History - Not So Boring After All!!

It is almost depressing to watch news lately & wonder what in this WORLD is going on? It just seems that news outlets try their best to find only items to fire us up or make us feel everything is spinning out of control. That is one great reason to study - History!! Are you ready for this?? I had history throughout school (even if you leave out the courses taught by our football coaches!!) and I never got it. That lasted til I began teaching it to my children, which of course meant I had to study it, and now I Get It. At least a lot more of it. I get that it is His Story now, not just history. I get that He is always, and has always been, in total control, that all the circumstances, no matter how dire they look(ed) have always been part of His perfect plan. No matter what. I could pay lip service to that idea before but never really got it. Now I am beginning to get it. The Romans were apparently a very advanced society, even when compared to many modern societies. They understood waste & rotten food were bad & to be dumped in a common place rather than streets, they had running water & even a type of sewer system in their cities, and they spent much time on philosophy & art. Yet where are they? They turned so completely and bald-facedly away from God, even when faced with His Incarnation, that they were destroyed. Just the same way most great civilizations have been - from the inside out. They were chipped away by barbarian invasions, but that was because they had become so complacent that they hired soldiers when they could no longer staff their own armies to protect their vast empire; they allowed non-citizens to take jobs customarily staffed by their own; they abandoned "traditional" models of family and societal units; they quit teaching the basics in their schools and favored more "politically correct" subjects, for that day and time; reading and learning fell out of favor and were replaced by entertainment in various forms. Strangely enough, their society began to crumble & then was helped by invaders from the north and east to finally completely tumble. Thus began the Dark Ages.
Could this be repeated in any society today? I have one word for you: Germany. Study Hitler at all and you see he sounded good but was hollow, and complacent Germans let him take over. It is amazing how similar the stories are, and also how similar it sounds to our own story.
However, there is no room for despair: God will only allow to happen what He knows will be for our ultimate good and for His glory. After all, that is what this is all about: it is what we were made for. Soli Deo Gloria!

Wisdom from our Spelling Book

I want to share a few of my favorite quotes from our spelling book, which has a sentence for every word in the list as an example of usage. This week, on the word "developed" the sentence was "Gossip, like a snapshot, begins with a negative, is developed, and is often enlarged." Don't you just love clever word usage? I love that someone recognized the similarities and pointed them out so succinctly!! What a great quote. That is the pure and simple truth. Gossip, which is also just like a weed, can do nothing but harm and take up room that could be used for something worthwhile. Just a random thought for the day!!
Another one of my favorites was a quote from Daniel Webster, "What makes a man a good Christian also makes him a good citizen." Wow. How true is that. Good Christians are also good citizens, and they don't have to have the government coercing them into it. It just flows out with the grace of God into doing the things a good citizen would do, but backed up with the power and love of our Lord. Amazing.
Still another of my favorites is "A Christian is the keyhole through which other folks see God." That is a great thought. If I realize that when I interact with others, they are (whether I realize it or not) getting a picture of what I worship, and if I tell them that is God, they will judge Him at least partly on what they see in me. Scary thought! He sure has entrusted me with a big responsibility. Multiply that by at least 1,000 and call it "motherhood."
One more and then I will quit. "Man's 32,600,000 laws do not improve on the Ten Commandments." Isn't that all you need to know? Really, doesn't it all boil back down to the original laws, when we are honest? Hope this gives you a morsel to chew on!! Spelling sure challenges me sometimes, as a teacher!!! :)

So glad to be back into most of our fall routine!! We will start orchestra back next week, but we are back at our Bible study and other outside lessons full-time. Now all I can wait for is the fall elections to be over, and life can be its regular hectic self!! I will be so glad when they are over, too; I really get tired of the strident signs and unsolicited phone calls and cards/mailouts in my mailbox!! You know it's overkill when even your children are ready for it all to be over!!!!
Just wondering-has anyone else read David Platt's new book, Radical? It is amazing, convicting, and humbling all at once. If you have time to read a book that will help you hone in on your purpose in God's kingdom, it is a great one!! You will be amazed at how he parses scriptures you have heard all your life but apparently never understood before!! He is a clear thinker who feels we all are called to reach the world, and he will introduce you to so many creative ways that God can use even those of us without passports to reach the world. Amazing read.
Also just wondering - does anyone else miss the good ole days when one could go to the movies without planning ahead much & always find something at least entertaining to watch? I have been with a friend to 3 movies in the last month, and all 3 were less than stellar entertainment. At least we have avoided the outright ridiculous ones, but it is so saddening to me to see that apparently movie companies think junk, less thinking, violence and more junk mixed with hokey spiritual themes are the way we all want to go. On a bright note, we did get to see "Ramona and Beezus" as a family, and it is a great movie about conflict, friendship and working together as a family. Go see it NOW if you haven't already, especially if you have children in your life. TAKE THEM!! It is safe!! There is a teen kiss at the end, but it isn't long or sloppy - just sweet. Walden Media usually puts out good stuff, and this is no exception!

Just finished our second tour through The Truth Project!! If you ever get a chance, you really should watch this series in a small group setting. Dr. Del Tackett is smart, lucid, very witty and also very sensitive, as you can tell by his reaction to several short videos shown during the 12 sessions. We have loved participating in as well as sharing this series. His ability to cut through to the heart of the matter of truth and how it should affect every area of our lives is really a gift, and it is a wonderful way to solidify your belief that the Bible is the profound revelation of God to His People. It is designed as a tool to strengthen believers so they can reach out to the world around them. Find a group in your area & get into it!!! It is really very thought-provoking and even life-changing!!
As someone who really grew up believing God was a vengeful and wrathful all-knowing God, finding out as an adult that He really wants us to succeed and wants to show us all about Himself, and that He has a plan for me, has been amazing. I began that journey back in college, and He has provided people and opportunities to learn these lessons over and over and deeper and deeper. I am grateful that He is a just but also forgiving God, that He loves me all the time, and that I don't have to be afraid of anything when I remember He is in control. That thought especially helps me when I look around and feel like our country has totally forgotten what we were about. He knows what He's doing, and He has the plan in His Hand already. He knows the end of the story!!! We just like to think we are writing it; He already has our plan incorporated into His Plan!! What a blessed thought, and how wonderful to come to know that God as the God of my life. Thank you LORD.