New Friends at Carnival of Christian Women

Today is the next installment from the Carnival of Christian Women which is a bimonthly carnival. Her Christian Blog will have its first article contribution to this project, so I do hope you will stop by and check it out. I’m excited to be a part of it and hope to make it a regular part of Her Christian Blog.

The Carnival of Christian Women runs on the 1st and 15th of each month and is hosted by Sunny at Dandelions and Daydreams. Sunny has a wonderful site and blog dressed in her lovely photography and southern country ramblings. Here is snippets of her inspirational speak from her post Periwinkle Farm:

“One of my favorite haunts is the periwinkle farm. At some point in history. this place had a cabin with a fireplace at each end. I can almost hear the echoes of children’s laughter ringing off the hilltops…”

She makes you want to read more. You should see her photography too as she catches the beauty all around her. I need not tell you that you will be inspired after reading a post and travelling to a more peaceful place when you look at her photos.

I’m reminded of growing up in a rural area in upstate-New York where flowers and streams…and the smell of cows… were abundant. When I had my first apartment in a nearby town I was close enough in the hot summers to visit home and sit outside on a hill in the breeze. Some of the beauty may be gone there and some new beauty has arrived, but new or old we hold it in our hearts. It is great to find a writer comfortable in the ways of country speak.

She makes me want to dig through some old photographs to remind myself of those wispy summer breezes and my favorite times with friends and family.

Do you have an inspirational space in this world you turn to? A special nook outside, even if it is a wide open space, a place that you fit and can always remember? Do you take yourself there often or have you missed a few trips?

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If we look back in time, God is there. If we examine our present, we find that God is here. Has He thoroughly handled our past and present, only to leave us victims of the great not-yet?
(from The Words of Christ with Devotions by Calvin Miller)

Worry, the big W. It’s wrong, it’s wasteful, it’s whiney; and many of us are guilty of it. I worry all the time. I probably scare my kids with what could happen to them if they don’t stop jumping on the bed or stop running through the house. What if they tripped and did a quadruple somersault and landed upside down into the fish tank? And don’t say I didn’t tell them so.

To moms worry is the wrong side of wonder; a side to keep in check. Three big wonders in my life are my greatest gifts, after Darren; each coming with their own set of wonders for mommy.

Sometimes my wonder was worry and other times I needed the calm to wonder instead of worry. The night I left tiny early baby Cristina in the hospital I trusted she’d be okay no matter how long it took. From the doctor’s mouth to God’s ears I would trust. I would “wonder” when she’d come home, not “worry” if she would come home. She was a blessing and we would celebrate. It was her time.

Well, God brought her home, in time; and when Darren was out of town and Patricia was coming early…but not as early; God brought him home, in time.

My youngest Elise turned two recently. Another celebration of the true wonder that God got her here on time. Not early, not late, but in time.

Dear God; I will not worry about my life for who of us by worrying can add a single hour to our life? Help me to remember to be in wonder and awe of the present; to remember that everything is on time, Your time.

Is there more wonder or worry in your life? What defines your worry moments? How do you turn them around into works of wonder?

With so much to choose from in the library sometimes it is hard to make a decision on what to read. Since not enough attention seems to be given to Christian fiction, I thought it might be time to check out some of our choices in this area.

First thought…C.S. Lewis. He is a classic when it comes to great Christian literature, and I know we wouldn’t have any argument that he can spin a tale for all ages. Younger readers have to check out the Chronicles of Narnia. As adults we are most familiar with his more serious Christian works, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters and others, but I was looking for something a bit more on the wild side….something Science Fiction.

Lewis’ Space Trilogy has been on my reading list for awhile and I finally started with Out of the Silent Planet this winter. We meet Dr. Ransom, a Cambridge philologist on a walking trip (his trip started on Earth). Very early on he is drugged and finds himself on some weird spaceship leaving Earth. Lewis wastes no time in getting us into his story. We are immediately transported into Dr. Ransom’s state of confusion, wonder and fear.

We know Lewis can tell a tale, but can he write Science Fiction? Science Fiction enthusiasts have certain expectations when it comes to a story. It has to be make believe, but very believable, and it has to tell a good story that can cross many genres of fiction…Mystery, Fantasy, and whatever else a writer can add from life experience to paint a picture with words. Weaving a tale of make believe is tricky business, starting with a spaceship heading for another planet is a good start. C.S. Lewis can create new worlds and imaginative characters without a problem. He is a master of allegory, and a master of Fantasy. But Science Fiction?

Okay so Dr. Ransom is delivered to a planet, Malacandra (Mars) and he tries to quickly become accustomed to the lay of the land…don’t forget the air of mystery…the plan of his captors. Then we meet the planet’s inhabitants, the Hrossa, Seroni and Pfifltriggi, and we learn a bit of the language and a bit of their religion. We even learn some things about humans through their eyes, that ‘whatever else a writer can add from life experience’ is added in Lewis’ polished way.

As the pages turn we feel like we’re in some abstract world in an artist’s mind. A mix of Maxfield Parrish colors and Salvador Dali creatures. That is Science Fiction. That is Out of the Silent Planet. The beginning of a great space trilogy followed up with Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.

Have you ventured into C. S. Lewis’ fiction? Do you think fiction has a place in Christianity?  What are your favorite C. S. Lewis books?

One of the issues that come up in Christian families is where will I send my children to school? It is actually an issue for all families due to concern over other areas of the world scoring higher academically than most of our children.

We consider Christian homeschooling when we want something better for our child. Perhaps we want their life less stressful. Wouldn’t it be nice for your kid to just be a kid? Stress is too often the norm, even beginning as earlier as elementary school.

Christian homeschooling is a good way to share our values with our children. Reinforcing what is important without the competition of children in the mainstream sounds great. My oldest in elementary school is well versed in what electronic game devices her friends have well before her. I’m well versed in many ways to tell her we live a little differently and used and not new items work just fine sometimes.

If you’re thinking about Christian homeschooling it would be good to consider a few things. It will take a sacrifice of time and money. If both parents are currently working, someone will have to leave their job, and lose a salary, to become an unpaid teacher. You will however be rewarded with love.

Supplies and curriculum that were once free are now your responsibility. Additional time to prepare is added to your schedule, outside of the regular student-teacher time. Extra curricular activities for social growth should be incorporated into the Christian homeschooling routine. Interaction with others the same age is important in a child’s social growth.

The benefits of Christian homeschooling include:

- Bonding with your child. You’re home, you’ve made your sacrifices and commitment. Enjoy the time.

- Sharing and growing in faith freely. You can even teach bible study.

- Being available for consistent positive reinforcement.

- Having the ability to recognize your child’s need for moving forward.

- Taking more time as needed on a more difficult task.

Christian homeschooling, like any homeschooling is hard work. If you are uncomfortable and not certain if it is for you, weigh the options available for other Christian schooling. If you can’t find an appropriate Christian school, and your main concern is academics consider another private or charter school. Some charter schools are even online now so that you can get the best of both worlds, Christian homeschooling combined with online schooling. This option may save you some time and money.

Is Christian homeschooling the only option? How much support is there for parents who go this route? Do the pros outweigh the cons?

Brenda Emmett shares her take on relating to Jesus.

One of the most important relationships you will ever develop during your life is the one that you will have with your Savior, Jesus Christ. It is also the one relationship that many people neglect as they are not sure how to develop this all important relationship. But if you are truly diligent and have real intent, developing this relationship is really not as difficult as it might seem. And the rewards that you will reap are perhaps some of the most life changing ones you will ever experience.

Read
The first thing that you need to do in order to develop a relationship with your Savior is to read about His life. You must learn about Him in order to understand Him. There are many different resources available to help you to learn about your Savior. The scriptures are perhaps the best choice as they document his life and words.

Study
As you read your scriptures, really study the words of the Savior. Think about what His words mean and how they pertain to your life. The Lord will often speak to us through his written word and we are able to find the answers to our own problems through His spirit as we study His word.

Ponder
As we study the words of the Savior, we must really ponder their meanings. Really think about what He is saying to you. Learn his parables and discover how they apply to you in your life.

Pray
Pray for understanding of his word. The Lord is anxious to help us understand his teachings through His spirit. When we fervently pray with real intent, the doorway to heaven is opened and He will bless us and touch our lives with His spirit. This is perhaps one of the most intimate moments that we can have in our relationship with the Savior as He acts as the mediator of the desires of our heart with our Father in Heaven.

Emulate
One of the most difficult things to do is to emulate the Savior in all that we do. We are not perfect, but the Lord, Jesus Christ was. He is the perfect example. If we take the time to think how He would handle each situation in our lives, then we will be one step closer to becoming like Him.

Developing your relationship with the Savior is a personal journey that you must take, but it will not be a journey you must do alone. He is there waiting to help you every step of the way. What are some of the ways that you can help to foster your relationship with Jesus Christ?

I had an idea and thought to myself, is there such a thing as Christian home décor? How do we make a Christian home? Silly question to be sure. I know it seems like a narrow term and thought, let me Google it and share with you ladies what I find. I searched on a few various terms of Christian home décor and Christian decorating and got from a quarter to over half a million hits. I know that in the scheme of things on the internet it probably isn’t a lot, but it is a lot.

And what is it, this Christian home décor? Is it all novelty; is it half a million hits of Thomas Kinkade and angels? Mostly yes. But I went digging for treasure.

If you’re trying to make a Christian home and are interested in not overstating your faith you might want some simple tips from Lady Lydia. Her site, Lady Lydia speaks on Christian Values in Home Decorating. She reminds us that home decorating is fashioned after the Christian home.

Annie’s Home Decorating Ideas Page asks us if we are able to invite Christ into each room of our home. Both ladies seem to concur that making a Christian home is not about the novelty items that profess we are Christian and clutter our homes.

You can find books on so-called Christian decorating, Simply SenseSational Decorating by Terry Willits, but you won’t feel so moved as to believe you’ve decorated in a Christian manner.

Perhaps if we give some thought to the Bible, some thought to the hospitable people who opened their hearts and homes to others. That is the key really. The word would be hospitality.

Hospitality was about caring for people, feeding and nurturing them, consider both Martha and Mary. Consider the Proverbs 31 woman, organized, handling her business, nurturing her family, was this not a Christian home?

Consider decorating your Christian home with love and hospitality.

How do you decorate your Christian home? Do you think the Bible has a model for making a Christian home as well as building a Christian life? Share your favorite decorating idea.

Of the many women in the Bible, you are probably most familiar with Eve and Mary, and maybe a few others. Most likely the few others would at least be Ruth and Esther, who both have Old Testament books named after them; and women in Jesus time.

Test yourself and see how many women of the Bible you can name outside of the first four I named. I’d say if you can name five more women in the Bible; that is good; ten is very good; ten to twenty women in the Bible and you get a bonus star. If you name all 188 women in the Bible without peeking, then you are most excellent and you can have my job. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a four season girl and I have to talk about the necessity of spring. More like is it necessary to note spring on the calendar if it doesn’t arrive until we don’t know when?

Spring really starts out subtle. How subtle, well it is a date on the calendar really (with the word spring typed in the box), and nothing in particular starts to happen with the exception that the days get longer. Read the rest of this entry »

I know it has just passed, but with spring on the coat-tails of Easter, I still can talk about it. Easter should be celebrated every day anyways. So, my favorite holiday is Easter. Besides the profound meaning of Easter to Christianity, I find that it is the easiest to plan and there is no strict requirement for the day. Easter can easily be celebrated at home and no travel is expected from family really so you can celebrate the day at your own pace.

The best part of celebrating Easter is the diversity of the food that I can choose from to share with my family. You really don’t have to have a turkey, or ham, you can easily create new or borrow old traditions and no one would think the less of it.

For instance, I’ve loved exploring the cultural traditions of Europe and the Mediterranean for Easter. Read the rest of this entry »

That is a question that I would readily say no to. No, it is not really hard to be a Christian.

Ask yourself, how could it be hard to love God? Even with Job moments, which we will all have even as Christians. And how could it be hard to Worship God?

As a Christian loving your neighbor is not hard, no matter how many differences we have with our neighbors sometimes, love is the easy part.

And what could be easier than saying, “God, I have this problem here you see, and I don’t know what to do about it, could You carry it around for a while and get back to me on how I should handle it?” And He never, not ever, says no. That would be my favorite part of being a Christian. I got a house out of that one once. Read the rest of this entry »