Hebrews 12:1 “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

What does the “sin which so easily ensnares us” look like to you personally? Is it sitting there on the side of the road in the race of life, looking stinky, smelly, and disgusting? I mean sin really is gross. When I think about how completely revolting sin is in our lives as believers, I picture something from a very disgusting dump with flies buzzing all around it. It most certainly smells and looks terrible.

Yet, if sin appeared as detestable as it truly is, we’d all be able to avoid it completely. But sin ensnares us. That means it captures or entangles us as we’re caught unaware. And it happens easily. It must look a lot better than the aforementioned pile of filth. In fact, it must appear quite enticing.

I believe we need to ask God’s help to give us SUPER-vision, x-ray eyes, if you will, to see through the outer trappings of this ensnaring sin. As we run this race called life, we need the ability to see these obstacles for what they really are. While they may be quite lovely in appearance, as they draw us away from our focus (Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith), they’re deadly as a boa constrictor that wraps around us and squeezes out the life. But if we will diligently seek after the Lord in His word and in prayer, He will provide us with the SUPER-vision needed to see beyond the façade and discern the truth.

Sin is ugly. It’s abhorrent. Our enemy is well aware of this. That’s precisely why he adorns it in a way that would attract and allure us. But Jesus has already defeated Satan. We do not have to live in bondage to his tricks and deception. We need to move beyond the place of feeling that we’ll be trapped in this for the rest of our lives, deeming our flesh weak, and falling into hopelessness.

Yes, God left a thorn in the flesh with the Apostle Paul, though he prayed fervently for it to be removed. But nowhere in Scripture does the Lord say that we have to live with habitual sin. Nowhere does he say that we have to remain in bondage to it. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sin and yours. Throughout the New Testament, we are offered hope and freedom!

Romans 6:18 “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Romans 6:22 “But now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

Food for thought:

“When we say that education is an atmosphere, we do not mean that a child should be isolated in what may be called a ‘child-environment’ especially adapted and prepared, but that we should take into account the educational value of his natural home atmosphere, both as regards persons and things, and should let him live freely among his proper conditions. It stultifies a child to bring down his world to the child’s level.” ~ Charlotte Mason

Do you “shelter” your children?

That’s a bad word in some circles, we’re finding. Something is creeping into the church (and even the homeschooling community) and it isn’t biblical. It is an “anti-sheltering campaign” of sorts, and it’s full of holes. Think about it. What does it mean to shelter? Protect. Defend. Guard. Preserve. Watch over. Shield. Safeguard. Hmmmm, so far so good, right? Sure, until “pop psychology” comes in and tells us that we should allow our children to taste a little of the world in order to understand it or pray for it. That we should not “over-shelter” them. Nonsense.

What’s the opposite of shelter? Expose. Endanger. We parents are called to be like our Father in Heaven. He is the greatest “Shelterer” there ever was, and it is us He shelters – or watches over; protecting us, preserving us, shielding us. Praise Him for this! Glory to God who knows how to parent (shelter) us perfectly. May we as parents follow this model – His model. Let’s continue to shelter (love) our children as He loves us. Dismiss the garbage that crawls in; don’t buy it. We’re promised there will be false teachers, liars in the church. I want to keep my eyes focused on Christ, come what may.

Parents: Keep sheltering them. You are bringing them up in the love and admonition of the Lord, not in the latest speaker/teacher. May you be blessed as you continue to walk in obedience! Lord, thank you for sheltering me. Please never stop. “Over-shelter” if You will (if there is such a thing). Fine with me! Over-protect, Over-defend, Over-guard me; please do! I’ll take it all, Lord. Keep me tight to Your side. I’m safe there. There, I can breathe. It’s where I live.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
-Psalm 61:3

Gena Suarez
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Hebrews 12:1 “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

What does the “sin which so easily ensnares us” look like to you personally? Is it sitting there on the side of the road in the race of life, looking stinky, smelly, and repulsive? I mean sin really is gross. When I think about how completely revolting sin is to our holy God and ought to be in our lives as believers, I picture something from a very disgusting dump with flies buzzing all around it. It most certainly smells and looks terrible.

But if sin appeared as detestable as it truly is, we’d all be able to avoid it completely. Yet sin ensnares us. It captures or entangles us as we’re caught unaware. And it happens easily. It must look a lot better than the aforementioned pile of filth. In fact, it must appear quite enticing.

I believe we need to ask God’s help to give us SUPER-vision, x-ray eyes, if you will, to see through the outer trappings of this ensnaring sin. As we run this race called life, we need the ability to see these obstacles for what they really are. While they may be quite lovely in appearance, as they draw us away from our focus (Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith), they’re deadly as a boa constrictor that wraps around us and squeezes the life out. But if we will diligently seek after the Lord in His word and in prayer, He will provide us with the SUPER-vision needed to see beyond the façade and discern the truth.

Sin is ugly. It’s abhorrent. Our enemy is well aware of this. That’s precisely why he adorns it in a way that would attract and allure us. But Jesus has already defeated Satan. We do not have to live in bondage to his tricks and deception. We need to move beyond the place of feeling that we’ll be trapped in this for the rest of our lives, deeming our flesh weak, and falling into hopelessness.

Yes, God left a thorn in the flesh with the Apostle Paul, though he prayed fervently for it to be removed. But nowhere in Scripture does the Lord say that we have to live with habitual sin. Nowhere does he say that we have to remain in bondage to it. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sin. Throughout the New Testament, we are offered hope and freedom!

Hebrews 12:1 “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…”

Romans 6:18 “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Romans 6:22 “But now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

May you walk in freedom today!

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

Food for thought:

Thank You, God

For dear, gentle children -

Children with merry eyes

And trusting smiles

And giggles that never stop.

Remind us often that Parenthood

Is more than an endless task -

It is a sacred trust from You!

~ Ruth Harms Calkin

“But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.” Isaiah 50:11 (NIV)

This school year, I made a decision. I was going to stop homeschooling and put my kids in school so that I could handle things better. One too many comments that started off with, “I don’t know how you do it,” had convinced me that, obviously, I should not even try to. I had gotten focused on how difficult my life is and how much easier things would be if I just lightened my own load. Clearly, taking something off my very full plate would lead to happiness, right?

And so, I solved my own problems and made my own way, reasoning that I was doing what was best. After all, a woman can only be expected to do so much. With homeschooling off my plate, I resolved, I was freed up to do more ministry work. And so, I started waiting for the opportunities to pour in. I hadn’t counted on God having a different plan for me.

Several months into my newfound freedom, I was, to put it simply, bored. I was baking like a mad woman and my house had never been so clean and, while I did enjoy not having to think about lesson plans anymore, there was still something missing. Most noticeably was the relationship I had had with my children at home. But also there was a marked absence of those surefire opportunities I had counted on once my kids were in school. And so, I asked God about this. Why hadn’t He sent me those wonderful book contracts and speaking events I had freed up my schedule to do? I mean, in case He hadn’t noticed, I was F-R-E-E. And in the silence after I finished pouring all this out to Him, I heard: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” And then He added, “You made yourself strong. I couldn’t work with that.”

What a wake-up call this was for me as I considered that perhaps God had intended for me to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ask or imagine because of Him at work within me. And I could rest in that, without being fearful of failing because it was “too much.” It was too much for me, but not for Him.

I had, as the verse for today says, fashioned my own torch, lighting my own way in the process. I had forgotten that Jesus taught that He is the light of the world (John 8:12 ). The only light we need. We don’t need to scramble around and take matters into our own hands. We just need to trust Him in our calling and rest in the fact that He is capable of supplying all we need, day by day.

Trying To Keep My Ducks In A Row!

 __(*)< __(*)> __(*)< _(*)< _(*)>__(*)>
\___) \___)  \___) \___) \___) \___)

Mommy to
one politician, one diva, one superhero,
one princess, one cowboy and an angel!

“The soul’s pathway is always through death to life. The caterpillar cannot in the nature of things become the butterfly in any other way than by dying to the one life in order to live in the other. And neither can we.”

Food for thought:

Children are today’s investment and tomorrow’s dividend. ~ Unknown