Motherhood

We would mother differently, wouldn’t we, if we saw the direct connection between our investment in domestic life and the shaping of the world in which we live?

WOMAN.
BY EDWARD D. MANSFIELD

May, 1852

“THERE is a beautiful parallelism between the condition of woman in her domestic life, and the character of a nation. She is the mother of men, and the former of their minds, at that early age when every word distils upon the heart, like the dew-drop upon the tender grass. There is to that young mind no truth or falsehood in the world but that whose words flow from the mother’s lips. There is no beauty in character, nor glory in action, which has not been concentrated by her praise. There is to that climbing child no path where the mother’s feet has not trod. Her mind is to his the supernatural pillar of fire which illumines his mid-night ignorance, and the silvery cloud which at mid-day precedes him in every highway to the world.

And, even when science has conducted her pupil through the highest walls of knowledge; or when art has polished him into the accomplished citizen; or when power has dignified him with the memorials of office, she still lives in his soul, which she has imbued from her heart’s “pictured urn, With thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.”

Clothes Clothes Clothes

Spring Cleaning

A chance to start fresh; to get ride of things broken, used, or no longer needed.

Its that time of year to go through the kids clothes to see whats needed for spring and summer. There are a few ways to do this big task. You can make a big pile and go through all the clothes at once or you can break it up into a smaller task.  This year I'm breaking it up into a smaller task.

I do 2-3 loads of laundry a day to stay on top of clothes for seven people. While I'm folding I pull pieces that are to warm for spring, or are to small, or just plan worn out. Then I make a give away pile and a hand-me-down pile out of what I pulled. I do this over a  weeks time and have gone through everyones clothes.

After everything is pulled that wont work for spring and summer. I go through the kids drawers or closet to see whats needed and write it down. I keep this list with me so when I'm out and catch a sale I check my list for sizes and for whats need. I will do this again the beginning of September for fall and winter.

With the clothes that still have life in them but are no longer need I give away, consign or ebay them. I have done all three it just depends on whats going on in our lives at the time.

I hope this helps some you out there that need to go through theirs families clothes. Please keep checking back for more helpful hints and encouragment.

~Amy

I'm still here and cooking.

I'm still here. I'm getting ready for spring. I've completely gotten the bug to clean out things and organize. 

I started with my kitchen so I would have more time to organize this month and not have to think about dinner.

Last week I got my pantry cleaned up and organized again and made 10 freezer dinners and have the supplies to make the other ten. So these next few weeks I only need to go to the grocery store for fresh fruits, veggies, and milk. For those that are

interested I'm going to list some of my meals.

My favorite friend in the kitchen is my crockpot. I put the meal together while the kids are finishing up breakfast. Well I'm not much of a morning person and have forgotten to put my meal together until later in the afternoon and then there's not enough time for it to cook. I found some great recipes that helped me out.

  Last week I assembled ten dinners in 2 1/2 hrs. in the evening after the kids are in bed and I'm wide awake.  I assemble the crockpot meals in 1 gallon freezer bags, lable the bags, get all the air out and pop the dinners in the freezer. The night before I pull a dinner from the freezer that I want for dinner the next night and set the gallon bag in the fridge. By morning I just empty the bag into the crockpot and turn it on and make sure I have a veggie and bread to go with it for dinner.

Buttermilk Herb Chicken Breast

(from Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer)

Serves 8

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tbsp. mustard

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. rosemary

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried sage

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

8 boneless chicken breasts

Put chicken in 1 gallon freezer bag. Mix all other ingredents together and pour over chicken. Get all the air you can out, lable and freeze.

(I label the bags first while its empty with a Sharpie. I write what it is, the date, the thawing and cooking directions on the bag so I don't have to go find the cook book for that info.)

Serving Day: You thaw chicken, discard marinade. (The meat is marinading while it thaws.) Grill until chicken is done. I grilled these on my George Forman Grill.

We had this one last week for the first time and we all liked it.

Chicken Cacciatore

( from Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer)

Serves 6-8

2 med. onions, sliced thin (my family wont eat onions so I use 2 Tb. of onion powder instead)

2 cloves garlic, minced ( I use 2 tsp. of garlic powder most of the time)

1-15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1-8 oz. can tomatoe sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup white wine ( I use water)

6 chicken breasts

Pasta or Rice for serving day

Mix all ingredents togther except chicken. Label bag, put chicken in bag, pour mixture over chicken.Close up and freeze.

Serving Day: Pull dinner out the night before and place in fridge. Morning of serving day place meal in crockpot on low for 6-8 hrs. or high 2 1/2-4 hours. Serve over pasta or rice.

We eat this two or three times a month and I always have left overs for a few lunches.

Hawaiian Chicken

(from Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer)

Serves 6-8

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2-16 oz. cans pineapple slices, drained

2-15 oz. cans manadarin oranges, drained

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. pepper

Serving Day:

Steamed Rice

Label bag. Place chicken in 1 gallon freezer bag. Mix all other ingredents and pour over chicken. Seal bag and freeze.

Serving Day: Thaw over night in fridge. Place in crockpot and cook on low for 4-5 hrs. or high for 2-3 hrs. Add green pepper chopped one hour before serving (opional). Spoon over rice.

We had this one tonight for the first time and everyone loved it.

There are more recipes and I will share them if you like. Just let me know. Of these 3 recipes I made 2 of each. I made 6 homemade freezer dinners in no time.

We are also have Enchiladas, Shepherd's Pie, and Chicken Pot Pie. I have made all three of  these in tripple batches on a Saturday and froze them all. But what works best for me is to double them the night I'm cooking them and then we eat one that night and I freeze the other for another night.

Happy Birthday JoAnna!

She's Three!

Happy Birthday JoAnna!

The night before I made the cupcakes and decorated the breakfast area so she could wake up to something special.

Yes another picture of the cupcakes I was so happy the way they turned out.

When she came down and saw it she loved the stars.

JoAnna getting excited.

No talking while mommy's trying to take pictures.

Time to taste the cupcake.

Birthday Girl!

Time for presents.

She loves  the Kia Lan girl and cartoon and is learning many words in Chinesse.
The doll sing and moves and talks.

JoAnna also got a playdough kitchen set and lots of supper cute doll clothes from her Marmy.
As she opend the doll clothes she said "Ahhh Cute".

She also got her own personal table and chairs.
Can you say Tea Party anyone.

Ezra is the best helping JoAnna play with her playdough.

Birthday girl on her thrown. With her favorite baby in one of its new outfits.

Being 3 is fantastic and I look forward to all this year will bring.

Love you JoAnna.

Fall Fun!

Ezra drew the picture for the carving of the pumpkins.

Leaves in D.C.Our wooded back yard.They loved wathcing their Marmy carve the pumpkins.

Ezra and JoAnna took a break under the back deck.

The pumpkins are done.

We have been  really enjoying the cool fall days and cooler nights. The leaves in our yard, neighborhood, and around town are so beautiful. There are now just a few trees left with color. Here comes the much cooler, colder winter just around the corner.

Escaping the Homeschool Matrix

Hello there family and friends,

I came across this article today and boy this was written for me. Its crazy how I can feel like my kids are behind, house always a mess and I feel like throughing in the towel after just 6 weeks of school. This article gave me the encouragement I needed to hear and I'm excited to plan everything out for next week. Why do I let me expectaions get the best of me?
Enjoy the read.

~Amy




Escaping the Homeschool Matrix
By Steve Walden



The room was brightly lit and cold. She was sitting at a table,

across from an empty chair. She knew the questioning would begin any

minute. The door opened and a man bearing a remarkable resemblance to

Hugo Weaving walked in and sat down in the empty chair.



“Mrs. Anderson,” he began, “we’ve been monitoring your

homeschool. Apparently, you have been living two lives. In one life,

you’re Katherine A. Anderson, homeschooling mother and wife in a

respectable community. You have a homeschool curriculum. You have a

schoolroom. You volunteer . . . to help out with your homeschool

support group. The other life, Mrs. Anderson, is lived in your

pajamas. Your kids are unable to complete their assignments, and if

you can get them bathed and dressed before your husband returns from

work, you consider it a good day. One of these lives has a future,

Mrs. Anderson. The other does not.”



She just stared across the table at this man. “Who was he?” she

wondered. Why was he accusing her of these things?



The man opened up a folder and began leafing through it. “As you can

see, we’ve had our eyes on you for some time, Mrs. Anderson. I think

that you should look long and hard at how you are failing in your

role.” He pulled out a single sheet of paper. “Your son is 6 years

old and yet he cannot read. Your 11-year-old daughter spends half her

time daydreaming and staring off into space. She hasn’t scored

better than a D on her spelling quizzes all year. Your teen,

this . . . Melissa, I believe her name is . . . she hasn’t prepared

for the SAT test. If you really loved your children, Mrs. Anderson,

you would have your children at their desks and hard at work by 7:30

each morning.”



Tears started to well up in Katherine’s eyes. Was she really that

bad at homeschooling?



“As far as your curriculum goes, you’ve switched back and forth

from A Beka to Saxon to Bob Jones and back to Saxon again in just two

semesters. I have to wonder, Mrs. Anderson, if you are teaching them

correctly. How can you jump from curriculum to curriculum without

causing your children to become hopeless, blathering idiots?”



Mrs. Anderson made no effort to wipe away the tears that were now

flowing down her cheeks. She knew all these accusations were true.

There was nothing she could say to refute them.



“Tell me, Mrs. Anderson. What’s it like, living in your pajamas?

Do you enjoy being a slob?” His words began to cut deep, and

somewhere deep inside her soul, a wave began to form.



“How many times did you yell at your kids yesterday, Mrs. Anderson?

Can you really say you love them if you treat them this way?”



The wave began to build, quickly becoming a surge. Mrs. Anderson’s

anger was rising above and beyond the shame and fears this man was

exploiting.



“Your best friend, Laurie, doesn't have any trouble getting her six

children ready to go to eight different activities each week, yet you

always manage to run late . . .”



“That’s enough!” Her waves of anger burst over the dam and began

to pour from her lips. “I don't have to listen to these accusations.

I am a loving wife and mother, and I care deeply about my children.

We may not get to every activity on time or complete every

assignment, but we are trying. My children are well fed and clothed,

and they are learning so much more than they would learn anywhere

else. My son is a gifted engineer. He dismantled three phones last

week to understand how the buttons work . . .”



“You consider that school?”



“Absolutely! He is learning mechanics and science. If I can get him

to put things back together so that I can answer the phone, I’ll be

all set. By the way, Melissa doesn’t need to study for her SAT test

right now. She’s 14! We will prepare for it when the time is right.



“Another thing. My daughter may not always study with perfect

concentration, but she draws the most beautiful pictures. She

understands forms and shapes so much better than her brothers or

sisters do. She is a very bright girl, no matter what your files say.”



These bold statements took the man aback. Mrs. Anderson’s outburst,

though somewhat controlled, was clearly not what he had expected to

hear in response to his accusations.



“You say I yell at my kids, and that’s true. I do lose my temper

when I clean a room and come back in thirty minutes to find it in

worse shape than it was before I cleaned it. But your files don’t

show the breakfast we had yesterday when we sat around and talked

about three things we like about each other. I enjoy my children so

much more than you could imagine. And we truly love each other.



“I stay in my pajamas some days, that’s true. But we are at home

and like to be comfortable while we do our work. Learning is more

important than appearances.”



“But are your children really learning, Mrs. Anderson? I show that

you have lost ground every time you’ve tried to set a schedule. How

effective are you if you can't even maintain a schedule?”



“We may struggle sometimes. I admit, we don’t hit the mark with

schedules, but we do a good job setting goals. We know what direction

we’re going, and we do a good job, even if we don’t end up

completing our workbooks. If anything is out of line, it’s my own

expectations.” An idea began to form in her mind.



“What? We are not to blame, Mrs. Anderson!”



“Of course,” she thought, “it all makes sense now.”



Katherine looked straight into her accuser’s eyes as she spoke

calmly and deliberately. “I know who you are! You’re my own

expectations. You’ve been trying to trap me.”



“Nonsense. We don’t need to trap what we already own.”



“You don’t? Then you would have no problem if I made pajamas the

standard school uniform?”



“Uh . . .” Suddenly, the man became quite anxious.



“And you wouldn’t mind my going to thrift stores to buy more

phones and other things for my son to dismantle?”



“Wait . . . this isn't what we wanted. Stop!”



“Why? Don’t you want to hear about how we’re going to stop going

to so many activities and start spending more time together as a

family? I've got some great ideas, including a bug collecting

expedition and a board game night.”



“Board games don’t constitute an education! They . . .”



“Oh, yes they do. Colors, numbers, counting, reading, and strategy

all work together to educate my children. And the best part is that

they don’t even realize it’s school.”



The man was becoming transparent, and he was quickly fading from

view. “But what about your curriculum? You can’t change in the

middle of the year! It’s . . . ”



“I can change our curriculum whenever I think we need to. If

something isn’t working, we can try something else. That’s one

benefit of running your own school. I would rather find something

that works than have my children suffer through an entire year of

work that doesn’t meet their needs.”



She could see that the man was livid and shouting angrily, but now,

along with his appearance, his voice had faded. He was almost gone

from view when she said, “Oh, by the way, school starts at 10 a.m.

from now on.”



With that, he disappeared.



Mrs. Anderson was about to scoot away from the table when she awoke

with a start. Rolling across the screen on the television in front of

her were credits for a fantasy film about people fighting the forces

of artificial intelligence. She quickly pushed the “off” button

and headed upstairs to bed. After all, she had a bug hunt to plan

tomorrow.



Steve Walden lives in Colorado with his wife, and together they

homeschool their three children (ages 12, 9, and 5). Steve is a

freelance writer and editor. When he’s not blogging at

www.HomeschoolBlogg er.com/SteveWald en, he’s searching for new

opportunities to write about a variety of topics, including

homeschooling, coping with disabilities, and connecting with God.

Steve’s desire is to help others rediscover God as their first love

and the source of their strength.







Copyright 2006. Used with permission. Originally published in the

Summer 2006 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. www.TheHomeschoolMa gazine.com

Did you enjoy this article? You'll find each issue of The Old

Schoolhouse Magazine packed with great articles to inform you,

encourage you, and remind you that you're not alone. Subscribe today!

www.TheHomeschoolMa gazine.com

Camping Part 2

Here is camp with Kevin getting the fire going.

He is JoAnna walking up the path to the bathrooms with me. You can see by this picture we are off the road.JoAnna and I came across dear on our way to the bathroom. Jo wanted to touch them.She got closer.Fires going and dinner soon to follow.We woke up to a really cold weather and a stead cold rain. Elijah got out and got drink and muffins for us.WE played in the tent for awhile.Then we played in the car for a while.

We then drove and went on one of 100's of hiking trails. It was, cold, foggy, misty, muddy, and the kids had the time of there live.

Last week I posted my 2 weeks worth of meals and so far all is good. This is how the list is looking:

• Roasted chicken with veggies
• Sweat and Soaur pork chops in croc pot, rice and steamed broc.
• French Bread Pizza and Salad
• Spagettie & meatballs
• Pot Roast with poatatos, carrots (croc pot)
• Left over roast make enchiladas
• Potato Soup (croc pot) receipe below
• Tortilla Soup (croc pot)
• Shepherd's Pie
• Chili with corn bread insted of baked potatos
• Baked Chiken and corn on the cob
• BBQ Chicken (croc pot)
• Chicken Delicous instead of lemon pepper marinated chicken I forgot to buy the lemons. recipe below

No-Fuss Potato Soup

For the Crock Pot
6 Cups diced, peeled potatos
5 cups water
2 Tbs. onion powder
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup margaine or butter
4 chicken bouillion cubes
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
12 oz. can evaporated milk
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
8 oz. of shredded cheese cheddar of colby

1.  Combine all ingredents except milk, parsley, and cheese in slow cooker.
2. Cover Cook on Hight 7-8 hrs. or until vegetables are tender.
3. Stir in milk and parsley. Stir in cheese unitl it melts.

Tips:
For added flavor stir in 3 slice of bacon thats been browned until crisp and crumbled.
Or add bit size pieces of pre cooked ham last hour of cooking so they ham will be heated through.

Serves 8-10

Chicken Delicious
for the croc pot
4-6 skinless chichen breast
lime of lemon juice
salt to taste
pepper to taste
celery salt to taste
paprika to taste
10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
10 3/4 oz. can cream of celery soup
1/3 c. water

1. Season chicken with juice,salt, pepper,celery salt, and paprika. Place in slow cooker.
2. Combine soups with water and pour over chicken. 
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
4. Serve over rice

It looks like I have enough dinners to keep us going. There are so many dinners left over because of last weeks camping trip and last night had a major head ache and ordered out.
Serves 8-12

1st Camping Trip Part 1

We went on our first camping trip this last week at Shenandoah National Park. The drive up was beautiful. There are many over looks along Sky Line Drive. Franklin Roosevelt started Sky Line Drive in 1931. President Hoover had a vacation home there. There are 7 water falls and hiking trails for the beginner and the expert.

At the first over look we stop at a car pulled in and told us they just saw two baby bears eating in a tree about 1 mile up the road. So of course we jumped in and found  them. Traffic was stopped in both direction while every looked on.

All these animal pictures are just us in our car and them on the side of the road. The bears in the tree was just the beginning. Then further up the road we saw a mom and her cubs crossing the road. It was unbelievable.

 They crossed and stayed on the side of the road for minute but then quickly followed the mama into the woods.

This was the first dear we saw on our trip. This one stayed on the side of road and never ran off. Little did we know we would see a dozen in camp, grazing through camping, running through camp. The kids loved it.

 Camp beginning to take shape. The first day was beautiful. A nice drive up, great weather for setting up camp and watching all the dear and there were trails everywhere for the kids to explore.

Our tent.

How did the first night in the wildreness go?

To Be Continued...

~Amy

A Powerful Word

Pity And The Flame


Casual Christianity is about to radically disappear from humanity. Hot or cold love has always been on the Lords agenda, and He has a plan to get us there.


God is creating hardness in His people. Not the kind of hardness that we are warned about in the scriptures, which is the hardening of the heart. This is the hardening of the will in the midst of feirce opposition, so that we will follow the Lamb wherever He goes. The creating of a steady strength that cannot be moved by circumstances. This is the “toughening-up” of the saints. It is strength-training and conditioning for the future. Those who are called to travel through the future will be strong, as it is said in scripture:


“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.…” Dan. 11:32


In one of the “Rocky” movies, the champion got hardened up for the fight by using his natural surroundings, rather than the mechanical means used by his supposed superior opponent. God uses the every day events of our life to strengthen us, harden us, and prepare us. Most of the time, we don’t even know that’s its happening. All He asks is that we submit to the process. Not to run, but to surrender. To commit to the flame everything that He puts His finger upon.


There is usually both a minus and a plus involved. Things that need to be added, and things that need to be taken away. The fire reveals them both. This is the “valley and mountain” principle that Jesus spoke about:

“…prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth…” Lk. 3:4
That is, the things that there are too much of in our life (the mountains), He wants to diminish. The things that there are too little of (the valleys), He wants to increase. Plus and minus. He seeks to eliminate the excesses and build up the deficiencies. This is the way of preparation for the Lord. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path smooth”, is the command. In other words…He is coming, remove all resistance to His coming to you. He has sent His Spirit to help us.

The Burning Barrel

I had a vision while in church Sunday Morning. I saw a small burning barrel with a flame coming out of it. I did not know what it meant and so asked the Lord to tell me. He said: “submit to the flame”. I knew that the barrel was for the things that God is asking us to throw in the trash for consuming. The lying. The sexual immorality. The anger. The unforgiveness. The accusing finger. The trash talking and any other thing that Jesus would not be doing through us.


No one likes to admit that they have these things but I am convinced that we all do to one degree or another. He’s not OK with us allowing them to hang around forever. There is a big difference between being preently at war with our sins, and us learning to tolerate them. Jesus corrected His church, not for having sin and shortcomings, but because they had learned how to tolerate it (Rev. 2:20).


Later, I remembered that we had actually just had this happen to us. One night we went outside and the garbage dumpster had caught on fire. What a picture!


Becoming What We Behold.


There is a principle taught in the scripture that “we become what we behold”. Whatever captures your attention, and you consistently gaze upon, will become the thing you look like. You will be transformed into the image of that thing. There is a transformation that takes place in the human heart when we give our attention to something over and over again.


If a person dwells upon negative things long enough, they will become negative. If a person looks on the joys in life on a consistent basis, they become full of joy. You become what you behold. If you are one who always is out to find what the enemy is doing, you actually will become very dark in your appraisal of the world around you. If you however, look over and over into the glory of the Lord, you will be changed into His image by that very glory you behold.


“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is…” 1 John 3:2


“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18


What we spend our time focusing on matters a great deal. We are not called to spend most of our time reflecting on our needs. We are however called to spend some of our time in godly reflection. We are not called to spend our life “navel-gazing”. We are called primarily to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord Jesus and thereby be changed into His image. We are given the opportunity to judge ourselves that we be not judged.

“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world”. 1 Cor. 11:31-32
This is not a negative, but a positive. We have been given the opportunity, along side of Jesus the Wonderful Counselor, to approach the judgment seat that bears His name, and with Him take a good hard look at where we are, and what we need to do to align ourselves with His will.


“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…” 2 Cor. 5:10


“Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.” 1 Tim. 5:24


Agreement with God, is the desired effect, of submission to the judgments of a good God.


We have been given the opportunity to do now…what others will be doing later. Appearing before the judgment seat of Christ with Jesus as our advocate. We have been given a place of security and comfort in the righteous position of the cross. In the judgment that we attend, we do not get what we deserve, but what He deserves.


The Whining Dream


I had a dream recently, where I was shown some events in the coming days. In this dream, Some believers were being held captive in what looked to be a concentration camp. Some were making plans to escape so they could do the wondrous works of the Lord. Others had fallen into the snare of nearly perpetual whining and complaining. I don’t know that this captivity was meant to be taken literally, but it does make for a poignant picture of how we process our environment.


We are held captive by our gazings, how we perceive our situation, and our response to them. Some in the dream saw their difficult condition as an opportunity to thrive and to conquer. Others saw it as hopeless and unfair. How they perceived their situation, created the way they responded to it. Some were planning to move ahead, others were lying on the ground moaning and groaning.


At one point, I actually stepped over one of these believers who was lying on the ground and whining about how hard things were. I straddled them and bent over and said with a loud voice in to their face “STOP WHINING!” This startled them out of their complacent moanings and arrested their senses so they could rise up and embrace the challenges set before them. Sometimes we just need a good wake up call, that’s all.

Pity

Whining and complaining is a manifestation of self pity. It is a testimony that we are not trusting the Lord in our current circumstances. Sometimes we feel that we have the right to complain if things are bad enough. We take a strange kind of comfort from it, and the sympathy we get from others from it. When we complain, we are saying to God that He does not have a good firm grasp on us. Not to mention that much of the time the problems that we are facing, are ones we have created for ourselves. When complaining we are, in fact, blaming God for them.


Pity is dangerous. It opens a gateway to the enemy to access our lives and increase the very thing we are verbalizing. Self –pity that leads to whining and complaining, then creates more despondence, bitterness, and the casting off of restraint. This arises from a lack of seeing our situation from Gods perspective or “vision”, and seeing it from our own. As the scripture states:


“Where there is no revelation (vision), the people cast off restraint (perish)…” Pr. 29:18


The children of Israel were kept from their destiny largely because of there opening an access point to the enemy through complaining. This came from unbelief. They could see the land, but were separated from it because of their current circumstances. It was just too hard. So they stated that over and over, first among themselves and then to everyone else.


Their unbelief and complaints led to the disannulling of not only their destiny, but the destiny of millions of other hopeful wanderers. However, God was not just upset at their lack of thankfulness. He was angry that the ones he loved were going to be kept from the destiny He had designed for them.


The desert is a hard place and people are challenged in what they believe. We need to be the voice of hope to them and not the voice of discouragement. The children of Israel probably did not expect that their complaining would have such a dramatic affect, but it did. What we think, say, and do affects others. Pity disrupts the working of God in our lives as we go through difficult circumstances.


Thankfulness kills pity.


Whining opens a door or gateway to the enemy. It creates something that we don’t want. It is a luxury we cannot afford. If we humble ourselves before the Lord, He will correct us. Rebukes, correction, and Divine woundings are all a gift from the Lord and evidence that He is in love with you:


“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Rev. 3:19


“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Pr. 27:6


The Lord is our great Friend. He is a loving Father. Like a child who had not cleaned their room. He is coming to bring the needed correction in our lives so that we will be better prepared for the days ahead.


The Flame

Had a vision in church.


No one likes to see their stuff burn. When we have a house fire our first reaction is to run in and save all we can. It is normal to want to protect the things that are apart of us. God however is not interested in keeping us the same, but changing us into the image of His Son. He will burn up everything that hinders love for Him. When we ask God to “consume us with the fire of Your Love”, we really don’t know what we are asking.

That’s probably a good thing because if we did we would probably stop asking. He is determined to consume us. Everything that not built on the Christ, will not remain forever. God is going to see to it that everything that can be shaken (removed destroyed) will be shake.


Ultimately, everything that is not of Him will perish. We have, weather we realize it or not, submitted to that process now, on this side of heaven.


The process of the fire has already begun in your life;
“…but each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work…” 1 Cor. 3:10-13
Trouble reveals what is really inside of us. The way we respond in difficulty, which is the fires of testing, is the true measure of what needs to go into the fire. This is a form of the judgments of the Lord which are actually to be desired, not just put up with;
“…the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether…more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold…” Psalm 19:9-10

No one likes to think that they have stuff that needs to be burned. We all like to think that when we stand before the King, that everything…or at least most of what is in my life…will last. After all, I have built my life upon Christ! All of us however, have things that need to go in the burning barrel of God. We just don’t usually see them too clearly. He will help us with that too.


This is a trying of fire right now, and will culminate at the day of the final judgment of God. We have the opportunity to submit to this fire of testing and burning away right now. He loves us enough that He will allow the fire to come weather we ask for it or not, but it is always better to ask and work in cooperation with what the Lord is doing. He is burning off the things that keep you from being near to Him. That is what you say you want, and He has taken you at you word. Submit to the process. Submit your stuff to the flame. Let God burn off the parts that are not Him and keep the parts that are Him. Only the eternal will abide eternally. Only what God does will last.


So let the Lord harden you. Don’t pity the flame. Put pity to the flame. Let God consume everything. Submit to the Divine process. Let love that cannot be overwhelmed by the floods of trouble, begin to come forth.


“…many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it…” Song of Songs 8:6


Jim Moore
Salem House of Prayer