Hello dear ones, I hope this post finds you all doing well! As some of you may already know, if we follow one another on other social media platforms, my family and I have the Corona virus. I had hoped to write something at the beginning of the week, but was too sick to do so. I’m very thankful for others, like Brooke Bartz and Doreen Virtue who took to their own platforms and asked for prayer on our behalves. The out pouring of prayer, kindness, concern, and even requests to be able to help through an Amazon list was overwhelming. God is gracious to us, we never had to go without, and were able to have groceries/take-out delivered contactless through out the week.
If you don’t already know, because maybe you stumbled onto this blog somehow, my husband works as a traveling Respiratory Therapist. So, we’ve been exposed to the virus several times, self quarantining before the government even began to take precautions. This was for others sake, as it seemed likely we could be carrying the virus for a week or two without knowing it, while simultaneously spreading it. However, after having the virus I regret not taking better care. I’ve never felt anything quite like this particular week, and it’s certainly not something I would ever want to pass to others. While I am feeling better today, I’m struggling to type, so I won’t make this much longer. I just wanted to write out a thank you to all the readers, listeners, friends, and family who have checked on us daily. My family and I are so very grateful!
There won’t be a podcast episode on Monday, but Lord willing I’ll be back by Friday to do the MEGA List. As always, beloved brethren, be good Bereans and study to show yourselves approved.
Hello dear ones, I hope this post finds you all doing well! Today’s episode is one that was a joy to record, since I was joined by my little sister-in-Christ Kim Starling. Kim was gracious enough to join me to discuss a very controversial and difficult subject, P.T.S.D. After serving in Iraq Kim found herself struggling with issues stemming from her childhood on through adulthood, as well as the lingering affects of the war. After God saved her, she was able to surround herself with other believers who have continued to display Christ’s love to her through their actions and reactions during times of stress and triggers. It’s not always the case that churches are equipped to help congregants in this way, so Kim walked me through what works, what doesn’t, and how we can serve our brothers and sisters-in-Christ as they deal with similar issues. We both hope that this episode will give each of us a glimpse into the inner difficulties of P.T.S.D, while offering solutions that might not have been considered.
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During the episode we mention a few different articles as well as Lauren Bronner’s new devotional on Anxiety which you can find here. I’m listed the articles below, if you’d like to read through them as you follow along with today’s episode. We are already planning Part 2 of this topic, since we were barely able to scratch the surface here. Please feel free to drop any questions, comments, or helpful suggestions in the comments below, if you’d like us to address something specific in that second episode. You can, of course, listen across all major podcasting platforms such as Podbean, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, and in video form on Youtube. As always, beloved brethren, be good Berean’s and study to show yourselves approved.
Hello dear ones, I hope this post finds you all doing well. Today I want to talk a little about my homeschooling patterns over these past couple months. Why those in particular? We’ve had a lot going on, soft ball season started for Kayliegh, we bought a new puppy, and I helped put on the Open Hearts in a Closed World Conference. Of course, all of that was added as our state opening back up and homeschooling events beginning again. We don’t take summers off, Kayliegh takes intermittent breaks during our moves from town to town instead. That gives her ample time to explore the new home, pick out her room, and decorate to her hearts content. So, all that is to say, with everything else going on, we were still homeschooling.
Inevitably, as homeschooling parents, you’re going to come across a season where you have less time for teaching and preparing lessons than what you’re use to. Hopefully my experience with those seasons will help you mentally prepare before it comes to that. The first thing I’d recommend is getting ready now, don’t wait until something happens. If you have extra time, plan lessons as far out in advance as you can, even if they’re primitive, and you may never use them. It’s better to have them ready and waiting, in case an emergency happens or you suddenly find yourselves face to face with double headers for the first time. I didn’t know they started them on multiple games in one day at 9-years-old but having four hours blocked off instead of two threw me for a loop. Then there was practice the following night, and her desire to learn to pitch which gave my darling husband the initiative to turn the garage into a batting cage so she could practice both hitting and pitching. All in all, I would say the new schedule includes 8 to 10 hours of softball related stuff.
The second thing that helps me through times like this is prioritizing lessons based on what needs to be taught on any given day, and what you add in because it’s fun and they like it. That doesn’t necessarily mean you take out all the fun and leave only the math, English, science, and history. What you consider to be a priority will depend on your child, what subject are they struggling in? You don’t want to skim on that area, give it the extra time if they’re excelling in something else. What are they interested in? Homeschool children tend to have a myriad of talents and skills, whether its multiple languages, crafts, instruments, or all of the above. What particular talent/skill are they focused on currently? Prioritize that over the continuation of other topics or trades. That way when you bring home a fluffy new member of your home that needs to be taken out every hour for potty training, your kiddos have the time to learn responsibility in caring for a living thing.
The last thing I recommend is clearly communicating with your homeschoolers. Let them know that time is being crunched, and you’re going to be changing things up. Talk to them about time management, ask them their opinion about where time can be used more wisely, let them share their thoughts on what classes might need more focus. Taking their suggestions to heart, letting them know you listen and appreciate their input (even if you decide that math really is more important than experimental home economics e.i. seeing how something bakes if you put in too much baking powder). This does two things for your homeschooling curriculum, first it lets your children know what their agendas are going to look like for the next couple months or so. Second, it helps them recognize that time is important, every task takes a certain amount of time and without careful attention you might end up not getting everything done. These have been helpful ways that I’ve gotten through the last couple months with so much on my plate. The conference ended yesterday, and I was tremendously honored to have been apart of it. My ministry in my home comes first, serving my husband and teaching my daughter, so if I’m going to add anything to my day I have to be careful not to do so at their expense. I hope this is helpful for all you homeschooling families, I’d love to hear about ways you’ve improved on time management in your home in the comments below. As always, beloved brethren, be good Berean’s and study to show yourselves approved.
These past few months I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned some things about myself through quarantine, recovery from COVID-19, and watching what little news I could tolerate about all societal chaos. I realized more and more that resting is necessary. Spiritually resting in the Lord’s power and Word, of course, mentally resting from the onslaught of opinions and “news”, emotionally resting from the concerns and burdens we just love to bear and physically resting before we sicken ourselves unnecessarily.
As much as I have learned about my own issues with resting, especially spiritually, there is something else I’ve learned, something alarming I’ve noticed. It’s the unrestrained, restless behavior of many of my professing sisters (brothers too). Triggered and tossed about publicly, professing sisters are showcasing one of the reasons why we need to listen to God on verses such as these:
“Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools. Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.” Ecclesiastes 7:9-10
I get it, things are troubling. We long for former days. The stakes seem high now, the question marks are bigger and the lies are more abundant. Pandemics are scary. The world is increasingly hostile towards the ways of God and His people, more hostile towards any solid and wholesome way of life- more hostile towards anything decent. It can make us restless and distracted.
These days, as a Christian, I tend to look at my social media feed with one eye open. It’s tough to read. As I feel my blood boil or angst start to set in, I’m often reminded of this:
“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5-7
I also think of these verses:
Philippians 2:14-16: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.”
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8.
Before having the “rona” I admit I felt the anxiety of a deadly virus and also the confusion and doubt about whether or not it’s really that deadly. As everyone knows, the news is more confusing than it is clarifying. Although unsure of what to think, we sanitized, wore masks, and prayed they worked. Being we live with my in-laws my teenage daughter took leave from her public job so that she wouldn’t get the virus and bring it home to them. My husband and I stayed home. Our church shut its doors and did sermons online. We were dedicated to trying to keep the virus out of our home.
Then we got it.
How? Who really knows for sure? The important thing is-God is in control, we are ok now, and we are grateful. We did what we could, sensibly, and trusted the Lord through it all. Trusting and resting in the Lord and His will is everything. It’s the calm in the middle of the storm and the sure footing on solid rock.
It’s easy to tell when one is fixated on the world and all that it broadcasts, when the world is influencing them to lose their peace. Emotional rants, desperate pleas, frantic responses, fear-filled warnings, angry emoji’s on repeat, bowing to the world, name-calling, expressing with cuss words, guilt-tripping, focusing on temporary freedoms and comforts, making non-Christian people be either your enemy or a savior depending on their political position or beliefs on wearing masks and isolating.. and then the frequent ALL CAPS.
There is a healthy amount of rest and ease we should seek. We need to chill without becoming complacent or unconcerned. We should call out sin and warn others of false teachings and dangerous movements but we can’t do any good being anxious or fearful, belligerent or insulting in the process. There is far too much emotional manipulation from the world, we don’t need to join that party.
I understand the temptation. For us Christians, there may be times ….
When our comforts are yanked from us or threatened, we cry for their return and preservation.
When the rebellious hearts of this world mock blessings, we get angry.
When the lost of this world step on our flowers, we grumble and point.
When the foolish spew unrelenting mendacities around us, we drown them in truth until they plead for mercy.
When the haters of this world want to revile and slander us, we are offended and we return the favor fiercely.
We may ask, “Why is this happening? Where’s justice? What about our rights? How can we continue on?”
What we should be asking is…what rights or comforts do we need now in order to live for eternity? Is my main focus supposed to be on health and national/personal freedom? Praying for those things is good and acceptable, focusing onand getting our hope from them – that’s a major problem.
My late grandfather used to say, “I only have the right to be thankful.” I’m not sure he was even a believer but I do know his little phrase packs a biblical punch. Do we really have the right to anything else? Think about it. Do we understand who we actually are and what we really deserve? Have you taken a close look at your own sinfulness?
Paul got it. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24)
Jesus instructed the disciples, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’” (Luke 17:10)
Who has convinced you of anything otherwise?
Remember what the Lord said in Matthew 5:38-44? ““You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”
Is that only after you ridicule and slander them first? NO
I’m seeing Christian leaders stoke the fire of emotion, slowly turning the focus away from the Gospel and putting it on political wars, societal and cultural restructuring, making the church more sensitive to the world’s cries, or the rights we “just can’t afford to lose”.
The disciples of Jesus yearned for Him to put an end to the corruption and persecution in their society. They believed He would set things right at that time, politically. Christ said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” He didn’t overturn the governments. He focused rather on saving and bringing souls home to His heavenly kingdom. That’s what He came for.
People surrounded Him constantly to be healed. He in His grace healed several. Yet He didn’t take away all sicknesses or even most of them. It was never really about those things. He kept the focus where the focus must be.
“Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:36-37.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”” Matthew 28: 19-20.
The more people hear the Gospel, the more people will be saved. When people are saved their hearts are changed and they proclaim the Gospel to others. Hope and joy are found. Peace with God is given. Lifestyles and families are impacted. Love and respect is practiced and seen. Most importantly, the Lord is glorified.
We read the Word and we are reminded we are to be unlike the world, to show the love of Christ, to die to self, to focus on Him and His promises and commands and that we are owed nothing from the Lord. We have been given such blessing beyond measure, all undeserved.
So why are many of my professing sisters having toddler fits all over social media as if they deserve blessing; as if they have rights to have what they want? Why are they making many lost people look more held-together then they are? Is it because, maybe, this world is where their hope really lies? Is it because church leaders are leading them on to think such nonsense is the work of the Lord? Do they understand what the Lord really wants?
If the Lord chooses not to answer our prayers or give us worldly comforts and freedoms, are we good with that? Can you rest in His wisdom? Can you look at the bigger eternal picture?
Sisters, let’s move on with the Gospel. This world has no hope without the Gospel. The work and the Word of the Lord change the hearts of people, not us, and definitely not our fits or anxiety.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2.
“If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? Romans 8:31b-33a
No one wants or should desire persecution or for freedom to end, yet to focus on those things as if Christ can’t be glorified or served in persecuted and oppressive situations is foolishness. Look at the world in Biblical times, when persecution, disease and death were daily sorrows. The Church still grew. God was glorified more and the people still found something to rejoice about. Can we still have joy in serving the Lord today?
And what do we do differently if every comfort in this world goes away? Nothing.
Love God. Share the Word. Pray. Love others more than yourself, even your enemies.
As a mother of five, when my little children threw fits, became hysterical, refused to listen, screamed to have something, or became grumpy and snarky….discipline or a nap were in order. They needed to think about what they were actually doing. They needed to rest and collect themselves before they found themselves in more trouble.
My Christian sisters, be an adult, a mature adult. Grow in Christ and realize when you need to rest in His ways more and concern yourself with what concerns Him, not what you think concerns Him. Study the Word to know. Be thankful and have joy in your salvation. Don’t grumble over the sins of others, share the Gospel instead. Remember, the lost can’t have rest as we can. They need salvation. That should be more than enough to motivate us with the Gospel.
““THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION
AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART,
AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’;
AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’” (Hebrews 3:10-11)
If you can’t rest in the sovereignty of God, get a grip, be salt and light in a dark world and pick your battles wisely, then get off of social media, stop watching the world, surround yourself with more sound fellowship and teaching, and please get on your knees and in the Word.
And maybe take a nap? Just not too long. There is much work to be done for the Lord.
Above is an article written by Gina Cook, Gina and Tami write Through the Narrow here at Tulips & Honey Hub. They’ll be posting articles every other Tuesday. Both are published authors, you can find Tami’s book here, and Gina’s book here. We’re blessed to have them apart of our team, and pray their writing will be as edifying to you as it is to us. – Lauren Hereford
Hello dear ones! Today I wanted to tell you about next weeks free, online, women’s conference Open Hearts in a Closed World. I’m so honored to be apart of this conference, helping Brooke Bartz with the background technological side. I still can’t believe she was able to put this all together so quickly, God’s gracious kindness in this effort has been so wonderful to watch. The conference is centered around serving, which is something we just don’t hear much about in this ME culture. CityALight will be doing to worship each day, and the speakers include Brooke, Susan Heck, Michelle Lesley, Erin Coates, and Penny Amack. After the main speakers teach each day there will then be a break out session with a creator who is going to teach us how to craft in fun ways that make serving in our home more exciting!
The conference will be broadcast live on YouTube, Facebook, and IGTV at 9:30 CST each morning, starting on the 13th of July and running until the 17th. Here’s a closer look at the lineup for next week:
Monday: Worship 9:30 CST CityALight – Main Speaker 10:00 CST Brooke Barts “What is Service?” – Breakout session 10:45 CST Danielle from ImperfectDust “Art Lettering”
Tuesday: Worship 9:30 CST CityALight – Main Speaker 10:00 CST Susan Heck “Five Truths Which Must be Remembered When Using One’s Spiritual Gifts” – Breakout session 10:45 CST Jasmin from TheCleverDecorator “Decorating on a Budget”
Wednesday: Worship 9:30 CST CityALight – Main Speaker 10:00 CST Penny Amack “Serving God from & in the Home” – Breakout session 10:45 CST Jess from GenuinelyGinger “Bullet Journaling”
As you can see, beloved, this is going to be an edifying week of teaching. Each day you’ll be able to either watch live, or watch at your own convenience over on YouTube, IGTV, or even Facebook. While the conference is completely free there is an option to donate, if you’d like to help with costs and the planning for next year. If you are a church that wants to put this conference on for your ladies, it’s free to do so and can be projected using YouTube. Other’s are having home watching parties. I hope you’ll share this information with any of the ladies you know that would be interested in this exciting conference. As always, beloved brethren, be good Bereans and study to show yourselves approved.
Hello dear ones, I hope this post finds you all doing well! Today’s episode is going to be a lot different than the previous ones. For starters, this one is just me, no co-host or guest to interview. I’m not sure how I stayed on track but if you want the blooper reel you’ll see that, well, it was a painful process. This time I decided to go with a topic that I absolutely love, which you’ll all know and remember if you’ve followed this blog for a long time. Dinosaurs! Ok, I went a lot further than just dinosaurs. But I mean, that’s the start of the conversation. I got into fossils, evolution, creation, apologetics, and presuppositionalism as well. It’s packed full of information, so the timeline below includes a large amount of references, articles, and resources.
Job 40:15-17
Hope fully I’ve included everything that you might need to study stuff mentioned in this episode. I also added some of the images discussed during the episode, in case you’re one of the podcast listeners instead of a Youtube watcher. No Humblebee left behind! You can, of course, listen across all major podcasting platforms such as Podbean, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, and in video form on Youtube. As always, beloved brethren, be good Berean’s and study to show yourselves approved.
Job 41:1-2
TS – 00:10:00 – Carl Sagon’s book on dragon legends
TS – 00:17:30 – Circular reasoning in dating dinosaurs. Articles explaining the errors here, and a reference for the charts used in this portion of today’s episode:
TS – 00:25:00 – Fossils found with tissue still intact. Articles explaining soft tissue fossils, as well as fossils with tissue still intact in further detail:
Redeemed Ranch: The Gospel Dog is a wonderful book for children, with beautiful art work, cute characters, and a relatable plot. As we all struggle with selfishness and need to be sanctified more and more, it might even be helpful for the parents reading it to their little ones. I was excited to see a book for kiddo’s covering this topic in a Biblical way, especially with the modern ME movement teaching generations of school age children to opposite values.
The Danker’s reached out to me and offered to send me a copy so that I could read it and review it. Usually that makes me a little nervous, I don’t like to give bad reviews and if it wasn’t Biblical I would have had to point it out. Thankfully, this sweet book doesn’t stray from Scripture, and it tells a fantastic story! I loved the characters, and the art work brought the scenes to life for me. I know some children need to see the characters clearly to be able to get into the story, and each page provides that.
It’s also Kayliegh approved, she read it twice! She loved the pictures as well as the story, and recommends it for children too. I think it would be particularly helpful if you have multiple kiddo’s and want to teach values for dealing with siblings. I’m grateful for families that are writing books like this, so that we have something wholesome to read to our little ones. You can find the book on Amazon, and you can follow the authors on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. They’ve also got a blog and a website, if you’d like more information.
If you’re an American reader, Happy 4th of July! If you’re reading from pretty much anywhere and you missed yesterday’s MEGA List live, you can check it out down below. I talked about this book there, as well! As always, beloved brethren, be good Berean’s and study to show yourselves approved.
This movement, many pastors are willing to tell their congregants to repent of their whiteness, but when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ you won’t tell them to repent and believe. The utter ugliness of such a movement, that doesn’t actually care about facts, doesn’t acknowledge God in all they do, rather their God and shrine is BLM which we know is a godless ideologies, whom by their atheistic standards is a purposeless, unguided universe, which in that account when you die, poof, that’s its, by their worldview. Yet they acclaim worth to humanity without acknowledging God, don’t fall victim to this false gospel, for it says because you are white you are the sinner, and if you are black you are god, but this isn’t true for it says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 ESV. We know by the gospel of Jesus Christ that Christ has reconciled us to God, made us at peace with God, so if the gospel of Jesus Christ has enough power to bring us to peace with God it has enough power to change hearts and souls to where their identity isn’t their race, but a child of God. This BLM will try to strip you of your citizenship of heaven, and if they can’t do that, they will label you a racist as if your an alien of your time, but don’t fret dear Christian or fall victim to this, for Christ is the only way. Christ Jesus died and grafted is gentiles into the family of God with the Jews who have been saved and will be saved. Stay true to the gospel, don’t fall for BLM movement. It’s not a sin to be born white, because you too were also made in the image of God.
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This movement isn’t to get equality, but to get dominance. To my brothers and sisters in Christ, I urge you with this, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” Philippians 1:27-30 ESV. God bless you all brothers and sisters in Christ, remember the blood of Jesus and don’t repent of your whiteness repent of your sins against God, whom Christ poured out His blood for us. Repent in bearing with the fruit of the Spirit and live your life for the glory of God and enjoy Him forever.
Tulips & Honey 