Last Things First

Hello! The family and I have returned from our amazing holiday and I am feeling refreshed and can't wait to catch up with you all. My google reader count read 976 this morning! So, it is likely to take me some time to catch up. Be patient with me if I don't comment for a while.

You will probably get thoroughly sick of hearing about the holiday in the next several posts, but right now I'm going to start with Saturday after the holiday. Every year, my wonderful husband gives me the opportunity to go the Northern Women's Convention without children! This year was a true sacrifice on his part since we had only returned at 0230 on Friday. The girls were jet-lagged, not back into a schedule of any kind and grumpy. Plus it was raining, so he couldn't even take them for a bike ride or walk. But he was soooo gracious. And it was greatly appreciated!



The NWC is in its third year and is a gathering of women from across the Northwest of England for teaching and worship. There were 13 of us from our church that went, but the hall itself was packed. There were even a few people sitting on the floor! The worship and the fellowship was amazing. The theme was "Knowing God...through His word and by His Spirit". The sessions were great--reinforcing things that I know in my head but don't always practice in my heart. One of the speaker's was emphasizing that it is in the dialogue of relationship that we get to know someone. She reminded us that the Bible is not the words that God spoke, but instead it is the words that He speaks. Although it is a subtle difference, we must remember that it is a living, breathing word and not a conversation that took place in the past. BUT, we must enter into the dialogue. We must listen, meditate, respond and apply it to our lives or we are not doing our work in the relationship. I needed the reminder. How easy is it to fall into a trap that the Bible is stories of the past? I find this especially true as I spend so much time focusing on the "stories" that the girls can understand and get excited about. But it is so much more than a storybook! It is my very lifeline. It encourages me and it "knocks me flat" (words of the speaker), but it is always leading me to growth. I am praying that this word will breathe a freshness into my quiet times, and that I can find the relationship richer.

The break-out seminar that I attended was about how to teach our kids the Bible. There were some great ideas about how to do family devotional time and how to encourage our children to pray aloud as they get older. The two speakers were quite different. One had 4 teenage boys. The other had two boys and a girl ages 5-11. Different life stages. But they dialogued about what has worked and not worked, and how it has changed as the children grew. It was very encouraging. The thing that I walked away mulling, and continue to mull over, was how to teach grace. She stated that kids, by nature, are very legalistic. Without even intending to, we can often teach our kids that they "earn" God's favor--"God doesn't like it when you...", "It makes God happy for you to...", etc. She said it is so difficult to strike the balance of them understanding that they are sinners and truly believing that God saves us by grace and not by our being good. I know that I often refer to to verses about "pleasing God" to motivate Jewel, and I fear I may be creating a little legalist. It is something I am praying that God will make me aware of and give me wisdom as I seek to grow up young women who will love and serve the Lord.

The final session was on 2 Timothy 3 and that Our Knowing God through the Bible is enough to face the last days. The focus was that Paul told Timothy, the last days are hard and will continue to be hard, but God is faithful. He tells us not to despair, that the foolishness of the false teaching will be revealed but we must be wise to recognize that false teaching is out there. For me, it was in the session that I heard the quote of the day: "The Bible is not a book of rules, but a book of salvation." I forget that. I look for the rules of how to cope in situations. But the intention of the Bible is point us to a saving relationship with God through Christ. The rules of life come out of that relationship.

Father God, I seek to grow in my relationship with you. I want to know your heart--and to know your heart I must interact with your word. Instill in me the desire to read and pray and meditate more. Help me to organize my time and my priorities so that you are first and foremost. Allow me to model a life of devotion to the little girls who will learn more by my actions than my words. Thank you for Godly women who teach and remind us of the things of your heart. Thank you for a husband that recognizes the value of me having time with other Christian women and makes the time available to me. I desire to know You... lead me to Yourself. Amen.