Jillyshelly: Proverbially Speaking

That is the question I have been bouncing around.

I am a product of public school education.  I did not encounter “homeschoolers” until I was a college student volunteering in the student ministry at my church.  My interaction with these homeschooled kids is what formed my initial opinion regarding home education.  I thought home education was whack and that it created a group of strangely socialized (or non-socialized) kids who were obviously set apart from the public school kids at our church.  I co-led a small group Bible study for junior high students and I definitely related more to the public school kids than I did the homeschoolers.  When I went to grad school, my thesis topic was about the social implication of home education on children.  I was dead set against what I thought was a weird Christian parenting trend.  I mean, these people taught their children at home the same way the anti-authoritarian parents did… they had to be whack!

My attitude toward home education changed when I became a parent.  I started to see value in being able to influence my children’s academic studies.  I also met some “normal” people who had been homeschooled.  At this point I had also received my Master’s degree in (school) Counseling.  I had taken curriculum and child development courses.  I had taught students in the classroom and realized there were many more ways to reach children and their different learning styles than most teachers used.  I also had traveled to places like England and realized how that experience put my literature training into perspective (I saw where Shakespeare and Carroll were influenced to write and it enhanced my understanding of their stories).  I got excited about saving my kids from the hell of sitting in classrooms all day and being influenced by their “heathen” peers.  I dreamed of daily field trips and amazing learning environments. I was convinced homeschooling was the only way my kids were going to be safe from the world and free to pursue their God-given talents in the healthiest manner possible.  I was drawn to the idea of having control over their development.

One day I started talking about home education versus public/private school education.  I began sharing my beliefs, thinking that it would be a grand argument for home education.  Strangely though, the more I talked, the more I convinced myself that public education aligns more with my spiritual beliefs than home education does.  (I’m not sure how I feel about private schools at this point).  I started sharing the desire my husband and I have for our children to be missionaries in the world, who are not of the world.  I started sharing how I believed sending my kids to the local school and trusting God instead of fearing worldly influence is important to me.  I shared how valuable it seemed to me to be able to help my kids process their worldly encounters with teachers and peers and help them make good choices while they were still living at home under my care.  I started sharing how I knew all these home educated kids who went wild exploring the world when they left their parents’ home and went off to college… where their parents no longer had a strong influence over them.  I shared how ultimately I wanted to trust God to use my kids in the lives of non-Christians… that Don and I wanted to be a place of refuge for their peers living in broken homes and in a broken culture.  We didn’t want to be the safe haven for the local homeschooling co-op kids.  The more I talked the more I realized we will likely send our kids to public school.  We will likely pray like crazy that they love the Lord and follow Christ instead of loving the World and following negative peer pressure.  I realized we will likely get opportunities to show our kids first hand how God’s grace and mercy plays out in the sinful world.  Ouch.  I realized that I can still influence my children’s learning through creative learning experiences and travels…. I just need to be aware of what their teachers are teaching and the messages they are receiving from school.

Now, my oldest son is only 3 years old.  So I reserve the right to change my mind at any time (along with Hubby’s consent), and be a home schooling mama… or private schooling mama.   Right now though, I can’t see that happening.  I don’t in anyway think public education is superior to home education. I just think it MIGHT be the best choice for us.

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The concept of “quiet time” was first brought to my attention while I was a new Christ-follower in college.

I was taking my cues on how to pursue Christ from my campus crusading friends and this seemed to be one thing they all stressed: Spending quiet time, alone with the Lord – reading the Bible, praying, and listening for his still small voice. When I was in college I had very structured “quiet time” with the Lord in the morning. I would wake up before everyone else in the dorm and sneak out in the hallway with my Bible and journal (so I wouldn’t wake up my sleeping roommate). I read the Word. I ate up the Word. I memorized scripture. I was moved by the Holy Spirit to follow God like I never had before – it was glorious! I even snuck away for quiet time with the Lord whenever I got a chance (unfortunately for my grades a lot of those chances were supposed to be academic study times!).

After graduation, my quiet time with the Lord morphed a bit.

My Bible reading wasn’t as structured. There were times when I would just lay in bed and pray. Often times my alone time with the Lord occurred in my car while commuting to or from work, or after I got home from work or serving in a ministry. I always had a prayer space set up in my apartment that had maps and scripture and other “prayer aids” hanging up and setting out. I would retreat to my prayer sanctuary and process my days with the Lord. I would travail over the hurting people I encountered in my life. I would pray for the nations. I would confess my own sins and receive the outpouring of forgiveness from God. I experienced joy inexplicable as a result of my time spent with the Lord.

After getting married, my quiet time morphed a lot.

Ever since I got married, my “quiet time” has looked much different than it did in my single days. It looks even more different now that my house has little toddlers trying to rule it. This has been my own fault. Instead of being able to lean into the Lord in a consistent, structured manner, I have been distracted by the handsome hubby I wake up to in the mornings or by the children who had me up during the middle of night. I would rationalize that my continuous conversations with God throughout the day or the occasional scripture reading I did was enough.  It was not.  I have not experienced the inward fruits of the Spirit or the outward fruits of the Spirit as I once did.  I want to get back to that place with the Lord when I pursued Him with crazy adoration.  I know it’s possible and I believe that is what I am supposed to be doing.

Getting back into the most fruitful habit.

For the longest time (like 3 years) I didn’t have structured quiet time with the Lord at all. Thankfully, that has changed in the last year.  I now wake up sometime between 5:30-6:00 in the morning to chill with my Creator. Often I begin my quiet time by rolling around in my bed, mumbling to the Lord. After doing this for a few minutes, I usually break out my Bible (in book or online version) and read some scripture. Some days I journal like crazy and  I feel like I’m learning a lot and really “feeling” the value of my quiet time. I feel less anxious and ready to tackle my day. Other times I wonder whether reading Numbers is really more beneficial to me than an extra hour of sleep. I trust at some level it is!

My point in sharing all this is to encourage you that time spent devoted to the Lord and pursuing holiness is WORTH IT!

There have been many times when I feel like God is walking me through a struggle by reminding me of the scripture I memorized back in the day when I consistently did such things. Or, sometimes I know I am making better choices now because I learned something important about myself and the Lord years ago. In other words, I feel like I am still being fed off time spent with Jesus in the past and it encourages me to get fresh food from Him now.

My personal goal is to continue waking up early and spending quiet time with the Lord. I want to journal more. I want memorize more scripture. I want to recognize, confess, and repent of sin more. Most importantly, I want to fix my eyes constantly on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.

If you’re interested in joining women who are seeking to spend more time with God, check out this link:

I haven’t signed up yet, but I’m considering it!

Christian Audio offers a free monthly audio book. This month they are offering Mark Driscoll’s latest book, Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. Follow this link and add the book to your cart. Use coupon code Feb2010 to get the book free!  Thanks Money Saving Mom for sharing this information.  I am so excited to listen to this!

Okay, this post really isn’t about America’s idolization of television or the uber popular television show with the same name.  It’s about my own struggle through the years with idolizing television.  After I had been following Christ for a couple of years, I started to recognize that television had a priority in my life much higher than God.  That is very bad and not fun at all.

Back when I was single, my Florida roommate and I decided not to get cable because we didn’t want to shell out the cash for it and we figured we would be way too busy enjoying sunny outdoor events to stay inside in front of the tube.  Unfortunately, the CEO where we worked did not like that we were without cable and found a way for the company to foot the bill so we could “keep track of our company’s infomercial air time.”  Needless to say, my roommate and I soon began to plant ourselves in front of the television watching E True Hollywood Stories instead of getting involved in a church and meeting new friends.  Fail.

When I moved back to Ohio and lived alone in an apartment, I initially had the TV on non-stop.  I liked the background noise.  It made me feel less lonely and less likely to worry about all the strange noises I heard around me.  (Or so I thought.)  Somehow, I don’t remember how, but God revealed to me that this was detrimental to my spirit: my fear of being lonely and my new best friend, the television.  I decided to put my TV in the closet (my big, cumbersome non-flat-screen TV).  On the dresser I previously used as a TV stand, I set up an altar to the Lord.  I had been reading about Abraham and all the altars he set up to mark the different places God had taken him through, and I thought it might help me to remember what God had done for me too.  It worked.  For a few months (somewhere between 3-6) my TV was hidden in the closet.  Anytime I got lonely and considered weight-lifting it out of the closet, I would look at its previous home and turn to the Lord instead.  I had a Bible and candles on my altar.  I would turn my heart toward the Lord instead of the cling and clatter found in the big black box.

I really learned how to live without TV during that time.  Don and I still don’t watch a lot of television (he actually watches less than I do).  I just can’t help think of that scene in one of the Batman movies where the Joker is using personal televisions to suck the brain power out of the Gotham citizens.  I honestly think that’s what happens to me when I watch more than an hour or so of television a week.  Even worse, I feel like many of the images and ideas TV places in my head lead me to anxiety and hopelessness.  I am weak.  I easily buy into the beauty and money myths: the more the merrier.  Thankfully, my gentle Heavenly Father continues to pull me back to himself through his Holy Spirit.

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Don and I are trying to be more intentional about having people over to our house so we can enjoy old, new, and potentially new friends. One way we are doing this is by having at least one family over for dinner a week. So far, this has been a lot of fun. I’m trying to build up a “dinner guest” recipe book that makes it easy to keep my pantry stocked for such dinners. So, if you have any good dinner recipes that most people enjoy (ya know, nothing too unique), or if you know of a good cookbook I should check out, please share!

I’m also planning on hosting a Pampered Chef party next month and I am considering selling the products. I really like PC products and I like how the cooking parties will give me a chance to meet new people. I also love the idea of helping people create inexpensive and healthy meals on quality cookware! I feel like it’s a chance to promote healthy eating at home and encourage people to be more hospitable (two things I value highly).

Romans 12:13   Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Hebrews 13:2   Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have

entertained angels unawares.

I Peter 4: 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

I got a new camera for Christmas. Whoo hoo! I have many pics of my bams to share with you all… but you will have to wait till Thursday.

Last night Don introduced the boys to the football huddle. The boys really enjoyed adding that element to their football play with daddy. Aunt Tara and I enjoyed watching them play. The boys would yell that they needed a “puddle” AKA huddle. Then they would pretend to write out plays on their hands like daddy did. Then mid-instruction (fake instructions from dad), they would take off in different directions yelling different things like “touchdown” or “fumble.” Sometimes Eli would even transform into a race car (one of his favorite games) and run through the house yelling, “I race car.  I real fast!” Anyway, I love my football playing toddlers and Coach Dadda Moosie!

Here is a quick update about the goings on in our household.

First of all, the advent tree was completed well over a week ago by Baba (my brilliant mother). I have yet to start using it with the boys… will do so today (celebrating the 11 days of Christmas)! I will try to take a pic of the masterpiece to share.
Second, our holiday party was a success! We had about 20 adults and 10 babies/kids show up for food and drink, with massive donations for the needy in tote. We had about 6 other households who could not party with us, donate items as well. We will be distributing the coats, blankets, toys, and food today. (I think Don will be posting more specific details on his blog later).
Third, we found out we are having a baby girl! She appeared to be very healthy in her ultrasound… and of course, she is BEAUTIFUL!
That’s it for now, more to come later!

…Not solely in correct doctrine and well-written gospel statements.  Not entirely in random acts of kindness and community service.  The Love is found in Christ.  The Love was displayed through Christ.  I can only display the Love through God’s supernaural power.  Holy Spirit, help me to be clothed in Christ.  May my eyes be fixed upon Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith.  May I walk in love.

Ephesians 5: 1-2 (as found on biblegateway.com)!

^1(A) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ²And^(B) walk in love,^(C) as Christ loved us and^(D) gave himself up for us, a^(E) fragrant^(F) offering and sacrifice to God.