Worshiping Together

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

I inherited the picture of the dad praying with his family over the meal, from my grandmother. It always hung over her kitchen sink. It now hangs in my dining room. I always thought it looked like comfort, peace, unity,  exactly the way the perfect home would look, even the hound dog at the little boy's feet. Just looking at the picture, I can smell the fresh baked bread on the table. And is that a bowl of fried chicken in the middle of the table? I'm thinking, when Dad and the boy came in from the field, they could smell the sweet aroma in the yard and a smile crossed their faces even then. Their hearts were drawn to the family they were working so hard to preserve. Dad said the blessing with all heads bowed, before one bite was taken. The family expressed their thankfulness in worship together.

Genesis 9:18-22; 10:13
When Noah and his family were able to get off the ark, the first thing they did was build an alter. They offered of every clean beast and every clean fowl. The Lord smelled the sweet savor of the meat offerings. It touched his heart that the ones he worked to preserve, now offered sweet smelling sacrifices together in family worship before they built houses, before they prepared a meal,  before they did anything else.

We often see a rainbow after a rain. God put it there to remind us of the covenant between him and the earth. It's a promise. We take pictures, analyze the colors, and try to find the pot of gold, but do we remember to bow our heads and worship the Creator who has a covenant with the earth.
We are loved by the One who desires to preserve our very souls for all eternity.

Blessings for a week of worship,

Gail

Hey Kids, 

God's rainbow is so amazing. Once, when I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway above the clouds, I looked down and saw a complete rainbow. A complete rainbow is a circle. A circle has no beginning and no end. God has no beginning and no end and His promises are true.
Have you noticed the order of the colors?
Red on top, followed by orange and yellow. Why?
Green beside yellow, followed by blue. Why?
Now there is indigo and purple. What would follow the purple? Why?
The pattern is starting over and the order never changes. God's ways never change.
God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Think of ways you and your family can show thankfulness to Jesus this week for all the ways He takes care of you.

God's Calling Needs Family Support

Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18

It's been a beautiful weekend here in the South. Snow has covered every dip and hole. It's drifts were deep and children waded through it like ocean waves, stumbling, falling and getting back up to go again. Snow, the purest of all weather, quiet and settling. It slows us and causes us to look at our families and friends through different eyes. We spent Saturday morning on the hill at the church watching the children sled. I provided the cookies and hot cider. When those ran out, everyone came to the house for potato soup and sledding down the road. Those too chilled to be out could sit by the fire and watch the kids out the window. No traffic dared traverse our hill unless they too, were coming to sled. There were no arguments or anger or frowns. No one rolled their eyes or threw a tantrum. Pure white snow, the perfect picture of peace and the covering of all sins.

It's a little sad that there was no snow in Noah's day, no peace and settling, no quiet, no covering of sin. It seems the sons of God (Christian men) married the daughters of men (worldly, lost women). Genesis 6:5 says that every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. We just think people are wicked today. Surely everyone still has a good thought or a kind intention once in awhile. But how did the people of Noah's day get to the point of only having evil thoughts? God seems to indicate that the problem lay with whom they chose to marry. "They took them wives of all which they chose." The  sons of God were allowing non-believers to raise their children. Does that sound familiar?

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, Why? He had a Godly wife. She supported him in his calling and helped him raise Godly children. Their Godly children also supported and helped in Noah's undertaking. They too had chosen Godly wives who supported them. Support seemed to be the key to being able to follow God's calling. We often think of God calling individuals, but that may not actually be the case. Here in the beginning we see the prime example of families who did not support God's calling verses the family who followed God together.

God has a purpose and a plan for each of us. He has placed us in families to support one another.
What has God called your family to do?
How are you supporting your spouse, your children, your parents in fulfilling God's purpose?
Perhaps you have been blessed with a crippling snow. Take this season to re-engage with your family.
Reason together and let God's forgiveness reign covering all sin, and making them white as snow.

May God bless you with family support for His calling,

Gail

Hey Kids:

What special purpose does God have for your family?

How can you support your family in that purpose?

Make a list of things you can do and post them somewhere as a reminder that you are helping your family serve God.

Here are some suggestions to get your started:

1. Think of ways to save time in the mornings.

2. Think of ways to prevent arguments with siblings and parents. 

3.Think of ways to help Mom and Dad with work around the house. 

Trusting God for the Rest

Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Last week, we talked about the first marriage. Adam and Eve soon had sons they were responsible for raising. Like most of us, they probably wondered what to do with this beautiful little person. Their restored relationship with the Lord gave them a lifeline with the Heavenly Father for answers.

God told Adam he would be a tiller of the ground. The sweat of his brow would provide food for his family. He told Eve she would be the bearer of children that would one day bring the Messiah. So how did Adam and Eve bring up their children? In Genesis 4 we see they learned to farm and raise animals. Cain brought the harvest to God and Abel brought the firstlings of the flock. They were both hard workers to have something to bring as an offering, but God was not pleased with

Cain’s offering.

Apparently Adam and Eve had shown their boys how to worship by bringing an offering. Abel even brought the fat of the offering, which seems to indicate a burnt offering. Both boys were raised up to offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, the firstlings of the flock. However, Cain chose not to follow the instruction. He must have felt his hard work tilling the ground should have been a worthy offering. After all, he put his heart and soul into producing a good crop. God would not accept Cain’s offering.

God had shown Adam and Eve by the sacrifice of the first animal that blood was required to cover sin. The consequences of sin is death. Cain wanted his hard work to be acceptable to cover his sin. It didn’t work. Instead of Cain repenting and offering a blood sacrifice, he became angry. He argued with his brother and ended up killing Abel because he was mad at God.

Was all of this Adam and Eve’s fault in the way they raised their children? Certainly not. Both were raised in the same home with the same instruction. God even reminded Cain that if he did the right thing by offering a blood sacrifice, he would be accepted.

Children often take a different path than the training they receive as children. Training children in the way they should go is our responsibility as parents. How they use that training is their choice. Cain was not able to get away from the training. He even had a mark for others to see.

Cain and Abel were not Adam and Eve’s only children. Seth was soon born and he, like Abel followed God. Verse 4 of chapter 5 says Adam begat sons and daughters. We know some of those followed God because Seth and his family needed Godly wives to train up children. Some of those children didn’t follow God and married into Cain’s family. Adam and Eve were surely broken-hearted over some of their children’s choices, but raising them in the Lord and praying for their prodigals was all they could do, trusting God to do the rest.

Praying for our children, teaching them by example  and trusting God to do the rest is still the answer to raising children.

Do you have praises for the things God is doing in the lives of your children and grandchildren?

Do you have prayer requests? We’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment in the section below and don’t forget to pray for our children as well.

Father, guide us as we guide our children by example to love and follow You. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Prayers,

Gail

Hey Kids:

How do you follow your parents’ examples?

Are you learning to cook or grill?

Are you learning to make things?

Are you learning to worship together?

Be sure to ask questions.

Your parents will love knowing you are interested in learning from them.