Meditate on it day and night

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 

Joshua 1:8-9

Starting in Kindergarten, our children at our Lutheran school begin their memory work. That year, they learn Bible verses, in First grade, they begin learning the 10 Commandments. This year my oldest son is in Third grade, and he has begun memorizing Luther's Small Catechism. It never fails when we work on memory work each Sunday that I hear, "WHY DO I HAVE TO DO THIS?????" My default answer is usually, "Because I did it and your dad did it, and our parents did it, and now it's your turn."

But really, that's not the reason. Our Lord has commanded us to meditate on His Word, both in the day and at night. The reason I make memory work such a priority for my children is that I want God's Word to be in their hearts--I want them to approach every situation they meet in life with God's Word on their lips. It's certainly how I approach life.

Think about your own home--I know in my home, we have Bible verses everywhere. I find verses that I like in the Bible, write them down, and post them on my kitchen cabinet. While I'm cooking, I read those verses and meditate on them. We have plaques with Bible verses in various areas of our home, words we can read as we go through the business of life. And every evening, as we put our children to bed, we practice memory work and pray together. We begin and end the day with God's Word.

By equipping our children with God's Word, we are growing their relationship with God. We teach it to our children so they will teach it to their own children. We are equipping them with the love of God, and the knowledge that He is with them always.

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for your Word. Thank you for giving us the Bible, so that we may teach our children of Your love. Help us to meditate on that Word, to stay close to you. Remind us that You are with us always, because Your Word is imprinted in our hearts. In Your name we pray, Amen.

We shall dwell with the Lord

Surely your goodness 

and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the 

house of the Lord

forever. 

Psalm 23:6

Being a mom sure has its moments. Probably the hardest is when there is the death of a loved one. Usually this would involve a fish being unceremoniously flushed down the toilet. There are tears from the kids and then talk about going to the store and getting a new one.

Being a wife of a pastor has brought a lot of talk about death in our house. “Why is dad not home?” “A man in the congregation died.” There would be a quiet calm, and then my youngest son would say, “Well he’s in heaven now.”

While we know that those who have faith in Christ will be in heaven, it still doesn’t make it any easier for us who are left behind. This is especially true when talking to our children about the death of a grandparent or another loved one. I have found that the best way is to be as open and honest as you can about the matter.

Being open and honest is best, but what should a parent say? One of the best things that I would recommend is going to your local funeral home and seeing what kind of resources that they have. They often have great handouts that will give you great advice speaking to your children about death.

Death is something that no one really wants to talk about. In fact, our society really shelters us from the idea of death. But death is a reality. Death is the result of sin entering this world. But God sent a solution: Jesus Christ. As believers we know that death doesn’t have the final word. For, through Jesus’ perfect life, death and resurrection we have the forgiveness of sins and the free gift of eternal life. Jesus truly guides us through the valley of the shadow of death in to the green pastures of eternal life.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the victory over death through your Son Jesus Christ. Send your Holy Spirit upon us in those trying times in our lives when we need to talk to our children about the death of a loved one. In Your name we pray, Amen.

God is my guide

"We live by faith, not by sight."

2 Corinthians 5:7

I just finished reading the book Thunder Dog.  It is a true story about a blind man, Michael Hingson, who was on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower on September 11, 2001.  Michael was led by his guide dog, all the way down the stairs to safety below.  He and his guide dog, Roselle, survived that fateful day.

I can't even imagine walking down all those stairs on that terrifying day with all of my senses, let alone not being able to see, and depending on my dog to show me the way.  Michael had a terrific amount of trust in Roselle's guidance.  He could have given into his fears that day, he could have asked a fellow employee on his floor to guide him down.  But he didn't--he trusted in Roselle.

God has promised to lead us, just as Roselle led Michael.    Isn't there times, though, that we feel blind?  We can't see where he's leading us.  There are those days when we've got so much on our minds, so many failures we've felt, that we just can't see the cross where he took away those failures.  We grope along, left in the dark, searching for God's hand.  Sometimes we don't even trust that God can lead the way.

How wonderful, though, that God doesn't expect blind trust of us!  Instead, He reminds us how worthy of our trust He is.  Over and over, He shows his love in our salvation.  God loves us so much that He sent His Son to bear our punishment and die for our death.  Now THAT is a God we can trust to lead us to heaven, even when we don't understand His ways.  We know He's leading us to everlasting life.

Dear Heavenly Father, I don't always trust you as I should.  Sometimes I lose sight of you, and grope around in the darkness, full of fear.  Through Your Word, remind me of your love in Jesus, so I trust Your leading in my life.  In Your name I pray, Amen.

For the sake of the gospel

"I do it all for the sake of the gospel, 

that I may share with them in its blessings."

1 Corinthians 9:23

Last Sunday our dryer broke.  Thankfully, I work at an in-home childcare center, so I was able to bring all my laundry there to be dried.  I don't think I ever realized how much laundry I really do!  Every day there was wet laundry to be loaded into the car.  And then that laundry, now dry, had to be brought into the house.  To be put into drawers and closets, to be worn and washed again.  And until Wednesday, the cycle will repeat.

Tasks we do every day, like laundry, can seem thankless.  The clothes are washed and dried and put away.  Same with the dishes, the vacuuming, the making of beds.  There are days that we moms clean up mess after mess and no one notices, let alone thank us for it!  We have to be all for everyone, and that can take a lot out of us!

Paul was in the same position.  In 1 Corinthians 9:19 he says, "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them."  We may feel like maids and chauffeurs and chefs, but think of what else we are to our children--we are there to bring them to the waters of Holy Baptism.  We are there to teach them the gospel, about our Lord sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.  We have the privilege of bringing them the gospel every day.

Thinking of this puts a spring in my step.  I may have to be everything to everyone at home.  I may do the laundry over and over, only to have more dirty clothes greet me in the morning.  As Paul said, "I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings."  (1 Corinthians 9:23)  

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, I'm a busy mom.  Sometimes I feel like no one notices the work I do around the house.  It's easy to get discouraged.  Remind me, Lord, that I am not doing this work for nothing--I'm also there to bring the gospel to my children.  Help me know that through my work, my children are sharing in Your blessings.  In Your name I pray, Amen.

You won't have to screen His call

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:13,14

We've all heard it lately- today's economy is a hard one to live in.  People everywhere are having trouble paying their bills, due to pay cuts or layoffs.  It's easy to get in over your head, especially when you have bills to pay.  Sometimes, unfortunately, some bills just can't get paid.  People end up getting calls from collection agencies, wondering when they're going to get paid.  Even when there's no money to give them, those calls keep coming.  

God's commandments are like that collection agency.  They tell us that we owe God for what we have or haven't done.  The pain word for this debt is sin.  We all have a huge debt with God--like a credit card bill that just won't go away.  The collection agencies are easy to pay off--pay the bill, you're done.  But God--that's not so easy.  When we try to scratch together the works in our lives as payments for our sins, God labels them for what they really are--counterfeit.  When we try to ignore the calls, to "screen" the commandments, they only keep coming, stronger and stronger.  

How scary is that debt?  More scary than any debt to American Express or the phone company.  But the beauty is that God has given us a way out of that debt.  Jesus took our sins, our debt, to the cross.  He nailed the sins there on the cross with Him.  Because He was God's own Son, He took care of those sins.  With the ink of His own precious blood, He wrote across our debt of sin, "Paid in full."  

Instead of having to screen calls from a collection agency, we're able to be forgiven.  God will never come calling for us, asking us to repay every sin that we've committed in our lives.  Instead, God sends us a different letter, one that says, "I have forgiven all your sins."  What a gift He has given to us!

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, we know that we carry a huge debt of sin.  We also know that there is no way to ever repay that debt to you.  Thank you for sending your Son to the cross to die for those sins.  We praise you for the gift of forgiveness that sacrifice gives us.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Anxiety

Mary was greatly troubled at his words...

but the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary,

you have found favor with God." 

Luke 1:29,30

Can you imagine?  Mary is a young girl.  She's never been married.  She's engaged.  An angel shows up at her house.  This angel is terrifying in itself, but the message he bears--the fact that Mary is going to have a baby...well, that's just paralyzing.  In Mary's culture, to be pregnant and unmarried is the worst disgrace.  Disgraceful enough that Joseph would leave her.  She'd be alone, and shunned.

Although we don't feel anxiety to the degree of Mary's, there's plenty of anxiety to be had this time of year.  For us at least, the anxiety seems to stem from finances.  Money can only stretch so far, yet there's presents, food, travel, and the usual bills to pay for.  Then there's time.  There's work, parties, school functions...it is all so stressful.  It is so easy to get lost in the shuffle and give in to the anxiety.

Yet Mary didn't give in to the anxiety.  Through the One who would come from her womb, she could stand fearless not just before the holy angels bu the holy Lord himself.  "God, my Savior," she called her child some verses later.  Jesus was the answer for Mary's Christmas anxiety.  

Just as Jesus is the answer for our own anxiety. God favored Mary, and God favors us.  He sent His Son to remove our sins with his payment.  He sent Jesus so we can stand without anxiety before him this blessed Christmas season.  It is the peace that passes all understanding.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, Christmastime can be filled with anxiety.  Just as you gave Mary peace through Your Son, give us peace.  Remove the fear from our sinful hearts.  Fill them with joy because of our Savior's birth.  Amen.

Thanking God for Unanswered Prayers

At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words. The one who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit has in mind. 

The Spirit intercedes for God’s people the way God wants him to.

Romans 8:26-27 (God's Word Translation)

It's the week of Thanksgiving.  Every year at this time, we always hear tons of people thanking God for the prayers they've had answered in the past year.  You may be one of them.  And that's great--we should always thank God for our blessings.

But have you ever thanked God for the prayers He didn't answer?  I've always loved the words to this Garth Brooks song:

Just the other night at a hometown football game 

My wife and I ran into my old high school flame 

And as I introduced them the past came back to me 

And I couldn't help but think of the way things used to be 

She was the one that I'd wanted for all times 

And each night I'd spend prayin' that God would make her mine 

And if he'd only grant me this wish I wished back then 

I'd never ask for anything again 

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers 

Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs 

That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care 

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers 

She wasn't quite the angel that I remembered in my dreams 

And I could tell that time had changed me 

In her eyes too it seemed 

We tried to talk about the old days 

There wasn't much we could recall 

I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all 

And as she walked away and I looked at my wife 

And then and there I thanked the good Lord 

For the gifts in my life 

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers

It's interesting to think of it that way, isn't it?  I think about all the prayers I've said through the years.  The prayer to marry my high school boyfriend.  If that had been answered, I would never have met Dan, and had our three wonderful children.  There's the prayer to live in Minnesota at our first congregation forever.  If that had been answered, we wouldn't have moved to Wisconsin, where I've met some of the best friends of my life.  So many "unanswered" prayers that, looking back, were answered, just in God's own way.

When we pray, many of us are praying for a "yes" to our requests.  There are times, though, that God isn't ready to answer our requests.  Or maybe He is ready to answer, but the answer is not the one we were looking for.  As our Bible verse says, "The One who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit has in mind.  The Spirit intercedes for God's people the way God wants him to."  Sometimes we don't always know what is best for us.  But God always knows what's best for us.  He always knows, and He has a plan for us.  

So I'll be thanking God this Thanksgiving, for ALL of my prayers--both answered, and unanswered.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for all You have done for us.  You have given us so many blessings.  Help us to remember to be Thankful for all the answers to prayer You have given us.  Be with us, so that we can remember that it is not our will, but Thy will be done.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Eat the good food

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Isaiah 55:2

My kids could eat all day long.  Let me rephrase that:  my kids could eat JUNK all day long.  They seem to be hungry all the time, yet when I offer them nutritious snacks like carrot sticks or fruit, they aren't hungry anymore. Instead, they hunger for chips, cookies or soda.  

You and I both know that they will get nothing but empty calories from junk food like that.  As parents, we know to offer good food to our children, food with vitamins that will help them grow.  We'd rather see them eat food that doesn't have empty calories, and will leave them wanting more.

In this passage, Isaiah was speaking of the same mistake.  People spend their money and their lives filling up with the wrong stuff.  They look for power in their jobs, they desire money for the latest and greatest possessions, just like my kids filling up on junk food.  But what happens when they actually get power, and actually earn money for all the things they want?  They want more.

God's word is the only thing we need.  By listening to His word, God is offering that nutritious food that we so desire.  That food--the Good News--declares to us that he has paid for our sins in Christ, and the assurance that he wants me to be his child.  He promises us that He will take us to live with Him in heaven.  As we read His word, God is at work, filling our soul with the nutritious food we need.  

We'll never be hungry again.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, so often we desire the empty things in life.  As our children crave junk food, we desire things that will never matter to us.  Thank you for giving us Your Word, helping us be satisfied to the fullest and living forever with You.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Irresistible food

How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalm 119:103

Have you ever made a dessert that you just couldn't stay away from?  The two desserts in my house that I can't stop eating have to be brownies or cheesecake.  There they are, fresh on the counter or in the fridge, waiting.  Just sitting there, tempting me to eat them.  It's horrifying to admit, but there's times when those brownies disappear in one sitting.  There's cheesecakes that have had more gone in one sitting than I'd like to tell you here.  Those sweet desserts are hard to resist.

The Psalmist here describes God's Word as one of those sweet desserts--sweeter than honey, which was one of the sweetest things known to him in at the time of writing this Psalm.  God's Word is something that we should want to devour like fresh brownies--not that we're going to lift it page by page to our mouths, but tasting it as we read, listen or hear God's Word at church or at home.

Not that God's Word always tastes good to us.  Sometimes it is like something that we cannot stand to eat--how I feel about raw celery or cooked lima beans.  The law makes my stomach turn as God's commands point out how often I've done what I shouldn't and haven't done what I should.  But I need those nasty vegetables--the law--or else the gospel wouldn't taste sweet like the brownies I so love.  The gospel with the good news of Jesus' payment for my sins--how sweet it tastes to my hungry soul!  It makes me want to dig in deeper to the Bible, to devour every word of forgiveness and love that it contains.  

We need to think of God's Word more as a favorite dessert--something that we just can't stay away from--than like vegetables--something we have to endure.  The blessings that God's Word contains are the sweetest food that we'll ever have in our lives.  It's dessert that will last until eternity.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, you know my love for all things sweet.  Help me to have that same good appetite for Your Word, so that I can be healthy in my faith in Jesus.  Give me the desire to taste the sweet blessings and forgiveness that Your Word contains.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

The Unknown

What we will be has not yet been made known.

But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, 

for we shall see Him as He is.  1 John 3:2

Being pregnant is so very exciting.  You have this little person growing inside of you, moving and stretching.  Other than a couple ultrasounds, you have no idea what your baby looks like.  Sometimes it seems like torture, waiting those long 9 months to see your new baby.  You wonder who she'll look like--will she have your eyes, or your husband's nose?  Will she favor your side of the family?  What color hair and eyes will she have?

Then the baby is born, and you meet for the first time.  It's amazing, right after the birth, to lay and admire your new baby.  Finding out, finally, what she looks like.  Sometimes it seems that you can't take your eyes off of that precious new baby!

But the adventure has just begun. The years ahead will be full of new questions--what will her personality be like?  What will her favorite things be?  Will she have a good sense of humor?  Will she like to play with babies, or will she be into sports?  So many questions, and so many years to see who your child will be like.

Our Heavenly Father, though, KNOWS who we are going to be.  He has a plan for us, has had a plan for us since the beginning of time.  He knows what your child is going to be when they grow up.  He knows where our careers are going to take us.  He KNOWS.  What's frustrating for us, though, is that we don't know!  It's important for us to remember what today's Bible verse tells us, though:  "But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."  What a comfort and joy that is in our daily lives, with all the unknowns we experience.  One day, when Jesus comes again, we KNOW that we shall be like Him!

Come, Lord Jesus.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, it is so exciting to be a parent.  It's wonderful to watch our children grow and learn, and to see them turn into wonderful people.  Help us not to worry about the future, and about knowing what our children--or even ourselves--will be.  Give us peace in knowing that someday, when you return, we shall be like you.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

The seasons of motherhood

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.

2 Timothy 4:2

When my husband was in seminary, I worked full time.  Except for his year of vicarage, I worked in daycare.  Every day, I saw parents drop off their children, leaving them with me for the day for their care.  During the time that I was a toddler teacher, I had many children call me "Mommy," including one time in front of a little boy's own mother.  After that day, I went home and made my husband promise that when we were blessed with children, I would be able to stay home and take care of them.  I didn't want any other woman but me called "Mommy" by my children.

For eight years, I stayed home with my children.  I shuttled to and from preschool.  I changed diapers and potty trained toddlers.  I fed lunches, put down babies and toddlers for naps.  I did laundry, I cleaned.  As the kids got older, I took on a few part time jobs, mostly playing organ in churches or teaching piano.  Late this summer, this changed.  I was offered the opportunity to go back to work in daycare, full time after January.

For the first time a couple weeks ago, I dropped all three of my children off at daycare.  Something that would have given me hives from nerves six or seven years ago was actually a good thing.  It was a new season for me.

Motherhood is full of seasons.  There's the season of caring for newborns and toddlers.  There's the season of having preschoolers, and getting adjusted to having children in school.  There's the season when your children are suddenly older, and you're finding a new footing for yourself in the world, as I am doing now.  In every season, however, we need to stay connected with Christ.  As Paul says above, we need to be prepared in every season.  Staying in God's Word, attending worship, receiving communion--all of these things help us stay connected with our Lord during whatever season or mothering lives are in at the moment.  

Staying connected to Christ ourselves helps us keep our own families connected with Christ.  It helps us, as Paul says above, to give careful instruction with great patience.  Teaching our children about the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross will last forever.

No matter what season it is.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, we find ourselves in many seasons while we mother our children. Guide us during those seasons.  Help us to have patience, and to stay connected to you.  Help us to be prepared to give instruction to our own children, during the seasons in their own lives.  Thank you for sending Your Son to give us eternal life.  In Your name we pray,  Amen.

Mothers: AKA Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:9

Moms do a lot of peacemaking.  From sun up to sun down, there seems to be hundreds of fights that need to be broken up, disagreements to work out.  Just this morning I had to be the referee to my son and daughter, arguing over a Pokemon card that was found in her room.  As mothers, we seek to find peace and harmony in our homes.  There are days when that peace is hard to find!

It's hard, though, to make peace, unless you possess peace.  God is the true peacemaker.  He sent His Son as the Prince of Peace to restore the family relationship with him that sin had ruptured.  See the parallel?  God gives us peace through His Son, so we, too, can restore peace with our own families.  In Romans 5:1 we read, "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  

As we know from experience in our own homes, happiness follows peace.  Think of Jesus' words in this way:  "Blessed are the peacemakers; the spouses, parents and children who don't insist on having their own way or the last word."  The closer the Spirit draws us through the Word to the Prince of Peace, the more we'll become peacemakers like Him.  Think of the peace that you're passing on, then, to your children.  Through our peacemaking, we're teaching them peacemaking skills that will stay with them for eternity.  It's the peace that surpasses all understanding.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, We spend much of our days being peacemakers with our families. Fill us with your peace.  Remind of us the gift of peace we've received through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Help us to live more at peace with our families, and teach our own children to be peacemakers.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Tomorrow is a new day

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

Psalm 32:1

One of my favorite movies is Anne of Green Gables.  Poor Anne, there are days she just can't get anything right, from dyeing her hair green to accidentally getting her friend Diana drunk.  One thing that Anne says in this movie has always stuck with me:  "Tomorrow is a new day, fresh, with no mistakes in it."

As a mother, I carry that with me every day.  Generally, I have good days.  Days where I am patient with my children, ready to read to them and give them the attention they need.  But everyone has their bad days.  Days when I lose my patience and yell when I shouldn't.  Days when I say things that I shouldn't.  Those are the days that I say to myself as I fall asleep:  "Tomorrow is a new day, fresh, with no mistakes in it."

Thank God we moms can go to God for forgiveness!  Forgiveness springs from deep love.  From the very beginning, we've been sinful people.  But God loved us so much--the deepest love ever--and sent His only Son to die for our sins on the cross.  It's from that act of deep love that we can receive forgiveness.  The joy of forgiveness is the ability to start over again.  The joy of forgiveness is to love deeper and better than before.  The joy of forgiveness is freedom from being stuck in the past so we can love again.

Thanks be to God, that tomorrow is a new day, fresh with no mistakes in it.

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, We know that we make many mistakes in our vocation of mothering.  There are days when we feel that we didn't get anything right.  We praise you for sending your Only Son to die for those sins on the cross.  Thank you for the forgiveness that grants us.  Help us to use that gift of forgiveness to start each day fresh, ready to mother the children You have given us.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

A devotion for the night before school begins

Search me, O God, and know my heart; 

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Psalm 139: 23

At our home visit last week, my son's teacher gave us this devotion.  I thought it was so wonderful, I wanted to share it with all of you!

WORSHIP GUIDE BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
(Author Unkown)

Materials you will need:
-Baby/Toddler  pictures of your children
-Book bag and/or other school supplies
-New school clothing
-A Bible

TALKING TOGETHER WITH GOD:
Look at the pictures when the child(ren) were younger.  Talk about the growth that has taken place.  Talk about the changes.  
You are taller and stronger.  What can you do now that you couldn't do when you were a baby?  You can do so many things because your body works so well.  Hold the Bible open to Psalm 139 as you talk about what God says.  In the Bible David was talking about how God had made him.  He said, "I will praise You, God.  You made me in such a wonderful way!"  God made you in a wonderful way.  Show me some things your hands can do.  What can you do with your feet?  Now God is giving you a chance to go to school and learn more about Him and about how to use your body. Let's talk to God about your first day of school:  Heavenly Father, tomorrow ___________________ is going to begin school.  Be with him/her and help him/her to grow.  Thank you for the wonderful way You made our bodies.  We are glad You love us and have made us your dear children. Amen.


OR:

Suggest that the child tell about the school supplies that have been bought for the beginning of school.  God has blessed us with so many tools we can use for learning.  What is your favorite supply that we bought?  What is your favorite color among the clothes we bought?  You may hold your favorite tools or clothing for our prayer:
Lord God, You are good to us!  Look at all the blessings _____________ has to take to school tomorrow.  Help him/her to use them carefully.  We remember that You have also given us our best blessing, Jesus.  Help us remember that He is with us tomorrow!  Amen.


A PRAYER FOR PARENTS:
Heavenly Father, today ____________________ begins another year of school.  I am apprehensive.  Will the teacher understand him/her?  Love him/her?  Nurture him/her?  Will he/she develop friendships that bring out her/his best characteristics?  Will he/she look eagerly for knowledge?  Calm my apprehensions and make me secure in the faith that you will be with me in the parenting of my child.  I praise you for dedicated teachers and staff and for a school that reflects your love.  And most of all I praise you for your gift to me, ___________________, your dear child.  Amen.


God bless all of you as you begin a new school year!

Our names are written in Heaven

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Luke 10:20

Last year in preschool, my daughter learned how to write her name.  She was very proud.  Suddenly, around the house, the name Emma seemed to appear everywhere.  On the wall in her room.  On the fallboard of my piano.  On her brothers' school papers.  Even on the microwave, in red Sharpie.  

It's not hard for children like Emma to learn that when their names are on things, they belong to them.  Perhaps Emma was hoping that her bedroom wall or my piano would now be hers, since her name was written on them.  How many of us, upon bringing yummy leftovers home from a restaurant, have written our names on the package, so that everyone in the house will know it belongs to us?

God also writes names.  It's as if God is up in Heaven, writing on the wall, just as Emma did in her own room.  He's writing the names of all His children.  His grandchildren.  His great-grandchildren.  And so on.  But of course, he doesn't really need a list, or a red Sharpie to mark those names down.  He knows us all by name.

How do our names get recorded in Heaven?  By God's grace.  He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross for us.  His Son had to leave behind His throne in heaven and endure hell's suffering.  He paid for our sins.  His Spirit has called us by the gospel, enlightening us with his gifts, sanctifying and keeping us in the true faith.  Thanks be to God, it's a record that not even a Magic Eraser will erase.  

We pray,  Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for writing our names in your book of life.  Thank you for sending your dear Son to die for our sins on the cross.  Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to us, keeping us in faith with you.  Help us to remember that as long as we believe in you, our names will never be erased.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

God is working in us

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.  Philippians 2:13

7am: Daughter wakes up, wants breakfast.

8am:  Boys wake up, want breakfast

9am: First load of laundry, do dishes, get laundry on the line.

10am: Clean up around the house, sweep floors.

11am: Finish getting laundry on the line outside.

12pm: Lunch time, put the dog outside

1pm: Start folding laundry

2pm: Pick green beans, weed around the house

3pm: Get laundry off the line

4pm: Put laundry away

5pm: Supper time

6pm: Clean up from supper, sweep again

7pm: Collect garbage, clean cat boxes

8pm: Get kids to bed

This is a picture of my day today.  Work, work, work.  We, as moms, work all day long.  Some of us stay at home.  Some of us work outside the home, and have more work to do when we get home at night.  Either way, our work never seems to get done.  When we get one mess cleaned up, we turn around, and there's another mess waiting for us.  The work is there when we go to sleep, and is still there when we wake up.

It's easy to forget why we do this work day in and day out.  Of course we love our families and want to make sure they are happy and healthy.  But it's hard to feel appreciated sometimes.  As mothers, though, this is the vocation that the Lord has given us.  See our Bible verse for today?  He takes pleasure in our work.  

Every moment, every step of the day, the Lord is working within us.  He's there when our kids have an argument, and we tell them to love each other and forgive.  He's there when the little one scrapes her knee, watching while we comfort with a gentle hand.  His work is in us.

Remember, though, that it is not because of OUR work that we are saved.  It is because of GOD'S work.  Throughout the day, the work that God is doing in our hearts--the work that He accomplished through Christ on the cross--that is what saves us.  Our work glorifies him, and brings Him pleasure. 

The knowledge of that brings a spring to my step, as I go about my work of being a mother!

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, Mothering is hard work.  There are days when we don't stop from the time we get up until the time we lay down to sleep at night.  We praise You that you are there with us, every step of the day.  Help us to remember that You are working within us, as we are working within our homes.  In Your name we pray, Amen

I, a poor miserable sinner

I said, "I will confess the transgressions to the Lord"

and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 32:5

As an organist, I have the opportunity to travel to a different church than my own once a month.  This church is of a different denomination than the Lutheran LCMS church I am used to attending.  It's a nice church, with kind, welcoming people.  But every time I've played there, I've noticed something missing.

Sin.

There has never been one mention of sin and its ugliness in the few times I've attended there.  And I can understand why.  Sin is never a nice thing to talk about.  Recognizing your own sin can be humbling, even humiliating at times.  No one likes to talk about sin these days.  That word--sin--is just to harsh for people who like to think that they really aren't so bad after all.  

The thing I'm always thinking about, though, is the fact that without the mention of sin--the law--the Gospel also seems to be missing.  King David wrote our verse for today's devotion.  When God sent the prophet to hold the mirror of the law before David, showing him how very awful his sins were, the king hung his head.  Otherwise, he would have just kept on sinning.  But when David felt the guilt of his sin, he then could appreciate the fullness of God's forgiveness.  In short, if we aren't shown our sin, we can't see the Savior!

No one is perfect.  We all know that.  Thanks be to God that we can recognize that together, in church, in confession.  How beautiful that God sent His Son, Jesus, to absolve us of those sins.  It's such a wonderful gift from Him.  

I'll happily admit to being a miserable sinner any day.  That way I get to see my Savior.

We pray: Dear Heavenly Father, As much as we don't like to admit it, we are all sinners.  We don't like to look in the mirror and see that sin.  Help us to recognize that sin, and then show us your forgiveness through the good news about your Son, our Savior.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Heaven is my home

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in

is destroyed, we have a building from God,

an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

2 Corinthians 5:1

As mothers, we take pride in our homes.  We try (although it seems impossible with small children) to keep them clean.  We decorate them with care, finding items to beautify our living space.  We choose furniture that makes us comfortable and welcomes guests.  We enjoy having people over, often showing them every room of our home that we've worked so hard on, especially if we've been working on remodeling.

It's easy to forget that these things are not permanent.  Far too many people believe that their homes are, in fact, permanent.  They dig a basement, pour concrete walls, as if they were going to be here forever. When something terrible, like a flood or a fire happens, they panic.  What they thought permanent was only temporary.  And they have no home to go to.

Waiting for us, though, is an eternal house in heaven.  God himself has built it!  John 14:2 says, "In my Father's house are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?"   That home is a mansion like we can't even imagine, with building materials God Himself used.  The blood of His Son, His perfect payment for all of our sins, and His complete keeping of all God's commandments are the concrete and lumber for this beautiful home.  That house will stand FOREVER.  It's better than any house we could have here on Earth.

We pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for our homes here on Earth.  Thank you for the opportunity you give us to take care of those homes.  Remind us, though, that these homes are never permanent.  Keep us mindful of the place you have for us in Heaven, our eternal home.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Where there is the Word, there is fruit.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119:105

Being that we are a pastor's family, we have many Bibles in our home.  There's one on my nightstand--it used to be my Grandma's.  There's a few on our bookshelf.  My old Concordia self-study is on a shelf in the kitchen.  My Lutheran Study Bible  is downstairs on my desk.  Emma has a children's Bible in her room, and Ethan's Bible for school is in his desk in his room.  And I'm sure Dan has a couple floating around here somewhere.

With all those Bibles, I should have plenty of opportunity to study God's word.  But I don't.  As I listened to a sermon a couple of weeks ago, I realized I don't study God's word nearly enough.  The pastor, a good friend of ours (Pastor Matthew Ruesch), mentioned that the Word of God is as important as breathing, drinking water, or eating food.  A lightbulb went off in my head!  Would I ever go without doing any of those things?  I think not.  When we're thirsty, we get a drink of water.  Most of us feel hunger coming on and are quick to satisfy it.  And we breathe without even thinking about it.  Yet we continually go without studying God's Word.

Pastor Ruesch continued:  In His word, God is making Himself present with His people.  The word of god has power in the lives of those people.  The center of everything we do as those people of God has to be His word.  Eat His body.  Drink His blood.  Study His word.  Do those things, and YOU WILL GROW.  God's word says so, and it's His promise.  Reading His word daily is not a command, it is an invitation.  Where there is the Word, there is fruit.

Think of it this way:  Remember when you had your baby(ies)?  Remember Grandma Schmidt coming with a beautiful crocheted blanket?  Now imagine that you said to Grandma Schmidt, "Oh, sorry.  I've got ten other blankets.  I just don't need this one.  Here, take it back."   How would Grandma Schmidt feel?  Pretty bad.  It's the same thing with God's word.  Disregarding God's word is the same as refusing a gift someone has made for you.  When you think of it that way, it's pretty hard not to sit down on the spot and start reading, right?

We pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you for Your Word.  Thank you for the promises it holds. Thank you for the forgiveness of sins that I receive within its pages.  Help me to stay connected to you by studying Your Word.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Teaching our children

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

Psalm 111:10

Have you ever realized how much we teach our children?  From the moment they are born, we start teaching them.  They learn that they can depend on us to meet their needs, from food to sleep to diapers.  We teach them to sit up, to crawl, to walk.  We teach them how to eat with a spoon, to say "Mama" or "Dada."  There's the struggle of teaching them to use the potty, the challenge of teaching them to tie their shoes.  Every moment as a parent is a teachable moment.

Think about our verse for today, though.  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  The most important thing we can ever teach our children is the fear of the Lord.  What does it mean to fear the Lord?  This website says, "The word for fear here means "reverential fear." It means that one must be serious about their relationship to God. People who "fear" the Lord are not anxious about their relationship to him, or afraid of Him, they take very seriously their responsibility to Him."  From day one, we should be teaching our children about their relationship with Christ.  We bring them to the baptismal fount, cementing that relationship and making them a member of God's family.   

It doesn't stop at the baptismal fount, though.  Every day, every moment, we have the opportunity to help our children grow in their faith.  I think about all the ways we do this in our home: praying at mealtimes and bedtime, doing devotions, going to church and Sunday School.  I try not to let a day go by without telling the kids how much Jesus loves them.  We talk about sin when they misbehave, and the wonderful forgiveness of sins that Jesus gave them on the cross.  It's those teachable moments that are so very important.  Even more important than learning to tie their shoes.  This teaching brings them eternal life.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for our children.  We praise you for the joy they bring into our lives.  Watch over us as we help them grow.  Be with us as we teach them about You and Your love for us.  Help us to grow their faith so that they can someday teach their own children about You.  In Your name we pray, Amen.