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I cannot believe summer is already over!  I was just settling into a nice laid-back routine of swim lessons, catch-up doctor appointments, shuttling kids from activity to activity, squeezing in a few projects I had put on hold until summer and trying to really clean my house because of course I didn’t get around to that during the school year.  Okay, maybe my summer wasn’t that laid-back.

In any case, the school year is upon us.  For us homeschooling moms that means the annual re-evaluating of our teaching methods for our children:  This will be the year that we finally conquer writing!  Or, this will be the year that we stay on a schedule.  Or, just fill in the blank.  If you are anything like me you never feel like you are doing enough to prepare your children for higher education or the real world.

I have good news, if you are concerned about whether or not you are a good mother, you probably are.  I found more good news in the Bible the other day.  In Isaiah 54:13 it says, “All your sons, (and I’m sure, daughters) will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace.”  I was so happy to read that because it reminded me that even though I am to be overseeing my children’s education, the real teaching will come from God.

As we move forward into this more busy season of school, my prayer for all of us would be that we could find space in our days to bring our kids to God in prayer and ask Him to be the one guiding their education.  Whether they are being taught at home or in a public school, He is the one holding them in His hand, we just need to give ourselves lots of grace and trust in that fact.

I Samuel 1:27-28  “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord.  For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”

Have you ever noticed how children have the ability to make a few minutes seem like a few hours?  Because I have eight children, I find myself saying, “Just a minute,” all day long.  This is extremely difficult for my youngest children, because of course they need everything right now.  Whenever I say this they immediately they start the questions, “How long is a minute?”  “Has it been five minutes yet?”  “I’m hungry!”  This last declaration is usually made after I have carefully explained for the millionth time that I am cooking dinner, please stay out of the kitchen and it will be ready in–you guessed it–just a minute.

Confession time.  As irritating as this is for me, I find myself being the exact same way with God.  “Just a minute God?  But I am sure I need it now.”  “God, how long is Your minute anyway?  I hope it isn’t as long as Your day, I don’t think I can wait a thousand years!”  As much as we all talk about time going by way too fast, sometimes it seems to crawl.

When I am in a time of waiting on God, I can start to feel as though nothing is happening.  A friend of mine termed it being ‘benched’ by God.  I am so sure I have to be doing something to get to where God is taking me.  The truth is, as I look back on my sideline times, I can see God growing me in amazing ways that I would have completely missed if I was running around doing things.

When my children are impatiently waiting for something, I usually suggest they read a book or go play with their toys in the Family Room.  The times they take me up on my suggestion, I usually have to call to them and they are surprised to find the time has gone by so quickly.  It’s the same with me and God.  He says that if I seek His will and Kingdom first, all the other things that I need will be added to my life.  So as I am waiting, I will take His suggestion and grab the Book and read.

Matthew 6:33  “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Joshua 1:8  “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Early one morning I was in my room trying to wake up, drink enough coffee, and read enough of the Bible to summon my courage for a long day.  From the other room I heard my beginning reader lisping out a sign that hangs in my kitchen, “I, can, do, all, things…”  Isn’t it amazing how creative God is at delivering encouragement to us when we need it?  My little reader was just practicing some words she saw, but she sent them right to my heart.  “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

There are two parts to this.  The first is how awesome it is that God brings us encouragement right when we need it.  This encouragement can come from just about anywhere if we are paying attention.  The second part is God can and does use us to bring encouragement to others, even if sometimes we are unaware of it.

An example of this is when I was sitting in a waiting room, feeling somewhat anxious for my daughter who was undergoing some tests.  From behind me I heard someone sweetly singing Sunday school songs to her little boy.  This woman probably thought she was just keeping her son entertained as they waited their turn, never dreaming as she sang how deep and wide God’s love is, that she was ministering to my anxious mommy heart.

My challenge and prayer for us this week is to keep our hearts and eyes open for God’s encouragement to us.  Also that we would continue to live in such a way that God can use us to encourage others, even if we are unaware of it.

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:13

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  I Thessalonians 5:11

Do you play bedtime whack-a-mole at your house?  You know the game, it’s the one where you try to get all your children to bed on time and then have them stay in bed.  The game starts the moment you think you have successfully tucked them all in, teeth properly brushed, good night kisses given.  Up pops the first child, apparently spontaneously bleeding from a knee, needing a band-aid.  No sooner is that one back in bed, then, here comes another who just remembered an important phone message, which of course by now it’s too late in the evening to return.  You finish your instructions on the art of message-taking, and here comes the child who is thirsty.

Finally, all the younger children are settled.  In walks the teenager, who despite being hardly able to keep their eyes open all afternoon, is now wide awake and ready to talk, of course about very important, possibly life changing matters.  Usually, by some time late evening they do all go to sleep.  For some people though, this is when another whack-a-mole game starts.

Suddenly, negative thoughts start popping up from nowhere.  These thoughts can be anything: fears, doubts, or just things we wished we had done differently that day.  These thoughts are robbers.  They rob us of joy and peace.  They attempt to steal away grace.  They have stolen many a night’s sleep.

When these bad thoughts start creeping in it is time to get out the big hammer of God’s word.

Fear?  Whack!  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear.”  II Timothy 1:7

Doubt?  Whack!  “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.”  Jeremiah 17:7

Regret?  Whack!  “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See I am doing a new thing!”  Isaiah 43:18

As with any skill, this takes practice.  I, for one, need to remember to speak truth to these thoughts right away, not just sit there allowing the thoughts to swirl in my head.  However, we can all be whack-a-thought experts. We just need to stay alert, keep ourselves filled with God’s word through reading the Bible, and practice batting those thoughts away the moment they pop up.

Isaiah 26:3-4  “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”

There are so many nice, sentimental sayings about seeing the world through the eyes of a child.  I am POSITIVE that the people who created those sayings did not have eight children.  Yes, it is great that children look at the world with a sense of inquisitiveness, however when you get to be the one answering the same question eight times, it sometimes doesn’t seem that great.

We live in a rural area, so not all of my children go to what we call “town” very frequently.  I have mentioned before how I try to take each of my children by themselves to have one-on-one time with me whenever I get the opportunity.  This means eight chances for someone to see something for the first time and eight chances for me to practice patience.

When I do put aside my impatience, and actually take the time to listen to all of their questions, it is really interesting to discover all the things I simply have stopped seeing.  One of my sons asked me about these striped signs on the side of the road recently and I was a little startled to realize that I had completely forgotten what they meant because I was just so used to seeing them!

I know it is impossible to live in our world and see everything, just the advertising alone would drive us crazy.  However, I also don’t want to become jaded, especially to things that really matter.  I pray that I could keep the eyes of my heart open to the wonderful truth and beauty that God wants to show me.  I want to be able to see the hurting people and be able to love them.  I want to really see my children and the wonderful people they are growing into.

I pray all these things for you too, my friends.  I pray for open eyes and open hearts that you might truly see your world around you and all the people in it.  I pray that your hearts will not become jaded, but instead will be soft.  “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.”  Ephesians 1:18

I know what I am going to do when I am done raising my kids.  I am going to become a detective or work for the FBI in the behavioral analysis unit.  I am being trained right now, honing my detective skills with my children.  They are extremely helpful, supplying me with mysteries to solve in abundance.

Like, “The Mystery of the Potato Chip Under the Clean Towels in My Bathroom.”  Or, “The Mystery of The Missing Chocolate Chips.”  Now honestly, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell someone was a psychotic killer, but I would know by the way their eye twitched that they didn’t hang up their bath towel that morning!

In reality, all mothers have to be detectives.  From trying to figure out who did what, to locating all kinds of missing items.  One of our biggest jobs though, is detecting the potential in our kids.  Looking past tantrums or attitudes to what is underneath, just waiting to bloom.

I have to detect whether someone’s attitude is due to lack of sleep, hunger, hormones or hurt feelings.  Then when I think I know the cause I have to ask careful questions to get to the root.  When the children are young the remedy is usually easier, a snack or a nap can work wonders.  Now that half of my children are in the turbulent time of pre-teen and teen years, the remedies can be more challenging.  I find myself doing a lot more listening and empathizing.  This is a rewarding time as well though, because I am beginning to see them coming into their own as people.

I know it can be challenging day after day to look beyond the fits or the disobedience and see what is underneath.  Hang in there, the rewards will come.  I cannot guarantee that every mystery will be solved, (the potato chip thing is still baffling me!) but I can guarantee that it is worth our time to really look inside our children, to detect the people just waiting to be found.

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  I Samuel 16:7