Help!!!

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah. Psalm 46:1-3

I don't know about you, but there have been numerous times in my 32 years where I just needed HELP! And even though I was raised in the church and was taught about how God will take care of me, I often times have failed to call on Him when times have gotten difficult.

I was reading in Isaiah 31 recently, and while I still have lots of learning to do when it comes to understanding the prophet, I don't think I missed the point when it said,

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the LORD. Isaiah 31:1

You see, in their time of need, God's people were seeking help from Egypt. And, God's response in verse 3 is:

But the Egyptians are men and not God.......

It's very interasting, on the same day that I read the passage in Isaiah, I also read the following from the New Testament:

One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Luke 8:22-25

Why were the disciples scared? Had they not already witnessed Jesus' power as he healed the sick? And why would God's people turn to Egypt in their time of need? Had they not heard of all the Lord had done for His people over the years?

And what about me? Why do I forget about God's promises to me? His promises to take care of me and lead me so that I can spend eternity with Him. Over the years, I have turned to many people and things to help me in times of distress. Worse, sometimes I relied only on myself to help with a problem.

I heard a very wise statement made by a lady in Bible class recently. She said that when she was really struggling with something, that before she called her mom or her girlfriend to vent or to pour out her heart, she would take it to the Lord in prayer. Of course! Why wouldn't we turn to the Creator of the universe and the Savior of the world........first! My prayer is that from this point forward, I will turn to God when I am in need of HELP. He is the only answer when we are in the midst of life's storms. And, hopefully, I won't forget that He has already claimed the victory through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus!

What about you? What do you do when you need help? Can't wait to hear from you!

The Littlest Bible Student

You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:7

Isn’t it amazing how young children love to have the same stories read to them over and over again? I remember being very young and listening to The Cat in the Hat on my little Fisher Price tape player. I listened to it so much that I memorized the words, and I remember it being the first book I was able to read all by my self. My son Jacob is the same way. When he was two, he would have me read the same book to him every day before his nap and before bedtime; Giraffes Can’t Dance. If I happened to skip a line or miss a word, he was very quick to correct me.

Around the same time, my husband and I decided that we wanted to make sure and read the Bible to Jacob every day. We started doing this at night, and we read The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories. At first, we were simply going through a new story each night. The stories are very short, and they are written for very small children. Again, Jacob would really want us to read the same story over and over again. My husband, on the other hand, really wanted to make sure that we read through all the stories. We felt good about reading the Bible daily, but Jacob didn’t seem to be retaining much.

Then, one day I had an idea; one that should have come to me much sooner. You see, when teaching 5th grade math, I was always nagging the parents to make sure they studied the multiplication table with their 5th graders on a regular basis so that they would remember their facts. I told my husband that day, instead of reading Jacob a new story each night, we should spend a whole week on one story. He was skeptical at first thinking we would never be able to finish all the stories. But, we gave it a try.

Within a few nights, we both knew we had found a great way to study the Bible with Jacob. Because we read the same story each night, we were able to ask Jacob questions and talk with him about what we were reading. And, Jacob was very proud that he was able to remember the people and things that were going on in the story! That was about 9 months ago, and we are almost finished with The Beginner’s Bible. In addition to reading the story as a family at Jacob’s bedtime, Jacob and I also read it before he takes a nap each day. That means we are reading the same Bible story 14 times a week! Another thing Ryan started doing was reading the story and pausing so that Jacob could finish the sentence. It is amazing how a little boy can wiggle around so much during the story, but still knows exactly what’s being said! We now start a new story every Sunday, and on Saturday we have what we call Silly Saturday. On Saturday evenings, Ryan will read the story, but he will insert wrong words or names to see if Jacob has been listening. Jacob thinks this is SO funny! Most of the time, he is able to supply the correct word and we have lots of laughs.

Through all of this, I have learned that it is never too early to start regular, meaningful Bible study with your child. I will always cherish these times as a family!

I would love to hear how you study God's Word with your family. Have a blessed day!

How We Got the Bible

I just finished this book by Neil R. Lightfoot.......How We Got the Bible: Third Edition Revised and Expanded.

It was one of those reads that left me saying, "Ooooohhhh, now I get it!" After reading it, I now know how important it is for every Bible student to study the origin of our modern day Bible. There are many ways to do this and many, many books to read on the subject. I liked this book because it was written in non-technical language while still presenting the information in an in depth way.

You can find it here on Amazon. I hope you will read it and let me know what you think!

Adoption as Sons

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:14-17

As I was sitting in worship one Sunday morning, trying to focus on the Lord, thoughts of my 3 year old son kept distracting me. On this particular morning, I was worried about how my Jacob was having such a hard time adjusting to his new church home. He had been fussing each Sunday morning before church about any little thing. He had told me at one point that he didn't have any friends in Bible class. And, each time we dropped him off for Bible class, he kept a scowl on his face and the teachers were having a very difficult time getting him to participate. It had been 5 months since our move to a new state leaving behind the only church family he had ever known. But, I really thought that he would adjust much quicker.

On that Sunday morning, with all of these worries and some tears, I was thinking about how hard parenting can be.................loving someone so immensely and trying to figure out the right things to do to help that little someone grow into a well adjusted Christian with a focus on Him. How, when they hurt, you hurt. How when they are difficult and willful, you worry and second guess. I was also thinking of how extremely wonderful it is to be Jacob's mommy. Since the moment I laid eyes on my son, I have been completely and totally amazed at my love for him and how every little thing he does and says is so special! It is liking wearing my heart on the outside of my body.

And then, it hit me. This is how our heavenly Father feels about us! He loved us SO much that He left Heaven to save us. And when we are obeying Him..........oh the joy and pride He must feel. When we stop to talk to Him, he probably hangs on every word. And when we are teaching others about Him, is he thinking, "That's MY child!"?

And, I also realized that when we turn our back on Him, what a great sorrow and loss it must be.

In Romans 8, the Bible tells us that those who are being led by His Spirit have received a spirit of adoption as sons. And for that reason we can cry out, "Abba! Father!"

My son Jacob is adopted. Although he did not grow in my womb, I know that God created me to be his mother. I thank God so much every day for the blessing that Jacob is to me. I have learned so much and know that I have much more to learn.......he is still only 3! But today, I wanted to share with you one of the most profound lessons that I've learned as a parent..........now I can see how my heavenly Father feels about you and me. We are His children! His sons and daughters. He loves us, and wants nothing less than to have us in Heaven with Him. And not only that...........He has revealed to us how to get there! Through His Son. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

I praise Him for choosing me!

What has being a parent taught you about your heavenly Father? If you haven't become a child of His, what is standing in your way? I would love to hear your comments and/or help you as you think about becoming one of His.

Welcome!

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

I have been encouraged by my husband to start a blog with my faith in Jesus as the focus. Today, I accepted his challenge and am excited about opening my heart to others as I attempt to do that. I entitled this blog "Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus" because I have come to realize in my Christian walk that Jesus has not had the center stage. I was trying to do all the "rights" and avoid all the "wrongs" and was forgetting the WHY. There is so much that can be taken from the verse I listed above, but right now I simply want the emphasis to be on Him. Jesus. The author and perfecter of our faith. His life, death, and resurrection are the WHY! That is what the Gospel is all about: the good news about Jesus and God's power to save........US!

So, Welcome!