New DL Article

Our new DiVine Lines women's newsletter is up from our church. Read below for my latest column. Oh, and be sure to check out these links for other wonderful articles.

"Hide and Seek"

Children love to play hide and seek. There’s something about the thrill of hiding and wondering whether or not you will be found. There’s something about being the
seeker and hoping to find the treasure behind the next door. I love to watch my own children play hide and seek. As toddlers, they used to hide and then immediately
call out, “Here I am!” because they really wanted to be found. When they got a bit bigger, they would hide in the most conspicuous places, thinking of course that they were really well hidden, and finding to their great disappointment that they were not. Lately, my son has invented a game called “Hide and Sneak” where it’s encouraged to sneak around and find different places to hide even as you are being sought.

I thought about the simple game of hide and seek recently as I was studying what the
Bible says about seeking God. Psalm 9:10 tells us that, “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Jeremiah 29:13 promises, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Isn’t that amazing? While our human tendency is to hide from God just like Adam and Eve, God’s holy desire is to be found.

But who are those who find the Lord? Those who know God’s name and seek Him with all their hearts. What? Doesn’t God have one name… namely, well…God? Well, yes and no. The One True God revealed His character through many different “names” in the Old Testament. Names like El Shaddai (God Almighty), Jehovah Shammah (The Lord is There), and El Roi (The God Who Sees) are a few examples of ways in which God revealed Himself to people in certain circumstances to show who He was in their specific situation or trial. Through understanding more about God’s names, we can know more about his character and begin to understand what it means to truly seek Him.

Those who “find” God are also, according to scripture, those who seek Him with all their hearts. Recently, while reading Isaiah 31:1, I was struck by the ways in which human nature has not changed since the beginning of time. Isaiah writes, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.” As I read those verses, I was impressed
with deep conviction in my own heart. How often do I trust in my flesh even though I am enslaved by it (go down to Egypt for help), find a way of escape to sooth my flesh (rely on horses- a way of escape), trust in power, prestige, or material goods (trust in chariots – the symbol of military prestige and power at that time), and finally, rely on people to solve my problems or dispense advice (trust in the strength of horsemen – who are mere people)? It seems that those to whom Isaiah was writing at the time are no different than me. Human nature is not to seek God, but first to seek other things. That is why so many of the Psalmists remind themselves and the Israelites to seek God. It’s not what humans naturally want to do! But it is the only way to true life and peace.

Throughout the next few months in this column,I’d like to explore with you some of these “names” of God and how knowing them can help us to seek Him diligently and trust Him more. My prayer is that we would all become women who seek God with all of our hearts and not trust in anything or anyone else! Knowing God in this way will increase our trust and will remind us that in Him we will never be forsaken. Won’t you join me for a little game of “Find and Seek”?

Real Life Learning

One of the things I love about homeschooling are the opportunities for real life learning. I remember as a school teacher having to teach my second graders about the proper formation of a letter and how to address an envelope. Of course, I wanted this to be a real life experience for them, but often, we ended up using a workbook page or something, just so they could get lots of practice. With homeschooling, these things are learned in the context of real life. This week, my son wanted to write a get-well letter to a friend. He used the inspiration from his Bible reading and drew a lovely picture and put some encouraging words for this friend. Then we put it in an envelope, and in the context of this real experience, he began to learn about the proper way to address an envelope. With this experience, he has a reason to learn. And that is motivating. For student and for mommy!

So, Maybe We'll Write a Book

I was on the phone with a friend today while my two girls played outside. I was watching from the back door and noticed that the three year old was chewing something. This is never a good feeling when you're the mommy and you know you haven't given your children anything to eat. And they are outside. Where it is really muddy and yucky. In the middle of our phone conversation, my friend heard:

Me: "What are you eating?!"

Three Year Old: "Ice."

Me: "Yuck!! No, that ice has lots of yucky stuff in it!"

No response.

Me: "Lots of yucky stuff is in that ice like maybe..bird poop!!" (Do other mothers use such exaggeration to get their children to stop doing gross things?)

No response. Child keeps chewing.

Me: Yuck! Spit it out!"

Finally, the three year old obeys and spits out the ice.

At which point my friend said, "You know, we should write a book or something. The things that we hear each other say on the phone, without really seeing what's going on, are just so silly. Imagine if some random person heard that."

It's true, when you're a mother, you could be quoted saying some really, really weird things. I wonder what the neighbors think?

A Big Ole Writing Slump

I'm in a real writing slump lately, in case you can't tell by my serious lack of posting. I mean, I am in such a writing slump that I'm not even journaling, which, if you know me, is really weird. I am not sure what it is, but mainly, I just feel as if I have nothing of worth to say (or write). I'm not saying that in a "poor, pitiful me" sort of way, but it's truly how I'm feeling. I suppose it's okay not to write sometimes, to let real life seep in. Living --really living -- my life allows me to have something worthwhile to share. So, I'll keep living in my day-to-day moments and hopefully soon, I'll be out of the slump and have more to share here.

Oh, and on a fun note, my son, who lost his front tooth at age 3 in an accident, is FINALLY getting his big boy tooth. He's so excited!