The Small Branch

  129  (Biblical text in italics) 1“Many times they have assailed me from my youth up,” Let Israel now say, Perhaps a responsive reading? 2 “Many times they have assailed me from my youth up; Yet they have not prevailed against me. They remember how often Israel has been in trouble and that God has preserved them anyway. 3 The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.” There has been definite suffering, slavery even.  4 Yahweh is righteous; He keeps His promises because God is good, no matter how we suffer.  By remembering past trials, we can trust God because we know how He has delivered us from them and stood by us while we dealt with them.  (See the book of Job, especially Job 13:15a.) He has cut up the cords of the wicked. He is just and saves them from slavery.  Ultimately, He saves us from the slavery of sin. 5 Let all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward; 6 Let them be like grass upon the rooftops, Which dries up before it gro

  I live in the woods.   There is a ring of grass around my house and then woods, including lots of weeds.   There are cacti around, which seems odd based on the climate and makes me wonder if someone dumped them out at one time.   There are also some weeds that have weird silvery leaves with spikes on the edges.   Today, I looked out of my window and one of the cacti has a beautiful yellow flower on top.   The spiky weed just a few feet away has a lovely purple bloom.   Isn’t it amazing how something so harsh, even painful, can have beauty come from it?   I am reading a book of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons from the book of Job (I’ll get to a book review on it when I finish).  Job suffered a lot and not because of anything he did or didn’t do.  Sometimes life is just hard.  Sometimes, God allows us to suffer so that we will have all the extra and unnecessary stuff stripped away and He can bless us with better.   That’s what I think of when I see these difficult “weeds” crowned wi

  This morning I was reading in Luke chapter 7, about Simon the Pharisee and the “sinful woman” and it hit me.   I have been struggling with pride my whole life, most of us do, I guess, but the last year or so it has been more and more obvious to me.   Have you ever noticed how much more we see our sin as we get to know the Father better?   Anyway, it hit me that I am, in many ways, a Pharisee.   I often think that my idea of how things should be is actually the way things should be.   As I was answering the questions in my study book, it became clear.   Simon was looking at the outside of a person, only her past actions, her clothes, her situation, etc.   How many times do I do that?   I was raised in a Christian home, but it was also clear that being a “successful, upper middle class American” was equally important and people were definitely judged by that standard.   I have worked in a private Christian school where students were made to feel that their grades, test scores, abilit

  Book Review - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald This is one of those books I read in high school but couldn’t really remember (it has been decades since high school, after all).  I chose this book because it is on a number of reading lists for high schoolers and I wanted to see if it would be appropriate for my high schooler to read next school year.  I had originally picked another book for this “slot” in her assignments, but found it to be rather inappropriate in some of its content.  This book is much better, but you should know that its main plot involves extra-marital affairs.  While that is, of course, sinful, the author does not find it necessary to be graphic in any way about these encounters.  There is a lot to learn about the excesses of the 1920’s in this book.  The level of materialism and promiscuity is emphasized and will open up a lot of discussion about worldliness and materialism and the ways they can easily infiltrate our lives without us thinking about i

  128  (Bible text in italics) - another wisdom psalm, further showing the blessedness that was described in Psalm 127 1 How blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh, fear=respect and awe Who walks in His ways. Obedience is a sign of this respect.  We show our love for the Lord by our obedience (see John 14:15, 21, 23; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 6). 2 When you shall eat of the fruit of the labor of your hands, How blessed will you be and how well will it be for you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the innermost parts of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. 4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed These are blessings from the Lord - work you enjoy that is fruitful, this references agricultural work that produces your food; a wife whose work at home is also fruitful and brings joy to your home; children who are growing and healthy, strong and fruitful.  Blessing flows from the Lord through those who fear the Lord.  Those who fear the Lord w

  Book Review - C.S. Lewis through the Shadowlands: The Story of His Life with Joy Davidman by Brian Sibley WOW!  This book was so good.  This is the biography of C.S. Lewis and his wife Joy Davidman.  The author addressees the ups and downs of their lives, especially concerning their individual faith.  This is one of those books that I could hardly put down.  You will laugh, and you will definitely cry, but you will also examine your faith and the way you live your life in light of that faith.  It has also made me want to read more of Lewis’ books.  We’ll see what all I get to . . .

  Book Review - Lord, Where’s My Calling? by Teasi Cannon Have you ever felt like you were looking for what God wanted you to do and you just couldn’t figure it out?  Have you ever thought that you were meant for something big in this world?  If you have, then this book is for you.  This book was so helpful for me in my confusion and struggle that has been brought about in this transition phase of my life (see previous post on Transitions).  It was very convicting and pointed me back in the right direction.  I won’t give away much, but if you want to live with purpose you should read this book.  Teasi Cannon helps us to figure out what our purpose is, what a calling is, what a goal is, and what a desire is.  Each of these definition are given with humor and great visual metaphors.  You’ll learn about being the best vacuum cleaner you can be.  You’ll understand that you are living on an area rug rather than a red carpet and that’s a good thing.  You’ll chuckle and you’ll end up on

  Book Review - Prayer by O. Hallesby Prayer is something that seems so simple, but yet proves to be so difficult to understand.  I found this book to have helpful nuggets in it, but yet also some very confusing things.  The most helpful part of this book is the reminder that everything in our lives should be for the glory of God and that anything that does not bring Him glory is not best for us, either.  The most confusing part to me is how the author addressed our part in prayer.  I felt like there was too much emphasis on God “needing” us to do something or God being “prevented” from doing something because of how we prayed.  I don’t know how to reconcile our part in prayer and God’s sovereignty, but, unfortunately, this book didn’t really help me with that.  Overall, it was a pretty good read and, as I previously stated, had some helpful comments about prayer.  I think this might be a helpful book to read along with others and, most importantly, a lot of Scripture study on the

  127   (Biblical text in italics) This is a “wisdom psalm” written by King Solomon.   The ESV Study Bible gives a few helpful themes: “without the Lord’s blessing, human toil is worthless” and “diligence is neither greed nor restless anxiety.” 1 Unless Yahweh builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless Yahweh watches the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. When we try to do things ourselves, be it control things about our home or protect those we love, we end up failing.  We must trust the Lord to do all these things and be about the business of obediently following Him, no matter what He asks us to do.  We must work in faith, trusting God with the outcome of our labors. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early, That you sit out late, O you who eat the bread of painful labors; For in this manner, He gives sleep to His beloved. The Lord doesn’t want us to be focused strictly on busyness and “getting ahead” or even on protection of those around us.  He give

  Have you ever noticed that it is the transition periods in life that seem to be the most difficult to navigate?   Maybe I think that because I am in one of those periods.   My kids are 22, 20, 17, and 15.   Only the youngest is still homeschooling and, while three of them still live at home, they all are very busy with their own lives.   This is a transition time for me.   I’m moving from full time homeschool mom to empty nester.   The big question for me is - what do I do with my moments?   On the one hand, I need to be home.   I still need to clean house, do laundry (although a lot less), make meals (anywhere from 2 to 10 or more people eat dinner at my house each night), keep up with the budget, etc.   I also still need to be there when my high schooler has questions or needs me to correct papers for her.   Everyone in my family still has the “Mom is able to drop everything and do what I need her to right that moment” attitude.   But yet, no one needs me most of the time.   So h

  Book Review - The Call of the Wild by Jack London (For most of the literature selections, I am checking out audiobooks from my local library or, if they are really inexpensive and not available from the library, purchasing them from Audible.  This is working really well for me and I would highly recommend it for getting more “good reading” in with your limited hours, just make sure you get an “unabridged” edition.) The Call of the Wild is a book written mostly from the perspective of a dog.  There is a lot of personification because of this viewpoint.  It does make you think, however, not just about dogs, but about people and our ways of dealing with difficulties.  There are characters in this book that make you shake your head in wonder asking, “How can they be so self-centered?  How can they be so prideful and foolish?”  Of course, once we ask those questions about these people, we must examine ourselves for our own self-centeredness and pride.  There are other characters

  126  (Biblical text in italics) 1 When Yahweh returned the captive ones of Zion,   God is the one who returned the exiles to Jerusalem, not Cyrus or any other king. We were like those who dream. They couldn’t believe what was happening.  It seemed like a dream that they were finally going home. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with shouts of joy;   They have great joy at the freedom and restoration God has given them to be His and to return home. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.” 3 Yahweh has done great things for us; They acknowledge that God is good and He has done so much for them, and they are grateful.  This is especially important considering these are exiles that were removed to Babylon (and elsewhere) when Jerusalem was destroyed.  These Israelites recognize that they need to be grateful to God, even though they have been through so much, because He is not only restoring them to Jerusalem, but mo

  Book Review - The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane The Red Badge of Courage is different from most of the books I read.  It is like an impressionist painting.  Where the painting uses light, color, and brush strokes to evoke the feeling of the moment rather than an exact image of the scene, this novel uses imagery to evoke the feelings of the battle while not really describing the battle as a whole.  It is more realistic than the romantic renderings of battle usually given.  Whereas is many “war” novels soldiers are seen as heroes and the battle as something great and glorious, this novel describes the horror, the fear, the stress and strain, as well as the feelings of heroism and victory.  While I would read this first before I let my kids read it as it is somewhat graphic, I think high schoolers should be able to handle it and would do well to work through it in a group or class.  This is a great companion to any study of the Civil War.  

  Book Review - A History of the American People by Paul Johnson I don’t really like using textbooks in our homeschool, especially for history.  A History of the American People by Paul Johnson is definitely not a textbook, but it does give a thorough history that will enrich an education.  This book was recommended in The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise and was also recommended on this year’s G3 Reading Challenge, so I decided to check it out as a possibility for part of my high schooler’s American history credit.  I’m so glad I did.  Don’t get me wrong, reading it was daunting, it is almost 1000 pages, but it was worth the time.  Paul Johnson delivers a very readable and well written history of the United States and her people from the beginning of colonization up to 1997.  There were times when the perspective given was different from one I had heard in previous courses and readings, and this enriched my understanding.  I would recommend this as a gre

  The high school years are the years that most homeschooling parents dread.   Many just give up and put their teens into school, even if it is just an online school, because they feel very intimidated.   There really is no reason for this.   Ages 14-16 are what I would call the rhetoric stage of learning.  These are the years when students take the material they have previously learned and begin to form their own worldview, thoughts, and opinions.  These are the years in which parents must be careful to prepare their students for adulthood, possibly including college.  The difficulty we have in our culture is that we don’t really know what that means.  I’m not sure I do, but I’ll give you a few thoughts anyway. First, students need to own their own faith.  They cannot ride your coattails into heaven.  Help them to articulate what they believe and why they believe it.  You can help this by making sure they are studying the Word each day and studying well, making sure they under

  125   (Biblical Text in italics) 1 Those who trust in Yahweh Our trust should always be in the Lord, not in anything or anyone else as our mainstay. Are as Mount Zion, which will not be shaken but will abide forever.   Mount Zion is the location of Jerusalem 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, There are higher mountains around the mountain Jerusalem is on, so it is like it is walled in by mountains. So Yahweh surrounds His people The Lord surrounds His people like a wall surrounds a city.  He is faithful and holds His children carefully so that our souls are never harmed. From now until forever. Those who trust in the Lord are absolutely secure forever. 3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous,  The scepter represents kings.  Israel has had some wicked kings in its history  The wicked will not rule forever, though.  God’s ideal will come to be the reality of Israel - Jesus as King. So that the righteous would not send forth

  Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (I listened to this as an audiobook, checked out from my library.)  This is another one of those books that I missed out on in high school.  If you haven’t read this book, you should.  The story is well written, with several story lines interwoven in an interesting and thought provoking way.  Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written to make the people of the south, and the north as well, to think about the treatment of slaves in the United States and beyond in the nineteenth century.  How anyone could read this book and not despair with the many suffering in slavery, even today, I don’t know.  This story will make you cheer, it will make you cry, and it will make you think about how you treat people.  Your heart will be wrung out when you have finished, but it will be so worth it.  It will challenge you to look at your own thoughts about people and to pray for those who are suffering.  It will challenge your faith and draw you closer to the Lord.