While pastoring a church is a high calling, it can be a career filled with loneliness, frustration and burdens. Many people do not understand the great demands and responsibilities placed upon a pastor and his family. The encouragement, love and respect of a congregation can go a long way in making pastoring a joy and delight rather than a burden.

My husband has the privilege of pastoring a wonderful group of people who make his job of leading the church a blessing,not a burden. Not only do they express love for him, but for the children and me! 

Since our church family is so good at loving and encouraging us, I thought I'd share some things that they do. Be sure to try some of these things to bless your pastor and his family!

Believe the Best  

When you hear anything about anyone, believe the best rather than the worst as the flesh often would have us do. When people assume the best possible scenario, we are set up for success rather than failure. When people hear or see things and automatically assume the worst, we feel like a hunted animal—people are just waiting for us to mess up.

Let your pastor know that you believe that God has brought him to your church and will use him to do great things!
Let your pastor know that you support him and will stand with him as you move forward as a church to accomplish all that God has for you to do.
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Don't Expect Perfection  

​Plimoth Plantation by William Bradford is a history of the local church in Scrooby that fled to Holland and later crossed the Atlantic Ocean to settle at Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford served for many years as governor of the first settlement in New England. Plimoth Plantation is a detailed history of Plymouth Colony from 1621 to 1646. You will learn about key people in the colony too. William is considered the Father of American History.

Similar to other books you will read from the colonial period, William compares the events that occurred in Plymouth with events from the Bible. You will learn about the Mayflower Compact, early colony laws, and treaties with the Indians. I find it interesting that Mr. Bradford very carefully shows you details of the Lord’s blessing and judgment. I learned things in this book that I had never heard before in history class. 

Another year is winding down. Sigh. In so many ways it's been a great year. But, if you are like me, you can think of things that you wish had happened differently. Maybe your days were hectic and stressful instead of peaceful. Maybe you encountered learning struggles that you weren't prepared for. I hope that you will look at all of these things as learning experiences rather than failures.

No matter how long, or short, your homeschooling journey has been, there is always hope for transformation.

Peace & Joy from the Inside Out

Mom sets the atmosphere for the home. No matter how we try to hide it, if we are struggling with stress and insecurity, our homes will be filled with tension. If we carry our burdens to the Lord and trust Him to take care of us, real peace will be inside our hearts. This peace will flow into our husband and children too.

We can transform our home school in an instant by being positive instead of negative. So often, we focus on the negative instead of all the blessings surrounding us. From flowers in our gardens to chubby little smiles, we can see the gifts of God all around us. Learn to thank God for all the things you enjoy: health, family, teaching, good food, pleasant smells, beauty, music, art, friends, and celebrations. A momma filled with joy spreads life to everyone around her.

Major on the Majors

Sometimes we can get caught up with things that are trivial while the important things are neglected. We can focus on the problems with our son's handwriting instead of his hatred for reading. It is more important that he learn to read. We can focus on our daughter's difficulty in drawing, but ignore her inability to memorize addition facts. What are the most important things? What should your priorities be? I encourage you to read my book, The Seven R's of Homeschooling. I talk about Relationships, Reading, wRiting, Rhetoric, aRithmetic, Research, & Right Living.

Back to a Lifestyle of Learning

The Bible has something to say about all of life, including government and economics. God is our provider and boss. All authority and power resides with God. We ignore God's authority at our own peril.

"Then Jesus came to them and said,"All authority in Heaven and on earth belongs to me," (Matthew 28:18 NIV (c)1984).

God also owns everything in world and all who live in it.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it; the world and all who live in it," (Psalm 24:1 NIV (c)1984).

Stewardship

God then delegates authority, responsibility, and wealth to people and institutions. What? Well, let me explain. God is the owner of everything and we are His stewards. We take care of His property for Him. The best biblical illustration of this is the parable that Jesus told in Matthew 24:45-51 where the master of the household puts a servant in charge of his household, possessions, and other servants while he goes away on a trip. When the master comes home, he will reward or penalize the servant based on the servant's care of others and behavior.

God places us in charge of his people and possessions. We are his stewards, accountable to him for the job we do in caring for what is entrusted to us.

Economic Stewardship

Why is it that we complain about our husbands, children, and homeschooling? Why do we struggle to be content? Why do we love the idea of homeschooling, but have days where we hate educating our little ones?

The answer to these questions is not simplistic, but we do need to address these issues in our lives because this behavior grieves the Spirit of God and hinders successful home education.

A joyful mom instills delight in her child for acquiring knowledge and wisdom. We cannot foster a lifelong love of learning if we are not filled with the joy that Jesus brings.

But, we face joy-stealers every day from traffic jams to weight gain.
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Living in a Fallen World

Imagine if Adam and Eve had never eaten the forbidden fruit. Think about your world without the results of sin. Clear blue skies (no rain!), peaceful communication between people and nations, perfect weight, perfect self-control, joy, love, patience, and constant fellowship with the Lord. Your world would have no pollution, no traffic jams, no wrinkles, no worries, no death, no illness, no headaches, no difficult people, and no clutter.

You were created to live in a perfect world. Just because the world (including each of us!) is in a fallen state doesn't mean that there isn't a longing inside our hearts to live in that perfect world for which we were created. The fallen world with its headaches and heartaches never feels quite right.

"Things should go smoothly," we insist and we are right. The world would look a lot different in its natural state. This causes constant turmoil within us. When I understood this, freedom came because I no longer berated myself for frustration. Instead, I turned the longing for perfection toward the perfect place I will one day live in:  Heaven!

Longing for Heaven

"Have you finished typing your paper, Shine?" I asked yesterday.

"Almost..." she replied sheepishly. 

I looked over at the computer to see her Facebook page filling the screen.

"I'll exit out," she offered quickly.

"You're grounded from the computer for the rest of the day," I admonished.

Wisely, Shine said nothing in reply.

In the last few years, homeschooling teenagers has taken on a whole new set of problems in our house. Internet has been around for a long time, but never really affected us too much until the last few years. There have been times that my children have opted to "research" on the internet, rather than using the books and resources we have checked out from the library.  But the real culprit in our house has been Facebook. My teenagers love it.  All their friends love it and have pages too. I have a Facebook profile myself and have enjoyed finding old high school friends and keeping in touch with distant family members. But, these online communities can be addictive and consuming. Can any of you moms say “Amen”?

Yesterday & Today

Back in my day, we talked on the phone for hours on end. My teens prefer texting, which I like because it saves minutes. Yes, as a teenager, I spent time on the phone with friends having conversations my parents could not hear, but Facebook takes it to a whole new level. Why do teens love these places online? Well, teens have always wanted to connect with other teens with a great desire to build relationships and to feel close to others. Plus, there is that build in "radar" for attractive members of the opposite sex. No matter how godly your daughter or son is, they will notice when a handsome boy/pretty girl walks into the room.

Facebook is a large social network on the internet. Your child has a profile page where she posts notes, pictures, and personal information. Yes, these pages can be made private so that only his "friends" can see them. But, here is the important thing to keep in mind:  Who are all these people your child is adding as friends? Are they really who they say they are? Predators are a huge problem online, but this article is not about that! (I'm not dismissing predators as a huge, scary problem, just not tackling it today.)

Profile Pages

Profile pages give children the opportunity to put their best foot forward with the prettiest pictures, exaggerations about accomplishments, and all kinds of "little white lies" meant to impress. Friends add friends of friends and give access to their personal information to young people they don't even know. I'm sure if they met these young guys and gals in person, they would be shocked to find out who these people really are...rather than the image portrayed on their page.

"Look a watch shop," I said to Julianna, Shine, and Jimmy.

Ten Boom Watch and Jewelry  was written in Dutch and English on the large store front window. Clocks, watches, and jewelry glittered in the window. I smiled.

​Corrie ten Boom was the daughter and granddaughter of a watch maker. In fact, Corrie was the first registered clock and watch maker in the Netherlands.

It Started with a Prayer Meeting

Three generations of watch making symbolized before me, but more importantly, three generations that loved Jesus Christ with all their hearts. In 1844, Corrie's grandfather, Willem was approached by a Messianic Jewish pastor who asked Willem to start a weekly prayer meeting for the Jewish people. That was strange because back then there was no nation of Israel and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. But, Willem began weekly prayer meetings for the Jewish people that continued for 100 years.

We were ushered in by our tour guide up some narrow steps to a charming living room. I felt like I had stepped back in time to the early twentieth century. Unlike other museums, we were able to sit down on the ten Boom furniture and listen to our guide.

Life in Amsterdam

"Where is that necklace," I fumed, searching frantically through my dresser drawers. I was rushing off to sound check, running late, trying to get dressed and out the door. Suddenly, I had an inspiration.  Rushing down the hall, I entered my daughter's room, opened her drawer and quickly examined the contents. There was my necklace!  I scooped it up and headed to church!

Life with Daughters

 God has blessed me with four daughters and one son. Life with five children is wonderful! I dreamed of having a big family as a little girl. The Lord has made my dreams come true!  I never imagined that Jesus would give me such amazing children. If they weren't mine, I'd want to go out and adopt them!

There are some things, though, about sharing a home with four other women that make life challenging. For example, if I get a really cute shirt, I'll never see it again...except on one of my daughters. My make-up walks on its own to another bathroom because everyone denies borrowing it--it had to get there somehow. And worst of all, I can never find my hairbrush! 

The Missing Hairbrush

Over the years I have bought hundreds of hairbrushes. I always put one in my purse and one in my bathroom drawer. Lo and behold, they always disappear within twenty-four hours of purchase! Believe me, I understand why banks have their pens on chains. I have considered chaining my hairbrush!

Partners in Ministry

I read The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert E. Coleman when I was a sophomore in college. This book changed my life! I have my children read it in high school for one of their Bible classes. It is a book that I would like to see more Christians read, especially homeschooling parents. Robert, born in 1928, grew up in Texas, attending a Methodist church. He pastored for six years and moved into teaching. He has a Masters in Theology from Princeton, a PhD from the University of Iowa, and a Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity International University. His writing style is academic, but don't let them keep you from reading this book.

Along the way, Dr. Coleman became convinced that schools were not the answer to raising up mighty men of God. He carefully studied the life of Jesus, coming to the conclusion that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing in laying a foundation for the Church. Dr. Coleman values Jesus' pattern of ministry and embraces it in his own life.

Jesus spent His life calling people to repent and believe while healing the sick and injured, performing all kinds of miracles, and teaching His beloved people. However, He invested in a small group of men, His disciples. These He gave focused time and attention to for three years. He imparted to them truth and modeled a lifestyle that they could imitate. What a blessing to take a closer look at the life of Jesus!

The Body of Christ is called to fulfill the Great Commission by spreading the good news, leading people to Christ, and making disciples. We are called to evangelism. But, Dr. Coleman wants to make it clear that Jesus' definition of evangelism is broader than our own and involves mentoring people to a place of maturity.