Introduction to A Fresh Look

9/07

My heart has been so heavy over so many things in the church at large that at times I feel like I must be the only one who thinks anything is wrong. It's at times like that the Lord reminds me about Elijah, when he told God to kill him because he was sure that he was the only one left in all of Israel who believed. He wasn't, and I know I'm not, but I'm still troubled. I do often feel like I'm beating my head against a wall and that my words fall on deaf ears. Actually, I am usually quite reluctant to voice my opinions, even though I know I have very good grounds for what I believe. I'm beginning to understand the frustrations that Paul must have felt in trying to get the Gentile believers to understand what he was really trying to say.

During the past months I've had even more time than usual to think about things with God. I've been recovering from severe burnout accompanied by sensory integration issues brought on by a number of things, some of which go back to my childhood. During this time the Lord has had me in a very restful and healing place while He teaches me how to relax (a new one for me!) and how to live a peaceful and simple life. He's narrowing my scope, but in that narrowing He is showing me how very rich my life is and how blessed I truly am. He is removing me from the busyness of the world and putting me on His time schedule, showing me the importance He places on motherhood and family. Unfortunately the norm in the church seems to be to sacrifice your family in order to work for God. In fact, it would be very easy to come to the conclusion that God is only interested in acquiring workers rather than having a loving, intimate relationship with His children.

One of the things that I feel He is once again releasing me to do is to write. I had put my writing on the shelf for a couple of years while I attended a seminary-type school. I knew that I would have to do that. In the time since my graduation, in this process of being restored and refreshed, I am finding a new focus for my life and my writing.

Before I graduated I felt that the Lord told me that there would be a shaking in my life, and boy, was He right. My faith was shaken to its very core and I found myself reexamining why I believed what I believed. I could not rely on pat answers that the church had, nor could I simply say, “Well, that's just what I believe.” The Lord forced me to dig deeply into His Word, going back to the very bedrock that my faith is founded on. I had to reexamine everything that had been presented to me during my time of study in school, as well as my time of study prior to that. This covered a period of fifteen years worth of study. Every shred was examined and compared with Scripture; every tradition was stripped away; every questionable teaching scrutinized and set aside if it couldn't hold up to Scripture. Being politically correct and seeker friendly died along the way. There has been grieving over having to give up ideals, friends (Christians) who simply didn't understand and because I was no longer playing church their way seemed to have no further need for contact with us, and coming to realize the true state of the times in which we live. With that grieving there has come a freedom that I've never known before as I am learning to allow the Lord to be in control and to trust Him with everything in my life.

In this new series of articles it will be my hope to express some of my concerns, hopefully bringing common sense and truth to the table while doing so. Three things that I want to cover are the apostles Paul, Peter, and John. Much has been written about these men, but I fear that much of what has been written has been skewed, the writers having a foundation that is based more on the traditions of men than on Scripture.

Three recent articles that I have already written would also be candidates for inclusion in this series of articles - Read The Book, Prophecy in the Book of Ruth, and I Will Bless Those Who Bless You. Actually, I don't know that this will be simply a new series of articles rather than a new direction that my articles will be taking. Either way, I pray that you will continue to enjoy visiting our website and that you will continue to allow the Lord to lead you in His truth as you continue to seek His face.

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Back to Living Waters Homeschool


	Introduction to A Fresh Look 9/07 My heart has been so heavy over so many things in the church at large that at times I feel like I must be the only one who thinks anything is wrong. It's at times like that the Lord reminds me about Elijah, when he told God to kill him because he was sure that he was the only one left in all of Israel who believed. He wasn't, and I know I'm not, but I'm still troubled. I do often feel like I'm beating my head against a wall and that my words fall on deaf ears. Actually, I am usually quite reluctant to voice my opinions, even though I know I have very good grounds for what I believe. I'm beginning to understand the frustrations that Paul must have felt in trying to get the Gentile believers to understand what he was really trying to say. During the past months I've had even more time than usual to think about things with God. I've been recovering from severe burnout accompanied by sensory integration issues brought on by a number of things, some of which go back to my childhood. During this time the Lord has had me in a very restful and healing place while He teaches me how to relax (a new one for me!) and how to live a peaceful and simple life. He's narrowing my scope, but in that narrowing He is showing me how very rich my life is and how blessed I truly am. He is removing me from the busyness of the world and putting me on His time schedule, showing me the importance He places on motherhood and family. Unfortunately the norm in the church seems to be to sacrifice your family in order to work for God. In fact, it would be very easy to come to the conclusion that God is only interested in acquiring workers rather than having a loving, intimate relationship with His children. One of the things that I feel He is once again releasing me to do is to write. I had put my writing on the shelf for a couple of years while I attended a seminary-type school. I knew that I would have to do that. In the time since my graduation, in this process of being restored and refreshed, I am finding a new focus for my life and my writing. Before I graduated I felt that the Lord told me that there would be a shaking in my life, and boy, was He right. My faith was shaken to its very core and I found myself reexamining why I believed what I believed. I could not rely on pat answers that the church had, nor could I simply say, “Well, that's just what I believe.” The Lord forced me to dig deeply into His Word, going back to the very bedrock that my faith is founded on. I had to reexamine everything that had been presented to me during my time of study in school, as well as my time of study prior to that. This covered a period of fifteen years worth of study. Every shred was examined and compared with Scripture; every tradition was stripped away; every questionable teaching scrutinized and set aside if it couldn't hold up to Scripture. Being politically correct and seeker friendly died along the way. There has been grieving over having to give up ideals, friends (Christians) who simply didn't understand and because I was no longer playing church their way seemed to have no further need for contact with us, and coming to realize the true state of the times in which we live. With that grieving there has come a freedom that I've never known before as I am learning to allow the Lord to be in control and to trust Him with everything in my life. In this new series of articles it will be my hope to express some of my concerns, hopefully bringing common sense and truth to the table while doing so. Three things that I want to cover are the apostles Paul, Peter, and John. Much has been written about these men, but I fear that much of what has been written has been skewed, the writers having a foundation that is based more on the traditions of men than on Scripture. Three recent articles that I have already written would also be candidates for inclusion in this series of articles - Read The Book, Prophecy in the Book of Ruth, and I Will Bless Those Who Bless You. Actually, I don't know that this will be simply a new series of articles rather than a new direction that my articles will be taking. Either way, I pray that you will continue to enjoy visiting our website and that you will continue to allow the Lord to lead you in His truth as you continue to seek His face. Back to Under The Shadow of His Wing Back to Living Waters Homeschool