Monthly Archives: January 2005

How’s Work?

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I couldn’t give an accurate count of the number of men, through the years, who have blamed their jobs for their not being able to have a daily time in Bible reading and prayer before work. They would say they had to be to work early, stay late, or both. They had to travel, or the job took all of their mental and emotional focus. There was always some “valid” reason why they didn’t have time for their own personal Bible reading and prayer time.

It seemed like the same story was given when it came to not having time for family Bible reading and prayer in the evenings. Dad’s job seemed to be the primary “good” reason for him not leading his family in Bible reading and prayer. There appears to be a Biblical example for these types of statements.

In Genesis 3:12, when Adam was confronted with a wrong choice, he said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Here, the one God had given Adam to care for and protect is the one on whom Adam is blaming his bad decision. A job, which is not much more than a vehicle to provide for the physical needs of the family, becomes the reason why the spiritual needs of the family aren’t being met.

We would do well to remember Jesus’ dialog with Peter in John 21. “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17).

Brothers, do we confess to love Jesus? If so, reread the section above. What did Jesus tell us to do if we love Him? Didn’t He indirectly tell us to feed the lambs and the sheep? We are shepherds of the flock that He has given us. Jesus is telling us to feed His sheep that He has entrusted to our care. Could Jesus have been instructing Peter to make sure that the flock was receiving physical food? If so, then it would make the “job excuse” a valid reason, but that isn’t the emphasis as we can see in Acts when Peter began his ministry. Peter’s mission was preaching – not distributing food. When the apostles were accused of neglecting the widows in Acts 6:2-4, they appointed deacons so they would not slight the teaching of God’s Word – spiritual feeding.

Is your family starving to death before your eyes – spiritually starving, that is – because you aren’t feeding them? Who will be to blame for that? No, we can’t blame our boss or someone else. The shepherd is responsible for the condition of his flock. May we be the men whom God has called us to be and feed our flocks.

A Word Fitly Spoken

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Recently, Sarah was going through some paper keepsakes she had tucked into an envelope. She discovered three notes that I had written to her perhaps six to eight years ago. As she read them out loud to me, I realized what treasures they were, but at the same time my heart was stricken. Her next words were already in my mind. “Wow, it’s been a long time since you have written me a note like that.”

I rather quickly dismissed my guilty feelings with the thought that I don’t have time these days to write encouragement notes to the children. The Lord Jesus didn’t let my mind rest for long, though. Sunday morning when the sermon dealt with dying to self, the Lord began convicting me. He reminded me that I will take time to write an e-mail to a friend. If I have minutes enough for that, shouldn’t I have minutes enough for my children? Which is the higher priority: investing in my children, encouraging them spiritually, and drawing their hearts to me, or writing an e-mail?

As a result of these two situations, I have now begun writing my children notes of encouragement and gratitude. Writing a note to a child before writing an e-mail to a friend is my goal. I discovered that it only takes me five or ten minutes to write a love note to a child, whereas I can easily spend a half an hour writing a personal letter to a friend.

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). As mothers who want our children to grow spiritually and who desire to keep our children’s hearts, I encourage us to see the value in writing notes to them. These notes do not have to be long or complicated to be beneficial. I want to share with you the three notes Sarah read to me that afternoon. After reading these real-life examples, I expect you will have many wonderful ideas for notes much better than these that you could write to your children. These notes weren’t written with the thought that anyone else would read them, but I have included them so that you can see they were very simple and written for different occasions. Yet, for many years now Sarah has kept them and read them from time to time. Their power and value has greatly surpassed the power and value they had when they were first written and read.

Sarah,

Thank you for the gift you gave your family tonight in our delicious dinner. It is a long labor of love—I am glad you enjoy it—but it is still an investment of your time. I see maturity in you when you tell me how you thought about your time last night and saw the benefits of investing in your little brothers and sisters.

Our dinner was a gift to me especially, too. Can you imagine how difficult it would have been for me to have dinner to prepare plus Anna’s three or four vomiting sessions? But instead I was able to be with her in her need, play with Mary, help you with your sewing, and help a tad in the kitchen.

I love you, my daughter and delight to see God working in your life. Love, Mom

Dearest Sarah,

It’s been a long time since I have shared one of my mints with you. You are a delightful daughter, and I am glad you are mine. Love you forever, Mom

Dear Sarah,

I want you to know despite some of the struggles we are having that I love you very much, and you are precious to me. I love to see your sensitivity to God’s Spirit and His working in your life. You are a tremendous physical help to Mom, and I am grateful for all you do to help. Learning to serve has eternal value—many things teenage girls do, do not. Ask the Lord for His desires for your time and life, and you will not be disappointed. Love, Mom

“The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning” (Proverbs 16:21). The sweetness of our lips can be transferred to the written page. Our words to our children can be spiritually encouraging. In our notes, we have the ability to share with a child what we see the Lord doing in his life and how we are praying for that child. We can thank a child for a special kindness he has done. “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24).

“Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24). Our words in our notes will be written reminders to our children of our love for them and our gratitude to the Lord for them. As we encourage them spiritually with pleasant words, this verse says it will be sweet to their soul and health to their bones.

“A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” (Proverbs 15:23). In this verse, I read what I have discovered myself: that when I write my child a note, it not only encourages the child but it brings joy to my heart as well.

“The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat” (Proverbs 15:30). Written notes are an excellent way to give a child a good report. Knowing God’s thoughts about pride, we don’t want to foster that in our children. “. . . God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). I believe our encouragement notes are a vehicle of giving a child a good report without accommodating pride in his life. We can focus on the work the Lord is doing in the child’s life that has led to our words of praise for him. We will express gratitude for the child’s obedience to the Lord’s working and promptings in his life.

Spoken words vanish in a flash except for the memory of them. However, written words can be kept, read, and reread for days, months, and even years. I have notes that Steve has written to me through the years, along with ones the children have written plus ones from others. These words were all blessings and encouragements to me when I first read them. In addition, I have read them at various times through the years. Truly, they are treasures to me.

Since the Lord convicted me of the importance of note writing a few weeks ago, I have written six notes and look forward to writing many more. I left one note on the bathroom sink that the child uses, slipped one under the child’s bedroom door, and placed another one on the child’s bed. One note I cleverly placed in the child’s Bible at the spot we were currently reading for our family Bible time. Thankfully, I had folded the note and placed the child’s name on the outside, because I had not so cleverly put it in the wrong child’s Bible. Even figuring out where to leave the note has brought joy to my heart, but not nearly as much joy as seeing the eyes and smile of the child as he relates to me his discovery and reading of the note. It is a very small amount of time investment for a very huge return.

The notes I wrote many years ago, which I have shared as examples, were not written with any particular goal in mind. Now I have several goals for my notes. First, I want them to express my love for that child. I would like the child to feel a huge outpouring of love through my words. A second goal is to communicate positive spiritual growth that I am observing in the child’s life. My final goal is to share Scripture I am praying for the child. My notes may not always meet all three goals, and they certainly may have additional topics in them, but I have come to value these three goals in notes written to my children.

May I encourage us to take a few minutes of time from our busy days to bless our children by writing them encouraging notes. I always feel that small steps toward a goal are better than no steps as all. If I began now to write one note a week, it would only take five or ten minutes from each week. In the course of a year, I would have written fifty-two notes. This would mean each of my seven children who are still living at home would get seven love notes from Mom this coming year. Wow! It makes me sad to think about the recent years when I have chosen to let busyness crowd out my note writing. What am I willing to sacrifice of my personal time to bless my children by writing to them my thoughts, feelings, and spiritual encouragement? Will I put them ahead of other activities on which I spend my time? May we be mothers who choose to build our relationships with our children and to spur them on to love and good works through our written words to them.