For the Love of Music

OK...so I'm blogging at 10:30 at night...make that, 11:30 because the time will change, but I'm waiting for a load of laundry to finish, and I also enjoy putting my thoughts down. The last two days have been busy, but a good busy! It has been full of music - which I love! I was able to judge all the vocalists at a music competition yesterday. I enjoy seeing how each student improves from year to year, and I also love hearing new songs that I've never heard before.

Today was a big day for my 8 year old, Miss E. She had her Piano Festival today! Miss E. tends toward the dramatic side. (I really have no idea where she got that from!) She was stressing a little this week over getting ready for this competition. The piano was watered with many tears! On Wednesday morning, after she finished practicing, she let out a huge sigh and said, "Well, Mom, there IS hope!" We were able to have quite a few talks about character and not quitting, and she and I were also able to pray together several times this week about this huge mountain she was facing. I am happy (and a little proud) to say that today she received a Superior score for her pieces. She scored 47 out of 50 points! But seeing her beaming face as she read her score was not nearly as thrilling as hearing her pray at lunch, "Thank You, God, for helping me in my competition, and thank You for giving me a Superior." Now THAT was a thrilling moment.

You know, so many times in this thing called life, it feels like we are getting nowhere - whether it be your own spiritual growth, making a marriage work, conquering a bad habit, child training. There are so many times when it seems like everything we do over and over is useless. I am finding, though, that being consistent and not giving up will pay off. I am so thankful for those moments of encouragement that God gives to me. He allows me to see that He is working in my little girl's heart, and that all this work is not in vain. Don't give up! Don't quit! Nothing good ever comes easy!

I'm going to leave you tonight with a song. This was my favorite new song that I heard yesterday. I have already ordered the music and cannot wait to sing it soon! I hope you are blessed by the beautiful and comforting message that it has.

Preparing for Easter

Don't panic! Easter isn't until April 8th! You have an entire month left to buy all those new outfits, get all the candy bought, and Easter eggs dyed. Easter is a wonderful time of year - one of my favorites, and our family does each and every one of the things I just mentioned, but last year, I was convicted about how I prepare myself and my family for Easter. It is a celebration of the greatest event in Christianity - the resurrection of our Savior! And yet, most of us spend more time choosing an outfit and buying candy and getting Easter baskets and eggs ready than we do preparing our hearts for the most wonderful day of worship we have!

I began to do more heart preparation for me and my family last year, but this year, I wasn't caught off guard, and our family has already begun focusing on the wonder of Easter! After all, we put up our Christmas tree light and have an advent calendar and focus on Jesus' birth for an entire month! Why not do the same for His death and resurrection?

This year, we have begun by focusing on short Bible stories from the Old Testament that paint a picture of sin and its consequences. We are also focusing on the lamb sacrifices made and on seeing how God had our salvation planned all along the path of human history! Some of the stories we have read or will read are Adam and Eve, Abraham's obedience in being willing to offer Isaac, and the Passover. We will also read of the major events in Jesus' life on earth beginning with His birth and culminating with his death on Good Friday. Our family is memorizing Isaiah 53:1-7 together, and we are hoping to be able to say it completely from memory by Good Friday. Resurrection Morning will be such much more real and exciting to our children if they understand all that had to take place before we could be able to celebrate! As we study these stories and memorize the Scripture passage, we are trying to find ways to show our children how sinful we are. The only way we will really appreciate salvation is if we realize how undeserving we are of it. We are also trying to show our children how good and merciful God is and how great the sacrifice was that He made for us.

We plan on taking the last week of Jesus' life and studying it in detail the week before Easter. I will be sharing more of those ideas as we finish planning them out. We want our children to never take their salvation for granted but to always be mindful of the great sacrifice God made to save such sinful people! The Mr. and I are also specifically praying for our oldest son this month that God would continue to work in his heart and that maybe this would be his time for salvation. We would love it if you would join us in praying as well as the Lord brings him to your mind.

I encourage to take some time this week to ask yourself how you and your family can prepare for Easter. I'd love to hear any ideas that you have or ones that you already implement in your family. And, as I said earlier, I will try to share more as Easter draws closer. For now, our family has enjoyed the time of Bible story and study, and it has opened the door for many wonderful discussions. I pray that Easter will mean so much more than just a new outfit and an Easter basket. The sacrifice was way too great to trivialize it in that way.

Family Scripture Memory

This is a post that I wrote last year, but it's always a good thing to remember great habits! Our Family Scripture Memory was not very consistent during my pregnancy, but we are getting back into the habit of it again, and it's amazing how much it changes the entire atmosphere of our home. Check out the link at the bottom for a great tool that will help form your Scripture memory habits.

Yesterday, I told you of my search for a Scripture verse that I can pray over each of my children. Today, I thought I'd pass on a link to a method of Scripture memory that we are trying to incorporate into our family. It is amazing (once you make it a habit) how much Scripture your entire family can memorize using this method. We try to review our Scriptures every night at supper. It doesn't always work, but it is way better than nothing at all. Usually within a week, our Mr. G who is three can even say the verse, and Miss M. (2) can say most of it. We don't have a whole lot of verses to review yet, but we have a TON in the NEW category.

I truly believe that something that would greatly change even our good Christian families is memorizing more Scripture together. It not only allows the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts, but it also opens up some wonderful conversations. We are working on John 14:2-3 (which also happens to be a verse Miss E. is memorizing for a church group :) ). Last night, Mr. G wanted to keep saying it over and over. Finally, he sighed and said, "I really like that verse!" He didn't know why, but I told him it's because Jesus loves him so much, and Jesus is helping Mr. G to love Him back! Isn't that a wonderful way to end supper time?

Just as a side note: make sure you are not just memorizing Scripture but that you also explain it to your kiddos and show them where they can use it in their every day life. Then, use it yourself! :) If you have little, little ones, start now! They are never too little! Like I said, our 2 year old can say most of the verses with us!

Here is a link so that you can check out the Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory Method yourself! http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/