Here’s an excellent post: Many impress, few inspire.

.:.

What will you do with your life?

The number of home educating families continues to grow year after year. We are striving to follow God’s path for teaching our children, and I’m pretty sure He hasn’t called us out of the public schools just to show the government we can make better grades than them. He has a much, MUCH bigger plan for our lives!

What has God been doing in your life lately that has confirmed in your hearts that God is truly at work? I’d love to hear your feedback!

In my last post I talked about how it is easy to let shyness develop into a habit of silence. I received a comment that reminded me I ought to bring up another point:

“Even quiet people can still shine, kind of like the difference between a candle and the headlight of a car. Both give light, they just have two different ‘types’ of light.” - Hannah

Exactly! God has given us all different personalities and abilities, and in no way does He desire us to become a homogenous group of loud-mouths. Some have personalities that everyone is drawn to, while others may work quietly in the back. Some know exactly what to say at just the right moment, while others have just the knack for creating a warm environment in their homes for fellowship. The list goes on.

How have you used your giftings and personalities in the building up of Christ’s Kingdom? I’d love to hear about what you’ve learned.

I am a very reserved person, and used to be very shy. And even now, outside of my family and very closest of friends, I don’t like to share most of my thoughts or opinions. I think that’s one reason I enjoy talkative people so much; they don’t require much from me other than smiling and listening. But that’s only the good part.

Sometime ago it lead to a pride issue, thinking that, because I knew how to hold my tongue so well, I was obviously much more mature than those around me. But even then, I wasn’t as good a listener or encourager as I should have been. And there were so many conversations I could have turned to the better, but complacently let wander down the wrong path. But God wasn’t finished with me yet…

Through a series of situations, books I’ve read, and relationships, God has shown me that refraining from exhorting others and praising Him is selfish behavior.

“How could this be?” I wondered. “You made me quiet, and I like it this way! Besides, everyone thinks I’m so ladylike!” But what was God’s opinion of my quietness? Did He really want me to be so quiet and Victorian to the point where I didn’t even talk about Him?

I was around some very dear young ladies recently, and I noticed that they went out of their way to speak of God’s goodness in their lives with gentle boldness. By their example He showed me that my selfish and prideful - not “modest” and “humble” - mindset of hiding myself away is not what God has planned for His children. He has a much vaster plan for our lives than silence.

I am not my own. I was bought with a price. I naturally (read: selfishly) don’t want to think of myself as a gift to others. “And how vain!” I tell myself. But God has placed me in my family and circle of friends for a reason - to selflessly minister to them in Christ’s name. “…Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). I have nothing good about me to offer the world, but it is Christ’s goodness that reaches through me and blesses others (2 Cor 4:5-7).

So what is it that we young ladies can do that would “be a blessing to others”? Among the many deeds in Scripture we are exhorted to do, we must also use our voices to praise the Lord. Psalm 32:11-33:1 says, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.” The command is pretty clear, and there’s no use arguing with it. We have so much to be thankful for!

Now, there is nothing wrong with having a reserved personality. Yes, we may keep our familiar, pleasant and curious thoughts tucked inside, and this is good if they are accompanied by scripture and turn us to Christ (Phil. 4:8). And it’s an excellent thing to hold your tongue when you feel like saying something spiteful. But to be purposefully cold and silent when you could be a bright and joyful light praising Jesus? That is where we go wrong.

All of our words start out as thoughts in our hearts, and must first be taken captive to the obedience of Christ. Is our lack of praise and encouragement evidence of a cold and ungrateful heart? We can begin to turn our hearts to Christ only by His strength if we ask Him to touch our hearts and put a song of praise on our lips.

“For what we proclaim is not of ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your sevants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” - 2 Cor 4:5-7

The breaks were as enjoyable as the sessions, when we got to meet many new friends.

After a picnic lunch on Saturday, Emily, Mia, Macy and I took a stroll along the Chatahoochee River. The weather was positively gorgeous - perfect breeze and lots of sunshine, bird songs, and even some green grass.

Three of the Allen sisters, me, Emily, and Lauren W. Emily and I had a good time talking with these lovely ladies. We also also got to meet Christie, McKinzie, Jessica, Olivia, Julia, Shannon and Tiffany (Emily has more photos on her blog).

Emily, Elizabeth, Rachel, Rebecca, Christiana, Lauren, me, Anna, Prentiss, and Emily, Sunday afternoon, at the Rose Hill Baptist Church in Columbus.

Thank you, all my faithful readers and friends, for visiting my blog and leaving such happy and encouraging comments! You all have made my blogging life so fun, and even though I can’t reply to every one, I want to thank you for being my friends. May God bless you all!

~Breezy

Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin answering some questions. Photo by Emily Rose

I learned and relearned so much! Through the various sessions and questions and answer times, God used the Botkin family to show us how serious we ought to be about the kingdom of God, starting with our families. So here are a few of my notes:

- If we honor God’s law and trust Him as we live by His grace, will we know how to handle the overwhelming blessings that will crash down on us?

- The motto of the Reformation was “Semper Reformada,” or, Always Reforming.

- All government is religious. You are either worshiping Jesus, or yourself. Culture is religion externalized.

Noah, Anna, Ben, Elizabeth, and Mr. Botkin. Photo by Emily Rose

- In the Greek culture of the Classical world, it was thoroughly believed that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”, the motto of Democracy. Democracy is a heresy. The voice of God is the Word of God, not 51% of the population.

- The Italian Renaissance was a conscious effort to reattain the wisdom of the Greeks, a glorious early Marxism. The Reformation in Geneva was a pursuing of Godly wisdom and biblical standards for society. It was called a paradise for women, who were loved, honored and appreciated for their God-given roles.

- The beginning of Marxism started not in the 1800’s with Karl Marx, but actually reaches all the way back to when the devil sought to glorify himself rather than God. He then tempted mankind to reject God’s plan for their growth in a relationship with God and godly wisdom, and offered the fast and easy way to knowledge of good and evil. It basically says, “Wouldn’t you rather do things your way?”, then finding and pursuing what ever is the exact opposite of God’s order.

In seeking to end Christianity, they set up governments to glorify as the savior, over-tax the rich and poor and gorge on stolen wealth, and enforce unbiblical laws (e.g. man has no right to private property - it belongs to the government, children and the elderly are a drain - kill them, sin and debauchery is a good thing - revel in it). Sounds a lot like America, doesn’t it?

- Worship is the way we serve.  It is more than singing in Church - it is the way we live our lives.

Daddy, Emily, and Momma, Friday evening.

- A home that pursues the glory of God and is dominion-oriented is full of tools, not toys.

- How will you know how to relate to other believers in the body of Christ if you have rejected and avoided the biblical family?

- Parents should be training their children all the time, showing them how to be loving and selfless by setting the example in speech, as well as deeds. (Better start practicing now!)

We drove all day Thursday and arrived safely at the inn around 6:00pm.

Louisville skyline. Photo by Emily Rose

Rest stop in Alabama! Photo by Emily Rose

Back on the road, and almost to Columbus!

This past weekend was probably some of the most amazing few days of my life…

Photo by Emily Rose

Thursday started at 4:03am, cold and dark with temperatures below zero. But after a hasty and efficient packing of the car, and dreamy residue of concert music from the night before, we piled in and headed towards the deep south - the Crossroads Conference by the Botkin family.

We drove through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. I never thought I’d like all the hills, pine trees and small mountains so much, but the sunshine and faintest hints of green was so refreshing compared to our stubborn snowbanks, I couldn’t help but find them endearing.

We arrived in Columbus, GA that evening, weary yet eager for the next day’s sessions including, “What is the Family?”, “What is the Church?”, and “Understanding Patriarchy”. On Friday, before the conference began, and in between breaks, Emily and I got to meet several blogging friends and met a few new ones as well, young ladies seeking to serve the Lord in femininity and godliness. It was an amazing feeling to be standing in an enormous, old brick building, surrounded by like-minded people hungry for wisdom from all over the US.

Throughout the next several posts I will share more of our adventure and what we learned. I can only praise Jesus for His love and provision in allowing us to attend!