Category: Guest Bloggers

A Friend to Mothers

Tonya1 Comment

We dwell much on the greatness of Christ’s life. We speak of the wonderful things that He accomplished, of the miracles that He wrought.But His attention to things accounted small is even higher proof of His greatness.

Among the Jews it was customary for children to be brought to some rabbi, that he might lay his hands upon them in blessing; but the disciples thought the Saviour’s work too important to be interrupted in this way. When the mothers came desiring Him to bless their little ones, the disciples looked on them with disfavor. They thought these children too young to be benefited by a visit to Jesus, and concluded that He would be displeased at their presence.  But the Saviour understood the care and burden of the mothers who were seeking to train their children according to the word of God.  He had heard their prayers. He Himself had drawn them into His presence.
One mother with her child had left her home to find Jesus. On the way she told a neighbor her errand, and the neighbor wished to have Jesus bless her children. Thus several mothers came here together, with their little ones. Some of the children had passed beyond the years of infancy to childhood and youth. When the mothers made known their desire, Jesus heard with sympathy the timid, tearful request. But He waited to see how the disciples would treat them. When He saw the disciples reproving the mothers and sending them away, thinking to do Him a favor, He showed them their error, saying, “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:14. He took the children in His arms, He laid His hands upon them, and gave them the blessings for which they came.

The mothers were comforted. They returned to their homes strengthened and blessed by the words of Christ. They were encouraged to take up their burden with new cheerfulness and to work hopefully for their children.

Could the afterlife of that little group be opened before us, we should see the mothers recalling to the minds of their children the scene of that day, and repeating to them the loving words of the Saviour. We should see, too, how often, in after years, the memory of these words kept the children from straying from the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord.

Christ is today the same compassionate Saviour as when He walked among men. He is as verily the helper of mothers now as when He gathered the little ones to His arms in Judea.
The Ministry Of Healing pg.40-41

Tonya writes and shares encouraging quotes on her blog, Momma’s Sunshine.

Jochebed’s Sunshine

TonyaLeave a comment


Has anyone ever thought that about Moses and who taught him when he was a child? Yes, his own “momma”, Jochebed. We know the story…she put him in a basket and he was found by Pharoah’s daughter…his sister saw the favor on the Princess’ face and asked her if she wanted her to find a nurse for the baby…and here comes Moses’ “momma”…getting paid to care for her own child.

So, I want to look at the Sunshine that Jochebed gave to Moses.

Here is my list:

1. She was a praying mother. Would you make a basket for your child and put him in the River and then expect to get him back??? I think not. But, “God had heard the mother’s prayers; her faith had been rewarded.” Patriarchs and Prophets pg. 243

2. He was taught by his mom. Jochebed was his teacher. The Bible says that he grew…while he was growing Ms. Jochebed was teaching him about the Living God. She taught him to pray and bow down to the Living God. Exodus 2:10 says “and the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son’

3. Her lot in life did not deter her from her task of training Moses. “How far-reaching in its results was the influence of that one Hebrew woman, and she an exile and a slave!” Patriarchs and Prophets pg. 244

The list could go on and on. She had faith, courage, and strength. Wisdom and insight. Hope and trust in God alone.

And that is what I need as a Momma”…I need those traits as well…faith, hope and trust etc.

 

~You can read more of Tonya’s thoughts about sunshine in the home on her blog, Mommas Sunshine.

 

 

image source

What is Sunshine in the home?

TonyaLeave a comment

Sunshine in the home is :
1. Kind Words
2. Pleasant Looks
3. True Love

How many parents are lamenting the fact that they cannot keep their children at home, that they have no love for home. At an early age they have a desire for the company of strangers; and as soon as they are old enough they break away from that which appears to them to be bondage and unreasonable restraint, and will neither heed a mother’s prayers nor a father’s counsels. Investigation would generally reveal that the sin lay at the door of the parents. They have not made home what it ought to be–attractive, pleasant, radiant with the sunshine of kind words, pleasant looks, and true love.

The secret of saving your children lies in making your home lovely and attractive. Indulgence in parents will not bind the children to God nor to home; but a firm, godly influence to properly train and educate the mind would save many children from ruin. -egw

 

Thank you Tonya, for sharing this post from your blog, Momma’s Sunshine, with us today!

 

The Beginning of “Momma’s Sunshine”

TonyaLeave a comment

We are blessed to have  Tonya from Momma’s Sunshine  share with us today.    Thank you so much Tonya, for sharing notes and thoughts from your encouraging blog with us!  

 

Today, I was listening to a co-worker talk about her children and their not so great traits of character. As I listened, I had a thought. I shared that thought with her and this is what I said…”You are the sunshine in the home”

I really believe to a large degree a child’s happiness or unhappiness stems from “Momma”.

You know the saying, “If Momma ain’t happy then ain’t nobody happy”

After getting home, I thought “Hey, I could blog about tips and ways and stuff on expressing and sharing sunshine in the home”.

So, here I am again in blogland.

Sunshine Tip #1—-Believe that YOU are the sunshine in your home…Not the television, toys or Xbox.  Radiate sunshine. Take care of yourself first. By this I mean, make sure you eat a hearty breakfast, exercise and dress neatly and nicely. Spend time in God’s Word as the Source of all your sunshine. Remember that he who hath the Son hath life. Share your life with your family and friends. Be a blessing!

Bible Memorization Motivation

~Melissa2 Comments

  A few weeks ago we were privileged to participate in a Bible Memorization Seminar in our area.  The four Nebblett siblings came fromNew Mexicoto teach and train on this and other spiritual topics.  What a blessing!

As a child, my brain memorized pretty fast.  I remember earning a beautiful new Bible for memorizing a large number of verses one time.  The verses I learned then have stuck with me, at least in part, until this day.  But the verses I’ve worked on in the last couple of decades are only there in general meaning, or paraphrase.  The older I get, the harder it seems to be to memorize, so sadly, I have kind of given up on memorization, making excuses, like I’m too busy to do that right now. 

I thought the seminar would be really good for my kids, motivating them to make the best of their brain while it is young, but I found it was very helpful for me too.

 

Our guest speakers are all in their 20’s.  They come from the same family, but they have different personalities, and learning styles.  They have figured out that they all memorize best a little differently.  One is more auditory, saying the verses out loud, or listening to them.  One is more visual, reading the verses, and remembering how the verse looks on the page.  One is more creative, drawing stick figures to help illustrate the verses.  One like to be more active when memorizing.

Here are some of the points our guest speakers shared with us, taken from their own experience and from a survey they conducted among some other young people.

1.  Don’t try to memorize laying down.  Our cozy warm bed is better for putting us to sleep then memorizing scripture.  It is better to be upright, or even active while memorizing.

2.  Experiment with different ways of memorizing to see which one(s) work better for you.

3.  Try including more then one method of memorization while working on specific verses.

4.  It might help you if you memorize out loud with someone else.

5.  Accountability is very important.  Find a friend to check on you and see if you’ve memorized your verses, and to encourage you to keep working on more.

 


The most fun aspect of the seminar was when they divided us up into four groups.  Each group was assigned a section of Revelation 22 to memorize.  Then each of the siblings went to one of the groups and worked with them on their verses.  After 15 minutes, the siblings rotated, and the next sibling worked on our verses with us in a different way.  At the end of an hour, I didn’t have my verses completely memorized, but I was well on the way.  Each group then stood up, one group at a time, and recited their section, so the whole chapter of Revelation 22 was recited, in order.  We relied on other members of our group to help us, but all in all, I thought it was a great success, and a thrill to hear the whole chapter aloud.

I have since thought about Bible memorization and my old brain, and realized I am really good at excuses.  Is it impossible for me, at my age to memorize?  No.  I know I could.  I just haven’t put in the time.  Do I want to have scripture in my heart and mind?  Yes, absolutely yes!  I have decided that even if I don’t memorize quickly, that I should keep working on it, because the more I work at it, the more of it I will have in my brain, even if it is just fragments and pieces.  God can use fragments and pieces at the right time to encourage me, or keep me out of trouble.

I am excited to say that after a search of the Internet, I have found something that is helping me memorize much faster.  At Scripture Typer there is free online software to help you practice typing verses until they are memorized.  It is simple, and uses the visual and kinesthetic modalities all at once as you type the verses you wish to memorize.  I have been working on it for a couple weeks now and have to excitedly report that I’ve already memorized Romans 8: 1 – 5.  I know that doesn’t look like much, but it is major progress for me, and I’m working now on verses 6 – 9.  At Scripture Typer you can download the verses you wish to work on, in the Bible version of your choice, and it will keep track of your progress for you, and even give you reminders to go back and review the verses you have worked on in past weeks.  The only draw back is that you must have an Internet connection to use it.  And my only suggestion to make it better, is if you would speak the verses out loud as you type, because then you would be using three learning modalities, and it might even stick a little quicker.

I really encourage young people to memorize all they can, while their brain is still active and quick, but not to give up when it starts showing its age.  I encourage people with middle age and older brains to try again, and not give up.  I think it might even help to keep us younger, and will certainly help our spiritual lives.  I’ve already been blessed by several special new thoughts I’ve gained in my work on Romans 8, and as you can see, I’ve only completed a very few verses.  I’m not going to give up.  And next time you see me, you can quiz me to see if I can remember any of them.

Heartfelt thanks goes to Barbara at A Wildflower Morning for sharing with us this encouraging post.   Originally posted on her blog on 5/16/11.   *All photos in this post by William.

Take Your Children Out into the Gardens

Editor1 Comment
“You should take your children
out into the gardens,
and show them the beautiful flowers
that God has made.
God is the great master artist,
and the pictures which are painted by human artists
and admired by the world,
are only feeble imitations of the works of God.
God daily works miracles before us
in the unfolding of the blossoms;
for no human hand can paint
such delicate hues,
or fashion such graceful plants

All this speaks of the work
of the divine Artist,
and each flower is an expression
of the love of God to us.
God has designed to
make us happy.
He has covered the earth
with the beautiful green verdure;
for he knew that this color
would be grateful to our senses.
Each beautiful thing in nature
is a token of God’s love and care.
So take your children out into the open air
beneath the canopy of the heavens,
under the noble trees,
into the gardens,
and point them
through nature
up to nature’s God.
Carry their minds up
to contemplate the works of God
in nature
that they may learn to
love him
in their childhood and youth.”

Review and Herald, February 23, 1892

Heartfelt thanks goes to Barbara at A Wildflower Morning for sharing with us this beautiful quote coupled with her lovely photography.   Originally posted on her blog on 3/9/11.


Words Are Power

marci4 Comments

Thank you to Marci, an experienced AHE mom, for sharing this devotional with us.

Deuteronomy 6:6,7 says “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children”        

Words are containers of power.

They can be used as a healing balm to a hurting soul, or as a slashing sword to cut  a wounded heart.

It is important that we train our children to listen to the words they say.  We can teach them to think before speaking. However, parents must model the think before speaking process.

“Children don’t always listen to their parents, but they do imitate them.”

The Bible says “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”  James 3:5,6

A blogger friend shared an object lesson with her children to stress the importance of words.It is a simple way to help our children understand this concept.

1.Squeeze toothpaste out of the tube…then put it back in.

2.Place a drop of  Tabasco Sauce on your tongue…then quickly get a drink of water!

It is a sobering thought to realize that the words we speak can carry such great power.  Thankfully we are not left to flounder without help. The book of Proverbs is filled with incentives and reasons why gaining control of our tongue is so important.

“The mouth of the righteous is a well of life.” Proverbs 10:11

“The tongue of the wise promotes health” Proverbs 12:18

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones”

Proverbs 16:24

“The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly” Proverbs 15:2

“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life” Proverbs 15:4

But how do we gain a wholesome, wise, and righteous tongue?

1. Through earnest prayer

“Create in me a clean heart oh God”

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight Oh Lord, My strength and my redeemer”! God knows our need, He hears our cry, and His grace is available.

Ask for perception and awareness of the words that we speak as we begin this building process.

2.Repeat Bible promises out loud.

When you hear yourself speak The Word, this  internalizes what you are saying and it empowers you for necessary change.

Our words affect those around us. We are either building up, or  tearing down those who hear our words. Our children are especially vulnerable as they absorb what they see and hear from adults around them.

May the words that I speak today Heavenly Father, uplift and encourage others.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Deuteronomy 6:6,7 says “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children”


Words are containers of power.

They can be used as a healing balm to a hurting soul, or as a slashing sword to cut  a wounded heart.

It is important that we train our children to listen to the words they say.  We can teach them to think before speaking. However, parents must model the think before speaking process.

“Children don’t always listen to their parents, but they do imitate them.”

The Bible says “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”  James 3:5,6

A blogger friend shared an object lesson with her children to stress the importance of words.It is a simple way to help our children understand this concept.

1.Squeeze toothpaste out of the tube…then put it back in.

2.Place a drop of  Tabasco Sauce on your tongue…then quickly get a drink of water!

It is a sobering thought to realize that the words we speak can carry such great power.  Thankfully we are not left to flounder without help. The book of Proverbs is filled with incentives and reasons why gaining control of our tongue is so important.

“The mouth of the righteous is a well of life.” Proverbs 10:11

“The tongue of the wise promotes health” Proverbs 12:18

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones”

Proverbs 16:24

“The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly” Proverbs 15:2

“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life” Proverbs 15:4

But how do we gain a wholesome, wise, and righteous tongue?

1. Through earnest prayer

“Create in me a clean heart oh God”

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight Oh Lord, My strength and my redeemer”! God knows our need, He hears our cry, and His grace is available.

Ask for perception and awareness of the words that we speak as we begin this building process.

2.Repeat Bible promises out loud.

When you hear yourself speak The Word, this  internalizes what you are saying and it empowers you for necessary change.

Our words affect those around us. We are either building up, or  tearing down those who hear our words. Our children are especially vulnerable as they absorb what they see and hear from adults around them.

May the words that I speak today Heavenly Father, uplift and encourage others.

In Jesus Name,

Amen