For those who are asking where I’ve been, well, I’ve been having fun. I was thinking the other day while I was helping my kids relocate approximately 200 praying mantises we hatched that hey, I homeschooled all day, I could be blogging the many ideas I have to share with those considering homeschooling. But, then I looked around at my children, fascinated by this army of miniature mantises (and let me tell you baby praying mantises are unbelievably cute) – and some of the best advice I could give anyone interested in homeschooling is contained in just a few words – have fun making memories with your children.
So lately my free time (if a mother of six can ever honestly ever say she has “free time”) has been filled with making potholders (remember the kind that you made when you were a kid on a loom with cotton loops? Well, I am becoming quite the expert these days...) or watching one of my children try out the electronics kit he just purchased with his chore money or seeing the kitchen floor get doused with flour from a recipe I am making with the child who has “kitchen buddy” duty that day.
Today one of the elders of our church, who is a pretty old guy who raised six kids of his own, told my husband and I that it seems that you but blink a few times, and the kids are grown. So, he said, the first and best ministry is to be with the children every minute you can. Reminds me of one of my favorite country music songs, Don’t Blink by Kenny Chesney. Here are some of the verses:
I turned on the evening news
Saw a old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today
Asked him what's the secret to life
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said "All I can say is."
Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old
and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five
and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink
I was glued to my tv when it looked like he looked at me and said
"Best start putting first things first."
Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can't flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth
There is also something wonderful God is doing that I wanted to share with you. A few weeks ago, a lady who is in leadership in a homeschool group was having problems with someone who was being contentious. She wanted to solve it Biblically and felt led of the Lord to ask me to pray and fast with her not just for her situation, but for mine as well (my family is being harassed by a person who is refusing to enter Christian conciliation, and is instead dredging up contention).
So we started fasting once a week. God works everything out for good for those who love Him as Romans 8:28 says, and we fasted and prayed for peace and for the people involved as Jesus commands. This friend also told me that a well-known pastor’s mother had fasted once a week for him when he was little, so we also added praying for the salvation of our children.
Then more and more people started hearing we were fasting one day a week and they gave me prayer requests to pray through and some joined in, so that now about fifteen have committed to fasting. It sure seems the Holy Spirit is calling people to a more significant prayer life with Him, which is so exciting.
I have been absolutely amazed at how God is answering prayer, and in deeper ways than we could have ever imagined. Just in the last two weeks or so, there have been five times I have written “prayer answered” on the list – and they were situations I did not expect to see resolved so soon. And the friend who got us to fast -- God resolved her situation in a way that gave glory to Him.
Fasting makes you realize how weak and sinful you are and how you are totally dependent on God. When you are well fed, a sort of pride seems to enter in, making you think you are strong. When you fast long enough, you are humbled. You also realize you need to listen for God’s voice, to have a Holy Spirit led walk, not one of the flesh. There are many reference both the Old and New Testament regarding fasting. Jesus said, “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Before Esther risked going before the king she called a fast, and Jehoshaphat declared a fast, seeking the Lord, and God granted him relief from the overwhelming armies that were coming against him.
Maybe you are in a dark or uncertain time now. Maybe you don’t feel up to being home all day with your children. Maybe your marriage is waning. Maybe you have been diagnosed with something. Maybe you have someone who is being hurtful in your life, whom God wants you to pray for. Maybe you need God’s guidance in a matter. Won’t you join us in prayer and fasting and see what God will do? (But if you are pregnant, nursing or have a medical condition, do NOT fast food, but do join us in prayer).