What am I learning??

Well, here I am to blog again after several months. I promise, I will try to do better with this blog. It isn't like I don't have plenty of "blog material" running around here all day. I could tell you how Graham decided that he "hates school" now, after, um.... three weeks. Wow, we digress from the first day when he was out of bed at 7:00 am and the first one dressed! Or I could recount just one hour in our lives with a miniature "Jack Bauer" and you would be either rolling on the floor laughing or too shocked to speak - but, I won't do that right now. Mostly because I would rather use the full 10 minutes I have before we have to run out the door to share something a little more philosophical. I think I am starved for adult conversation this week. Stan has been working a lot lately.

Anyway, "What am I learning?" that is the question that I am supposed to be able to answer on Sunday afternoon at our very first small group meeting. Stan and I have been praying about joining a small group with Summit for a while now and we finally took the plunge. So, we get a call that there is a new group forming and one of the couples lives in our neighborhood. They meet on Sundays, which is the day we really wanted to meet, so it was perfect. The host e-mailed us the "questions" that we will discuss. Basically, it looks like they use the sermon notes from the week before, study over them, and discuss the sermon (I'm sure the pastors love that) and then discuss some questions. This week, one of them is concerning what I (or all of us, this isn't just about me - I have to say that out loud, you know) am studying on my on in the Word.

I have been thinking about this all week, because for those of you who don't know me, I am a thinker. I don't say that with conceit, because the problem with being a thinker, is that you are often not a "doer" - and the Bible says be a "doer" of God's Word and not a hearer only. So, visionary types like me, have a lot of great ideas, but unfortunately not a lot of follow-through. I am truly working on that. Anyway, I am trying to think of how I will answer this question in a room with six other adults that I do not know at all. One, I have found out is a doctor and two are business CEOs. Stan will fit right in, but me, I'm more your all-natural, stay at home mom, homeschool in my pajamas, unorganized....visionary. So, I probably won't say too much at all, which is why I am writing out my thoughts here, for you to read.

So, what am I studying right now? Well, in addition to being a thinker, I am a reader, researcher and a history buff. Right now I am currently reading several different sections of the Scriptures for several different reasons. I am reading through the book of Luke with Lyndsey because our cirriculum says to. However, we are finding, as we do every year, that God knew exactly when we would use this particular cirriculum, even if we are a year "late" and what we would need to read. So, Luke it is right now. We are also involved in a Community Bible Study and we are all doing an in depth study of the Divided Kingdom, right now we are in 1 Kings. That is challenging, interesting, and thought provoking to say the least. I am still trying to wrap my mind around Soloman's seven hundred or so wives, plus the harem. On my own, I am doing a study on the book of James. Read the previous paragraph to see why I need this study. Then, for "fun" I am reading a series of books of historical fiction by Bodie Thoene called the Zion Covenant, which lays out the movement of Hitler into Vienna and the plight of the Zionist and Christians during that time. It is extremely interesting. I am also reading a biography of Patrick Henry and I am preparing for a book discussion tonight with Joshua and Bryce so this afternoon, I have to re-read a book of Christian fantasy to be ready for that. I am also doing research right now on how to go about re-opening America for Cambodian adoptions because of a committee I have joined at church that will be exploring that possibility and also raising support for individual orphans in a safehouse that our church sponsers in the AnLong Veng area.

Now, it may sound like I am telling you all of this to "brag" on everything I can juggle at once. No. Notice I said nothing about laundry, meals, cleaning, taking care of my husband, homeschooling my children, etc..... I am not bragging, but confessing that my mind works in weird and twisted ways. I somehow need all this information scrambling around in my head, so that while I am folding laundry my thoughts turn to Hitler's rise in Vienna and why that is important to us today, rather than the train of thought my mind would normally turn to, which is worry or anxiety over things I can't control.

So, what am I learning, or the better question, what have I learned? Well, as I said, I am a history buff, and over the years God has blessed me by putting a lot of really intelligent people in my life, as well as godly people. Godly and intelligent makes an awesome combination to a history buff like me. I have been privileged to have some really deep conversations with these men and women. One of the best things that one of them ever said to me was, "Teach your children Providential history." Remember, we homeschool, and when I think about why we homeschool, our reasons have certainly changed and evolved over the years. The one thing that continues to be constant is that we want our children to see the mighty Hand of God in everything. In math, science, history, and writing, if it doesn't point to God, it is worthless. Why bother?? This has also helped me as a visionary type person. I read a lot, and I always have. But, I used to read things that were absolutely worthless and actually very harmful. I read novels that made me secretly despise my husband because he did not measure up. I read books that were poorly written, which did not help me as a writer. Now, when I choose a book, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, I hold myself to the same standards. Does it point me towards God, whether blatantly or not, whether written by a Christian or not, can I see the hand of God moving through this time in history or through this storyline? If I can't, I am wasting my time.

So, what am I learning? I am learning that throughout time, God the Almighty Creator has woven a scarlet thread through HIS- story. Because this is what history is, the story that God has chosen to write for all of mankind - it is truly HIS Story. As I teach my children and as we go through life, all that we do should teach us a lesson about Him. Some lessons we learn are what not to do. We read books that are not written by Christians, books that show us the futility of a life without Christ. Don't misunderstand me and think that our children are only allowed to read "Christian" books - no, they are encouraged to read all sorts of things, because you can't share and defend your own faith, if you know nothing of anyone else's. However, those things that we focus on should be good, lovely, pure, and right.

That is what I am learning.