Author: mustardseedlens

Parenting

Worship

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As my children begin to spread their wings my life has begun to change. Our oldest is in the Air Force and lives 9 hours away. During the summer the next two in line spend 8 weeks out of the country with Teen Missions leaving our youngest the only one home. I can wallow in my sorrow that my nest is feeling empty or I can find joy in my children following God’s calling to the next thing in their lives, which, let’s face it, I always knew would include them not living at my house.

But on Sunday morning as I sing songs of worship I feel a connection to each of my children. You see, they may not be in church at that moment (because of different time zones, or different church hours), but I know that at some point we are all standing together worshiping the same God and that brings me such joy.

Sure I want my children to be productive adults in the world. Getting a job, helping others, doing what they love… but, most important to me from the day they were born was that they would come to know Christ, choose to follow him, and walk in the ways he has for them. I was able to be there for three of my four children as they accepted Christ… my youngest had to be different, she prayed with an Awana leader. I also watched as they have made this belief of my husband and I’s their own and not just something they do because Mom and Dad do this.

So on Sunday morning if you see me at church with tears streaming down my face, don’t worry about me. I’m just crying grateful tears to my Lord that my children are following in his ways and maybe singing the same song I am. I’m allowing those worship songs to sink into my soul making the words an intimate prayer with my creator and thanking him for shepherding my children as they walk in the path before them. I’m laying them before him as well as myself and my husband thinking of the day we will all stand before him in eternal worship.

Missions

Lessons from Teen Missions

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As my husband and I send our daughter and son on our 8th Teen Mission team this summer (they are going to the same country, one as leader, one as team member) I wanted to share what I’ve learned from this experience over the years.

First, if God wants them to go he will provide. We have so many God moments watching him provide the funds needed to go that I could write a different blog post on them. It’s hard to trust him in the beginning with covering $5000 (or one year $10,000). My human self wants to worry and control how this plays out. But each year God said “hey, I got this…”, and boy did he. From small donations that came just when we needed them to large ones that came late in fundraising when we were struggling to find donors and I was doing a bit of panicking. But each year I was reminded of how God is Jehovah-jireh and wants to provide for his children. Certainly we needed to do our part, but we needed to TRUST that God had this.

Second, I learned that my children are strong and independent even when I didn’t see them as that yet (remember, they were young teens when they started). Like I said before, our first to go just loved to stay at home, but God knew inside was a strong young man that HE could grow in the field. They faced trials at boot camp with long days, hot weather, bugs, and teams that didn’t always fit well together and they came out stronger for the adversities. In the field, they had injuries, illness, and were homesick, but God carried them in those moments and blessed them for moving forward. They learned that they could not just survive without their parents/home but thrive and do so much good for the people they were serving.

I also saw hearts turn towards him when I worried they were lost. One child struggled to make right choices in his daily life and only went (in my opinion) because his brother went. Oh how I prayed that summer that God would capture his heart and he would choose to follow him more closely. God did work on his heart and the experience did grow his relationship, but it was only a seed planted as he continued to find his way. But I’m not sure that without Teen Missions he would be where he is now if it wasn’t for the support of some great leaders that stayed in his life after he returned home. He was even blessed to meet his now wife on that trip who patiently waited for him while he continued to search for the right path for some time after coming home.

I also learned to trust God to protect them. We’ve sent a teen to a remote island country I’d never heard of, to another that road boats along a large river to remote villages, to ride motorcycles on sandy, cliff filled lands, and this year to a country that has had large genocides of people that believed differently that the government. It’s the one area I never struggled with trusting that God would protect them. They could get sick or injured – and have – but I know that it won’t be a surprise to God.

If your child had the chance to go on a mission trip – send them. It can be life changing for them and you. There are many great organizations out there for teens (although I’m biased to Teen Missions). Do your research and talk to your teen about serving in a short term mission!

Missions

A Surprising Title . . . Missionary Mom

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I was the little girl that dreamed of being nothing more than a stay at home Mom. Seems crazy in our day in age, but my dream came true times 4 as I have two sons and two daughters. It has been a blessing raising them and although I’ve worn many hats throughout the years I never thought “missionary mom” would be one of them.

My journey to this point surprises me still. I think it will always be a good story to tell and a reminder to others that you never know God’s plans for your life or your children’s but if you trust in him the plans will be better than you ever dreamed of for yourself.

Now, I was surprised to be a homeschool mom and that connects to this story so I mention it. I’ve managed to graduate three of my four children and never thought that would happen (me homeschooling them that long, not that they graduated!). This child, my second son, that would make me a missionary mom though, he is the one that society worries about. You know the “stay at home, does not like to talk to others, would rather hang out with his family than anyone else” child. Not to say we did not push him out of the house into all kinds of activities and events. He is not lacking, but in the end he preferred to just be home…. sheltered, but not. Home was his quiet place where he could be anyone he wanted to be.

So when, in 2013, I read about Teen Missions and the amazing summer trips they offered I talked about them to him. You see he dreamed of becoming a zoo keeper since he was young and Steve Irwin was someone that he loved. That makes going to Australia a bucket list “some day” item. And here, on Teen Missions he could cross that off at the young age of 14!

Now, he had experienced week long summer camps which grew his courage to be in the world and know he could survive without his family. Did I really think he would say yes to an 8 week mission trip? Was I crazy to even suggest it? I’m not sure how he said yes, but in the fall of 2013 he signed up to go for 2014 and had to start raising over $5000 to make the trip happen. This would mean he would have to talk to people…. lots of people and leave me… er, our family for 8 weeks.

God provided abundantly as those in our lives got behind him 100% and he quickly raised all his needed support. Drop off day in Merritt Island came much to fast and his journey began. To say the summer was amazing wouldn’t be totally true. He missed us and normal life greatly. Boot camp (two weeks of preparing the teens for the field in Florida) was hard.

Now, we can only communicate with our teens through snail mail and two phone calls. One before they leave the country and one when they get back. But these phone calls would be the ones that would start to prepare my heart for my son going into the mission field.

The first phone call I asked if he would do Teen Missions again (remember, he hasn’t left for Australia yet, just finished boot camp). He responded with a quick and strong “No!”. But he was enjoying himself and looking forward to Australia.

The phone call once back into country he shared two things with me. First “God is not calling me to be a zoo keeper, I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s not that.” Second “He is clearly calling me to go to Vanuatu with Teen Missions in 2015.”

And that started our families journey with Teen Missions and Caleb’s path toward following God’s calling into the mission field. There certainly is more to share especially since we are 5 years after this story began, but I’ll save that for another post.

Devotion · Photography

Joyful

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Habakkuk’s book is small but he cries out to God why all this is happening to the chosen people. He asks questions and God answers telling him that the Babylonians will be taken care of just like the Assyrians. But in the meantime, the Babylonians will be used to remind the Israelites to trust and obey God. With his questions answered he ends his time with God with a prayerful song for all God will do and to remain patient even as he sees destruction all around him.

Parenting

God Moment

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I love seeing God in action. It can be easy to miss sometimes, especially when we tend to rely on ourselves to fix problems, or we worry endlessly about things.

Today was one of those days. One of our sons was stressing about paying his college bill but also wanting to get his beloved project car (a 1983 Dodge Truck) up and running. He is my kid that walks closely with God… it really is amazing to see. But even he has times where the weight of the world on his young shoulders can push him into the Eeyore stage instead of praising God for what he has.

After spending a few too many hours as Eeyore, and talking with both his Dad and I about life, he left to go to church. I was talking with my husband and found out said son was thinking his college bill for this semester was more than it actually is. To be sure I was correct I signed in to his college account to check my numbers and that was where God was waiting to surprise both my son and I.

There sitting in his account was not one, but two scholarships that neither of us knew about. This, along with his Pell Grant, took his bill down to a only owing 1/3 of what I thought he owned. An amount that he has in his savings ready to cover with money left over.

I called him right away. In hindsight, I think I should have waited until he was home so I could see his face. He was blown away. Literally speechless. And I’m sure praising God tonight as he worships with the praise team.

God is good.

All the time.

Devotion

Inherit This

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I am doing Bible Study Fellowship this year. I have been a part of it for a few years. I love how in depth it is and studying the Bible that way. If you are not familiar with them, it is three parts. You have your homework questions that you discuss in a small group, a lecture over the verses, and then notes to go over some other points on the same verses.

This year the study is part one of People of the Promised Land. We are going through the books of Joshua, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11 and overviews of Psalms and Proverbs. Although I’ve not gleaned as much out of it as, say, the study of Revelation (amazing if you ever get the chance to do this one), it has had some “light bulb” moments.

This last week we were in 1 Samuel at chapter 25 where David requests of Nabal to have his men be part of the feast at shearing season. It is a reasonable request since David and his men protected his sheep and shepherds while they were in the fields.

Oh but Nabal, he was a “harsh and badly behaved” man (verse 3, ESV) and his name meant fool. He refused and had some less than polite words to say about David (see verses 10-11). But here is what struck me. Nabal was a descendant of Caleb. You know, Caleb of the “Joshua and Caleb”, the spies that were faithful to God and Moses. The guy that followed God all of his life and honored him.

Clearly, Nabal did not follow God like his ancestor did. And that’s the thing – my bible study notes said faith is not inherited. As a Mom, I’ve seen this as I raised my children in the LORD, but could only pray they would choose to follow him as their father and I do. It isn’t just something we could pass on to them like a car, or money, or that ugly painting that someone inherits in a will.

It takes an active choice by our children, and future generations, to choose to follow Christ. Nabal, for reasons we don’t know, didn’t follow God and in a few short verses would be dealt with for his reaction to David (verse 37-38). Thankfully, David was saved in making a wrong choice through Abigail and because he was a man of God, but Nabal dies because of his choice.

The story is a reminder to me to pray for my children and future grandchildren to choose Christ. That they will see through me or someone in their lives that his path is the one to follow. I pray also that when their feet slip from the path, God will help them quickly get back up and follow him. I pray that for generations they will be known as discerning and faithful and not fools like Nabal.