Resting In Jesus

Our church, Broadview Heights Baptist Church is having a Holiness and Revival Conference this week. One of the themes of preaching at church over the past few weeks as well as a theme of the conference that has convicted me is the idea of truly resting in Jesus, depending on his grace and the Holy Spirit for all of my needs.

Resting does not come easily for me. I am more likely to work harder and harder on a difficult area of my life than I am to look to Jesus and his strength and power to enable me to accomplish the mountain of tasks often before me as a homeschool mom.

I am learning now to ask each morning and throughout everyday "Am I working on my own strength and power or the power of the Holy Spirit within me?"

I love this hymn I recently learned at church:

JESUS, I AM RESTING, RESTING

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

Refrain
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O, how marvelous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
Sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.

May you rely on God's grace and His Holy Spirit to help you to rest in Jesus as you prepare to begin for another year of homeschooling.

Go to NetHymnal to hear the tune for the hymn, "Jesus I Am Resting, Resting".

Review: NLT Hebrews- Life Application Bible Studies Series

I admit I was a little leery of a Bible study specifically meant to be application focused. I feared it might be too much focused on "me" like many studies I have picked up. I tend to want a study to teach me more about God and his attributes and his redemptive plan for man. This study did just that.

I was pleased that the commentary section of the study was actually quite good and detailed. It was nice to have the Scripture text on the same page as the extensive commentary. Some nice charts and tables were included as well.

I especially appreciated that the editors commented when certain changes were made in the New Living Translation from the original manuscripts. For instance, the translation often changed "brothers" to "brothers and sisters".

The questions in the study section of the book are divided into 13 sections. Some are questions from the text while others encourage the participant to reflect on his or her life. Both types of questions are helpful and should make the meaning of the text more memorable.

I liked the small size of the book which made it very easy to carry around as I was completing the study.

I believe I will go through this study with my 9-year old son once we begin our homeschool year. He is ready for more than just Bible stories at this point and I believe we will both enjoy going through the study together.

In summary, the Hebrews Life Application book is a good Bible study for anyone who wants to dig deeper and find the treasures written in the Bible to help us to glorify God by living our life as followers of the true Christ written of in the Bible.[[ASIN:1414325649 Hebrews (Life Application Bible Studies: NLT)]]

Learning About Missionaries

Here is a slide show I put together from a class that I co-taught for our homeschool co-op this spring. I was blessed and encouraged learning from the lives of famous missionaries. Feel free to share this. A mini-study on missionaries using the very short and interesting series we used would make a great summer project for your family.

Celebrating Gardening

With the help of a good friend from our church, the kids and I have embarked on a gardening adventure. Debbie has graciously provided us not only with weekly "gardening lessons" at her home in her greenhouse, but she has also given us seedlings, pots and other goodies to help our garden grow.

We have learned about composting, collecting rain water and recycling all kinds of items to help us in our gardening ventures. Chase has become an expert at transplanting our little seedlings and Alyssa is our faithful watering girl.

My husband got in on the act and provided us with a lovely bed after painstakingly running the Rototiller, adding peat and sifting the stones out of our little plot.

We are planting corn, tomatoes, onions, brussel sprouts, watermelon, and potatoes.

We are also starting some herbs: chives, garlic chives, oregano and cilantro.

I am so excited for what the Lord is doing in our lives and in our little garden! I thank the Lord for all of his many blessings on our family.

Review: Vision Forum Christian Film Festival

Although I was not able to attend the San Antonio Christian Film Festival sponsored by Vision Forum Ministries, I was blessed by listening to the CD Set of the conference messages and  select performances, titled "History Has Been Made: Moments and Messages From The San Antonio Christian Film Festival".

The messages concerning Christian entertainment and media were especially eye-opening for me.  We consider ourselves to be fairly cautious in the media to which we expose our children but I learned that we could be doing even better.  The message from Kevin Swanson (of Generations Radio) was very informative in that regard.

Voddie Bauchan's talk about the "Journey In Confusion" of the roles of manhood in Hollywood was another excellent message portraying some of the problems with mainstream entertainment in America today.

I never thought that I had a particular interest in filmmaking but R.C. Sproul Jr.'s talk on Christian filmmaking was extremely enjoyable and thought-provoking.  With a challenging yet hopeful message, Sproul highlighted the growing importance of Christian filmmaking today.

Messages about entrepreneurial principles for independent thinkers and launching a radio broadcast via the Internet were of special interest to my husband and I.  We were not only inspired to contribute our creative efforts for the glory of God but to follow practical hints on debt-free financing as well.

One of the highlights of the set is the discussions of Fireproof.
 Kirk Cameron as well as a panel of others involved in the making of "Fireproof" was so powerful, moving and inspirational.  That message alone made the CD set well worth acquiring!

Sometimes, I find discussions about the decline of culture in America to be nothing but depressing.  I was pleased to find that this CD set featured so many positive, uplifting and action-oriented messages that I had no time to get depressed.

Overall, this CD set is both educational and entertaining that I recommend it for anyone concerned about the effect of mainstream media on our culture and looking for Christian alternatives.

Oh No! We Are Mess!

"Oh no! We are mess!" 

The above are famous last words heard after mommy left the children washing dishes in the kitchen to go into the other room to get the phone.

Okay, training children to wash dishes is important but they sure can get wet! 

Whatever you do, do not forget to reinforce the lesson that the water pressure coming out of the faucet should be kept fairly low to avoid the water-spraying-all-over-the-kitchen debacle.

As my sister said listenting to us over the phone: "At least they are learning and having fun."

I guess that is what home education is all about.

Best Cinnamon Bread Recipe For Bread Machine

We just made some of this cinnamon bread yesterday and my family is clamoring for more already!  The kids like getting involved.  I am nearly out of cinnamon so they grated a few sticks using the ginger grater and a multi-grater we have.  I use the bread machine for the dough. Then they punch it down, let it rest, divide it into two, roll it out, spread the butter, sprinkle the sugar mixture then fold over into thirds.

Here is the recipe:

1 c warm water
2 tbsp butter
1 egg
3 c flour
3 tbsp dried milk
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Put all ingredients in the bread machine on dough cycle.  When done, remove, punch down and let rest for 5 minutes.  Dust surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out into a large rectangle. Take 3 tbsp of butter, softened and spread half on each rolled out rectangle

Mix 1/2 cup brown or white sugar, 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl.  Sprinkle half on each rectangle and then fold into thirds.  Pinch center seam closed and pinch and fold ends under. Place dough seam side down in greased loaf pan. Let rise in warm place until doubled (about 1 hour for us, on top of a warm oven).  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325-350 degrees.  Take out of pan, put on cooling rack once done, slice after 5 minutes and enjoy.