The NAME above every name...

Tim and I (and Crew) went on a date last night in hopes of making progress on picking a name for our baby.

 Well, we didn't get the chance we had hoped for while both trying to make sure Crew didn't hit anybody with a flying wet bread ball or because we were just enjoying our food.

Crew is such a blessing to me. Every  night I put him in bed, I say the name of Jesus over him. I am also teaching him motions for John 3:16. He doesn't talk a lot. He says cracker, mommEEE, daddEEEE, juice, outside!!, ball, donka??, bubba, EEEce (Reece), and he calls Lake "koo-koo". He calls Hope, "Op". So, when we were driving down the road today and he said, 

"Jesus". 

I was a little stunned. I pulled over and video'd  it to send it to my mom and Tim...     

So, I guess he has been listening! I hope and pray He will always love the name Jesus and proclaim it from the rooftops. There is such power in the name of Jesus!

"They asked Jesus, "Do you hear what these children are saying?""Yes," Jesus replied. "Haven't you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, 'You have taught children and infants to give you praise."

Matt 21:16

I am encouraged by what I see doing in the hearts of the next generation. I truly think He is raising up leaders who will love Him and serve Him. We have a family Bible Study in our home and the children are GROWING. They are excited about the Word. It is awesome to watch...

We sing songs, STUDY THE WORD, play crazy games, dance, worship God, memorize Scripture, have water balloon fights, etc...

Please know that your child is ABLE to study the Word of God. They don't need devotionals. They need the pure Word. I am so concerned that not only our children reading devotionals instead of the Word but so are adults! :( We need God's pure Word now more than ever. Toss the books written by man... they  have no power. Give your children an appetite for what is wholesome and pure. It is the difference between a diet of candy corn or a diet of fruits and vegetables. We are so worried about GMOs and gluten in our physical diets but what are we feeding our Inner Man? Our spirit (or our inner man) is eternal. Our bodies are not. Not that we shouldn't take care of our bodies. They are the temple for the Holy Spirit. We need to keep our bodies healthy and strong so we can serve God with energy!! But, be careful of your spiritual diet and what you are feeding your children. 

My children each have a Bible. I buy the large print NIRV version. It is just the Word.  As soon as they can read (I have used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons), we head straight into Psalms or John. I have used the Word to teach my children to read, write, comprehend, memorize, for public speaking, etc... You name it. I basically use the Word of God to teach them until about 3rd grade. 

You can DEFINITELY use it for Math and Science for your young ones.

I am using Genesis 1 to teach Hope not only about her Creator but about colors, numbers, science, light, darkness, opposites, animals, plants, seeds, fish, shapes, days of the week, creation, time, sun, moon, stars, sky, seasons, water, earth, fruit, oceans, girls, boys, morning, evening, day, night, breathing, etc... 

For example (NIRV):

GENESIS 1

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day.” He called the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.

6 God said, “Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water.” 7 And that’s exactly what happened. God made the huge space between the waters. He separated the water that was under the space from the water that was above it. 8 God called the huge space “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.

9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear.” And that’s exactly what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land.” He called the waters that were gathered together “oceans.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce plants. Let them bear their own seeds. And let there be trees on the land that bear fruit with seeds in it. Let each kind of plant or tree have its own kind of seeds.” And that’s exactly what happened.

12 The land produced plants. Each kind of plant had its own kind of seeds. The land produced trees that bore fruit with seeds in it. Each kind of tree had its own kind of seeds.

God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day three.

14 God said, “Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky. Let them separate the day from the night. Let them serve as signs to mark off the seasons and the days and the years. 15 Let them serve as lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s exactly what happened.

16 God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day. He made the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars.

17 God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth. 18 He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness.

God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.

20 God said, “Let the waters be filled with living things. Let birds fly above the earth across the huge space of the sky.”21 So God created the great creatures of the ocean. He created every living and moving thing that fills the waters. He created all kinds of them. He created every kind of bird that flies. And God saw that it was good.

22 God blessed them. He said, “Have little ones and increase your numbers. Fill the water in the oceans. Let there be more and more birds on the earth.”

23 There was evening, and there was morning. It was day five.

24 God said, “Let the land produce all kinds of living creatures. Let there be livestock, and creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals. Let there be all kinds of them.” And that’s exactly what happened.

25 God made all kinds of wild animals. He made all kinds of livestock. He made all kinds of creatures that move along the ground. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our likeness. Let them rule over the fish in the waters and the birds of the air. Let them rule over the livestock and over the whole earth. Let them rule over all of the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 

So God created man in his own likeness.

    He created him in the likeness of God.

    He created them as male and female.

28 God blessed them. He said to them, “Have children and increase your numbers. Fill the earth and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the waters and the birds of the air. Rule over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I am giving you every plant on the face of the whole earth that bears its own seeds. I am giving you every tree that has fruit with seeds in it. All of them will be given to you for food.

30 “I am giving every green plant to all of the land animals and the birds of the air for food. I am also giving the plants to all of the creatures that move on the ground. I am giving them to every living thing that breathes.” And that’s exactly what happened.

31 God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six."

There is seriously enough in this chapter to probably teach your kids through middle school! God's Word is useful for teaching! It is exciting. It is ALIVE.

Teaching my kids at home has been one of the biggest leaps of faith I have ever taken. Yet, God continues to help me and the children. I have grown so much in my faith as I watch God work in their lives. He is teaching them!

My older boys are doing Abeka's DVD curriculum now. I LOVE this curriculum.

It is so solid Biblically. It honors God's Word. The teachers are fantastic. I am more like their tutor now. But it frees me to teach the little ones. I want to spend those early years soaking them in the Word so that they will grow straight. I want God's Word to be their foundation for everything.

Am I brainwashing my children? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!!

All of us have minds that must be renewed by the washing of the Word!

Our minds have to be changed. 

""

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

Romans 12:2

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."

Prov 22:6

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching"

2 Tim 3:16

Now, are my kids perfect?

No. NO. NOOOO!!

They struggle with sin. They have character flaws. They get in trouble. 

Why?

Because they inherited MY SIN NATURE!!!

We are entering into harder parenting challenges.

Now we are dealing with bad attitudes instead of bad behavior.

More gray areas dealing with the heart that require WISDOM as a parent.

Oh, how I pray that God would take my children so much deeper with Him than I have ever been. That they would serve Him in capacities I could have never dreamed.

Not for their name but for HIS!

I tell them all the time... 

"I can't GIVE you my faith.

This is your story. 

God wants YOU to know Him. Not know about Him... KNOW HIM."

I pray and beg God to call them each by name and teach them how to walk in "close fellowship" with Him.

" Enoch lived in close fellowship with God"

Gen 5:22

 "Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God."

Gen 6:9

I may have posted this on my blog before but here is an excerpt from a teaching I did for moms not too long ago...

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"But the godly will flourish like palm trees
and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. 
For they are transplanted into the Lord's own house.
They flourish in the courts of our God.
Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green. 
They will declare, "The Lord is just!
He is my rock!
There is nothing but goodness in him!"
Ps 92:12-15

Flourish!

Grow strong!

Transplanted into the Lord’s own house!

Still produce fruit even in old age!

Vital!

Green!

They will speak about the Lord.. “He is my rock! There is nothing but goodness in him!”

Yes, Lord, that is what we want for our children!!

How does this happen? I looked up how to care for a palm tree and listen to this…

Caring for a palm tree:
The most important factor for a healthy Palm Tree is good soil.  The type of soil determines how much nutrients and water the plant receives. While Palm Trees have long been associated with desert conditions, in the wild, they are only found near abundant and continuous supplies of water. If you are thinking about planting a Palm Tree on your property, make sure that the tree will receive adequate water and be prepared to water a newly transplanted tree frequently while it acclimatizes. Frequent watering is crucial for newly-planted Palm Trees. Use a bubbler or arrange a hose to slow soak the area around the tree. It is important not to allow the soil to dry out as this will severely weaken your new Palm.  Most hardy Palm growers recommend protecting the palm from the climate for the first years that it is in the ground.

How to grow a cedar tree:
Plant near the water-edge of a river... and basically water, water, water. Protect the roots. Keep soil moist.

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ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE PARENTING VERSES....

 "May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace."

Ps 144:12

Listen to this paraphrase of this verse...
"For our sons are like plantings of date-palms, nourished up from the doctrine of the law from their youth"

The way to nourish your sons is to water them with the

Word of God. This is what we are doing everyday when we teach our children God’s Word. Nourishing our young plants so that they may grow deep roots and become strong!

I love the word "NOURISH": 

(1) Provide with substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition.

(2)Enhance the fertility of (soil).

How do we do this? By the power of the Holy Spirit in us and the Word of God. But we must be DILIGENT and faithful to raise up our children to know and love God.

"You shall teach them (what's them? God's commandments- His Word)  

wholeheartedly/ DILIGENTLY to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Deut 6:7

This verse jump starts me when I want to teach them half-heartedly. 

Nope- God has asked me to be diligent.

This is going to require sacrifice. I just read how a momma eagle plucks out her own chest feathers to make the baby's nest more comfy for them. I am sure that isn't the most pleasant experience for her. Mothering God's way requires sacrifice.

Whether it is financial sacrifice or social sacrifice or time or whatever. But, I promise you being diligent will cost you something... but the REWARD is so much greater.

"do not forsake your mother's teaching.

Bind them upon your heart forever;
fasten them around your neck.
 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.  For these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light" 

Prov 6:20-23

When we teach our kids the Word of God, we are not only teaching them... we are giving them the Teacher that will teach them the REST OF THEIR LIVES.
Guiding them, watching over them, speaking to them, lighting their path as a light. Doesn't that warm your heart as a mother? What happens after I die? Who will guide and watch over my children? The Word that is implanted in their souls.

Like I said, there was only one way I knew I could not fail at educating my children at home- it would be by using HIS Word as my curriculum. It became my confidence and I began to see it teaching my children. I began to use it for pretty much everything.

Now, I know God isn't calling everybody reading this to homeschool their children.

You do not have to homeschool to teach your children the Word.

Think of the time you invest in teaching them a sport. We have time. We just have to prioritize.

I know it isn't easy to fit it all in but ask God to show you how to put His Word first in your home.

When God told me to teach my children His Word, I was so afraid. Me? Teach them? HOW???

I still feel like the Lord has commanded me to teach monkeys His Word. LOL. That is what it seems like most days. Yet, I obey. 

And, then all of the sudden I hear the name, "JESUS" come out of my toddlers lips.

Ask ELOHIM (Creator God) to give you CREATIVITY.

He will! This is His idea. His plan. His commandment. Don't you think He is ON YOUR TEAM and will help you?

But, here is the catch. We never rely on our own strength. We are diligent to teach them but all the while begging God to STIR in them and draw them. There is no formula. There is no book you can read to guarantee godly children.

It is only by HIS SPIRIT.

We can build the altar, we can put the wood on it, but only GOD CAN BRING THE FIRE IN THEIR LIVES. 

 "I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it...

O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”

 Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!  And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The LORD—he is God! Yes, the LORD is God!”

1 Kings 18: 23,37-39

We can "prepare the horse" but GOD will be the One who brings the victory in their lives.

"The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Prov 21:31

May God bless you as you raise up your children in this crooked and perverse generation in which they SHINE LIKE STARS IN THE UNIVERSE as they hold out THE WORD!

We have to stay on your knees. 

Asking for wisdom and

Begging God to bring the fire into the hearts of our children.

Be Blessed~

Steph

*P.S.* 

I have been asked a lot lately if we are going to do another His Proposal conference this year. WE ARE PRAYING ABOUT IT. This is a conference for single college girls and up about how to wait on God's best in marriage. 

It is a life changing message...

Centered on the greatest love story ever told.

If you are interested, please email me at tsblackiston@comcast.net

*P.S.S*

If you are looking for a Bible Study join me and 4 other teachers on Monday nights from your home along with hundreds of women from around the world as we study the book of 1 Thessalonians.

Join the facebook group "Good Soil Girls" or go to 

www.goodsoilgirls.wordpress.com