He Goes Before Me

I've been studying the plight of Israel out of Egypt in Exodus recently. If you don't know the story, check out Exodus chapters 13-15. Here are a few observations that I'm making: God's attributes are displayed through His miracles. God's glory is something not to be taken lightly. The plagues in Israel where to display his mighty power, but the parting of the Red Sea would display his Glory. Imagine seeing an army coming toward you, and then seeing the Red Sea part with dry land to cross. Now if this isn't enough to boggle the mind, a pillar of cloud is what you follow on your journey to the promised land, aka Canaan. This cloud separates you from the Egyptian army and even fights for you. I just love the plot twist when a pillar of fire (who happens to be an ANGEL of GOD!!) panics the Egyptian army and even clogs up the wheels on their chariots. I am also amazed every time I read the scripture in Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent."
I say to myself. Silent? You want me to be silent? Now some people are inclined to fight and others to flight in confrontation. I'm a person who tends to fight. What a peace to know that HE will fight for me! He does. I can find courage knowing that the Lord is going before me. He will go before you too! This is where belief comes in.
God's faithfulness is displayed in His promises that He keeps. We see how he promised to smite the Egyptians with plagues, and he did. He promises to deliver them, and he did. He promised to go before them, and He did. I can keep going here, but I think you get the picture. So do you believe God? Because He promises to LEAD the way. We get to trust that in His leading.
In Ephesians 2:8, the Bible says, "For by grace are you saved through faith, it is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Oh, the comfort I find that I don't have to be good enough, or have enough strength or even check off enough boxes to be saved by my Lord. He goes before me. He has fought that battle. Jesus did the work for me. He paid that debt that I owe in my sinful state. Thank you for going before me.
So how are you taking the reigns today? Are you ready to Trust that the Lord will go before you in your trials? Lord help me to trust you. You go before me!

Got Peace?

This morning, I played a few stories on an audio CD for my young children as we were getting things in order for home school.
The CD played cute little poems and stories that were teaching a concept or moral.
I started to chuckle as I remembered a few years back that some of my kids were listening to this same CD while they were going to bed at night. I came in to check on them, & they were both terrified asking to turn off the stories.
Upon further inspection, I found out that one of the poems had a line saying, "and then she came to eat the children!"
Now, if you are anything like me, when it's time for bed, my mind can start thinking about all the things. My "to do" list starts to grow, & my imagination becomes vivid as I process my day. Relate?
Well, I checked the CD, and quickly realized that the kids were hearing something that wasn't really being said. There was no line that said that the children would be eaten, it's just what they thought they heard.
This reminds me of how many times my inner dialogue is not truth. The enemy wants to kill, steal & destroy. This can happen even in our thought life.
So how do we keep our peace? How can we fight the spiritual battle to keep our hearts & minds on Christ?
It starts with a relationship with God. Then, read your Bible & pray. God will give you understanding of the scriptures through the Holy Spirit. He also gives us the church to edify each other.
Once we learn what God has for us in His Word, we are able to walk in truth & love. This results in peace!
I don't know about you, but my life is full of challenges, decisions & action. It's easy to get overwhelmed & lost in the fast paced days. I have to continually be reminded of the gospel and how it relates to me!
So a scripture that comes to my mind frequently is Philippians 4:8-9 says, 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
When I turn my heart to a place of gratitude, the Lord keeps my heart and mind healthy, and peaceful. 
What scriptures do you meditate on to keep a peaceful, clear heart and mind?

Favorite Homeschool resources this year...

Well, this post will be a lighter subject!
I wanna connect with Moms & any avid reader today. You may be homeschooling or you may simply be looking for something good to read to your kids.
I like to occasionally share what I'm doing in our Home school setting.
Let's start with Read Alouds. One of my favorite books to read pretty much every year is "Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B.White. This book is just an easy read that is so easy to sit and listen to while doing something quiet like a handwriting page or two.
Other favorites this year are: God's Promise by Sally Michael. This book is a great family devotional to poke through each morning. We finished her Names of God last year, & it was well written and illustrated along with good activity suggestions.
We've got a strong lean in on our Bible readings this year. So we are currently practicing lots of verses for AWANA and doing our Bible Study on Moses together. This is taking most of our read aloud time each morning. I'm sure once we start to approach Christmas, we will step back from some of the books to do an Advent book.
This year, we are in our second year of using a Math Curriculum called "Teaching Textbooks." I am really liking it because I am not doing the checking!!!! This is working well for us since we have a several laptops and computers for the kids to access their lessons. The program teaches a lecture, and then has the student practice and review the concepts. I can even turn on hints and helps to keep them moving along. I like the quick links to show me what lesson is associated with each problem that they are working through. It's easy to navigate for sure. One of my favorite things is that this website offers a family year rate, so the price actually goes down as I have more students.
For Science, I'm going through a series of Usborne Science booklets. My kids can either independently read a section and journal what they are learning through writing and art or they can listen to me read it and then do journaling. It's a great way to do science when keeping it simple. We also supplement with COOP classes and hands on science box subscriptions like Spangler Science.
For Language, I've got many levels going at once since I'm homeschooling 5 students. For my grammar school kids, I like First Language Lessons, Including Audio cds. I like the quick simple lessons and then we are done! It's all scripted, so I don't have to think ahead before the lesson. Some of my kids are doing ABEKA workbooks. They are good to pace through and work through the nitty gritty of grammar. My youngest student isn't able to independently go through a workbook like that, so I like to default to Language Lessons.
So those are some of my favorite resources this year for school.
I have just finished a grief support class, and have benefited by that.
I also am reading a book called Miss the Carraige by Shannon Gallatin, & how the soul grows through loss A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser. (Thank you Debra!)
I don't know about you, but I have trouble getting too far into a book before getting side tracked by different needs of my family. I really enjoy podcasts. That will have to be for another post!
What are you reading? It doesn't have to be home school or kid related. Please do share!
Rachel

What has happened will not define me.

I heard someone say this week that "what has happened to us does not define us." This is really basic and obvious, but it is something that I find myself learning over & over again. Being married or single shouldn't be the main definition of my identity. Being a Mother shouldn't be the main identity of myself. My kids being "good" kids should not be wrapped up in my identity. I am not a sad story or broken mess because my husband died.
So who am I?
Right now I am asking myself this very thing, in certain social settings. Walking through a new and different season of life can be disorienting.
You might be thinking something like:
"How does she do it?"
"That's such a sad story!"
"I don't even know what I would do."
Well, here's the thing. When you have a personal relationship with God, HE is PEACE. (Isaiah 26:3) The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is THE COMFORTER. (Matthew 5:4)
Matthew 14 is one of my favorite passages to read when I think about Faith and Trust in our Lord. Peter steps out of the boat to walk toward Jesus on the water. At one point, he sees the wind and waves and becomes afraid taking his eyes off of Jesus. It is then that he starts to sink.
Aren't we all inclined to become afraid of the unknown and future? When we have that big question mark in life that we can't fix! It's easy to take our eyes off of the Lord and start to sink.
I know that as long as I keep my eyes fixed on Him, He will not only comfort me and bring peace, but He also promises much more than just peace and comfort. I can be secure because He provides, protects and guides me. My identity is in Christ.
So friend, I encourage you to keep your eyes on the Lord. Search for him. Read the Book of John & start talking to God if you don't know where to start. He will never leave or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5) Put your trust in Him today!