This week we’re going to look at verse 2…

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing. (NKJV)

I hope you don’t get tired of my mentioning “The Six Servants” of journalism (who, what, when, where, why, and how), but they are really quite helpful in Bible study.  See if you get the same answers I do…

WHO –  Who is this verse talking to?  “all you lands” (see v. 1)
WHAT — What are we to do?
(1)  Serve the LORD with gladness
(2)  Come before His presence with singing
WHEN — When should we do this?  when we are “before His presence”, when we
are serving the Lord
WHERE — Where will we be?  This is similar to the “when” question, isn’t it?  I suppose we are in the very presence of God.
WHY — Why should we do these things?  These verses don’t really say, but I peeked ahead and saw that we’ll be studying this next week, in verse 3.
HOW — How are we to “serve” and “come”?  with gladness and with singing

I’ve learned a lot already, but it’s time to really put on my thinking cap and answer, “What does it mean?”  In Kay Arthur’s book, How to Study Your Bible, she suggests following several principles (see ch. 4):

(1)  Remember that context rules.
(2)  Always seek the full counsel of the Word of God.
(3)  Remember that Scripture will never contradict Scripture.
(4)  Do not base your doctrine on an obscure passage of Scripture.
(5)  Interpret Scripture literally.
(6)  Look for the author’s intended meaning of the passage.
(7)  Check your conclusions by using reliable commentaries.

Well, last week we looked at the context of Psalm 100.  Therefore, we can reasonably assume that we are to “serve the LORD with gladness” and “come before His presence with singing” in the context of corporate worship, in a body of believers who have congregated to reaffirm their commitment to the God of heaven.  We’ve all read through our Bibles several times (right? <wink>), so we know that this interpretation doesn’t contradict other Scriptures.  We’re interpreting this passage literally.

It seems that David was calling his fellow Israelites, and all others from other lands, to congregate together in God’s temple for the purposes of shouting joyfully to the Lord (verse 1), serving the Lord with glad hearts, and singing songs of praise and thanksgiving.  (Other references to coming into God’s temple are made later in verse 4.)

When the Jews entered the temple in Jerusalem, they came not only for sacrifice or to hear the laws of God read, but also to praise and serve God. I think David wanted them to remember that worship should not become boring or ho-hum in their lives.  Rather, the thought of praising God beside other believers should make them want to shout!  It also seems that when their worship was authentic and heart-felt, they’d also want to SERVE with joy and a song.  In other words, worship on the Sabbath day would affect how the Jewish person lived his life on the other six days.

David was also warning the Israelites.  King David was familiar with God’s laws (see Psalm 119), so he would have known God’s words in Deuteronomy 28:

“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you” (verses 47-48).

Sadly, this prophecy came true for Israel many times!

So how does this apply to us today?  Was this Psalm only written for Israelites?  I think not, because a simple search of my Bible tells me that believers in the New Testament also praised and served God with singing:

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).

“…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 5:18-20)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).

I also asked the question, “What does it mean to serve the Lord?”  I did a word search on “serve” in the New Testament, and I noticed that it wasn’t talking about preaching, or singing in the choir, or witnessing to unbelievers, or any of the other things that I typically associate “service” with.

I noticed two things:  (1)  serving the Lord means obeying His commands, and (2) serving the Lord means NOT serving myself.  It means I put my own desires and wishes aside and instead concentrate on HIS desires and wishes.  Of course, Ps. 100:2 says to do this with GLADNESS.

So I have to ask myself:
~ Am I obeying God’s commands?  Am I doing it happily?
~ Am I putting my own desires aside?
~ Do I know God (and His Word) well enough to know WHAT His wishes are?
~ Do I regularly come into the presence of God with my fellow believers? Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
~ Do I sing?  Do I give thanks?  Do I make a melody in my heart to the Lord?
~ During corporate worship, do I put my whole heart into the effort of singing?

So there we have it — we looked at God’s Word, we interpreted what it meant, and we applied it to our lives.  The only step left is to go out and DO it. 

Six o’clock a.m. A brilliant light invades the darkness of the basement cave where Becky and I sleep. Dad’s voice pipes in: “The sun’s up! Time is slipping through our fingers! We have a major project to develop, create, and finish today (I forgot to tell you a month ago when I agreed to do it), and you have to be ready to leave the house in fifteen minutes. Come on, out of bed! Hup, hup, hup!”

Our character is built by the way we react to people and situations. Scripture compares the molding of our souls to the work of a potter with his clay. (Have you ever seen a potter at work? The words mash, mangle, smush, smoosh, manhandle, and knead come to mind. So do the words big family.)

Automatic enrollment in Character School is one of the greatest advantages of life in a big family. I’m going to build character whether I like it or not, or else I’m going to fold up and become a dried, useless lump. So, mash, mangle, and the rest of it aside, I’ll choose to learn my lessons.

Even writing an essay like this one can be an exercise in character building. I sit down at my computer, and immediately a million or so people (are we sure there are only twelve kids in my family?) invade my den.

“What are you doing?”

“Rachel, I’m hungry.”

“Anna needs a diaper change.”

“Now what are you doing?”

“Do you wanna see my scrape?”

“Can I have some chocolate?”

“Can I have an apple?”

“Can I go outside?”

“It’s too cold outside. Can I come in?”

“Anna took her pants off and threw them out the window.”

“Look at this weird stuff on the chocolate. Is that mold?”

“Are you still working on that project? Why aren’t you finished yet?”

“Dad just called. He needs that project like now.”

“I ate the chocolate and now I feel sick. I think that was mold.”

“There’s a turkey vulture flying over the house. Come see.”

“It’s not a turkey vulture, it’s a hawk.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Jon just fell off the top bunk, and now his head’s bleeding and Tirzah’s screaming and I still feel sick.”

“Hurry up, I need the computer.”

“Now are you done?”

“Can you think of a good sentence with the word ‘federation’ in it?”

“Jimmy says mold is poisonous. Is it poisonous? I feel sick.”

“Come look at my room, but first, you need to know it’s not my fault.”

“Can I go back outside?”

“I want to come in now because I just saw a brontosaurus* by the creek.”

“See my ladybug? I’m gonna name him George. I gave him a bath.”

“Rach, I really need the computer. What’s taking you so long?”

“Is it almost supper time?”

“George is dead.”

“What are you doing?”

You can see that there is much potential for reactionary behavior here. Will I run off, screaming something incoherent about not being able to work when I’m being asked to grieve for a ladybug? Will I nail my little brother with a graceless comment about dinosaurs being extinct, for heaven’s sake, and would you kindly stop bothering me about them? Or will I react in love and patience, remembering that the Christ who lives in me put up with people every second of His life here―that He loved them, even? Even when they asked ridiculous questions, which they did with alarming frequency, He loved them.

(Really, it’s very good of God to give us people. He loves them and He loves to bless us with them. The truth is, once I calm down, I even love the ridiculous questions. They keep me laughing for years. Stressful days may be the ultimate in character-building, but they’ve got their blessings.)

Character school continues late at night when Deborah bounces off the ceiling with a “Sproing!” of night-personness. By this time, the little ones are in bed, and the older ones get up a friendly wrestling-kicking-screeching match, in which the only illegal move is tickling and the law is frequently broken. Mom and I are usually trying to drink tea in the midst of this, but it’s hard to keep tea in your cup and off your clothes when you find yourself in the middle of a hurricane with legs.

What with meals, chores, emergency projects, dinosaurs and turkey vultures in the yard, morning people and night people, life in my house is a training course par excellence. I should be a saint in no time.

* For all you academic purists out there, I realize there is no way that my brother could have seen a brontosaurus by the creek. I calmly explained this to him. There was never any such thing as a brontosaurus. The skeleton given that name turned out to be a conglomeration of two other dinosaur species. I suspect the archaeologist responsible for the mix-up was trying to ward off a zillion questions while inserting Leg A into Socket B.

Author Bio
Rachel Starr Thomson is a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach. A grateful homeschool graduate, she lives at home with her parents and eleven younger siblings. Rachel writes regularly for Focus On the Family’s Boundless.org and magazines like Homeschooling Today. Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled is her fourth book. Her other published works include the young adult fantasy novels Worlds Unseen and Burning Light, Books 1 and 2 in the Seventh World Trilogy. Book 3, The Advent, is currently being written. You can keep up with Rachel and her writing at www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/, or find her on Facebook or Twitter.

Today’s verse is:

“Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!”  (Ps. 100:1, NKJV)

Psalm 100 was probably written by King David, says one of the commentaries I read.  The Jews claim that this Psalm was sung when the peace offerings for thanksgiving were offered up.

I am reading through my Bible, just two chapters a day, and right now I’m in the book of Job.  That means I’ve finished reading through all the historical books from Genesis to Esther.  I really enjoyed reading about the good and evil kings of Israel and Judah.  I especially enjoyed reading in Ezra and Nehemiah about how the obedient Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon, and how they rebuilt the walls and the temple in Jerusalem. Several celebrations were recorded, and I often wish I could have been there as the people stood shoulder to shoulder, listened to the Law as it was read, and shouted their commitment to Jehovah God.

While I’m not Jewish, I’m thankful the Psalmist tells me that I can shout joyfully to the Lord, too!  Romans 11 tells me that even though I’m a Gentile (a Swedish-German, in my case), I have been “grafted in” to the body of Christ, like a branch that has been grafted in to an olive tree.

Psalm 95:1 says, “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!  Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” We have so much to sing and shout about!  My pastor jokes that since he can’t sing, he’ll try to make a joyful noise… but that we might want to sit in the back. 

Psalm 100:1 tells us to shout joyfully.  When I think of the word joyful, I think of being all filled up — ready to burst! — with gladness.  This, of course, is NOT my natural mood!  :-)  I’ll smile sometimes, I’ll even laugh out loud, but “filled up, ready to burst”?  This kind of joy takes work.  I have to prepare my mind for it.  I have to think and think so much about God and His deeds for me that first, there is a little trickle of joy, then a little rush more, then finally a river floods out.

This verse tells us to shout.  Shouting is embarrassing, isn’t it?  I suppose some people are naturally outgoing, so they wouldn’t be intimidated by shouting in public.  (I’m usually too shy to sing out loud in the shower!)  But I want you to notice that this Psalm was written for a GROUP to sing together.  Remember those Jews standing shoulder to shoulder?  I take great comfort in gathering together with my fellow believers on Sunday. It’s easier to worship in a group, and I think that’s on reason why God tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb. 10:25).  We don’t actually shout in my church, but there have been times I’ve wanted to.

For instance, this last Sunday we were sharing prayer requests.  It seemed that many of us had urgent burdens on our hearts.  But then we began to sing.  I remember having a hard time singing because of the overwhelming feeling of praise and joy to a God who cares about our every need.

Someday we’ll be in heaven, and we’ll stand shoulder to shoulder as subjects of the King of Kings.  Angels’ trumpets will announce Him, and we’ll shout in exultation.  I’m sure there will be tears of joy and thankfulness for all He has done for us.  We’ll stand together, people from every land and language, all together in our love and gratitude to the King.

In the next few weeks, we’ll begin to list some of the reasons why we should praise God.  We’ll talk about who He is and what He has done.  My prayer is that meditating on the goodness of God will help us to praise Him constantly and consistently, regardless of the changes around us and the fluctuating moods within us.

Praise God, from whom all blessing flow,
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen.

“…it is not a waste to pursue artistic or scientific pursuits in creativitiy, because this is what man was made to be able to do. He was made in the image of a Creator, and given the capacity to create” (Edith Schaeffer).

One of the first things God created was music, and since it’s a special love of mine, I thought I’d talk about this one first.

“Where were you when… the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4, 7)

What did those morning stars sing about, in the first few days of our world, when God was laying the foundations of the earth and wrapping clouds around it as a garment?

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world (Psalm 19:1-4).

In the same way, I think the music we create in our home should declare the glory of God. The styles and sounds and abilities will vary from home to home, from culture to culture, but our attempts at beauty should “display knowledge” about God.

Does that mean all our music should be “sacred” and never “secular”? I don’t believe there is such a thing! God invented music, and it should all be used for His glory. We can study “secular” Classical music or 1990’s pop music, as long as it does these things:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Same thing for “sacred” music. The Bible tells us:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).

Our “secular” songs should be saturated with goodness and creativity, and our “sacred” songs should be saturated with the word of Christ and with praise and gratitude to God. That’s the standard, but again, how we express that in our own homes and cultures will vary widely.

Just as we can write the words of God on the walls of our homes, we should fill the air of our homes with music. Here are some tips:

• Have several CD and MP3 players handy. I like having one in my kitchen (for when I wake up groggy and might not be feeling too thankful about having to make breakfast). I like having some in our bedrooms (so nice for drifting off to sleep). I like having one in the dining room, to give it a great “restaurant” feel when we eat (how romantic by candlelight!). I like having one in the garage, to give us some energy when we’re working on summer projects. I like having one in my basement, so my kids can use it to practice their musical instruments with or for me to exercise with. I keep an MP3 player in my apron pocket for when I’m baking bread or folding laundry. I’d love to get one installed in my shower, but that’s still on my wish list.
• When attitudes start to head south, turn up the music! It’s amazing how it helps.
• When cabin fever hits or the silliness gets on your nerves, change the atmosphere of your home with music. Either make it peppy (to get the wiggles out) or peaceful (to calm them down).
• Play a large variety of music. Doesn’t our Creator God love variety? Think of the kinds of bugs He made… or leaves… or planets… or dogs…. No matter where you look, variety is the spice of life… and it’s the spice of music, too. Stretch yourself and listen to something new!
• I enjoy Pandora radio when I’m online, either at the table with my laptop during homeschool time or in my office with headphones early in the morning. I can customize it to play whatever I’m in the mood for that day… and it’s free!
• We enjoy making music together as a family on our sabbaths. From karaoke-style sing-a-longs with old Broadway classics found at garage sales or hymn sings or song books from our favorite Christian artists, to each person playing their own instrument (give the little ones empty oatmeal containers or pots and wooden spoons), this is one of the most fun things we can do. This school year, we’re working on learning to sing soprano-alto-tenor-bass, but sometimes we just let one person sing a solo while the rest of us sing “back up.” Whatever… it’s fun!
• When we hear a song we love, we’ll often download sheet music for it and add it to a notebook. We keep this music handy and sometimes just play through the bunch.
• If I can’t afford music lessons for my children, I just teach them at home. I’ve got an article on my computer somewhere about how I do that, and I’ll try to post it here soon!

Do you have more ideas? I’d love to hear them! Whether we have the skills of Bach or just make a lot of joyful noise, music is a wonderful way to give glory to our Creator God in our homes.

Chicken stock is one of the most important ingredients I want in the house. Why? Because store-bought chicken stock:

• Contains a bunch of glutamic acid (often known as MSG). This is a dangerous neurotoxin, and I should certainly not be eating it or serving it to my husband or children. However, it’s tough to avoid in store-bought food. In stocks, soups, and sauces, you’ll likely see it listed on the ingredient label as hydrolyzed proteins or natural flavorings (see other hidden sources).
• Is expensive compared to homemade.
• Can’t be customized like my own. At home, I can add more or less salt, various vegetables, or use free-range chicken.
• Can be used to make SOOOO many other things. A good stock is the beginning to many wonderful recipes.

Isn’t it time consuming to make my own chicken stock? Nope! It’s really easy.

First, I gather some supplies:

• A stock pot
• Some mason jars (or other containers for storing stock in the freezer)
• A strainer and a couple big bowls

See? Easy?

Okay, now buy some good-quality chicken, the best you can find or afford. Free-range chicken tends to make the best stock, but if all you can get is grocery store chicken, just check the label to be sure bad ingredients haven’t been added to make your chicken more “flavorful.” You’re looking for plenty of bones, so it’s okay to buy a bag of chicken legs or thighs if that’s cheaper than a whole chicken. (And if you know someone who’ll give you some chicken feet, by all means, accept! They’re stuffed with good gelatin!)

Chicken bones contain gelatin, which is soothing to your digestive track
and very good for you!

I’m not fancy in my stock making. This is what I do:

1. Throw all the chicken, cut into pieces, into the bottom of my stock pot. (Frozen is okay!)
2. Chop a few onions (skin on!) into large pieces and add them to the pot.
3. Add a few scrubbed carrots (why peel?), cut into large pieces, to my pot.
4. Add lots of water, until my stock pot is at least three-quarters full.
5. Add a splash of vinegar (a few tablespoons, but who’s measuring?).
6. Let it all sit for an hour (using a timer so I don’t forget about it).
7. Bring it all to a boil, skim any really disgusting things from the top with a wooden spoon, then bring to a simmer.
8. Simmer all day or all night, whichever fits my schedule best.
9. Let it cool enough that I can lift the pot.
10. Strain the stock through my strainer, putting the chicken, bones, and vegetables into a bowl. I like to strain my stock into an 8-cup measuring cup so that it’s easy to…
11. Pour the stock into mason jars, leaving at least an inch of headroom at the top of each jar. Put lids on the jars.
12. Let the jars cool to room temperature on my counter, then transfer to my freezer.
13. Take the chicken meat off the bones and save for chicken-salad sandwiches for lunch tomorrow (that’s what my other bowl is for), throw the bones away, and give the cooked veggies to my dog.
14. Fill my sink with hot, soapy water and clean everything up. (I wish I had a dishwasher…)

I’m done! Really, it’s very easy! You should try it!

As author Edith Schaeffer writes,

I think God sets an example for us as women, to show us how to bring beauty and art into our homes. He also cares more than that we live in His beautiful kingdom; He wants us to create beauty from the inside out, as we create atmospheres filled with love, joy, peace, hope, patience, mercy, kindness, gentleness and more — homes that reflect our Creator’s character.

Edith Schaeffer continues,

“So we are, on a finite level, people who can create. Why does man have creativity? Why can man think of many things in his mind, and choose, and then bring forth something that other people can taste, smell, feel, hear and see? Because man was created in the image of a Creator. Man was created that he might create. It is not a waste of man’s time to be creative. It is not a waste to pursue artistic or scientific pursuits in creativitiy, because this is what man was made to be able to do. He was made in the image of a Creator, and given the capacity to create — on a finite level of course, needing to use the materials already created — but he is still the creature of a Creator.

Oftentimes, when finances are tight, when homes are filled with toddlers and sticky fingers, and when schedules are packed, we get overwhelmed with the thought of creating beautiful homes — let alone filling those homes with peace and joy!

Another problem I have is getting discouraged when all the things I want to create could never possibly be accomplished in one lifetime, let alone the week or so I allow them on my “to-do list.”

Or here’s another problem: Do you ever struggle with coveting, as I often do, especially if I watch too much television (specifically, HGTV or the DIY network)? God says that coveting my neighbor’s house is sin, because I begin to worship the creation rather the Creator. God also says that I should be careful not to compare my life with my sister’s life (2 Corinthians 10:12).

Yet, even with all these dangers and obstacles, I am still made in the image of a Creator. In the coming weeks, I’d like to explore the arts and the topic of creativity in our homes. How can we create beautiful and peaceful homes? How can we encourage creativity in our children? How can our gifts and talents be used to spread the gospel in our hopeless world?

If you’d like to explore this topic faster than I can write about it, I recommend the following:

• I wrote an article on creating a loving atmosphere in our homes. Read it here…
• Read some Bible verses on the topic of the home and how Christ wants to live in it:

Revelation 3:20     John 14:23    Psalm 101

Psalm 112:3    Psalm 113:9    Psalm 127:1

Psalm 128:3    Proverbs 14:1    Proverbs 14:11

Proverbs 15:6    Proverbs 24:3    Deuteronomy 6:7-9

• Read some of my favorite books on this subject: The Hidden Art of Homemaking, by Edith Schaeffer, and Simply SenseSational Decorationg, by Terry Willits.

Until next time,

Another author recently wrote about how the coming of the Lord is similar to having a baby. We know the baby is coming; we just don’t know “the day or the hour” (Matthew 24:36). However, I can certainly predict the season! For my baby, I know that it will be winter here in Minnesota and that I can prepare by having warm clothes ready.

We know that the coming of Jesus will be “with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

Just as Jesus was sacrificed as our Passover Lamb (Mark 15:25), was raised from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:20), and gave us His promised Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2), many biblical scholars believe that “the last trumpet” will sound at the Feast of Trumpets in the fall. The unique thing about the Feast of Trumpets is that we really don’t know the day or the hour that it starts each year until it happens.

In Israel, a new month begins when the first sliver of a crescent moon (”the new moon”) appears in the western sky at sunset. As the time for the expected new moon comes, men in various parts of Israel watch the sky, looking for the signs of the new moon and the signal of a new month. When the new moon is sighted, they blow on a trumpet (a shofar) and announce it to everyone.

This year, the men began looking for the new moon on Saturday evening, September 19. However, it was very cloudy in Jerusalem that night. Knowing that God controls even the clouds and the weather, it was pronounced that the new moon had not yet arrived.

On Sunday evening, September 20, the men again went out looking for the new moon. This time, they saw it! The trumpets were sounded. The seventh month was begun, and the first day was the Feast of Trumpets. (See Leviticus 23:23-25). (Read more about how biblical holidays are figured here.)

You can see why no one knows ahead of time exactly when the new moon will be sighted. Therefore, no one knows exactly when the new month will start, or when the seventh month in particular will start, or when the trumpets will sound. In the same way, we know that Jesus will return, but we don’t know exactly the moment of His return.

Just as we prepare for the coming of a new baby, how can we prepare for Jesus’ return?

“But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-11).

There are many other wonderfully significant things about the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (which will be September 30 this year and about which you can read in Leviticus 23:26-32). But this year, at our house, the celebrations will be quiet. I’d love to hear what you’re planning at your homes!

P.S. Make a Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur interactive lapbook with your children!

This morning, the kids excitedly put on their shoes, happy to be going out the door rather than sitting down to a normal day of schoolwork. I haven’t been feeling well, so Daddy and Grandpa joined the kids on their adventure.

Since I didn’t go, I couldn’t tell you too much about what they did. While they were gone, though, I went online to see if I could find some helpful planning forms.

I was pleased with the forms I found by author Cindy Downes:

• Her “Field Trip Planning Guide” is really thorough.
• If I wanted to create an entire unit study around this field trip, I’d use her “Field Trip Unit Planner” form.
• She also has a “Field Trip Report Form” that is especially suited to our children’s notebooking pages.

Field trips are a great way for children to learn, a wonderful escape from the daily grind — and a lot of work for Mom to plan. Mom, they’re worth it! As homeschooling families, we can go on trips to places and at times that others never could. I encourage you to take advantage of this!

As always, planning ahead is the best policy.

1. Make a list of possible field trips.
2. Call ahead to see what dates, hours, and requirements might be.
3. Invite others to join you if you wish.
4. Put the field trips on your calendar.
5. Using the forms above, plan special activities and learning projects.
6. Keep some extra forms on hand for spontaneous “field trips” (like our apple-orchard adventure today). Sometimes these are the best field trips!

May this be your best “field trip” year ever!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:10-20).

As we conclude our study of Ephesians today, I want to lift you up above your everyday living, to see the grand purposes God has for your life. I also want to firmly plant you in your everyday living, to see how practical decisions you make today will affect your usefulness for Christ.

We started in Ephesians 1 by noticing how we were chosen “in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight,” and we were “predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” We saw how God has a master plan, an ultimate purpose for this world — and YOU are a vital part of that plan.

Today, after weeks of practical advice on godly living and submission to one another, Paul again lifts our eyes above ourselves. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” Paul writes. The devil is scheming against you, determined to knock you out of commission, so that you won’t be “holy and blameless,” nor will you be living as “children of light.”

Paul writes that he is an “ambassador” for Christ (see also 2 Corinthians 5:11-21). But even Paul needed prayer from his Ephesian brothers and sisters, for he realized he was in a battle. The battle is urgent! The battle is being fought over you and your family, too.

Many books have been written on spiritual warfare, and I won’t pretend to be an expert on this sometimes-controversial, often-confusing subject. But if we just read these words at face value, we can get a lot of advice.

My husband worded it this way in a recent sermon:

“So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground. So stand ready, with truth as a belt fastened tight around your waist, let your godly character protect you like armor. Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. And with you always let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the fiery darts of the evil one, those furious suggestions of evil, and excitements to sin, which he may throw into the mind like fiery darts. Accept salvation as a helmet, and always take as your offensive weapon into the world the Sword given to you by the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible, God’s Word.”

1. Preparation.

Put on God’s armor now! The evil day will come. It’s not “if the evil day comes,” but “when the evil day comes.” Of course, the sneaky, scheming devil isn’t going to warn you when you wake up in the morning that today is the day of his big attack. You know it’s coming, so take action today to be ready.

2. Truth.

Just as the priest in the tabernacle would put on linen undergarments and tie a linen sash around his waist, we are to tie truth around us, as close to our flesh as we can get it (Leviticus 16:4). Everything else we put on should touch truth and be filtered through truth.

I believe that the Bible talks about truth as a two-way street. First, we must allow only God’s truth IN.

• “Your righteousness is everlasting, and your law is true” (Psalm 119:142).
• “Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commands are true” (Psalm 119:151).
• “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Practically speaking, the only way I know to do this is to start reading in Genesis, acknowledging all of God’s Word as truth (not a creation myth, not a nice story) and continuing to read all of it, hungrily, daily, and consistently, until the Word reshapes your thinking.

Next, we must allow only God’s truth OUT, meaning that we must speak truth about our own iniquity to God.

• “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge… Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place” (Psalm 51:3, 4, 6.
• “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment” (Proverbs 12:19).

A simple way to do this is to begin each morning by confessing our sin honestly to God, then continue to confess our sin throughout the day. (Contrast this with Adam’s and Eve’s responses to God in Genesis 3:12-13 and the response of the ungodly to truth in Romans 1:25.)

3. Righteousness.

My husband calls this “godly character,” or goodness on the inside, where it counts. Psalm 101 is a beautiful description of inner righteousness, but a practical part that always convicts me as a wife and mom is verse 2:

“I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?
I will walk in my house
with blameless heart.”

May we be like Job, whom the devil could not touch because of God’s declaration that “there is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8).

4. The Gospel.

I firmly believe the devil generally leaves us alone if we’re concentrating only on ourselves and our own little world. But this isn’t a good thing! God calls us to participate in the battle, and the battle only starts when we reach out into the “world” beyond our homes with “the gospel of peace.”

I’m a firm believer in homeschooling because I’m training young children for a battle, not sending them unprepared into the battle. However, when we start to circle the wagons, becoming so obsessed with home in every area of our lives that we never venture out into a world of people who are lost without the message of the gospel, we are sinning! We are not called to be hermits. We are called to be ambassadors!

Ladies, I hope you can hear my urgency! Who are five unsaved people that God has placed into your path? If you don’t share the good news with those five, may I ask who will?

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15).

Just as the “Flylady” would tell you that you’re not dressed for the day unless you’re wearing shoes, I want to also tell you that you’re not prepared for life unless you’ve decided to share the gospel at every opportunity. Sometimes we don’t feel ready to share the gospel because we’re afraid we won’t know what to say.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15).

We can “be prepared” by consistently studying our Bibles, reading daily and asking questions. But also remember this verse:

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say…” (Luke 12:11-12).

Our preparation is to fill our minds with God’s Word, then to relax and let the Holy Spirit speak through us, using the Bible verses that have filled us up.

So “putting our shoes on” each morning has two parts: filling our minds with His Word and then looking for ways to share the gospel of peace with others, not worrying about what we’ll say.

5. Faith.

As I was reviewing the first lesson in our online health class, I was reminded how important it is that our faith in God be wrapped completely around us, as a shield protecting us from the fiery darts of the evil one. Satan wants to suggest that God doesn’t exist, that we can be our own god, that God doesn’t care, or that one little sin won’t matter. It is very, very easy to fall prey to these constant darts, yet if they strike our lives, they burn like fire and cause terrible damage to our lives.

Back in Ephesians 5, Paul gave us some hints for ways to always remind ourselves of the power of God, rather than depending our own strength and wisdom:

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:15-20).

When I feel my faith shrinking, sometimes the best thing I can do is to sing godly music, listen to music on my mp3 player, play music with my family at the piano, or sing in the shower. I usually don’t feel like it! I’ve also learned that the music changes my heart as I listen or sing, wrapping myself in a shield of faith that cannot be penetrated by darts of doubt!

To be continued…

(I wasn’t able to finish this post, so I never commented on the “helmet of salvation” or the very important “sword” which is the Word of God. Nor did I write on the final, concluding few verses of Ephesians. If YOU would like to share, please do so in the comment section below!)

Our nearby "forest"

This week our children went on a nature walk to a nearby “forest” that our school district sponsors. It’s a beautiful sanctuary, not far at all from our house.

Because I hadn’t been feeling so well, I decided to send them on a scavenger hunt, with a list of what to take and what to find.

They packed their backpacks with the following items:

• a pencil
• colored pencils
• a spiral notebook to draw and write in
• a ziplock bag
• a magnifying glass
• a small jar with a lid (for collecting bugs)
• whistles (so they could call each other for help if they needed it… it’s a very small “forest”)

It took them over an hour to pack, which told me how very excited they were.

I gave my digital camera to my 10-year-old daughter, with strict instructions of how to treat the camera. (Whoo, boy… this part made me a little nervous…)

Then I gave them each a sheet of paper with these directions:

On Your Scavenger Hunt:
(Take some pictures of your brothers and sisters, too!)

• Look at 3 different leaves and draw/color them in your notebook.
• Pick 3 different leaves to bring home in your ziplock bag.
• Find a bug to draw. Look at it under the magnifying glass, then draw a picture of it in your notebook. Color it, too.
• Catch a bug to bring home in your jar.
• Choose a rock (no bigger than your hand) to draw/color in your notebook.
• Bring a rock home in your ziplock bag. (no bigger than your hand).
• Find a bird and take a picture of it with the camera. Zoom in close to get a good shot. Use video to record the sounds and movement if you’d like.
• Do you see any larger animals (as big as a cat or larger)? Take a picture or draw a picture in your notebook.
• Do you see any animal tracks? Take a picture AND draw a picture in your notebook.

(Oh, and I let them each pack a little snack in their backpacks, because what’s a nature walk without a snack?)

They set off to the “forest,” and the youngest girl and I headed to bed for a little nap.

They came home about two hours later. They had picked up several neighborhood friends, taken their shoes off and waded in the creek, ending with a little mud war. They had also found all their scavenger-hunt items and were terribly excited to show them off to me. One friend had brought a butterfly net, so they even caught a couple minnows in the creek. They were sweaty, muddy, and absolutely in love with the leaves, bugs, rocks, and miscellaneous items they had found (including a candy wrapper… “Mom, who would leave such a mess in the forest?”)

The next day, the children ironed their leaves between sheets of wax paper. Then they made notebooking pages of all their discoveries. They looked up lots of information in field guides and on the Internet, which took awhile but was so good for them. (We never could figure out how to display the rocks very well, so the rocks made their way into their pockets, their bedrooms… not sure where… I suppose I’ll find them in the laundry?)

I found the following resources helpful to me this week:

• How to organize a nature walk (simple)
• Nature Walk Ideas and Projects
• How to Make a Wax Paper Leaf Pressing
• Insects on the Web
• eNature Field Guides

It really was easy! I hope you’ll be encouraged to try a nature walk while the weather is still nice…