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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Word Wednesday #35

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee." (Psalm 32:8-9)


 God has given us what we need to follow Him . . . but are we stubborn and refusing?





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Monday, December 29, 2014

Commands for Parents (Part 2) | Ephesians Study

Ephesians 6:4, 
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
What is the Father's responsibility in raising children? In our society, it is often given to the mothers to see after the spiritual rearing of their children. But what do we see in God's Word?

The Mother and Child
" If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:" (Deuteronomy 21:18)

"My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:" (Proverbs 1:8)

"My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:" (Proverbs 6:20)

"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." (Proverbs 29:15)

"A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother." (Proverbs 10:1)

Older women are to teach younger women (Titus 2:3-5)

A mother can instruct her children and give laws for them. We also notice that a wayward child brings shame and heaviness to his mother.

The powerful influence of mothers:
"Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:" (1 Kings 22:51-52)

"When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." (2 Timothy 1:5)

A mother has a strong influence over her children. This influence can either be good or bad; the children likely will follow in her footsteps.

The Father and the Child
-The father's responsibility to his daughter.
"But if the priest's daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father's house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father's meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof." (Leviticus 22:13)

-The father's responsibility to remind his children of God's marvelous works.
"That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever." (Joshua 4:6-7)

"And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever." (Joshua 4:21-24)

"The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth." (Isaiah 38:19)

-The father's influence
"So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day." (2 Kings 17:41)

"Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers." (Proverbs 17:6)

-Commands for the fathers
"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

"Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged." (Colossians 3:21)

-Examples of a father
" Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." (Psalm 103:13)

"As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory." (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

-The commands for children to their fathers
"Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding." (Proverbs 4:1)

"The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him." (Proverbs 23:24)

"A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke." (Proverbs 13:1)

"A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother." (Proverbs 15:20)

"A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him." (Proverbs 17:22)

"A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping." (Proverbs 19:13)

"He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach." (Proverbs 19:26)

"Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father." (Proverbs 28:7)


Conclusion: while godly mothers who teach their children God's Word are a blessing and mightily used in God's kingdom, they were never intended to replace the fathers. How much we need godly fathers who will rear their children in the nurture and admonition of God!

Friday, December 26, 2014

R&R | Photoshoot


For New Year's Eve we visited some friends on our way to my uncle's house. While there, I was swept away to do a small photoshoot of the two Rebeccas, aka as 1.0 and 2.0 (yes, we do call them that to keep them straight :)). I almost consider this more of a snap-shot session than a real photoshoot (which we hope to do in the future, Lord willing), but here are the pictures!













Annnd . . . a few inside pics. Low light, no flash, high ISO, grainy pictures . . . enjoy them for the composition, not the quality. :)






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"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17)

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Christmas - Who Are We?

With Christmas upon us, many of our thoughts are turned to Jesus Christ and His birth. The other day, I began reading through Matthew again and as I read chapters 1-2, I began to wonder which of those involved with Christ's birth I am most like?


~Am I like Joseph, who exercised faith in the impossible, esteemed all that God said as complete truth, and obeyed God even in hard circumstances? (Matthew 1:18-25)

~Am I like Mary, who fully embraced God's will for her life, taking God at His Word? (Luke 1:26-38) Who displayed humility in her adoration to God - no pride that she was chosen to mother God's Holy Son? (Luke 1:46-55)

~Am I like the shepherds, who accepted God's interruption in their daily tasks and obeyed? (Luke 2:8-15) Who shared Jesus' birth with others? (Luke 2:17)

~Am I like Simeon, who was waiting for the coming of Jesus? (Luke 2:25-35)

~Am I like Anna, who shared Jesus with those around her? (Luke 2:36-38)

~Am I like the wise men, who followed God in full faith even in their limited revelation? Who desired to worship God and were sensitive to His leading? (Matthew 2:1-12)

~Am I like the scribes, who knew well the Scriptures in their head, but were far from knowing the truth in their hearts? (Matthew 2:4-6)


~Am I like Herod, who sought answers from the Scriptures - not because he desired to follow God but desired to follow his plan and fleshly purposes? (Matthew 2:1-8)


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Word Wednesday #34

". . . in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:16)

Those who wrestle with one part of Scripture will wrestle with other parts. Either we must accept all of Scripture . . . or reject all of it. Where do we stand?




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Christmas Cantata

This year, my family and I were blessed to be a part of our church's Christmas Cantata. If you have about thirty minutes, please watch.

Have a blessed CHRISTmas!



Monday, December 22, 2014

Commands for Parents (Part 1) | Ephesians Study

Ephesians 4:1, 
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Provoke to wrath -  NT:3949 parorgizo (par-org-id'-zo); from NT:3844 and NT:3710; to anger alongside, i.e. enrage:

Nurture - NT:3809  paideia (pahee-di'-ah); from NT:3811; tutorage, i.e. education or training; by implication, disciplinary correction:

Admonition - NT:3559 nouthesia (noo-thes-ee'-ah); from NT:3563 and a derivative of NT:5087; calling attention to, i.e. (by implication) mild rebuke or warning:

Again, we see another "put off/put on": put off provocation, put on nurture and admonition.

It is possible for fathers to be guilty of provoking their children to wrath - otherwise, they would not be warned against it. Colossians 3:21 reiterates this, "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged." Here, lies the responsibility of the father, not of the children. Children have already been commanded to obey and honor, but fathers should never use that as a reason to do whatever they desire. Even by demanding obedience and honor, fathers can provoke their children to wrath.

Instead of provocation, fathers are given the command to raise their children with nurture (education, training, disciplinary correction) and admonition (calling attention, mild rebuke or warning). These words help us to understand the attitude behind training. Instead of forceful, angry training, fathers are to have a humble attitude. They can discipline their children and rebuke them, but it is done in a gentle spirit. The issue at hand is not the means of raising children, but the attitude of raising children.

What better example of fatherhood is there than God the Father? Hebrews 12 gives us a glimpse of God the Father: "(5) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: (6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (7) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? (8) But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. (9) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? (10) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. (11) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." (Hebrews 12:5-11)


God does not father without chastening - but His chastening is always rooted in His love for us and His interest in our profit. God never chastens because it just "feels good" to chasten. He always has a reason for His chastisement.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Elizabeth | Photoshoot

Sunday, my sister and I had about an hour to shoot some pictures together. It was about 4:00 when we started so the lighting was not ideal, but I enjoyed the challenge. Plus, I had fun - what a blessing it is to have family as best friends!

My Picks
As I was editing through the pictures, several really stood out to me which I just love! Here they are and a little bit of why I love them.

Black and white is not always my favorite. It just has to be that perfect picture to "pop" - this is probably my absolute favorite B&W that I have personally done.


Love the warm tones:


And then there is my favorite location: the new chicken coop. :) 









(And in case it sounds funny that I'm all about the "style" of the photo and not the subject, yeah, I do like the subject too ;))

For Your Enjoyment
And there were many more pictures that we liked. Some of them I did not particularly care for how the lighting turned out (considering we had to dodge sun spots) but it was a good learning experience for me.




























Experiments
There is this soft glow look that is really popular. It isn't my favorite for everything, but I did want to catch a little sun-glare. It does give a nice "dreamy" feel but I was sad when I discovered that I made one of the most common photography mistakes: it looks like she is "eating" the plant (note to self: remember to check for trees growing out of heads, elbows being cut off, etc., etc., etc.).



Next time, I'll share about the little "photobomb" we had. :)

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"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3