This week I have seen more of His strength in my home. As I have told you
before, I am still suffering from years of "household debt." But I can
see more and more of this debt being paid off, and it is getting easier
and easier to manage my home these days. God is so good! What has it cost
me? Oh, discipline. Blessed discipline.
"Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected
them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of our spirits,
and live?" Hebrews 12:9
I am really such a weak woman. But something extraordinary happens each
morning in my kitchen. I get up feeling as I always do. My back is
hurting. It is cold and the bed is so warm. It's still very dark outside.
I don't think I can do this day. So many people depending on me. I
shuffle to the kitchen and bypass the dirty clothes piled in the hallway
for me to wash. I turn on the stove. Then I get down on my knees and
admit my weakness. How I need Him. I can't even go into His Word if He
doesn't guide me. I fall asleep two times in this crumpled position. I
wake up as the coffee pot bubbles. I turn it off and head for my chair.
His Word. His Word. I need it more than I do my liquid refreshment. At
first my eyes are not focused and I have to keep blinking them to force
away the sleep. As I slowly sip and read, I begin to see my God anew. It
is still and quiet in my kitchen in the predawn hour, and I can "see" my
Father afresh and anew. No wonder Jesus also drew away with Him in the
predawn hour. It is the perfect time to be alone with Our King:
"Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, Jesus
went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed." Mark
1:35
If you read the verses above this verse, you will also see that Jesus had
had a late night, as the whole city was gathered at the door of the house
after dark. He spent a lot of time healing those who were sick and
casting out demons. Yes, Jesus is well acquainted with people being
dependant on Him. Yet, He still found it necessary to pull away and talk
with His Father. Even after a late night ministering to people.
I find it necessary, too. Oh, I remember when it was more of an
obligation than a love of mine. But I kept coming back each and every
morning. I can't quite tell you when it began to be a love, but now
without a doubt it is one of my driving hungers. I have to get alone with
Him. And not for a short while. I have to pull away from everyone to
listen to His beautiful Words and to tell Him things that I would never
tell another soul. He also reveals to me through His Word incredible
things that tell me, "Laine, this is no ordinary day." Why? Because
we're working together. Because He has transformed my mind once more.
Because of what He revealed to me that morning:
"And Jesus said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of
the Kingdom of God." Mark 4:11a
Each morning is a treasured gift sitting at His Feet learning of the
Kingdom of God. A Kingdom I belong to. It's not something to be crossed
off my "to do" list. Rather it is an outpouring of love and a gathering
in of love. I could not do what I do in a day without His Presence. He
does the impossible through me. I cannot believe what He has done in my
heart and in my home these past years. My work from this point on in my
day is just a further outpouring of love in His Presence. I get up and
get going now with renewed direction and reaffirmed love. It is an
incredible way to begin your day. My back is now feeling better, I am
awake, and I find that I have renewed inner strength. It is an incredible
miracle that I see happening morning after morning in my kitchen.
So what has changed in my home? Well, I don't "play" first anymore. He
has taught me in the wee hours of the morning the value of discipline.
Blessed discipline. Now after spending time in His Word in the morning, I
see my husband off to work. Then I get to work. I love this time of the
day more than I can say! It is still quiet in my home, and I put on some
quiet praise music. Then I tidy the living room. It is the first room
that I do in case the LORD brings someone by. Next comes the bathroom.
Again, in case the LORD brings someone by. After this I start my
"servants." I get the washer going. I get the dryer going. I get the
crock pot going. I get my two bread machines going. I do not get the
phone going, as I used to. This was "playing" first. Now I shut that
"servant" off until my work is done and my children's lessons are
completed. Discipline. Blessed discipline.
Next I make my bed while calling for my children to get up. I try to have
my bed made first, if possible, as I have them make their beds upon
rising and I like for them to see my bed all nicely made. Then I set up
their chore lists. Each child gets four different chores a day. So they
all learn to make the home run smoothly, and I can get lots of chores
that might get overlooked (such as cleaning the top of the fridge) done
in no time. With ten busy hands, it is amazing what can happen in a home.
I feel so "rich" to train them in the many areas that they need to learn.
And having a chore list with four different items on it every weekday
affords me that privilege.
Once we've completed our chores we begin breakfast and then it's time for
lessons. Lessons last until 1:00 or 1:30 p.m. We all get something to eat
for lunch during that time, if we're hungry, or we eat after we're
finished. I also fold my clothes and put them away while they're doing
their spelling or dictation practice. Oftentimes I make my tea treat at
this time, too. By early afternoon I am usually ready for a big break! I
clear the decks and send them all outside. They are more than happy to
go. Oftentimes I will take a short nap at this time, especially if it is
a certain time of the month. ~Smile~
The LORD has helped me so much in mornings. I cannot get over the change.
I was a woman who spent far too much time on the phone in the mornings,
then I would do my work as fast as I could so that I could "play" some
more. I never saw the value of my job, nor had the gift of enjoying it,
until I began to sit at the feet of Jesus. Now I cannot get over the fact
that I get to do this job, and how much I love it!
Presently, the LORD is helping me my afternoons. Just as I have seen His
incredible strength in my mornings, I am now beginning to see His
incredible strength in my afternoons. For it is at this time that I
usually write to you all. A little each day. It is amazing to me that I
am now able to encourage other women with the encouragement He has given
to me. It brings me such joy! I cannot believe that I used to use this
time to sit in front of soap operas and then talk shows. God can do above
all that we ask or think if we will give up the "chaff" and dive into the
"wheat." Discipline. Blessed Discipline.
"Because the good hand of His God was upon Him. For Ezra had set his
heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His
statutes and ordinances in Israel." Ezra 7:9b-10
"For what it really is, the Word of God, which also performs its work in
you who believe."
1 Thessalonians 2:13b
I believe! I believe! And I have seen His Word perform its work in me.
God be praised! Now when my husband comes home, I am not filled with
guilt at how I wasted another day. I do not sit anymore and complain
about everything that went wrong in my day. I have dinner cooking, rather
than a wonder as to "what I will ever put on the table tonight.?" I don't
spend time at the stores or mall anymore. I don't spend time in fictional
romances now, rather I read books that will help me acquire needed skills
in my home. I have seen my new practices helping my children to be
stronger, our finances to be in better shape, and far more "quality
control" going on in my home than ever before. Why? Because I have
trained myself to sit at His Feet these past seven years. His Word means
more to me than my daily food.
"But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their
senses trained to discern good and evil." Hebrews 5:14
Solid Food. The more you delve into the Word of God, the more rich it
becomes. And God helps you to do the impossible. Which is to practice it.
That is why we need to pray. How we need to pray and practice His Word!
As we practice His Word, we "see" what is good and what is valuable.
Especially with the twenty-four hours in a day that each of us have been
given. For without God, this is not possible:
"Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."
Proverbs 24:3-4
Discipline. Blessed discipline. So they wonder why I don't run with them
anymore to the mall to spend money we don't have, or sit and yak over the
phone talking about things we ought not, or hang out at their house for
the day, with a soap opera or talk show thrown in, while we try to think
what we should have for dinner. They wonder. This is why:
"Blessed is the 'woman' who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but
'her' delight is in the Law of the LORD, and in His Law 'she' meditates
day and night." Psalm 1:1
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James 4:8
Yes, changing our lives and our practices takes discipline. Yes, we will
fall and make mistakes. But our Father is our Father, and He will pick us
up and brush us off to keep going. And discipline is just what He uses
in our lives to move us to what is Truth and what is Treasure. Everything
that He purges from our lives, we never needed in the first place. And
what He will replace with it, oh, our hearts will never be more amazed.
We're still working on my afternoons, and there's still the night to
come! There's so much more to learn and to practice. But I know He is
teaching me and training me. I look forward to what He will do.
Discipline. Blessed discipline. Oh, it is not pleasant at the moment, but
the fruit it brings is indescribable!
Love,
Laine