God has been strategically teaching me something. He has used methods and many different things that are all now coming together in my mind as I now have to learn and apply what He wants me to.
I think it may have begun when I read a book out loud to the family a few months ago. It was a book written by Chuck Black and was an allegory. In the book, the people of a town are going about their lives as normally as most of us do. They did not know that the enemy of the Prince (who represents Jesus) was planning an attack on them to make them useless if and when a large scale attack took place. The intent was to prevent the townspeople from being able and equipped to fight against the enemy. It had been observed that the people were diligent in their battle training- specifically with the use of the sword. This was a huge threat to the enemy so he devised a plan to make them useless in battle. He sent a merchant into town in order to sell the people paythas. A paytha was a small pet that seemed very friendly, cuddly, fun to be with. However, the paytha caused the people to become obsessed with it and somehow urged them to always be doing "fun" things with it along. Fishing, relaxing, going to parties....the paytha loved those things and the more the owner participated in those things with paytha in tow, two things happened. First, the owner spent less and less time in sword training and with the ones who shared and taught battle strategies. Second, the paytha would get bigger and bigger. They found that over time, when the owner tried to leave the paytha behind, especially to attend a training, it would get aggressive. It always wanted to be having a good time. THEY were being controlled by the paytha- not the other way around. There is a huge plot and climax in the story, but the point I am making is that the people were an easy target for the enemy because they were so focused on their paythas they had stopped thinking about battle and preparing for it. Paytha could be rearranged to spell apathy. Anything in our life that is not battle training- video games, TV, books, home decor, food, sports- is a potential distraction for the battle that is REAL and is going on right now.
Well, that was one thing.
Another thing was a conference Matt and I attended last summer with Alissa and Cameron. One main take away I got from it was that we all have appetites. What appetites are we feeding-in ourselves and in our kids? When we spend a huge amount of time on something or encourage our kids to, we are feeding THAT appetite. That is what made us decide to focus less on sports and more on developing other appetites in our children. (They still LOVE sports but they don't play on an organized team, we don't watch a lot of sports TV, and we try not to in any way look up to and respect a player who does not honor God with his life and words.) My boys would naturally be obsessed with sports. There is nothing wrong with sports. We just have had to make decisions that will allow them to enjoy watching, playing, and learning about sports without making their appetite for sports outweigh their appetite for things that are beneficial to them in the long run and will help in the goal of being useful and available to God. Video games, television, shopping, reading (for me!), computer time..... it is a constant struggle. I so badly want to feed my "useless" appetite. (Even literally! The more sugar I have, the more I want. No lie.)
So both of those things were just brewing somewhere inside my crazy head.
Death. It happens to everyone. It is sobering...when I actually stop to think about it. A man who helped us move into our house suddenly was given a diagnosis of stage 4 brain cancer and little chance of survival. An 18 year old boy from a church nearby was talking with his friends and family one day two weeks ago when he suddenly died. Steven Curtis Chapman's little 5 year old tragically killed, a 7 year old girl who died of cancer, a mom of 5 that I knew in NH was killed while running one day..... Anyone could easily add to the list. Spending time with my precious grandmother, we talked forever about memories of times past. Life goes on. What I do today will only be a memory later on.
So, what in the world am I doing today?
Then, the horrors of what is going on with ISIS- the crucifixion of men, raping of women, beheading of children. If anyone
really thinks about it, it will take their breath away. Cause them to think. What is going on???
I live on a beautiful piece of land surrounded by mountains, trees, animals.... It is a peaceful place in every way. Could the atrocities that are happening in Iraq or Iran happen here? Ever? Or am I and my children safe here up on our mountain? Is it okay for me to keep going on with life like I am safe? Last night as Alissa and I were watching a youtube video on how to apply jamberries (that she won at Surge :) we both realized that that is some people's lives. Nails, makeup, clothes. Is it okay if it's ours too?
NO!
No it is not.
We were not created for this life. We were created for eternity. We only have one shot at fulfilling our purpose in this life. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. He wants to use us- to fight. Fight for our own lives and fight for the lives of those around us. We need to lose our life in order to save it!
Lastly, I have been doing a Proverbs 31 study. (you can find it here http://www.doorposts.com/blog/) I had no idea that there were so many military terms used in this writing. For all the write-ups of Proverbs 31, I had never before seen that as I strive to become that woman, I am becoming an intentional woman of valor. A spy, a watchman, one who mocks her enemy, a strategist. Some other words that are in there in the Hebrew are: spoil, plunder, seize, capture, war, battle, hero, valiant, strong, courageous, mighty warrior. The Proverbs 31 woman knows that life is a battle-to be won!
Lord, please help me to help my husband and prepare myself and my children for battle. I pray that it never comes down to physical persecution like in the middle east (although it just might), but help me to train up warriors of my own that will be well prepared to face even death if necessary. I don't want myself or my family to get side tracked with things that are not important or are not working to achieve in us what you want. May my kids be ones who daily put on the full armor of God, fight for the helpless, train daily by reading your Word, talking to you, and studying the Guide. Help them to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Help me to model for them how to be a valiant warrior who trusts her Commander completely and will obey anything at any time with a good attitude and immediately.
Thank you for your promise:
Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle; Psalm 144:1
Why did I write this? For me. To remember. My family knows battle- we have been called to it. It is hard. It is tiring. It is more sad than I can express with words. It is done out of obedience to our God who will one day right all wrongs. As a song sung by Joni Eareckson many years ago says, "earthly joys and earthly tears are confined to earthly years." FIght now, rest later. It will be worth it.
