A New Beginning

A New Beginning

You are determined for this school year to be one of victory. You have good things planned and good materials bought.

Yet, if you were perfectly honest, in the deep recesses of your heart, you wonder. You wonder if you can do it. You wonder if your students will hear. You wonder if your plan for teaching Bible will bring heart change results. You wonder if you understand each subject well enough to show God glorious in that subject.

And you are honest, and you do have some “I wonders”. How can you turn your wondering into worship and surrender?

Please consider:

• Keep the focus. Your student was made by God and for God. You are God’s ambassador. He WILL work through you to accomplish His purposes.

• You will work on seeing failures as opportunities. For example: If something goes in a direction you did not want, you will consider how to show God at work, knowing God meant it for good.

• When you feel your “wondering” fears arising, you will quote Scripture or search for Scripture.

• You will relinquish control to the One best able to bring success to the situation.

• You will continue to pray and to trust your absolutely trustworthy God.

Yes, a new beginning. Looking forward to a growing year.

Read Together

Homeschooling offers a great opportunity to read great books together. Reading great books can happen in different ways:

• Mom or Dad read. All listen.

• Student reads to younger siblings.

• Entire family takes turns reading.

• Any family member reads a great book and shares main ideas with all.

You choose what is best for your family and make this a top-priority school subject. Of course, topping all lists is the Bible. It should be read delightfully daily by the family gathered and by each individual free reader in your home.

I’ll put a mini list of books here. If you’ve read all of these, there are more to choose.

• Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan). This is written at different levels. It’s fine to read it several times as your children grow.

• The Case for Christ (Strobel)

• Mere Christianity (CS Lewis)

• Hiding Place (Ten Boom)

• Trusting God (Jerry Bridges)

• Great Puritan books such as Burrough’s Rare Jewel, etc.

• Books by John Owen, Thomas Watson, or Thomas Brooks.

• Biographies such as Susie, the Life & Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon.

• Biographies of missionaries such as, David Brainerd.

• Books about creation from Master Books, 7 Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible (Lutzer)

Keep reading together. Choose wisely.

I Need You, Lord!

Some have faced deep sorrow or consuming disappointment and then: a Bible verse comes to your mind and heart to comfort you.

Perhaps the verse, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Or “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exalt, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.” (Isaiah 49:13)

Maybe a line from a hymn will penetrate your sorrow and refresh you, such as:

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.” (Blessed Assurance)

Or “Simply trusting every day,

Trusting through the stormy way.”

(Trusting Jesus)

Or “Under His wings I am safely abiding,

Tho’ the night deepens, and tempests are wild,

Still I can trust Him - I know He will keep me, He has redeemed me and I am His child.”

(Under His Wings)

And then we realize that God’s Spirit has brought these words to our hearts, and we rejoice in our eternal hope. We are secure. We belong to God. His promises are unfolding even in my grief. Now we walk in joy. Now we celebrate.

Teaching Bible

Like you, I wish I could teach Bible to make my listeners hungrier for knowing God. Here are some things I’m working on:

• Checking my own heart for hunger

• Looking at Bible study as telling God’s One Story. Where does what we are studying fit in?

• Looking for Biblical principles as I daily read God’s Word

• While I try to make devotions or Bible study become thoughtful, I’m beginning to see that good and lasting Bible study may be those one-minute lessons that occur unannounced

• Praying and expecting the Holy Spirit to be the promised teacher

I’m sure you can add your own everyday helps to these thoughts. Above all, keep teaching God’s Word with the aim that you and those you teach might know better and better the ONE whose words you are reading.

Psalm 145

Psalm 145 is such a helpful teacher as you worship with your students through the school year. Each verse is useful. We’ll look at some:

• 145:3 - God is most worthy of our praise.

• 145:4 - One generation will commend God’s works to another.

  • “Commend” - present as suitable for their acceptance.

  • “Your works” - God’s very own doings. What works? All that God did, does and will do.

• 145:4 - They will tell of God’s mighty acts. Then David wrote of these acts to help us understand what we must commend to the next generation.

• 145:5 - Glorious splendor of God’s majesty

• 145:6 - Power of God’s awesome works. Proclaim God’s great deeds.

• 145:7 - So they can celebrate and joyfully sing.

• 145:11-Tell of the glory of God’s kingdom. Speak of His might.

Then Psalm 145 ends with verse 21: “Let every creature praise His Holy name, forever and ever.”

Love, Becky