God Cares About the Smallest of Things

I just wanted to give credit where credit is due. (Bear with me and all the details...) A little over an hour ago, I decided to search on eBay for some of the homeschool curriculum we are using for our son this fall. The curriculum, Sonlight, is pretty pricey, so I've been keeping an eye out for good bargains on eBay. I found an auction (with barely more than an hour left) that had many of the items I needed at a still very low price. I wanted to bid on it, but hesitated because with Father's Day and various other things, we've had quite a few more expenses this past week and, therefore, a tighter budget.

Then I remembered three items I have here at home that I need to return to the store. Their total cost added up to $48. A little thought went through my head (looking back, I believe it was God whispering in His still, small voice): "Make $48 your maximum bid even though other auctions have sold for much more. That way, if you win, you won't be taking any more money out of the bank account, and if you can actually buy all of those books for $48 or less (a real bargain even by eBay standards), maybe it will be God's way of confirming you've made the right choice to homeschool Jamie next year."

So..... I used my favorite online auction-sniping program and placed a max bid for $48 and set it to place the bid 5 seconds before the auction's end. I won the item for $48 exactly, meaning $48 really was the absolute lowest max bid I could have put in to win. (For those of you who don't use eBay, many times you never actually pay your max - only just enough to surpass the next highest bidder's previously-set maximum.) I had no way of knowing the current winning bidder had already made a max bid of $47.18 (since the price was only at $37.50 when I placed mine), but God knew! He also provided the exact amount of money to pay for it, too! And after receiving criticism for our decision to homeschool for Kindergarten, God gave me the much-appreciated confirmation that we are doing what's right for our child, and He's taking care of the rest.

What an awesome God we have!

Why None of Us Is Meant to Be Alone

I read this quote by the 19th century English poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, on a wall plaque, and it seems to be a perfect image of friendship and the built-in human need for companionship.

"Friendship is a sheltering tree."

Shaping a World-View

Earlier this week I had a conversation with my five-year-old son, Jamie, which reminded me that parents have the awesome privilege and responsibility of shaping their child's world-view. He asked me a very simple question while examining his previously skinned - now healed - knee, "Mama, why do we have scabs?" Of course, I told him it's like our body's own special band-aid. Then he said (and this is where you can detect his world-view), "I'm so glad God gave us scabs! He thought of everything!" This innocent, childlike remark gave me such satisfaction as parent. It's clear from his comments that he views the world and all within it as created and cared for by God.

Opportunities to shape his view of the world and his place in it come up at random times. I never know when I'll get a question or witness an incident that offers me the opportunity to show him the truth of God's love and his laws. For instance, Jamie has become fascinated with the Star Wars characters, even though he has never seen any of the movies. (He was first awestruck when he saw Darth Vader and some Storm Troopers make an appearance on a special episode of the game show Deal or No Deal!) He knows that Darth Vader wasn't always a bad guy, and he has often asked the question, "How did Darth Vader get bad?" I answered with, "He became selfish and stopped caring about other people. He only cared about what he wanted." Then he asked a much more searching question, "How do people get selfish?" This is where I had an open door to teach him the truth about God and our relationship to Him. I told him, "People become selfish when they stop listening to God."

It's amazing how scabs and Star Wars (and anything else, for that matter) can become springboards for teaching Truth to a child. It makes me want all the more to make sure that I am physically and emotionally present with my children as much as possible, so that I can be the person they turn to when these thoughts and questions run through their heads. I believe as a parent, I have a solemn duty to impart Truth to my children, so that they can stand up against the inevitable storms of life, much like the wise man Jesus described, who built his house - not on the sand - but upon the Rock.

Be Lifted High

I recently bought the album "Stand" by the Christian recording artist, Michael W. Smith, on iTunes. The song "Be Lifted High" really resonates with me. I found this video on YouTube featuring the song.

I pray for myself that these words would be true everyday in my life. It's a daily struggle to deny myself and follow Jesus, and this song puts that life experience to song. When you play the video, listen carefully to the lyrics.