Author: ~Melissa

Homeschooling mom of 5 girls (2 married) and Mimi (Grandma) to 4, by God's grace in northern Iowa. Life is always changing...ever seeking God's will in each new day.

Motivation Monday

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If you are one that is taking time to reflect on this past year and move in new ways this coming year, we share these verses and pray that it will guide you as you make plans for change or refinement in your path forward with the Lord.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.* Then will I teach transgressors they ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

Psalms 51:10-13 KJV

*The SDA Bible Commentary says that “uphold me with thy free spirit” means: with a willing mind, ready to obey God and to serve Him.

Praying for you all this week!

Nature Fact #1

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“Monkeys on the island of Zanzibar have a most unusual eating habit – they like to munch on charcoal. Charcoal has the ability to absorb toxins, which allows the monkeys to eat leaves that would otherwise be poisonous. –Discover”

Quote credit: The Factory by Michael Warren, p. 1

Motivation Monday: Psalm 19:1

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Happy Monday, y’all!

#motivationmonday

Sharing the Light…

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It happened one day on vacation. We were on a tour of the Jewel Cave. We noticed lights were spaced to help us find our way, and to help us see some of the wonders of the cave. Then suddenly, my daughter turned on her flashlight and shined it in my eyes. OUCH! That hurt. My eyes winced, my head turned away from the light as fast as possible. I didn’t want the light in my eyes, even if it helped light up the room.

As quickly as that happened, my mind filled with the thought that we possibly do that with the “light” God has given us. We shine it right at people, oftentimes our kids, who don’t know they are in the wrong and say, “LOOK!” Sometimes they wince in pain, turn and walk away…never changing and never seeing the light.

But, as we traveled through that cave, we stumbled upon rich cave treasures. They were pointed out by softly lit areas that our eyes in darkness could focus on. We gladly looked upon them and let our gaze stay a while to ponder what was before us.

I walked out of that cave a different person. One that was more aware of the proper use of “light”. A new perspective was given me on witnessing, on parenting, and on how to be a good example. Am I a glaring bright light that others turn from? Or am I a candlestick, gently lighting the house? Or am I trying to shine it directly on someone to show them they are wrong? God polished my character that day, and I pray that I shine more true for Him, now.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Preparing for the Big Day…

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Sometimes when I think about preparing for the “Second Coming of Jesus”, I get a little overwhelmed. I’ll admit I am a bit of a scatter-brain, and keeping my focus on one thing is a little difficult for me. Yes, I am the person with not just 10 tabs open on my computer… but 3 different browsers each with a couple windows open and each with many tabs open… sometimes as many as 30 each!!. Can I be scatter-brained? You bet, I can. I’d love to say it is just when I get on the computer, but my husband will tell you that I have so many interests and so many projects going on at the same time, *sigh*. So with so many things running through my mind, I try to remember to focus on the “good things”. When the thought of the “Second Coming” comes up, sometimes I wonder if I will have my focus on the right things…and that I am not so caught up with all of my other ideas that are running around in my head.

Well, a few years ago, I was beginning to struggle with getting ready on Sabbath. When younger, it was not a big deal, but with a home with 5 girls, planning a wedding or two, keeping up with homeschooling and helping with online ministries, and lots of activities at church… I was running on thin. Week after week, I told myself I was such a failure because I couldn’t get “ready” for Sabbath. What was my problem? I dreaded the weekly preparation day because I couldn’t keep things together. I realize looking back that I was going through some depression, dealing with some anger/forgiveness with issues in my life and the way I felt better was to stay busy. When busy, I didn’t tell myself what a failure I was… until Friday evening… when it all came crashing down on me that I once again was not ready for Sabbath.

I prayed about this. I sought studies on this. I asked the Lord what is it that I need to give up so that I can be ready. I was looking for the right way to accomplish it… perhaps a bit of a works type of readiness. “JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO SO I CAN DO IT”. And you know what… I didn’t get an answer… not the answer that I wanted, but instead, I got a word. Preparation. I know what the word means… and I can prepare for an event… but I am a great person to do a big job… at the LAST minute! So, as I went to church… that word… “Preparation” began to gnaw at my very soul. We had a season of many many sermons in a row being focused on the second coming of Jesus, and preparation is needed… in my character, in my heart, in my actions, in my life.

One thought that came to me time and time again was… “If you can’t get ready for Sabbath, how will you ever be ready for the Second Coming?” That thought was deeply convicting. I used to have no problem getting ready for Sabbath, so I had to seek to find out what the problem was. God didn’t tell it to me… He gave me time to search out my own heart. I saw things I wasn’t very happy about. I saw things that needed to change. When I came to them, I simply asked, “Is it this?” And I felt a pitiful but a very deep love come upon me that just said… “Yes”. I began to let go of some of those things. And Sabbaths are beginning to be a joy in our home once again as my heart is ready and prepared to meet my Saviour as the evening hours come upon us.

As I have gotten back on track, I realized that none of us are safe. We are not saved by the things we did right in our youth. We are not saved by the things we are doing now. We are not saved by what we think we will accomplish. But we are saved when we know our Lord and Saviour and we seek to know Him day by day. That was where I was lacking… I somehow felt I had done things right when younger… but I was so busy with life that I was leaving behind the one thing that I truly needed… the “Seeking” of my God. I prayed, I talked to Him daily… but I wasn’t seeking Him… It was a more of a stale relationship. I knew I could trust Him. I knew His words were true. I knew the right things to do. But I didn’t seek Him out. Kind of like a marriage gone stale. You still love your mate, but you aren’t doing anything to bless your mate. I realized I had missed that time when I could bless my Lord and my Lord could bless me.

As Sabbath comes around, if you find yourself not ready… take time to figure out why. It may take months or years to get to the true root, but begin to seek it out! Now, when I look to Sabbath and I feel such joy upon it’s coming… I now no longer have the words above running through my head (“If you can’t get ready for Sabbath, how will you ever be ready for the Second Coming?”) Instead, I have lovely thoughts… I can’t imagine not being ready for that Big Day! I smile all day Friday… knowing what is coming… a blessed time reserved for me to seek Him just with an extra measure than I am able on the other 6 days. And you know… that’s the real reason for my joy when I think of the Second Coming… that I will have eternity to see His face, to hear His voice, to be ever near to the one that knows me so well.

“The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.” Psalm 18:46

“Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. ” Psalm 66:20

“Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.” Psalm 104:1

Grow Where You are Planted

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I recently shared this on my Instagram account. I decided to share it here because I think it is important to recognize those object lessons we find in the garden… or in this case… out of the garden.

Found by my back door…a Bok Choy plant which planted itself. It takes a beating, but I leave it there to remind me to grow where I am planted…despite the hard days I have.

Sometimes in life, we don’t feel we are where we should be. We seem to be getting beat up. We seem to be in the wrong place. But, I believe we sometimes walk these times in our lives because God wants us to grow despite our circumstances.

May we all grow where we are planted!

*If you have a garden object lesson you would like to share here, contact us at adventisthomeducator@gmail.com

What’s your plan?

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“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Hebrews 11:7

This is such a small statement, but it says so much!

  • Noah was warned of things to come and he acted in faith. We have been given much truth concerning our future here are earth. Do you believe it? Are you living like you believe it?
  • Noah didn’t see anything happening, yet, but he still proceeded with his plan. Are we working, now, to prepare our family for the days ahead? Or are we waiting for something bad to happen before we create an emergency plan? What is your emergency plan?
  • Noah did not procrastinate. As soon as he became aware of the warning, he acted right away to create a plan of action and began to work it out.
  • Noah’s example condemned the world. Are we living in such a way that others can see living truth in our lives?

BELIEFS. FAITH. WISE WITH TIME. DILIGENCE. LIVING EXAMPLE OF HIS FAITH.

Are you preparing an Ark of Protection so that your home might be saved? May God lead us in the days ahead to focus on His Word that we receive the warnings, so that we might by faith, prepare for the days ahead! May we has homeschooling parents not be so focused on just our day to day school work that we forget an important task that we have with our own children to prepare them (and ourselves) so we might be saved.

Please take time to share how your family is making preparations in this area. What specifically are you adding this coming school year to focus on an area of spiritual preparation for your family?