The Accuser

I have a monster that follows me around—and I don’t even have a two-year-old anymore! Guilt is, for me, an ever-present nuisance. My guess is that I’m not the only parent with this problem.

Honestly, I had no concept of guilt before having children. Now I worry every day about…everything! One of my constant guilt-producers is this: Did I spend enough time with my kids today? (Makes perfect sense, right? I mean, I’m a homeschooling mom. I spend every minute with them. I’m here to tell you—guilt doesn’t have to make sense.)

Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” One definition of “condemned” is to be found guilty. So in other words, “There is no guilt for those who are in Christ Jesus!”

Why not?

Well, Romans 8 goes on to say in verse 2, “Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

We’re free from guilt because, as Christians, we have entered into the law of the Spirit of life and are free—free from the spirit of sin and death and the guilt that law brings with it. Verses three and four explain that guilt is meant to bring unbelievers to the Lord. Since we have already believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we no longer have need of guilty feelings.

So why do I still battle so much guilt?

The enemy of our souls, Satan, is referred to in Revelation as “the accuser” (Rev. 12:10). If you have—like me—watched too many Law and Order episodes, you know that accuser is the one hurling accusations, blame, and guilt.

Satan loves guilt-tripping us for every little slip-up—real and irrational—we could ever imagine making.

However, Satan is a liar! He is not capable of speaking truth. (John 8:44b: “…There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for there is no truth in him.”)

That guilt that hovers around you and whispers to you at quiet moments—the voice that says, “I’m not good enough” or “I’m not doing enough” or “I’ll never get it right” or…whatever else—is the Accuser trying to make you crack. He wants you focused on what you’re doing wrong, instead of what God is doing (and wants to do) through you.

What now?

God’s Word is your ally. Memorize a verse or two to wield against the Accuser and when he attacks, speak the truth to him and to yourself.

For example, Ps. 31:4 is a prayer that says, “Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you (God) are my refuge.” I also like to change the verb tense and tell the Accuser a thing or two. Like this, “I am freed from the trap of guilt that you set for me, for God is my refuge!”

May we heed God’s conviction and ignore the Accuser’s guilt!

Thanks from a Softy

I’m a softy. I know my husband would agree, but I think about the reaction my kids had to our World Vision project and I can’t help getting teary-eyed. Thanks to the help of generous friends and loved ones, the boys met their goal...and then some!

To raise the money, the boys manned a cupcake stand during our neighborhood yard sale and sold some of their toys. They went with their Pa to collect and recycle aluminum cans. They helped bake 60 cupcakes, thirty cookies, and a couple truckloads of buttercream! (It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it, right?)

As a result, they were able to pour over the World Vision catalog and pick out more things to give! We watched a World Vision video on malaria (did you know malaria kills 2000 children a day?) that tugged on each boys’ heart—mine too! In the end, we raised enough money for 1 goat & 2 chickens, a share of a well, bed nets for a whole family (to prevent said malaria), and two soccer balls for needy kids!

Equally as exciting, the boys are asking to do more to help those in need! Next on our to-do list is Operation Christmas Child!

So often our kids (and ourselves) get caught up in “me” that they forget the great needs of others. Thanks to World Vision’s videos and resources, I was able to show our kids why people can’t just shut their doors and windows to keep mosquitoes out—why they need help from us. Thanks to your generosity, my guys are excited about helping others.

Thank you.

Teach Multiplication Without Losing Your Sanity!

Ever notice how we parents only take credit for the fabulous aspects of our children? (Little Timmy speaks three languages! Yep, he gets that from me!) We aren’t so enthusiastic about claiming the more trying sides of our childrens’ talents. (Little Tessa doesn’t like to sit still. She gets that from…her daddy!)

Well in the interest of transparency, I’m hear to tell you that one of our kiddos has trouble memorizing bald facts and…he gets it from me!

This trait becomes a nightmare when memorizing those pesky multiplication tables. (Can I get an “amen” from anyone else out there who cried over learning those things?) Really, I’ve been dreading teaching my non-memorizer the multiplication tables since we started homeschooling.

Then, I stumbled upon Memorize in Minutes: The Times Tables. (Just typing that name is enough to set off rounds of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” in my head!) Similar to Times Tales, this book uses mnemonic devices (sometimes known as funny stories and rhymey words) to help kids remember the multiplication facts. I found it online for $19.99 and figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

When the book arrived, I discovered everything I needed to teach the multiplication facts inside. I simply read the paragraph-long stories to the two bigger boys (a second grader and a third grader) and showed them the silly illustrations. We tackled two facts a day—skipping the easy facts like the twos and fives. We made copies some of the illustrations to color and to make into a reference book (more on that in a minute.)

The result? Without a single flash card—but with some review of the pictures and stories, without a single tear shed—mine or theirs… They learned the times tables!

Easy. Peasy. Lemon. Squeezy.

And of course you know that division is just multiplication in reverse! So Memorize in Minutes: The Times Tables helped with that too.

For those hard to recall facts (like 9 x 6—why is that one so hard?), we made copies of the flashcards provided in the book, cut them out, and pasted them into a notebook. Anytime a boy runs into a math fact he just cannot remember, he looks it up in the notebook. (I’ve found that encourages him to think a little more and not just ask Mom for the answer.)

I love, love, love Memorize in Minutes: The Times Tables. Personally, I think this is a great tool for homeschools and public schools and private schools and charter schools and magnet schools and—well, I think you get the idea.

Sure, sometimes we still have to review. I also have to sometimes prompt them by saying, “What’s the rhyme?” But we made it through multiplication without any gray hairs.

There goes the “Hallelujah Chorus” again.

Links to research:
For Memorize in Minutes:
www.multiplication.com

For higher level math (I've never used this, but I've heard it's similar to Memorize in Minutes.):
http://lifeoffredmath.com/