a surrendered life

While reading through the old testament with my kids, the Lord convicted me with the story of Achan in Joshua 7. He disobeyed the Lord and kept some treasure from Jericho. When Joshua sent men to fight Ai, a small city, they were brutally defeated. Joshua knew this meant the Lord wasn't with them, and he exposed Achan's sin. The lesson for us? We cannot have victory over even small struggles in our life if we have unconfessed sin. May the Lord give us sensitivity to His Spirit, and may we allow His light to expose every area in our hearts.

Teaching my children is rewarding. My older two kids sit with folded hands awaiting instruction, while my preschooler and seventeen-month-old share Legos happily on the floor. "She's taking the red lego- it's mine!" A wail from the preschooler.  Like I was saying, it's rewarding. I give my first grader his math packet, and detail our review section. He smiles and can't wait to start. "This is too long, Mommy." A moan from the first-grader. Ok...welcome to the real world. Teaching my kids isn't easy, but it's worth it. Rewarding doesn't mean they like their work- or even each other half the time- but it does mean we learn together as a family and we're growing together.  I'm letting go and allowing the Lord to teach my children through me. This means surrendering of my curriculum plans, constant prayer, and filling my mind with God's word. Not only do I have peace, but I have purpose. And I'm enjoyin...

If the Experimenters know, then the glitch is closed. An ancient man trudged the narrow road, muttering to himself. The journey was pointless at best, foolish at worst. Still, Orian walked. The sun warmed his back, making the sloping descent pleasant. As it rose high over the flat horizon, he saw the familiar shape of a black orb in the distance. The dark metal sphere marred the deserted land, and- for the first time since he left at sun’s rising- Orian hesitated.  The darkness he’d lived in for so long- that he alone escaped as a young man- would consume him once more. Unless I overcome it. The thought was enough to make him take a few steps back. But there were people living in the orb- still breathing, eating, sleeping, and dying- in darkness. He had found what the Experimenters hid, what they in their schemes neglected: an exit. He walked back toward the sphere, one step, then another, his long, twisted stick assisting his aged frame through the rough patches. Half...