I don’t know about you, but it is very easy for me to make great and mighty plans for our summer - only to see those plans dashed in a matter of days.  This summer I had hoped to spend time each day reading classical literature to my children each day under the shade tree.  I had also planned to review math with each child, spend one on one time with each of the 8 kids on mother/daughter or son outings, and build up their godly character through short, biblical character studies.  Somewhere along the line we were going to go to the beach, visit the fossil quarry nearby, and have at least 2 picnics a month after getting all the flower gardens weeded and the house cleaned from top to bottom.  Take a wild guess how much got done?!!!  Maybe 10% of my plans were fulfilled!

Instead of seeing my plans come to fruition, God had other plans.  We had several children who needed special attention come into our  home on various occasions during the last few months.  My kids thoroughly enjoyed having new playmates, but they also didn’t receive as much attention as I might have wished to give them.  The garden needed much more weeding than I dreamed possible, various homeschoolers dropped by for advice and counsel, our bookstore required more attention than we expected, we ended up taking 2 of our daughters to Chicago for National Talents for Christ competition, we became involved in preparations for Vacation Bible School, and the list goes on and on.  I was tempted to get discouraged as I realized another summer was flying by without my dreams and desires being fulfilled; however, it hit me like a ton of bricks that those were MY plans and MY desires.  They weren’t necessarily God’s plans.  God’s ways are always higher than our ways and it is vitally important that we remember that. 

Recently I reflected on what God has done in our children’s lives this summer.  Because of our trip to the National Talents for Christ competition, we saw our family bond together in amazing ways as we traveled in the car together.  The 2 older girls reviewed their scripture memory while we listened to them quote it.  We had plenty of time to listen to scripture on CD also while talking about God’s work in our personal and spiritual lives.  As we toured the Field Museum of History, we discussed the fallacies of evolution and God’s hand in ancient history up to the present age.  When we had other children in our home, God gave us the joy of seeing one of the little girls come to a saving knowledge of Christ.  What an eternal reward!  As we weeded the garden and harvested the blueberries and raspberries, the kids were able to open up to me, one by one, and tell me about their struggles and questions in understanding their daily devotions and their life in general.  Great strides in godly character were made there in the garden and in the kitchen while working on produce.  I saw my older daughters mature rapidly in their homemaking skills as they took on more of the home responsibilities as I did the business.  Our 11 year old asked to help out with God’s Eternal Masterpiece and she got more math review in than I could’ve ever given her if I had handed her a textbook.  She has become our little computer guru and loves to help us out with the bookstore inventory and processing.  We didn’t have time to get in the swimming lessons, but I discovered that the children learned how to swim on their own as they went out to play in the pool each day.  They now can do more with swimming than I ever dreamed was possible.  I can’t help but think that the Lord is chuckling as He sees me marveling in His work in our family’s summer life.  It is so nice to know that God will accomplish that which is good in His timing and with His power - not mine.  Do I still hope to get the beach and a picnic or two in?  Yes, but if it doesn’t happen, that’s OK.  There may be more important things to do that holds much more value in eternity.

I can’t help but come back to one of my favorite passages of scripture - Proverbs 3:5,6.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He SHALL direct your path.” 

Have a wonderful summer!!

Becky - God’s Eternal Masterpiece

www.godseternalmasterpiece.com

I’ve never been a big fan of New Year Resolutions. Many times our own personal resolutions seem selfish in the light of eternity. Therefore, instead of making those famous resolutions, I would rather go before the Lord and ask Him to allow us to accomplish the following desires of our hearts - with his aid. With all the events occuring around us, I can’t help but believe that the Lord surely must be coming back soon. As I ponder upon the Lord’s return and as I search my own heart and the spiritual growth of my family, I have asked the Lord to allow the following things to occur in our family’s life in the year of 2009.

1. We want to growth in a closer relationship with the Lord and get to know Him more. As times get tougher, it is vitally important that we know our Savior more so that we rely on him with a greater sense of trust. Reading scripture more often as a family, spending more time in prayer, and discussing God’s attributes as we enjoy the daily blessings of God are just a few of the activities we plan to work on. There are several books (listed on our website, www.godseternalmasterpiece.com) we also want to read through and discuss with our older children. Following God With All Your Heart by Elizabeth George, A Man (and Young Man) after God’s Own Heart by Jim George, and A Journey to Victorious Praying by Bill Thrasher are a few books we highly recommend and plan to use ourselves.

2. With God’s help, we also want to continue to build strong godly character in our children. Because we strongly believe in the power of godly literature, we desire to continue our tradition of reading character-building classics to our children each day as we sit around the dinner table. Books from Grace and Truth Books (such as Tampering With Temptation and The Little Medicine Carrier) and Lamplighters Publishing (The Beggar’s Blessing, Saved by Love, Stick to the Raft, etc) are just of few of the many books we enjoy. As we see persecution against Christians growing in our country, we also want to encourage our children to stand strong for the Lord. We will be reading the Salem Ridge Press books such as The Martyr’s Victory and Gytha’s Message to remind us of the persistance of Christians in times past and how they stood for the Lord, even when it meant giving the ultimate sacrifice. This year we also want to help our children to act out what they have learned. Therefore, we are going to do more in the community as a family to live out God’s love to those around us. Working in the community kitchen, witnessing to those around us, helping with fund-raisers, ministering to those in the nursing homes, and volunteering in other church ministry projects are just a few of the projects we’re prayerfully planning and considering.

3. Scripture memory is also an area that we want to continually reinforce. When times get hard, it is so comforting to have God’s Word in our minds to draw upon. We will also be better witnesses when we can quickly recall God’s Word. Our children are constantly memorizing scripture due to Joy Club, Talents for Christ, and Sunday School. However, we also feel that it is important that we memorize scripture as a family. This year we hope to accomplish that better than we did last year.

4. Because our children are a gift from the Lord, and we have no idea how long God has loaned them to us, we have a strong desire to spend more time as a family making memories. Our son leaves us in June to work at our Baptist camp for the summer and then he’s on to Bible college in the fall, Lord willing. My husband and I are earnestly praying that each and every day we have with him will be days that will be engraved in our hearts forever. The same goes with the other children as well. Taking time to spend with the family is hard work at times, but they are precious times that we’d never change!

What are your desires and goals for your family for 2009? We’d love to hear from you and your family. Your ideas can help to motivate others to turn their hearts back to God and their family!

May you have a Happy New Year and a wonderful 2009 as you draw closer to the Lord and reach out even more to those around you!

During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I am always reminded of the importance of keeping our Lord and Savior in the middle of our Christmas celebrations.  It is so easy to allow the stress of shopping, practicing for Christmas programs, and preparing for family to interfere with the time we need to relate the true meaning of Christmas to our children, friends, and family.  I get genuinely distressed when I hear born again believers and friends saying “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas.  I want my children to hear “Christmas” and I want them to know what Christmas is truly about.  I want the words of Matthew 1 to ring in my children’s heads as they go about their daily activities.  “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” Matt. 1:21. 

During this Christmas season, we like to focus on Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection during family devotions.  Each day my husband works hard at weaving the salvation message into the family discussions around the breakfast table.  We also enjoy reading reading various books as a family which focus on Christ’s birth, the importance of serving others during the holidays, the importance of giving ourselves to God, and the importance of spreading the gospel to those around us.  Some of our favorite books we have read to help us focus on the amazing love of Christ has been the Lamplighter books, “Joel A Boy of Galilee” and “Titus: A Comrade of the Cross”.  You can’t help but fully feel and realize God’s abounding grace and mercy toward us when He sent his Son to be the Savior of the World.  (You may view these Lamplighter books and other excellent advent books such as Jotham’s Journey on our website www.godseternalmasterpiece.com)

Another important aspect of this season is teaching our children that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  Each year we try to do different activities as a family to serve others.  This year we are ringing the bells for the Salvation Army.  The children will be playing their stringed instruments while we do that.  We are also working at making a variety of handmade items to give to those who have truly blessed our lives in the past year and who are struggling this year due to the economy.  The little ones will get involved when we get some items to take for Toys for Tots.  Each year as the children get a little bit older, they are realizing that it truly is much more fun to give than to receive.

We do open gifts in our home, but we do it on Christmas Eve after our Christmas Eve service at church.  That way, on Christmas, we can focus on the true meaning of Christmas - Christ!  The children enjoy it when we sit down and read the entire Christmas story as a family.  While we are reading God’s Word, the little ones get to act out the story with the Nativity figures we keep in the living room just for them. (By the way, we have found it extremely helpful to have a nativity set in each child’s bedroom, as well as in the living room and dining room.  It helps to reinforce the true meaning of Christmas where ever the children are.)  We also have a special birthday cake or coffee cake for Jesus on Christmas day.  Rest of the day is spent with extended family as we reminisce about God’s goodness during the last year. 

I’d love to hear what you do to help your children focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  Feel free to send in any and all of your ideas.  We’ll then post them and allow others to get some new ideas on the subject. 

May you have a wonderful Christmas season as you focus on Christ with your family!

Becky

Everytime we see our children, we can’t help but praising the Lord for allowing us the awesome privilege of raising 7 children for Him.  They are special gifts sent straight from Lord himself.  God gave me the joy of giving birth to our first six children.  Because of their Filipino/Chinese blood, they were little and petite.   One of my doctors had said that I probably wouldn’t be able to have any children after a tumor was removed a month after the birth of my 2nd child.  However, God in his awesome power allowed us to have 4 more beautiful children.  God then turned our hearts to another avenue for receiving these special gifts of children.  As we began opening our eyes to the hurting world around us, we soon saw that there were many children right here in our own country that needed loving families, spiritual upbringing, and a home to call their own.  Although we knew that the child may not come as a little newborn, we said yes to the ministry of opening our home and family to children from other places in this world.  Soon after that God placed a handsome little infant boy into our home.  (No, that’s not quite right.  He was actually a big baby (compared to my babies) and he rapidly put on more weight when we began feeding him on a schedule. We were given a 20 minute warning before he was to be handed over to us.  Although he was constantly wanting to eat and needed special attention in various ways, we and our children quickly fell in love with this bundle of energy.  Before too long, I heard those special words “Mama” and my husband heard “Dada”.  Little Jonathan was constantly wanting to dress up in his brother’s medieval outfit.  When he was only 15 months old, he would tromp through the house with his foam sword, the cape and shield, sunglasses, and my high heels!  He’d have a silly grin on his face and he would quickly get my attention no matter what I was doing!  It soon became apparent that Jonathan had a few extra challenges to work through.  His language skills waned, but that didn’t stop him from singing a bunch of Sunday School tunes with every note in tune perfectly.  Play a classical number and he’ll hum along with it almost immediately.  Maybe he can’t speak, but he sure is brilliant with music!  Isn’t that just like God?  Although He may allow one weakness in a person’s life, He balances it out with a strength in another area.  What an awesome God! 

October 6 was a very special day for us because on that day we adopted Jonathan and gave him our name.  Although Jonathan didn’t realize what was going on, we realized it fully with somberness and yet an air of celebration.  Everytime I get him up in the morning and everytime I tuck him in, I can’t help but thank the Lord for giving us Jonathan in such a unique way.  I can’t even imagine what life would be like without Jonathan there to teach us patience, perseverance, and humor.  It’s an awesome thing to think that God also adopted me - with all my imperfections and weaknesses.  He loved me and accepted me just the way I was.  As God continues, Lord willing, to give us more “special gifts” in various shapes and sizes and with different strengths and weaknesses, I pray that we will not only be thankful, but that we’ll always remember God’s unfailing love shown to each of us every day of our lives.

For more resources on parenting and God’s gift of children, check out www.godseternalmasterpiece.com. 

This week as my daughters are memorizing Proverbs 31, I couldn’t help but think about how blessed I am to have the mother God gave me.  One year ago on Aug. 30, 2007, my mother went home to be with the Lord after battling cancer for two years.  We buried her on Sept. 8 after hearing testimony after testimony at the memorial service about Mom’s influence on many other people’s lives.  Proverbs 31:28 says, “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.” Verse 30 says, “…but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised”.  It is only right that I take the time to praise my mother for her godly example to me, her family, her friends, and her community. 

My mother, Sheryl Gonnerman, gave her life completely over to the Lord while still a teenager in high school.  Her mother had died quickly from cancer while Mom was still in high school.  Mom quickly learned that she had to rely completely on God for the strength she needed to continue on.  Giving God the glory and teaching others about God’s sacrifice of love was my mother’s passion from that time on.  She married my father and became a pastor’s wife.  Because she loved teaching children, she delved into teaching them God’s Word.  Many tears flowed from Mom as she prayed over those who were not living wholeheartedly for the Lord.  I still remember waking up at night and seeing Mom in the living room kneeling at the couch crying out to the Lord for her children and those in the community who were not living completely for the Lord.  Faithfully teaching Sunday School, children’s church, and the beginners department at the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp were only a few of the things she did.  Mom also loved to decorate with themes both in the home and at church to help get God’s Word out in a more practical way.  We knew that on Valentine’s Day we’d get a theme-based meal plus a story about God’s amazing love for each of us.  That happened on every holiday - even the ones that most people don’t even recognize as official holidays!  With four children of her own to raise, Mom worked hard at clothing us, feeding us home cooked meals, giving us gifts at the most unexpected times, reading stories to us, and talking to us about how our day went.  I, for one, loved having Mom call me each day when I got married - just to see how I was doing.  My fondest memories are those phone calls at all hours of the day.  Mom loved each of us children equally and worked hard at showing us that through our own unique love languages.  Because Mom and Dad lived on a small pastor’s salary, we were not blessed with fancy clothes and expensive vacations.  That was OK because Mom taught us that our riches are stored up in heaven.  She worked hard to make sure that we never felt slighted.  Her ultimate goal was to teach us to glorify God in all that we had and did. 

As Proverbs 31 talks about the hard work of a godly woman, I can relate that to Mom.  She would stay up into the wee hours of the night cooking, sewing, cleaning, and preparing Bible lessons for church.  Rest of us would be fast asleep while she kept working.  Her humbleness in serving others was also amazing.  She wasn’t afraid of doing the jobs no one else would do.  She’d say to me “If Jesus could do it, then I most certainly think I’m able to do it”. 

Was Mom perfect?  No.  She had her moments.  However, she wasn’t afraid to apologize and move forward.  She worked hard at displaying unconditional love to those who hurt her time and time again.  A statue of the prodigal son and Jesus sat in her office to remind her how God forgives and accepts all who turn to Him.  She wanted to please God by doing likewise.

As I look back at this past year without Mom, I think about how often I have missed Mom’s godly counsel, her example of servanthood, and her burning desire to see others saved.  However, I also look forward to the day when I can see her again.  It’s amazing to think that right now she’s in the presence of her Savior who she totally adored.  There is no possible way I could think of wanting her back here.  Before Mom died, she told me the same thing her mother told her before she died “Becky, you don’t need a mother - you just need God.  He’s all you need.”  You know what?  She was right.  God has given me and my family an amazing peace and joy as we lean on Him.  God receives all the glory for blessing us with such an amazing woman and mother.  May I in turn be a mother and wife who whole heartedly serves God and spreads His love to others around me as Mom did for so many years.

—Becky — God’s Eternal Masterpiece

Resources for women who desire to live wholeheartedly for God are available at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com.

“I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.” Psalm 77:11

This week our family had the privilege of attending Family Camp at the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp.  It is one of the few opportunities we have to relax for an entire week with the children while being fed spiritually through God’s Word each morning and evening.  This year was a bit more emotional for me as I stepped onto the campgrounds because it was the first year of being at camp without talking to my mom while I was there.  Mom went home to be with the Lord last year in August.  My parents taught the preschoolers at Family Camp for 25 years, so the camp is like my 2nd home.  In fact, I always thought I’d build a home and just live there some day! 

This week as I sat on Snake Hill watching my son go down the zip line for the first time, I looked over at the classroom where Mom and Dad spent many hours preparing the materials and crafts for the children’s classes.  I remembered how Mom was very particular about what she taught the children.  She wanted to make sure that the children understood the importance of God’s Word and how they could apply it to their lives.  Every 3 and 4 year old who went through those doors learned about The Good Shepherd, Heaven, How Special Each Person is to God, and most importantly - the plan of salvation.  To this day I can remember those wonderful lessons.  Mom always wanted each of us children to understand that our God is almighty, all powerful, and so very loving.  Through all of Mom’s lessons and stories, I learned how amazing God’s love and mercy is toward me, a sinner.  I also remember the many hours Dad would spend reading Bible stories to us.  He’d also play godly hymns and music in the home in order to teach us even more about our great God.  There were nights I would wake up and tiptoe to the living room.  I still remember the profound impact on me when I saw my dad on his knees before the couch with tears streaming down his face.  I can’t help but believe those tears and prayers were for his children and many, many others. 

As I sat on that hill, I also thought a lot about myself and my own children.  What am I teaching my children and what will they remember when I’m gone?  Will it be about my temporal activities or will it be about the spiritual lessons I taught them?  This morning our speaker had us study Psalm 78.  Read that when you have a chance.  Psalm 78: 1-4 says “Give ear O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.”  Vs 6&7 - “That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commanments.”

The psalmist went on to rehearse all the mighty acts of God to the children of Israel while they were traveling to the promised land.  Even though the people complained, whined, grumbled, and disobeyed, God consistently cared for them and showed mercy to them.  The psalmist wanted the future generations to hear of God’s great love for his people so that they would always remember that He will do the same for them.  I wonder how often we let our children know about God’s work in our lives in times past and in the present.  Do our children know who God really is because of both our actions and our speech?  Do we leave that to the church or are do we actively talk to our children ourselves?  History shows that we have an amazing God who never leaves us or forsakes us.  Do our children know that or do we worry and fret about our circumstances - causing our children to doubt the almighty power of our God? 

This week as I thought back to the godly heritage I’ve been given from my parents and as I’ve read Psalm 78, I’ve realized that I need to do a much better job of passing the powerful message of God’s love and sacrifice on to my own children.  We dare not drop the baton in this race of life as we keep our eyes on the final goal.  May you too pass on to your children the amazing story of God’s love to them.

- Becky, www.godseternalmasterpiece.com

God’s Eternal Masterpiece is a family-run bookstore which offers Christian parenting and character-building books to aid parents in raising Godly children.  It has now expanded and is now offering homeschool curriculum and Bible studies also.

Have you ever had a day, or maybe a week or more, where you feel that you are just too worn out to go on?  I’ve had one of those weeks.  In fact, it’s more than a week!  Somehow summer becomes much more busy than the school year, even though we are not homeschooling with all the subjects and textbooks, per say. 

As I came home today from teaching at Vacation Bible School, I happened to look over my garden.  Immediately a flood of despair came over me as I realized that the summer is half over and the poor garden (which is usually full of produce by now) is bedraggled and appears to have very little produce in it.  Of course, I do need to say that much of that is because it’s been under water for a great period of time, thanks to the floods and wet, cold spring.  However, that didn’t stop me from moaning!  When I went in the house, I heard children fussing because they were hungry and I saw a home in much need of spring (or maybe it’s now summer!) cleaning.  With the older children working at camp for much of the summer and with my husband and I putting in long hours in our business, the house cleaning has somewhat declined and those wonderful made-from-scratch meals have come to a halt.   The first thought that came into my mind was “Lord, I just can’t do this anymore.  I’m just too tired.” 

It was at that moment that the Lord placed a verse in my mind that has stuck with me all day.  II Corinthians 12:9 states, “And he said unto me, MY grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  As I have been thinking on this verse, I have realized that it is not until I come to a point of exhaustion that I humbly realize that no - I cannot do everything on my own.   In fact, I can’t do anything on my own.  God wants to show his glory and His power through me, but I must be willing to lean on Him and trust Him fully for the strength to continue on.  Our purpose here on earth is to bring glory to God in all we do and say.  When I turn to Him and rely on Him, I am glorifying Him and allowing Him to work through me. 

Our children are closely watching us to see how we respond to the tough, tiring circumstances each day.  I want my children to be able to say that their mommy leaned on the Lord for strength, not on her own strength.  It’s with humbleness and shame that I admit that many times I fail in that area.  However, it doesn’t stop me from confessing it to the Lord and trying again.  As Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  I have 7 precious children who God is presently allowing me to minister to and a precious husband who needs the support and strength of his wife.  My greatest desire is to one day hear my Lord say, “Well done, my child, well done.”  May we all keep our eyes on the Lord as we continue ministering for him in the fields he has placed us in - for with God, nothing is impossible. 

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

DON’T GIVE UP!  GOD STILL HAS GREAT THINGS HE PLANS TO DO THROUGH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

Becky - God’s Eternal Masterpiece

www.godseternalmasterpiece.com