The Last Monday Devotion

Psalm 121:2--My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven
and earth.

That word "help" in Hebrew is the word, "'ezer." It literally means, "the one
who helps." It is inferred here that the Lord has an interest in helping us.
He is the one whose majesty created the stars, the universe, the cellular
structure of man, and all things. The same God who set each planet in
orbit and gave the seas a coastline has a heart toward helping us in our lives.

What is important to us is important to God. If we are having trouble teaching
our preschooler to tie their shoe or if we need help communicating with our
teenager, God is ever-ready to come to our aid. I have envisioned Him sitting on
the edge of His throne, just waiting for the moment when I say, "Dear God, can
you please help me here?" I envision that He has angels, the Holy Spirit, His
promises, and His provision in a package already with my address on them and
postage paid, just waiting for the moment when they need to be launched into my
heart.

I know that may sound weird, but is it a way for me to get the image of how
important being my Helper is to my Heavenly Father. II Corinthians 2:9-10
reads, "(9)However, as it is written, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind
has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him' (10)but God has
revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things
of God." God has already prepared for us because we are in a love relationship
together wit Him. He desires so greatly to be the One we come to for advice. He
wants us to turn to Him for the answers to life's questions and our journey's
problems. He not only has the answers, He IS the answer.

When God told Moses to face Pharaoh, He told him to say, "The I AM has sent. me."
What is the I AM? The I AM is the answer to whatever the questions is. God, are you
willing to help me raise my children? I AM. God, are you able to guide my family and
protect our lives? I AM. God, are you in love with me? I AM. God, are you really going
to pour your blessings on my life? I AM. So, what is your question? Go to the Answer. He
is sitting on the edge of His seat waiting for you to ask Him for help.

Confession: I can not run my household by myself. I ask You, Lord, to help
me do my job. I am able to do this right because God is my Helper. He helps
me do what my family needs me to do each day.

Friday #4 devotion

Nehemiah 8:10b--the joy of the Lord is my strength.

A very wise minister once taught me, "Rules without relationship
breeds rebellion." I believe that the truth of that lesson is found in this verse.
To have a strong and credible influence in our children's lives, we must have
both types of moments with them. They must see our joy in their place in our lives
just as much as they see our authority over their pathways.

There are millions of opportunities each day for us to instruct, discipline, and
correct our children. There are tons of minutes in our day where we have to be
stern, serious, and sincere in our guidance within our home. But is it just as important
for our children to know that we enjoy them. They need to see that we enjoy our
lives. They need to know that having them in our lives is not viewed as a burden
by us. We must take time each day to laugh, play, smile, cuddle, or just love on
our children.

It is easier to be serious all the time, but it is not as effective. Our children will be more
adaptable to instruction when they know that they are our attitude stems from a heart
of love. They will recognize when they are being pushed away because we are frustrated,
disappointed, or "fed up" with them. They need to know that we love them, enjoy their
company, and that we like who they are.

I make it a point of necessity each and every day to have at least two opportunities with
each child where they make me laugh or I tell them how amazing that I believe that they
are. I use those times to tell them how terrific they are and how much fun it is to be their
Mommy. I believe that my children will see that I not only love them, I LIKE them. I like who
they are and who they are becoming. I may not like every choice they make and I certainly don't
like some attitudes that present themselves, but I always like the gift they are to my life.

That joy in my journey with my children makes me strong. It keeps me alert and able to
watch out for potential hazards. It helps me see things from new perspectives. And, it
helps me from not becoming overwhelmed or full of disappointment. It gives me room in
my life to enjoy them and find many, many moments of true delight in our life together.

When a Mommy laughs, plays, and loves on her children, I believe that they will be drawn
to her. Our children should trust and prefer their parents over any other person in the world.
When we enjoy our life with them by creating happy memories, I believe we are giving them a
life and home worth hanging around. They will thrive and shine when we shower them with joy.
And that joy will solidify your bond, intertwine your hearts, and give you reservoirs of
strength and replenishment.

Confession: I not only love my children, I also LIKE them. They are a joy
to be around and I take the time today to have fun with my children. They will
see that their presence in my life is good. And we will strengthen our relationship
today. My children love me and want to be with me just as much as I want to be
with them.

Thursday #4 Devotion

Psalm 127:1--Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain
that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh
but in vain.

I have witnessed a lot of families who have simply taught their children right
from wrong based upon a moral sense of goodness and justice. I have seen people
base their child training upon the advice of a talk show host. I have seen people
delve into alternate religions or doctrinal concoctions in raising their children.
However, I have never seen successes or a retention rate as high as I do
with Biblical principles.

When we trust God to teach us how to train our children, He becomes the
carpenter of their lives. He has the freedom to watch over them when they
have been entrusted into His care. This verse tells us that is it vanity, or
emptiness, for us to even try to build our children without the hand of God.
He wants to do this for us. He desires to show us how to aim our children like
arrows toward their fullest potentials and successful futures. Why would we want
to do this without Him? If we sincerely love Him, if we are genuinely devoted to
fellowship with Him, it is the logical conclusion that our parenting experiences
should be guided by Him. All else is vanity.

Even though the other methods or variations may appear to work and may even
produce some positive results, ultimately there will be something missing. We may
not know the fullness of it until it is too late. I don't want to take that chance. I don't
want to be the reason why my children miss out on doing something real and
purposeful in this earth. So, I dedicate the building of my children and the
keeping of them to my Heavenly Father. I know that He won't leave me,
forsake me, misguide me, or betray me.

So, how does one train their children under the tutelage of God's mighty Hand?
First, you must dedicate concentrated fellowship time with God so that He may
walk you through His Word and you may tune your ears to His voice. Secondly, you
must study, meditate upon, pray, learn, and believe the Bible verses God dedicated
to parenting. Find verses about raising children, loving children, being a parent, or
stories about Godly families. Thirdly, you must demonstrate the principles discovered
in the journey of your home. Lastly, you must teach Biblical principles to your
children. That is not simply reading Bible stories to them. It is the act of getting the Bible
into them.

The other ways may be easier, but their effect is not eternal. It takes time, great
self-control, and overwhelming patience to do it God's way. You must be humble enough
to be obedient. If you mess up, then you have to be humble enough to let your children
watch the pathway of repentance. Allow God to build our life and our journey of child
training. Let Him be the Architect of our adventure. The end product will be the mansion of His
magnificence.

Confession: I will honor God by allowing Him to build my children. I know it
will not be in vain. I trust in God's ability to use me in my children's lives to
build them up according to His plan.

Wednesday #4 Devotion

Proverbs 6:20-22 (Amp) (20)My son, keep your father's [God-
given] commandment and forsake not the law of [God] your
mother [taught you]. (21)Bind them continually upon your heart
and tie them about your neck, (22)When you go, the [the words of
your parents' God] shall lead you; when you sleep, they shall keep
you; and when you waken, they shall talk with you.

What is the purpose of teaching our children to obey God and to follow after
righteousness? Do we train our children to simply parrot our beliefs? Do we
teach them the right choices for the sake of our reputations? Are we trying to
impress others with our children's behavior?

God tells us here what will happen when we train our children in the Word of God.
He says that when they go (to school, the mall, to college, into their own lives) the
training that we have given them will lead them. The Hebrew definition of that
word "lead" is, "to guide, bring forth, and govern." When we train our children
right, we are equipping them to have the ability to follow after God even when we
are not around.

The verses also say that when they sleep, the training will keep them. That word
"keep" means, "guard, protect, be a watchman of, to keep within bounds, and
preserve." Wow, what a refreshing thing to know. What we are giving our children
has protective properties as much as it has spiritual maturing properties.

Finally, it says here that our training will talk to our children when they wake.
That word "wake" means, "to be around out of sleep." That could mean physical
or spiritual slumber. That work "talk" means, "commune, speak, ponder, and sing."
The training that we give our children will someday have the opportunity to talk to
them, maybe when they are in need of it most.

What we are investing into our children will at some point in their lives benefit
them. It may help them steer clear of a very dangerous situation or association.
It may help them stay close to righteousness in the midst of temptation. Or it may,
like it did me, save their life or cause life to be brought forth when none was believed
to have the possibility to exist.

The fact is, the Word of God that we place inside the hearts of our children will become
a companion to them for rest of their lives. That's It's job. But, if we don't give it to them,
then it won't have the change to do It's job. So, let's start this moment, this second and
purpose to be the kind of parent that teachers our children God's Word and His Will. Then,
get ready to watch as It fellowships in their hearts and lives with them.

Confession: I will train my children according to God's direction and His
guidance. I train them according to the Word of God. When my children go,
that training will lead them. When they sleep, it will keep them. And when
they awake, it shall talk with them.

Tuesday #4 Devotion

Psalm 23:6 (NIV)--Surely goodness and love will follow me all the
days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Do you remember being a young child up late on a summer evening with a
flashlight shining at your bedroom wall? When you contorted your fingers in
front of that beam of light to make shadow images appear, were you amazed at
what they produced? Can you recall the time in your life when you finally made the
connection that your shadow was attached to your physical body and would follow
you everywhere you went? Discoveries of this nature define parts of our journey
in life. We finally "get it." Once that discovery of truth is made, we would be hard-
pressed to be argued out its reality.

When my middle child learned to distinguish the color "blue," her Daddy jokingly tried
to talk her out it it. He kept saying, "My, my, will you look at that pretty pink _________?"
This girl, so grounded in the reality of truth she had discovered, would turn to her
Daddy and boldly say, "No, no, Daddy, you wrong. That be a blue ________." We
couldn't change her mind, nor did we really want to.

It is our job as parents to teach our children the reality of the truth based upon God's
Word and His Will. We should be ever questing to help them perceive for surety the
fact that God loves them so much that He gave them a Savior in Jesus Christ. It is
our responsibility to teach them beyond doubt that God's guiding hand and
instruction in righteousness will produce a residue of "goodness and love" to
follow them the days of their lives.

That's just what's leftover from their encounter with God's great goodness in their
lives. What comes along up the rear is goodness and love. Wow! What a great
weapon against a world that will try to tell them that nobody truly loves them and
without the vices of the world they can never be really happy. A child brought up in
a home that revealed the truth of the effect of the love of God in their lives will not be
fooled into believing that farce. They have seen goodness and love demonstrated in their
lives and have seen the mark of goodness and love left by the righteousness that they have
encountered. Their parents have proven to them with all surety, that there is no temptation,
no pull of sin, and no pause of sound judgment that equals the effect of God's presence in their
lives. The shadow of the goodness and love of their Heavenly Father will be forever attached.

Confession: It is my job to help my children see the truth of God's love and

goodness in their lives. I depend upon God's influence in my life today to be

an example that will help my children fully perceive this truth.

Monday #3 Devotion

Galatians 5:22-23--(22)But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, faith, (23)Meekness, temperance; against
such there is no law.

There is a game that my children love to play. In it, you are given a number of fruit
to place on a tree. Then, you spin to find out how many you can "pick" and put into
your bucket. When you have picked all of your fruit, you are the winner.

The Fruit of the Spirit is quite similar. That fruit is resident already in your heart.
It was placed there when you entered into true fellowship with God through Jesus
your Savior. It was deposited as a gift when you became His child. Now, it is your job
to "pick" that fruit from the depths of your heart and let it flow into your life.

Love doesn't just happen. It is an act, not just an emotion. The same is true for joy,
peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. You
have to "pick" or "choose" to let joy flow from you to your family. You must allow peace
to come to fruition in your heart and shine forth to your household. And so on, and so forth.

It is not something that will spontaneously erupt in your home. On the contrary, left to
itself, the atmosphere of your home will decay into strife, bitterness, weariness, greed,
and all manner of sin. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:15 that "foolishness is bound in
the heart of a child." It also tells us in Proverbs 29:15 that a "child left to themselves will
bring his mother to shame." These verses illustrate the unguided child, the undisciplined
child, the child who was not taught to allow the Fruit of the Spirit to ripen in their hearts
and minds and bear fruit in their actions, words, and deeds.

We, as Moms, have such a great opportunity each day to show our children what the effect
of Godly living. Our homes are to be a refuge for them, not a place where the attitudes
and emotions of the world confront them. Our homes should be one of a very few places
on the earth that our children should desire to run to run from those things that challenge righteousness.
And, a Mom who has demonstrated the Fruit of the Spirit is on course to help
her children have a place of refuge.

Mom should start her day with a journey to the orchard of the Spirit. There, she loads her
bushel full of the Fruit that the Spirit offers. Then, that fruit is enjoyed in her home as the
examples of it is evidences in Mom as she conducts her day. A Mom who picks the Fruit of
the Spirit and allows it to funnel through her to her household will fall into bed at night
fully satisfied that she has been a glory to her Father within her world today. She will have children who
seek her instead of the world. She will have a husband who runs home to her
loving arms because there is no other place where he is refreshed and refined. She will be
an oasis to all around her, watering their hearts and nourishing their spirits. And it all starts
with a choice.

Confession: I pick the Fruit of the Spirit for my life today. I pick love
for my family. I pick joy in my journey today. I pick peace for the
issues of life. I pick patience in every area. I pick gentleness toward
all men. I pick goodness from my hands to this earth. I pick faith as I
shine Jesus. And I pick meekness and self-control. I am fruitful today!