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No Need to be Afraid

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Daily Truth:  “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

   Psalm 27:1

Wian 29
Illustration from the children’s book,
“What’s in a Name?” by Cathy Jo Johnson

 

Have you ever been afraid?   The word “afraid” can be found 216 times in the NKJV of the Bible. God gives us accounts in the Bible where men, women, and children are afraid.  God also shows us how He rescues, protects, and gives grace to people.

According to the “Harvard Mental Health Letter” of December 2004 “A child’s world is full of dangers, real and imaginary, that many adults forget they ever experienced… Children’s minds and emotions are constantly changing and developing, and they do not all develop at the same rate, so it is not always easy to distinguish normal fears from those that require special attention. Newborns typically fear falling and loud noises. Fear of strangers begins as early as six months and persists until the age of two or three. Preschool children usually fear being separated from their parents; they may also be afraid of large animals, dark places, masks, and supernatural creatures.”

As parents we need to take care in providing a safe environment for our children.  As much as we would love to hold them and protect them their entire life we cannot and should not.

It is important for parents to have a strong prayer life.  As the mother of three children born within 27 months people often said, “They must keep you on your toes?”  Which I replied, “They keep me on my knees.”  Understanding that some things were in my control yet all things were in God’s control which was a constant help to me.

We try to remain calm when afraid so our children will not be fearful. By having a time with the LORD each day (no matter how short or long depending on our season of life) helps us to maintain calmness amidst fear.

The most important thing to take away fear is trust.  When children know that you are there to nourish, care, protect, and love them their fears are reduced and trust is built.  Our jobs as parents is to then build upon that trust and teach them to trust God.

When life situations arise, point out how God cares and protects.  Take pictures and frame those moments so your child can be reminded of God’s goodness.  Pray for others and keep a journal of those prayer requests.  Praise God for answered prayers and record in the journal so you can go back and remind your child of God’s working.  Just as the Israelites made  stone monuments in specific locations to mark God’s working we too need to make visual reminders of God’s working in our lives and those of our children’s.

Verses to teach your children about not being afraid and trusting God include:

  1.  “The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”      Psalm 27:1
  2.  “…The LORD is my helper; I will not fear…” Hebrews 13:6
  3. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid…” Deuteronomy 31:6 a
  4.  “…He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 b

Some Bible lessons that show fear from people yet  teach trust in God:

  1.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego  in Daniel 3 of the Bible
  2. Crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14 of the Bible
  3. Jesus Calms a Storm in Matthew 8:23-27   

Learning the names of God helps to take away fear and build trust.

“What’s in a Name?” is a children’s book for ages 4-8 that teaches about some of the names of God.  The name of God shown in the above illustration is the name “El Roi”. “El Roi” means the God who sees.  God sees when we are afraid.  He will take care of us. When we learn the Hebrew names of God we learn more about God.  Each of His special names teaches us a characteristic about Himself.  God loves us and can be trusted to take care of us in all situations.  We do not need to be afraid.

Until the next “Truth” sharing moment,

Cathy Jo Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rest for the Weary in a Busy Life

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Daily Truth:  But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31

I realize that I promised that I would write about “Dress Rehearsal.”  But alas, sometimes things happen in our lives that are completely out of our control and definitely NOT in our calendar.  That pretty much sums up the past 9 days.

It all started when the hubs came home a week ago terribly sick.  Now let me just preface this by saying my husband is NOT one of those “husband turn whimp,” wanting to rest, when he gets sick.  Also, my husband’s job is such that he can go to work and not have to interact with too many people.  Off to work he went Friday morning despite the protest from the family and spending part of the night sick. When he came home Friday night from work, walked into the house, and rested on the couch without even taking his winter coat or hat off I knew we were in trouble. And that is the way he stayed until Saturday morning.

It was a down hill battle from there.  Literally every 36 hours someone else fell prey to the flu this week.  I cleaned the bathrooms and did laundry every day.  (The house now permanently smells of Lysol).  I fought it until the commander of her troops could fight it no longer and finally I succumbed last night.

Next week, I will discuss the importance of “Dress Rehearsal” with our children.  But for now, this weary and cranky mother is going to drink some tea, take a hot bath, rest and enjoy a few minutes of sheer utter silence (which believe me is a rarity in this house) before the troops come home from church.

Until next week ladies,

Rebekah

rest for the weary

The Work of His Hand: We Are Just the Pottery

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Daily Truth:  But now, O LORD, you are the Father; we are the clay, and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8

9757937What an incredible picture! God is our Creator and the potter. We are his vessels or pottery.  He shaped and molded us.

When a child understands the way in which pottery is made there is a better understanding about the verses in the Bible which use the words clay and potter. The clay begins as just a lump of matter (which is made up of elements known as silicates along with water, oxygen, and trace minerals) on the potter’s wheel. The clay is carefully molded by the potter’s hands into a masterpiece.

I find it interesting that water must be added to the clay to aid in the transformation. Without water we are unable to live. Water is cleansing too. In John 4:10 Jesus is the living water. In John 5:12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Just as clay needs water to be molded we too need “living water” to be cleansed and transformed.

A valuable experience that would lead to a clearer understanding of the clay and potter relationship is to have your child make their own piece of pottery or to plan a visit in which he or she can watch pottery being made. The  following video shows how a potter makes pottery. (click here to watch video)

It is interesting in the video when the potter blows into the vessel.  The breath from the potter gives shape and form to the clay.  It reminds me of the verse in Genesis 2:7 “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and then the man became a living creature.”

Job 33:6 “Truly I am as your spokesman before God; I also have been formed out of clay.”

God’s Word is truly amazing.  God gives us word pictures to aid in our understanding of His Word.

Until the next “Truth” sharing moment,

Cathy Jo Johnson

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What’s Your Plumb Line?

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Daily Truth: “I will make justice a measuring line and righteousness a plumb line.”
Isaiah 28:17
Picture
What is a plumb line? I first found out when hanging wall paper  many years ago.
A friend was helping me hang wallpaper. She took off her wedding ring and tied  a string to the ring to make a plumb line. She said that it would help us to hang the the wallpaper straight as our vision and the walls could deceive  us.A plumb line is a simple yet valuable tool to determine whether something is vertically straight. From the Latin word “plumbum”, meaning “lead”, a plumb line is a line with a weight attached to the bottom of the line. The force of gravity causes the the string to trace a straight, vertical line. Plumbers, masons, carpenters, surveyors, and landscapers all use this tool.This simple tool has been used in construction since ancient times. Jesus probably used a plumb line as a carpenter tool. References in the Bible are usually that of the Lord’s plumb line. This is in reference to how righteously people stand, or how upright their stand of God.Many of the prophets in the Old Testament warned the people about their crooked ways. Amos writes his conversation with the Lord about the people living
their own ways and not in the ways of the Lord in Amos 7:7-8.
“This is what the he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,
with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.”
By helping children understand the word plumb line they will better understand what God’s criterion is for righteousness.
Activity to help with understanding plumb line:
Attach a paper to an easel or chalkboard. Have the child make lines from
top to bottom on a piece of paper. Then make a simple plumb line tool.
Demonstrate with the plumb line how the lines drawn by the child appeared to be
straight yet when compared to the plumb line they were crooked.Our thoughts of righteousness differ from those of God’s thoughts on righteousness.

The word “righteousness” occurs 277 times in the ESV.  This word would be a good word study as an extension of the previous object lesson of the word plumb line.

If the verses mentioned earlier seem too overwhelming to incorporate in a study I  suggest the following verses:

1 Samuel 26:23 “The LORD rewards every man according to his righteousness and his
faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out
my hand against the LORD’s anointed.”

2 Titus 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, or reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

Until the next truth sharing moment,

Cathy Jo Johnson