear friends a couple of hours later that I am reminded that this awkwardness I have felt (and dealt) all morning is because I haven't come to Him. The One who created order and is Peace softens my heart in an instant as I talk to Him. Thank you, Jesus.

In the midst of the piano lessons, the meetings, and all the things that made up this day, I want to tell you about a sweet thing that God has allowed us to be part of. Today and for the past 4 or so weeks, we have been going to the Boys and Girls club once a week after school to serve Him. We get to help prepare snack, help with homework, and be friends to about 50 children. Libby and Clara each get to help, too. It is a time that they have grown to look forward to, and both of them are eager to take candy and trinkets to their new friends each time we go. They both help make snacks and drinks, and Libby is able to help the Kindergarten students with their school work. Sometimes, she is able to help children her age with some of their homework, too. Libby is very concerned over the children that struggle with learning their letters and multiplication facts. She is ready to help them without even being asked! Clara begs to help however she can, and she was delighted to help fill drink cups today! We praise God for the sweet hearts He is growing in our girls, and we are amazed at how He is using these boys and girls to shape each of us.

Libby walks with a little girl during the children's free time, and Clara serves up some ice-cold lemonade.

It's been a full day. Full hearts. A blessed evening.

31 Days of Life: Day 1

I'm excited to venture on a 31 day blogging journey with you! If you know me, you know that I couldn't possibly stick to just one topic for 31 days (or ever). So, I've decided to spend 31 days letting you in on our life. I know this might not be considered a glamorous topic, but many of our readers are family and close friends and just may care to know some of the ins and outs of our goings on. The next 31 days will be a complete hodge-podge of the things that are our life in some way or another. Hold on tight! We think it's a grand adventure God has us on!

Day 1

Today is Monday, and we are getting back to "real life" after having family in town for a visit last week. We had a great time and were sad to see them go. While they were here, we enjoyed driving over much of southeast New Mexico. The area that we live in is quite unique in its terrain. Within 70 miles of our town, you can ascend 5,000 feet and more in elevation and quickly leave behind this desert-like flat land. Taking short day trips are very rewarding as you behold incredible views of the land, and they are great reminders of the incredible Creator we have. When our family left, we made an unplanned trip to Albuquerque to spend the day at the zoo and grab some Chick-fil-A to eat. This helped cure the blues of saying "see ya soon" to those we love. (I'm here to tell you that watching 2 little girls, in their pjs, at 7:30am, wave bye to their grandparents, who live across the country, is a tough thing!)

So, here we are doing "normal" life again this week. How fitting that it is also the 1st day of a new month. I'm not sure where September even went! We've been moving along fast and furious with our school work, our Classical Conversations community, and the wonderful place we call church. I hope to spend some time talking about all of this more specifically as these 31 days roll on. Thanks for taking the time to read. :-)

-Kristen

Memorizing on Mondays

Since yesterday was Labor Day, I never got around to writing an update about our memory work for this week. So, here goes...

We started yesterday with pancakes. It was nice to have an unplanned morning, and we were able to extend our family worship time because we didn't have as demanding of a schedule. It was fun finding some of our favorite praise songs on YouTube and singing along. Prayer requests seemed unending; it was nice to linger as a family around the table.

We introduced question #3 last Monday, and it took us all week to get it. Even though we can all say the question and answer, we are all still pretty confused with the references. So, we decided to make this week a review week in order to really hammer in the first three questions, answers and corresponding scriptures. 

In addition to memorizing the catechism, we are also learning the Apostles' Creed. This isn't something that any of us already knew, and it has been challenging to learn it along with the questions. We broke it down into sections and have almost finished the entire thing. (Woohoo!) It's caused great questions around the breakfast table, and we've talked about the differences in modern and older languages as well as some theological subjects that the creed brings to mind. It's been great discussion! Also, Libby has decided to recite it this Friday at Classical Conversations as her presentation. (Go, Libby!)

I would love to hear what your family uses for times of worship within your home.

Memorizing on Mondays

Since school began a few weeks ago, we have been diligent to have a morning routine most days in order to have family worship before Brandon goes to work. In an effort to help our children grow up knowing why they believe things regarding God, we've decided us use "A Baptist Catechism" as the core of our morning time together. (This is also GREAT for us adults who need to learn why we believe things about God...which is all of us.)

We divided the questions by 3 (as in 3 years) and have decided to work on about 40 questions per year. We'll use the remaining 12 weeks in each year to have built in review time when the questions/answers and scripture references are longer and need more than one week to get into our brains. Each Monday we introduce a new question and its answer. We slowly add on the scripture references throughout the week. We look up the references, read them and discuss them as necessary. Sometimes, we make up motions, songs or whatever is helpful to encourage these things to get in our heads.

There are other elements to our family worship time. We also read or watch stories from The Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones. (This is a treasured resource for any believer to have. We all love it!) We share prayer requests and praises and keep them simple by jotting them down in a spiral notebook. Then, we take turns praying for the things we've just mentioned. Sometimes, we will sing. This a great time for Libby to share a hymn she's been learning to play on the piano. Each day looks a little different. Praise God that He has put it into our hearts and schedules to be able to do this! :-)

So far, we're on question #3. Everyone is doing a great job memorizing! I hope to post videos of our catechism work soon. Here is the work that we have been doing (this is taken from The Baptist Catechism, adapted by John Piper):

Question 1: Who is the first and best of beings?

Answer: God is the first and best of beings.

Scripture: Isaiah 44:6; Psalm 8:1; 96:4; 97:9, 1 Samuel 2:2

Question 2: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 16:11; 37:4; 73:25-26; Isaiah43:7.

Comment: "Glorify" does not mean make glorious. It means [to] reflect or display as glorious. Other words you could use for "end" are "goal" or "purpose".

Question 3: How do we know there is a God?

Answer: The light of nature in man, and the works of God, plainly declares that there is a God; but his word and Spirit only, do effectually reveal him unto us for our salvation.

Scripture: Romans 1:18-20; Psalm 19:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:15; 1 Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:9, 10; Matthew 11:27.

Comment: The question distinguishes two kinds of knowledge: one is natural and comes from conscience ("the light of nature in man") and from the works of God in nature; the other is spiritual or saving, and comes from the recognition of the true value of God and the beauty of his character. Natural knowledge is possessed by all people and thus makes all people accountable to honor and thank God. Spiritual knowledge is possessed only by those whose natural blindness has been overcome by the Spirit of God. (1 Cor. 2:14-16). Our children must come to see the difference between these lest they think they are saved by much natural knowledge about God—which the devils also have James 2:19).