Have you ever caught yourself worrying about your children? I know that I certainly have! I have worried over their safety when they are away from me. I have worried when they were sick. I have worried over some of their behaviors. I have worried over their futures and whether they will make wise decisions concerning who they marry and how they live. I have worried over whether their decision to follow Christ was sincere. When it comes to my concerns for my children, I can come up with quite a list. I love them so much and want what is best for them.

On one such morning, I was thinking about my children and beginning to worry about a certain situation concerning one of my children. Suddenly a thought occurred to me: How many hairs on his head? I mulled this over….how many hairs on his head? I have no idea how many hairs there are on any the heads of my children. But, God knows exactly how many hairs are on the heads of my children (Mt. 10:30). What a wonderful thought.

I am with my children every day. I am their mother and their school teacher. I certainly feel like I know them better than just about anyone. But I don’t know them better than God does! He knows them best. But better than knowing them best, He also loves them best. I just love the account in Mt. 19:13-15 where some children attempt to approach Jesus and the disciples try to shoo them away. Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Jesus loved children then and He loves them now.

Therefore I know I can trust God with my children. I can handle this worry the same way I handle other worries in my life, the Phil. 4:6-7 way! “Do not be anxious about anything (including my children), but in everything (including my children), by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (parenthesis mine)

Praise Him!
Karen T.

(You can reach Karen at karen@t2chk.org)

I am a born again Christian, a wife, a mother, a homeschool teacher, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a great aunt, a sister in law, and friend. Like everyone, I am but a small speck in the timeline of human history. I rejoice, I mourn, I strive, I succeed and I fail. There is nothing necessarily spectacular about me. You will likely never see my name in a World History text.

However, as a child of the One, True Eternal God of Heaven and Earth, I know that the things I say and do each day stretch out into eternity! Now that IS spectacular. I am secure in knowing my God loves me and will take care of me. I have a purpose knowing that He has given me spiritual gifts that I might serve Him. “For we are His workmanship, created by Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10. How wonderful it is to be God’s child, to know I will spend eternity with Him.

Therefore I have sought to serve God by ministering within the roles, or “many hats” for which I have been entrusted. I can’t possibly wear all the hats I mentioned at once! What to do? At first I tried to organize my hats in order of importance. I put the one I deemed the most important first in line and so on. My Christian hat was first, my wife hat second, my mom hat third and so on. But the urgencies and emergencies of life stole in and my careful order became a jumbled mess! So, I decided to put each hat on a pole and spin it to keep it on the pole. I divided the hats on poles between two hands. I had several poles and each hand and started spinning. If I could only keep the hats spinning they wouldn’t fall! This did not work!! It was not long before I was an exhausted heap on the floor covered in hats!

I went to my Lord for answers. What took me so long? Here is what I learned: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you!” Mt. 6:33 So I took all my hats and put them inside His hat! I have committed to seeking Him first each day by studying His Word, the Bible, and spending time in prayer to Him. I ask Him for wisdom in ordering my day. Before Him I make a plan for the day, all the while acknowledging that “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Prov. 16:9 As I seek to follow Jesus, my Shepherd daily, I know He only has one thing for me to do at a time. This acknowledgement is my goal, my striving. In my journey of life, I am learning afresh to lean on Him by committing the first fruits of my day to Him. He is first and last on my list and everything in between!

Praise Him!

Karen Twombly

(You can reach Karen at karen@t2chk.org )

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35

Many are the pressures of the morning. As a home school teacher, I seek to be at the table between 8:00 and 8:30 am. My children are to be there with me and are to have had their breakfast and their teeth brushed.

Most of us have something to do or somewhere to be first thing in the morning. It may be a job, an appointment, or home schooling. Perhaps you are like me and you are not a morning person. Adding time with God for Bible Study and Prayer first thing in the morning may seem like “one more thing” to add to an already too busy schedule.

My morning actually started the evening before when I went to bed way too late. I woke up in the morning and said to the Lord with honesty, “I really don’t want to meet with you this morning. I am too tired. Please give me the desire to meet with you.” I stumbled into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee and stumbled into the living room.

Fortunately, there piled on the couch, was my prayer journal, my Bible and a blanket. Not far from there was my laptop (smile…). I snuggled in my blanket, turned on the computer and went to a favorite online devotional. I looked up the verses that were mentioned. This was the beginning to conquering my previous attitude. Once the Bible was open it was easy to continue reading. From there I opened one of the books I am currently reading on “Prayer.” From there I opened my prayer journal and began pouring out my concerns to God. What transpired that morning was not just a sweet time with the Lord but a spiritual victory.

There are some lessons to be learned from that morning. First off, if there is something God wants us to do that we don’t necessarily desire to do, we can ask Him to give us a willing heart. Secondly, it helps my morning time with God if I start the night before to get my “special spot” ready with all that I will need. And thirdly, the battle is in the starting. We tend to stay with what we start with. May I start with my Lord each day!

Praise Him,
Love
Karen T.