The little things...

After working through Titus 2 for some time, I thought that I would like to keep track of what the Lord is teaching me through being at home and the various experiences that it affords! This is simply a 'diary' of what He is helping me to think more clearly about through the word, books, blogs etc.

A dear, dear friend commented on how Izak needs tools to be an effective seminary student and in just the same way, I need tools to be a diligent worker at home. It just hit home for me! Every time that I have undertaken a new job, it was necessary to be shown the 'ropes' and to trained up for the position that I needed to fill. In this case, I needed to pursue training to customize our home for our family's needs so training and research to be an effective worker at home was very necessary to avoid wasting time and becoming deflated when I didn't have goals to work towards.

A little beaded heart that my mom-in-law sent me, I hung it in the kitchen to remind me to have a heart that pleases the Lord and worships Him even as I do the little things...

The first thing that I would like to reflect on is how difficult it can be to put Quiet Time first. It fascinates me to no end that it is such a simple truth and yet can be won over by 'urgent' visible duties! So often, I give in to the temptation to do the dishes first or get other things done and before long, Quiet Time in His presence is long forgotten! This typically involves a heart that has not been softened and submitted to His purposes!

It also never ceases to amaze me to see how much more I get done when I do it trusting in His strength! John 15:5 sounds clearly: APART FROM HIM I CAN DO NOTHING! Even if I had a productive day without first coming to the Lord in prayer, (unlikely) it is so sad to think that I would try and tackle it without first asking for His grace and strength and doing it with Him. Hehe- just to think that I would prefer doing it on my own when I could have the Creator of the universe with me throughout the day and have His prerogatives instead of my own!

I was listening to a sermon series on Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp (It is available on Grace Church's website - http://www.gracechurch.org/media/?filter=speaker&id=354) and one of the points he made just arrested my heart , he said something along the lines of, 'our children need to grow up in awe of the God we love'. It just made me think about how by neglecting quiet times, it sets a precedent for our little ones without saying a word.

My prayer for myself and anyone that reads this post is that we will love the Lord more and be devoted to spending time with Him reflecting on His beauty, His word and earnestly praying for things that He places on our hearts.