If all were a single member, where would the body be?
1 Corinthians 12:19

I was on the playground watching our girls play the other day when Elizabeth ran over and gave me the the broken stick pictured above. "Look at that!" she said as we noticed the little buds. "What will come of it?" This began a short discussion and a lingering thought. The obvious answer is not much. It is broken off of the tree. My mind was drawn to Christ's words in John 15:6  Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up. I realized there was a message in this stick and referred to this passage. In short the branch needs the tree to survive. The tree sustains it's life and in the tree the branch has the ability to grow and bear fruit. Apart from the tree it is a degenerating waiting game. Sadly, most of us have seen or been that stick. People pull away from God and sin creeps in. It is hard being on the outside looking in on a person who is actively doing this. Whether it is the flash of the world or laziness that causes the separation, the result is the same. A broken disjointed life. We must stay connected. How do we do that? For starters...

1. Study God's Word. Set time aside each day to dig into His Word and see what He has to say to you. You will be blessed by it. If you don't know where to start, try a Proverb a day. After that go for a Psalm a day. 

Psalm 119:105 says,  Your word is a lamp for my foot
and light on my path. God's Word guides. 

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. God's Word protects.

2 Timothy 3:15
and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
 God's Word gives us wisdom.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living;  thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work. God's Word instructs. 

2. Pray. Pray when you wake up. Pray before you go to sleep. Pray in between by taking opportunity like Nehemiah did and pray in the moment.

Nehemiah 2:4-5  
The king asked me, “What is it that you want?” I prayed to the God of heaven, then said to the king, “If it pleases the king, if your servant has won your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ tombs, so that I can rebuild it.” 
Prayer is not locational or positional. It is a conversation with our Creator. If you are in Christ or wholeheartedly seeking God, He will hear you. 

Deuteronomy 4:7
For what great nation is there that has God as close to them as Adonai our God is, whenever we call on him?
Praying to God is a privilege.

James 5:16 
Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
There is power in prayer. 

In prayer we have the opportunity to draw close to God. Share our thoughts with Him. If we listen closely, we may hear Him speak to our hearts and if we look at the world through the right lens, we will see Him work. 

3. Meet Together. Brothers and sisters in Christ must Fellowship. 

Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

Leviticus 23:3
“‘Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for Adonai, even in your homes.

Convocation
~a large formal assembly of people
~the action of calling people together for a large formal assembly.

God's plan for Sabbath was rest, learning and fellowship. A time of encouragement. God commands us to have the Sabbath set aside for coming together. It is His plan and so beyond contestation. Sitting at home in front of the television watching televangelists was not His plan, but has become the poisonous habit of so many since COVID. This hurts not only the individual, but the flock as well. I spoke to a brother in Christ recently who has been watching his church family dwindle since the pandemic. He is grieved. He misses his brothers and sisters. We need to be in fellowship. We need to co-labor. Every one of us has unique gifts. 1 Corinthians 12 speaks to this. In Christ we are all parts of one body. We each have a divine purpose in God's Kingdom and gifts meant to glorify God and serve His people. If you have a church you serve in, keep up the great work, but if you don't, find a local gathering of God's people and use those gifts there.

I feel as though God spoke to us through this broken branch. I hope it encourages you too. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions, comments or random thoughts, please don't hesitate to share. Iron sharpens iron.


Ephesians 2:19-22
 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.


​

Question: Why did the teacher put on sunglasses before starting school?
Answer: Because her students are so bright :)

           So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships, And don't you look back          
​ ~ For King And Country

     
​Our family has been studying the book of Judges. More broadly, we have been studying the history of the church. It is mind bending to see how strongly culture has impacted God's people since the beginning of time. God's word is clear as to how He instructs us to live, but there is always another voice. One seeks to save, love and protect us, but the other is unrelenting in it's desire to corrupt us, destroy us and ultimately separate us from God. We saw the first example of this in Eden with the serpent. Evil will always vie for our attention and is very creative in how to grab it. This week we have been looking at Gideon. Judges 6 is a really inspiring account. It opens with Gideon threshing wheat in a wine press in hopes of avoiding conflict. Israel had come under attack from the people of Midyan for seven years because they were chasing other Gods. Judges 6:10 and I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.” But you have not obeyed Me." The Israelites lived in Egypt for hundreds of years. The worship of Baal caught fire there around 1400 B.C. which gave the Israelites a very long time to steep in this practice before the exodus. They adopted many of the Egyptian's customs, of which it seems Baal was one. As for Gideon, because of the persecution from Midyan, the Israelites were living in caves, mountains and other safe places. It seems he was just trying to do his job and stay safe as a wine press likely would have been somewhat out of sight. As he was working, an angel appeared to him and called him to save Israel from the hands of Midyan to which he informs the angel that he is the youngest person in the weakest clan in Manasseh. A.K.A. I am nothing, I have nothing, you have the wrong guy. I think many of us can relate to Gideon here. It would be a rare person who has never come up against a situation that felt bigger than their ability and resources. The encouragement? God has a habit of using ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Fast forward, after the angel's encouraging words that they will come out from under their oppression and physical proof of the authenticity of the angel, Gideon is in. Wasting no time The Lord spoke to him that night. He instructs him to destroy his father's alter for Baal and the Ashera pole beside it. Baal was considered the god of fertility and Ashera was the goddess of fertility. They were kind of peanut butter and jelly as far as paganism goes and as such were often worshiped together. What did Baal/Ashera worship look like??? Orgies, bisexuality, infant sacrifice by burning them alive and more performed at the alters to get good crops... Everything about this is an offense to God. Offense meaning, He hates it. Yet, it is prolific throughout the Bible. God keeps stamping it out and Israel keeps bringing it back. Sex sells and Baal worship offered every and any type of depravity, even to the priests who were very involved in the rituals. It is shocking to me that they were head scratching as to why God would not save them from their distress, but back to Gideon. Under cover of darkness Gideon does what God instructed him to do. He destroyed the alter to Baal, cut down the Ashera, built a proper alter to God, and offered a burnt offering to God using the Ashera as firewood.  The next morning when the men of the city got up and found their shrine of debauchery destroyed, they sought out the culprit. After investigating they realized it was Gideon and gathered at his house to demand his father Joash hand him over to be killed. Joash refused saying let Baal revenge himself. "After all, somebody destroyed his alter."  As you have likely guessed, Baal is silent. Gideon lives and goes on to do some pretty terrific things. Not surprising considering who was with him. Between 800 & 900 B.C.  much of the influence of Baal was successfully rooted out from Israel by Jehu who tore down his temple and made a latrine of the remains. 2 Kings 10:27. Seems a fitting end-ish, as it does rear it's head again and continues around 70 years, but is then stamped out again under the rule of Josiah 2 Kings 22->. He rooted it out and "broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord." 2 Kings 23:7 In essence they had whore houses in God's Church.... In case you wondered what happens when sin goes unchecked. Idol worship and the way it upsets God is throughout the Bible and predates the Israelite's stint in Egypt. Genesis 31 is a great example of this. It is however stunning how they incorporated paganism into their worship of God. It is a slippery slope. You see growth from a set of ideas and ways of being, to a carved pole, to an alter, to a temple alongside, to alters, Ashera poles and whore houses inside of God's temple. Are we immune? Are we worshiping the God of the Bible or our own ideals. What forms our expectation of the "church experience?" Is it God's Holy Word or the surrounding culture? I am sure Christ's disciples are glad for Gideon, Jehu and Josiah's efforts to bring purity back to the worship of God. This tugging of peoples hearts back to the word has occurred since the beginning of time. As humans we get distracted and God says over here! Keep your eyes on my word. Why was Israel told in Deut 6 that the Lord is One and we are to love Him with all of our hearts, soul and strength. They were also told to tie these words on their hands, heads and write them on their door frames. God knew what was coming. He is God. His words would have safeguarded them, if they listened and thought about them. As Christians we are given a similar reminder from Christ. Like His Father He used simple elements. When ever you break this bread. Whenever you drink of this cup. Remember me. 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 Christ went through torment, a savage death and lived a selfless life to reform a very corrupt and broken church and make a way for everyone to be saved. One of the most powerful parts of the crucifixion story to me is when the temple curtain was torn in two. Guesstimates are that it was 60 feet long. Can you imagine what that looked like? The reactions of those there as it tore by an unseen force? At Christ's crucifixion the sky darkens for hours and upon His death the earth shakes and an enormous curtain meant to separate the people from God is torn in two...Mat 27:45-54  Checkmate. Judaism's tyrannical hold on God's people was no more for those who accepted Christ. You would imagine this would be met with reverence and fear, but instead they attempt the biggest cover up in the history of the world including, but not limited to, paying off the guards to say Christ's body was stolen. Mat 28:12-13 So, How are we doing? If you look at the first century church, does it seem in step with your worship? Out of respect for His sacrifice, let's take a large step back. What does this new church God established look like? First, the church is not a building, it is God's people wherever they gather. A building, though handy, does not designate a people of God. 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 Second, they should meet on the Sabbath. That is the seventh day, which is Saturday. The Catholic church changed it to Sunday. This is a historical fact and a place where culture has strongly impacted the church. God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. Gen 2:3 It was set aside for rest, fellowship and coming together as a church to worship God. The Catholic church states that they transferred that solemnity to Sunday. If you are Catholic you will be glad to roll with that, for those that are not ... Why adhere to a perversion of God's word established hundreds of years ago by a corrupt church? Third, the first church was not eating wafers and thimbles of juice at fellowship. That's communion for mice. They broke bread together. They spent hours together being taught, eating and talking. They were in each others lives. They were a family of believers, not just congregants. Fourth, men are pastors and deacons. 1 Tim 3 Deaconesses and female pastors do not exist in the Bible. They should not exist in churches. Women are a great blessing in God's church and there are many roles appropriate for them, but leading church is not one. Additionally, money corrupts. This has become abundantly evident in the church. A pastor wrote the other day on social media about a corrupt pastor saying "when will corruption in ministry end?" To which I wrote, "take away the salaries and I assure you that many of these corrupt teachers will fall away." Christ was a carpenter and Paul was a tent maker. 1 Thes 2:9 I am not saying that people should not give to those in ministry as they feel led to. We have given and continue to give, as we feel called, be it to missionaries, churches, people wanting to attend events geared at spiritual growth but finding themselves without means, or just brothers or sisters falling on challenging times. It is good and right to support God's work on this earth and care for His children.  I do however believe a person becoming a pastor with "expectation" of compensation is a breeding ground for insincere people to take a job rather than a person following a sincere calling from the Lord to serve His people. This is in no way meant to discredit Pastors who love the Lord are truly following God's calling and are in full time ministry. We have been blessed to know some. It is just a recognition that pastoring for pay is a broken system and leaves a lot of room for corruption. It has let many wolves into the sheep pen.  2 Cor 2:17 So, what does a first century church look like? In the words of a great pastor, "it is easy to say what it didn't look like right?" It didn't look like smoke and lights worship with paid worship pastors. It didn't have a bookstore in the lobby or concession stand. I have sadly seen both. To our thoughts, it was and should be Col 3:16. Followers of God united in their love for Him. It should look like families gathering together on the Sabbath to "break bread" ie bagels, cinnamon rolls, etc,  worship with song, the reading of scripture and exchanging of ideas... Additionally, it is a community in and of itself that purposes to find opportunities throughout the week to get together and encourage one another with  prayer time, women's studies, men's studies and for us it also includes thoughtfully planned children's activities that demonstrate to children that they are treasured by God and a very special part of His Kingdom. It is a place where awesome Christ honoring friendships are commonplace. It is a place where God's word is looked to as the standard and not simply a guidebook. Does this describe your fellowship? If yes, huzzah for you, yours and the kingdom of God. That is a tremendous gift. If not, perhaps it is time to burn those poles. As a family, we have done this. A common military practice of long ago was burning the ships as an army disembarked giving them no hope of returning without victory. We have done that as we searched for a New Testament church and were found wanting. We found a church that had most on straight but a few things very off. The closer we got the more clear it became. We did the responsible thing and brought our observations up to the church leaders. A few acknowledged the dysfunction and inappropriateness of things that we drew attention to, but also stated this is how it has been done for many years and now was essentially ecclesiastical polity and so would not likely be changed. Wow. Yes, it is against the Bible. No we will not change it as it has been like this a very long time. I want to encourage anyone reading this to choose God. You may be in France and we may never meet on this side of eternity, but at some point, as a people of God, we need to stand up and say enough. Almost is not good enough. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord! Even if it is just my family. Maybe wherever you are it is just you. Seek out other believers. Use social media, meet up platforms, etc... Burn your ships, pray in earnest and find your tribe. God is faithful. If you need an ear to bend, we are here. Please reach out. We look forward to hearing from you. :) 
​

Joshua 24:15-17
 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
​

Jonah has been on my heart lately. Our girls love this story. I think it takes a child's mind to fantastic places if you graze over the story without digging too deep. As a curious adult, I dig. Jonah opens with Jonah 1:1-3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it, because their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord. This book jumps right in. The whole account is so short and has a don't blink or you'll miss it feeling, but I have been fed so much by this tiny book. So many life lessons. I also love the scriptures where you hear God speak conversationally. It really allows me to see God's heart. The book opens with Jonah running from God. He very clearly didn't want to go to Nineveh. It was a city full of a people known for their savage brutality. Skinning people alive and slicing open pregnant women to destroy both mother and child type brutal, so though some may say, "He tried to run from God!?!" (Lesson 1, you can't Psalm 139) many would have helped him tie his laces. You get a sense that he knew running away from God was futile in that as the ship hit a storm that threatened to break the ship apart, he went below deck and went to sleep. I have to believe alcohol was involved... Through a drawing of lots they found this calamity was because of him and after they found and woke him, they asked who he was and what he had done. He told them he was a Hebrew, he feared God and that they should throw him into the sea and the sea would become calm because it was his fault the storm had come. They prayed, threw him in and the sea became calm. Raging storm ripping your ship apart to calm seas in an instant = sailors so stunned and fearful of the Lord that they made vows and offered sacrifices. Jonah made a poor decision in disobeying God, but he impacted the lives of those sailors when he confessed and acted faithfully. Lesson 2, God can turn a mess into a message, no matter how messy the circumstances. This is good since this is about to get very messy. The Bible states in Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Lesson 3, God always has a plan. There is so much speculation about what this "great fish was," but in reality, it's inconsequential to the message. It was a fish prepared by God for this purpose. It may not have even existed before that day. He is God. He can do things like that. Also may have been the first and last of it's kind. In the second chapter Jonah seems to chronicle his experience. As he prayed from the creatures insides, he summarized that he was thrown in the sea by God, though it was the sailors, followed by being tossed around and overcome by the waves, seaweed was wrapped around his head, but God rescued him from the deep. He seems to realize in his distress the peace and protection he has in knowing God and acknowledges that those who worship vain idols are turning from God. He also vows to do his duty to God as salvation is from the Lord. This is immediately followed by God speaking to the fish and having it vomit him up onto dry land. He was in that fish three days and three nights. That is a long time to be in a fish. I imagine at first he was in despair, but eventually he prayed that prayer and pop, out he came. I can imagine the fish swimming up and down along the shoreline of Nineveh waiting. God also seemed to be waiting for Jonah to recommit himself to following Him. Jonah's release was just one contrite spirit's prayer away.  Lesson 4, prayer is powerful James 5:16  In chapter 3 Jonah walks through Nineveh proclaiming God's judgement is coming in 40 days. The whole city repents, fasts, and wears sackcloth in hope that God would change His mind. He does. These were a vicious people. In fact the kings decree to all the people in hope of being forgiven included turning from their evil ways and violence they practiced. Lesson 5, God is a loving Father and possesses an incredible capacity for mercy and forgiveness. The Ninevites did atrocious things, but God forgave them. This angered Jonah. In the fourth chapter we get down to brass tacks and see Jonah explain that he knew God is compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, rich in grace and that He relents from inflicting punishment. For this reason he fled to Tarshish and then basically explained that he would rather be dead than see the city go unpunished.... God asked Him if it was right for him to be so angry to which there is no recorded response. He simply left the city, made himself a shelter and sat under it to see what happened to Nineveh. God made a plant grow to comfort him and Jonah was pleased, but at dawn God sent a worm that attacked it so it dried up. Jonah gets so angry he is once again asking to die to which God points out he is upset about a plant but expects Him not to be upset about the over 120,000 people of Nineveh, who don't know their left hand from their right. Showing His grace and recognition of their ignorance. He also mentions concern for the animals. Do you see Him? That is our Father. Our amazing, loving and abounding in grace Father. Jonah ends abruptly. Maybe Jonah had his prayer answered and left this world that day. Maybe. This book is entitled Jonah, but to me, this is more a portrait of God and His wondrous love for His people. It also offers the challenge to love like God seeing people who are acting wrongly as broken and lost, not enemies. 

Psalm 107:10-22
There were those who lived in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains, Because they had rebelled against the words of God And rejected the plan of the Most High. Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was no one to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them from their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke their bands apart. They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy, And for His wonders to the sons of mankind! For He has shattered gates of bronze And cut off bars of iron.  Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their guilty deeds, were afflicted.Their souls loathed all kinds of food,And they came close to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them from their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And saved them from their destruction. They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy, And for His wonders to the sons of mankind! They shall also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.

Thanksgiving is over. Maybe you made your sweet potato casserole and had one tuber too many. In the basket it goes and if it sits long enough it starts to get a little interesting. Is that a leaf?!? It is cold out and where the world outside is looking forlorn you have an unintentional garden in your basket. If you add homeschooling family to that, this has a strong likelihood of being exploited. That there is a free science experiment. :) Kids LOVE watching things grow. Me too! This was us a couple of weeks ago. This morning I woke up to find my cat on the counter by the sweet potato plant. My cats are not allowed on my counters. It is just not hygienic, so I go Mexican Hat Dance on them if they are in breech of protocol. Today though I saw Abigail must have spotted our plant. She was nibbling on the leaves and chewing on the vine. Not sure how long she was there, but she really seemed to be enjoying it so I thought of putting it on the floor. From somewhere deep inside, the ex-vet tech in me remembered some plants are poisonous so I looked up sweet potato vines. Turns out they are toxic to cats & dogs because they contain LSD as per the ASPCA and other sources. It can cause diarrhea and hallucinations. So I clapped her off the counter, chucked the potato and turned to the counter behind me to make breakfast when she jumped up on the counter again. I shooed her down and walked out of the room to check on the girls who were still sleeping. When I went back into the kitchen.... I found her up there again sniffing around the empty basket. I put her down on the ground about three more times before she finally gave up. That's when "The  Sweet Fatness" aka Ariel enters the picture. She is our less active kitten. A rescue, she is a tabby with a docked ear, round tummy and fur as soft as a bunny rabbit. She never got very big, in length, and is the sweetest baby. In contrast, Abigail looks like Bagheera from Jungle Book. When she stands on her hind legs her front paws can rest on a counter. She is also a sweetheart, usually? Today after I shooed her for the last time she walked to the entrance to the dining room, spotted Ariel, did the jungle cat crouch and it was game over. Abby went after her a few more times before like Bobby Fisher, Ariel disappeared. She may be small, but she's smart. In conclusion, as nobody wants a cat strung out on sweet potato leaves, cat owners might be best to skip this activity until the outdoors are warm enough to do it outside. As a bonus, when they sprout you can put them in the ground.  Happy planting! :)

 Sometimes the greatest gifts are the most unexpected and something you never realized you wanted until it was given. ~ Mark Hamill
 
Elizabeth Grace, our older daughter, has a special friendship with our Aunt Denise. When we drove to visit her in NC some months ago Elizabeth found a rock at a rest area that she regarded as special. Into her pocket it went and when she got to her Aunt's house she gave it to her. Aunt Denise closely examined the very ordinary rock, stated how sweet it was of her to think of her and she put it in a place of honor on her mantle, "so it would be safe and everyone would see it." Aunt Denise lived very far away. They rarely saw each other, but when she spoke with her aunt, Elizabeth would ask, "do you still have the rock I gave you?" Of course it was a yes. When Aunt called she would ask me to tell Elizabeth she still had her rock.  The whole situation is so sweet. That rock, of no physical value, is a reminder to her Aunt Denise that Elizabeth loves her. Aunt Denise keeping that rock tells Elizabeth that she loves her too. People have asked about the rock and Aunt Denise explains that is something special between her and Elizabeth. Her special gift. Being wired the way I am, it made me reflect on the Sabbath. We, like many people, take 24 hours every week and focus on God, family and rest. To me, Sabbath is kind of like that rock. When we first learned about the practice of "keeping Sabbath," like Christ did, we had little understanding of it. Much like the day that Aunt received her rock, we didn't realize how special and guarded it would become. We had crossed the Rubicon. At first it was an understanding that it was important to God and therefore it was important to us. Once we started observing this special time we realized, at least in part, the huge benefits. Our first Sabbath found me that Friday scrambling to get food ready. Making sure loose ends were tied shut and clothes were laid out for the next day, but we did it. Rob and I by nature are hard workers and are constantly going. 24 hours of not working sounded like a lot of hours, but we had a sincere desire to follow Christ closely so we leaped. I fondly remember our first Sabbath. All of us were snuggled under a blanket on the couch that Friday night watching a movie and eating pizza. Rob and I looked at each other and smiled. Even this early in the game, we knew we caught the edge of something awesome. The next morning was church. We reheated our second pizza from Friday night for lunch. We did puzzles, played games, went for twalks (Robert's term for our walks because we spend most of the time talking to each other and neighbors :) and dinner prepared the night before got placed in the oven to reheat so we had an effortless dinner, dessert and more relaxing. It was awesome! As a mom, I couldn't remember a more restful day or a day I was more available to my family physically and emotionally. As a mother that was powerful. When we tucked our girls in it was still light. We read stories and said our prayers as a family. Elizabeth with the most joy and excitement said, "that was the best day ever, can we do it again?" Rob said he agreed and that we would be doing this every week. She was so happy. Rob and I spent time relaxing as a couple and talking about anything but work or business. That was kind of like being teens again when bills and business didn't creep into most conversations. It was a blessing. God's ways are best. Always. We guard the Sabbath. We keep it every week. Like Elizabeth's rock, people have cocked there heads and asked why. We are glad to explain. We are grateful for the gift of a weekly sabbath and are always excited to share about it. We were able to share about this with good friends of ours who were on the brink of divorce. Observing Sabbath completely restored their marriage. I don't believe it was strictly the observance of the day, but also what it represents which is a turning to God and keeping Him central in your life. The Sabbath in short is something special between us and God. Our special gift. It has been thoroughly transformational to our family. We love sharing about this and pulling people over to the bright side. If you are curious about the Sabbath and have questions you are welcome to contact Rob or I and if you are local, welcome to stop over on any Saturday for a Sabbath Bible study. Expect treats, hot coffee and fellowship. :) ~ Dagney

Hebrews 4:9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God's people

My daughters had an assignment in Science that was very cool. They were studying magnetism. As would be expected, the Earth's magnetic poles were discussed. Her book directed us to take the small bar magnet included in her curriculum, and place it on top of a small round piece of foam in a glass of water. Challenge accepted. Participators astonished. Listen, I have a compass, but there was something special about this organic simplicity. It was soul stirring. No matter how often we reset the magnet it doggedly returned to it's position. The girls spun it around and troubled the water, but still it found it's way and pointed to the magnetic north pole. It began a hunt to understand the force that pulled this magnet. As many things in nature do, it made my mind turn to God. What pulls me? When people look at my life, my family, do they wonder why are we different? Of that I am sure, but does my different point to God? I hope so. Years ago I had an older sister in church share with me about her neighbor. As a young mom, she had trouble managing her three boisterous boys. From the son who refused to eat anything but hamburgers forcing her to make two meals every night, to getting her boys to bed. Sons up to sons down, parenting was a challenge. One day as she was trying to get the boys out of the house and into the car, with much effort as they were protesting, her neighbor also left the house. Her children were neat, bantering respectfully and in a row... She said she had observed this family a lot as she had a front row seat to their lives. She often thought, "what is she doing different?" Today those words turned to action. In a moment of exasperation, she walked over and said, "How do you get your children to mind so well?" The woman's answer was simple and surprising. She told Barbara she was a disciple of Christ and followed God's word. His Word touched every area of her life, including how she raised her children. Her neighbor offered to study the Bible with her. Barbara accepted and this simple yet vital change transformed her life. Her husband also studied the Bible. Their family soon became an example for others. Her boys grew up to be strong in their faith and have awesome families of their own. One life can touch another powerfully and in very blessed and eternal ways, if that life is filled with the Holy Spirit, alive with Christ and under the grace, faithful watch and love of our awesome Father. Barbara went on to mentor me as I raised my son. Her loving and on point advice, much of it parenting, was such a gift in our family. Our son Robert applies quite a bit of her advice to raising his son and so that Godly influence goes on. So, what does your life point to? Questions, comments and insight welcome. :) ~ Dagney


1 Timothy 4:16
 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

See a full quiet time under the Walk With Me tab Dagney, but in short, rainbows are everywhere! Every time I see one I am filled with peace.  We know they are a reminder to God, but let them be a reminder to us, God saw Noah. God sees you. Your life and actions matter. Noah could have seen the entire world corrupt around him and said, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Praise God he didn't. He loved God and lived intentionally in a way that demonstrated that. If he hadn't, none of us would be here. One life can make a very big difference. So when you see rainbows on flags, erasers, t shirts, the sky, etc... remember, GOD SAW NOAH. 

Q. Why do math books always look so sad?
​A. They are full of problems.

What does it look like being a homeschool father? I can only speak from my personal perspective. Our family has been homeschooling for over 20 years. We homeschooled our son who is now 24 and continue to homeschool our 4 and 8 year old daughters. Our son and his wife also homeschool our grandson so the tradition continues.

I should begin at the start of all of this when Dagney and I were much younger and embarking on our first journey as parents. We were making decisions regarding schooling 24 years ago when we had our son. When he was only a few years old, we moved to Montclair, NJ. It was partly because of the school system. They had a magnet school system, which at the time we were very excited about. We anticipated that he would receive the best education available. When we went to take a tour of the school that Robert was to be attending, we saw a lot of troubling things with the way the school was run that made us very apprehensive about sending him there. I am a bit foggy on my exact verbiage, but I remember saying something to the effect that Robert had been receiving more education at home to that point and maybe we should keep him home just one more year. Dagney subsequently spoke with her Aunt Jann about the situation and she mentioned that "we might as well keep homeschooling him" and added that she had homeschooled one of her children. Homeschool? What was that? We hadn't heard of it before. But, down the road we went... We looked into the idea and decided to go for it. I was a bit apprehensive about the idea at first not quite knowing what it was all about and did people really do this???  My first exposure to just how many people were actually doing this at the time was when we started looking into various arts co-op programs in the area. We went and checked a couple of them out and much to my surprise, what we saw was hundreds of people at each of these that were all homeschooling in our area. And... They were normal. They were not the odd, reclusive sort of people that I had imagined in my mind that they might be. In fact, the parents, the children, the teachers were all very outgoing, kind, friendly, smart and respectful people. I suddenly felt very awesome about our decision to go on this adventure. Fast forward about 20 years and here we are still at it with our girls.

But, I digressed a bit from the original topic... "What does it look like being a homeschool father?" Well, that has changed in some ways over the years, while at the same time having some very important constants. Sometimes, being a homeschool father meant going along on local homeschool field trips at historical sites, farms, theaters, etc. Sometimes it was hopping in the car and taking a much longer trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts because Robert was learning about the pilgrim settlement there. Or, to Williamsburg, Virginia to spend time there as well as Jamestown and Yorktown when Robert was studying the American Revolution. It sometimes meant going along to the arts co-op that he attended for music, art, gym, etc. Or, of course one of their musical performances, art presentations or any of the many events they put on throughout the year. At one point, I was even asked if I would teach the percussion class at the fine arts school, as they had a need for another instructor and I had vast experience with percussion instruments. Sometimes it is simply unloading the dishwasher as my wife finishes up lessons or grilling up some burgers for dinner. Over the years, depending on where we have been in life, the varying needs with schooling, etc, my role has changed from time to time. I have helped out a lot with math, with this being my strong subject and helped with quite a few science projects... However, there has always been one constant. As God has defined the roles within families, I know it is my role to lead in all things. In Genesis 18:19 it says "I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord..." Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Have I always done all of this perfectly? No, certainly not. But, it is my role and I try my best to fulfill the very important role that God has given me. There are a few basic rules to live by when not only thinking about a father's role in homeschooling, but, in family life in general. 1) The way God defined it, the division of labor in a home and with a family is natural. However, men were called to lead. 2) The mother and father should of course both be involved in the vision of what homeschooling their children looks like, but the father should lead and have an active role. Think about it as you would a public school. The head or principal of the school would ultimately decide on matters of vision, direction, strategy, etc. These are very natural God given roles for a homeschooling father. In our family, my wife chooses the curriculum for our children. She is very in tune with their learning style and what fits best with her style of teaching. We discuss it and decide if it fits our family in terms of our faith, principals, vision and of course...financially. We then work together to make it a great experience for our family. Fathers and mothers both play extremely important roles in the homeschool setting. 3) The main and most important role for a Christian homeschool father (or any father for that matter) is discipleship. The Bible doesn’t say a lot about the classroom, but it says a lot about raising your children to know and serve God.

In the end, leading in a child’s homeschool education for most fathers means re-capturing forty plus hours a week that they’d spend away from the home while at work and any of those hours may be a crucial moment for their spiritual and character growth. We need to always remember that, no matter who is teaching math or history at the moment. So, at the end of the day, when you do arrive home, please remember to take the time that your family deserves and needs to love them, nurture them and teach them in the ways you have been put in your role to do... The other distractions in life that you may be tempted to do instead, just aren't anywhere near as important and those distractions aren't looking to you to do this the way your precious family does.          

    

Q. Why shouldn't you write with a broken pencil?
​A. Because it's pointless. 

The Sabbath is a very special time for us. I say "time" and not "day" because we recognize the Seventh Day Sabbath as beginning at sundown on Friday til sundown on Saturday (the seventh day). This is the Biblical Sabbath. Genesis 2:1-3 says: 
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
If we break this down and start where it says "God blessed the seventh day," we will recognize that God blessed us with the gift of the Sabbath. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Unfortunately, some people look at the Sabbath as being a legalistic burden, not realizing that it was meant to be a gift of rest, a time with family and being refreshed (Exodus 31:17 "on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed"). For us as a family, we realized this several months ago and we have enjoyed the blessing of the Sabbath immensely. One day, our son Robert came to us and asked why we went to church on Sunday and didn't observe Saturday as the Sabbath. Well, for us, this was a clean cut and simple answer... We explained that this was the Lord's day and therefore, it was the day we went to church. But, being that we are Bereans in nature and we study everything to be sure we have things right as God presented them to us in His word, we studied it to find the truth. ​In the New Testament, the seventh day of the week is called the Sabbath. The Sabbath is mentioned 58 times. The first day of the week is mentioned only 8 times. It is simply called "the first day of the week," and it is always differentiated from the Sabbath. This in itself is evidence for the continued validity of the seventh-day Sabbath. So, why do so many people go to Church on Sunday??? Well, that is somewhat of a two part answer. I say somewhat, because these are the two main issues that led to the modern "tradition" of Sunday worship. However, there is more to the story. The first part of the equation is, approximately 100 years before Christianity, Egyptian Mithraists introduced the "Festival of Sunday" and the worshiping of the sun, to the Roman Empire. Later, as Christianity grew, church leaders wanted to increase the numbers of the church. In order to make the gospel more attractive to non-Christians, pagan customs were incorporated into the church’s ceremonies. The custom of Sunday worship was welcomed by Christians who wanted to differentiate themselves from the Jews because of their rejection of the Savior. The first day of the week (Sunday) began to be recognized as both a religious and civil holiday. By the end of the second century, Christians considered it sinful to work on Sunday. The Roman emperor Constantine, a former sun-worshiper, professed conversion to Christianity and Constantine named himself Bishop of the Catholic Church and enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance in A.D. 321.

Then, we get to the second part of the equation... In the Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine it says:

Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, (AD 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday
Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her

The Catholic Church literally took it upon themselves to decide that they had the authority to change God's word... In Exodus 20:10 it says "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God." That says it all... God established the seventh day as the Sabbath and only He has the authority to change it. People were never given this authority. Joshua 24:15 says "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."  People cannot change the Sabbath day because it is undesirable for them to follow God's word. Again, Genesis 2:3 says: Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Sanctified means set apart and declared as holy. God set the Seventh day apart and declared it holy. We cannot change this. 

So, that all brings us to the next part. Why our family in particular has found the Sabbath day to be such a wonderful and special time for us. Once we came to the conclusion that Friday evening through Saturday evening was in fact undeniably the Sabbath and what it meant, we decided to honor it wholeheartedly. What this looked like for us on our very first Sabbath was setting out first thing Friday morning to be prepared for our day of rest. From a practical standpoint, that meant we were sure to take care of any and all straightening that needed to be done around the house during the day. We also prepared our Friday evening dinner, Saturday lunch and Sabbath dinner in advance. All of these meals were prepared in such a way that all we needed to do on Saturday was pop them in the oven, relax and enjoy our day while the food warmed up and then we enjoyed our meals. By the time Friday evening comes, all of the meals are prepared, the house is set, any other "work" is completed and by sundown we simply sit down and enjoy playing games as a family, maybe watching a movie, or whatever we decide as a family would be fun before heading off to sleep. When we wake on Saturday morning, we watch a live stream of a Sabbath worship service (due to COVID) and then we enjoy our meals, and simply enjoy our time together as a family, truly enjoying the blessing that God has given us. By the time the end of the day came on our first Sabbath, our 8 year old daughter approached us and said, "that was the best day ever! Can we do that again next week?" Wow! "best day ever..." and all because we as a family decided to honor the Sabbath as God defines it. It has been an incredible blessing to our family.
​~Rob

Q. What sound do porcupines make when they kiss?
​A. "Ouch!"

I love this movement. In NJ where we have lived, the poor are among us, but not visible. Perhaps NJ does a good job of serving our struggling people here or perhaps they stay in the shadows. I can't say, but recently we have been home hunting. Our son led the charge and observed that in our soon to be home state there are homeless people on the street. That is foreign to him. As we were talking about ways to serve this population I remembered "Blessing Bags" posted on FB. There are many ways to serve the struggling in our communities. You can run a feed the children food drive, collect food at the market for a local pantry, serve at a soup kitchen or volunteer with family promise that temporarily houses displaced families. There are so many great ways to help, but this is a great step you can likely take right now. Grab a big ziploc and stuff it with shelf stable things. You might have some great stuff right in your cabinet. Start with a water bottle, toothbrush, snack bar, etc... Write a short note of encouragement. If you have one, throw in a gospel tract like Daily Bread or Baptist Bread and the next time you encounter someone you can be a blessing as you demonstrate God's love to them. Guys throw it in your back pack and girls, hopefully you have a generous handbag. You don't want your treats to spoil. Large socks, wet wipes and other sundries are helpful too. There is so much joy in helping others. As parents, demonstrating and encouraging a heart to serve has always been a priority. God throughout His word encourages us to care for the needy. This is one easy way to do that. We will be doing this as well. Anyone had experience with this or have a suggestion of other great ways to serve the needy in our communities? Please share below.  :)

Psalm 41
Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

​Proverbs 19:17 
He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what is given.

Why did the cowboy buy a dachshund?
Everybody kept telling him to get along little doggy! 

It feels like I took this picture yesterday, but it was almost 2 years ago. The girls are sitting on one of their new mattresses while Dad and I painted, scrubbed, etc... Our family had walked down a challenging road together for a few years. That ended with the abrupt notification that we had to move away from the house we bought new almost 10 years ago. It was inarguable. So the prayerful search began. We looked around diligently and found several perfect to our eyes properties, but there was always a hitch. No cats. If you read my bio you know how I feel about that. :) Another one was someone got the offer in first. Some were for rent to attract buyers. One of our favorite properties was exactly this. We were told the owner was waiting to see if they got an offer before conceding to rent. I assume to increase the foot traffic? We were not looking to buy again just yet. It could get discouraging, but in Christ we had the comfort of knowing, based on Acts 17:26, that God had already planned exactly when and where we should live. We just needed to trust and patiently wait for His leading. We got to a place that we were a little weary from all the looking. Having a realtor that had a daughter who tagged along helped. House shopping practically became play dates, but after a good amount of time, we all decided it was best to wait for the market to refresh. We went home and took one last peek through Craigslist. When we looked there was a town home listed in a neighborhood we had driven through. Sighed through... It was so sweet. Close to everything, but in it's own little hamlet. Underground wires, beautiful community, tennis court, community pool area, club house, play ground and tons of beautiful different types of trees. We couldn't find a property though. When we drove though there was a particular street that had families congregated with kids playing. It felt like the 70's. I remember kickball games in the street, but I didn't think people still did that. They do. In fact playing in the street was common on this street known as the kids street. The town home for rent was right on that street! It was perfect. It had a huge porch overlooking a pond with a fountain that would be awesome for homeschooling. A partially finished basement for days that were inclement. The gentleman leasing it, who happened to be a Pastor, said the family who had been renting it left unexpectedly and he had just put it up on Craigslist. Keys please! I am so glad those other properties did not work out. God in His infinite wisdom had better in mind and definitely gave us the desires of our hearts. Psalm 37:4. Our Margaret was 2 at the time and while we were weeding the garden around the deck she quietly said, "this is my home, in Jesus name amen." Yes it was and we were glad for it. This home and the family leasing it have been a 24/7 blessing. As we are pulling up stakes again to switch homes and states, I am grateful for the peace God's word brings. 

Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.