1 Corinthians 13 . . . With A Twist

A friend had sent me a version of I Corinthians 13 for Homeschoolers and I did a Google search and found this one as well. At the bottom of this posting is the source where I found it. I want to make sure to give credit where credit is due. This one was even more convicting than the first one I posted earlier. Please take the time to read it and then spend time in prayer asking God for balance in your family's lives.

Let me introduce you to Misty, a forum friend of mine. She just posted the following on the Sonlight forums. It totally challenged and encouraged me. I wanted to share it with you, as I'm sure many of you also struggle with being loving, whether or not you're a mom or a homeschooler. If it blesses you, then say so over at Misty's site, (http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MistyKrasawski) where she also has it posted.

1 Corinthians 13 for Homeschool Moms

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and teach my children Latin conjugations, Chinese and Portuguese, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, and no matter what I say, they will not hear me.

If I have the gift of prophecy,and know my children’s bents and God’s plan for their lives, and know all mysteries and all knowledge,and am the keeper of the teacher’s editions and solutions manuals, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, and even keep up with my giant piles of laundry and dishes, but do not have love, I am nothing, even if all the people at church think I’m Supermom.

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and my formal dining room gets turned into a schoolroom and our family vacations look more like educational fieldtrips, and if I surrender my body to be burned, never having time to get my nails done, put makeup on or even take a bath, but do not have love, it profits me nothing, because all my family cares about is the expression on my face, anyway.

Love is patient with the child who still can’t get double-digit subtraction with borrowing, and kind to the one who hasn’t turned in his research paper.

It is not jealous of moms with more, fewer, neater, more self-directed, better-behaved or smarter children.

Love does not brag about homemade bread, book lists, or scholarships and is not arrogant about her lifestyle or curriculum choices.

It does not act unbecomingly or correct the children in front of their friends.

It does not seek its own, trying to squeeze in alone time when someone still needs help; it is not provoked when interrupted for the nineteenth time by a child, the phone, the doorbell or the dog; does not take into account a wrong suffered, even when no one compliments the dinner that took hours to make or the house that took so long to clean.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or pointing out everyone else’s flaws, but rejoices with the truth and with every small step her children take in becoming more like Jesus, knowing it’s only by the grace of God when that occurs.

Love bears all things even while running on no sleep; believes all things, especially God’s promise to indwell and empower her, hopes all things, such as that she’ll actually complete the English curriculum this year and the kids will eventually graduate, endures all things, even questioning from strangers, worried relatives, and most of all, herself.

Love never fails. And neither will she. As long as she never, never, never gives up.

Source: Source: http://thelandofcurlyhair.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-corinthians-13-with-twist.html

I Corinthians 13 for Homeschoolers

Though I teach my children how to multiply, divide, and diagram a sentence, but fail to show them love, I have taught them nothing.

And though I take them on numerous field trips, to swim practice and flute lessons; and though I involve them in every church activity, but fail to give them love, I profit nothing.

And though I scrub my house relentlessly, run countless errands, and serve three nutritious
meals every day but fail to be an example of love, I have done nothing.

Love is patient with misspelled words and is kind to young interrupters.

Love does not envy high SAT scores of other homeschool families.

Love does not claim to have better teaching methods than anyone else,It is not rude to the fourth telephone caller during a science lesson, does not seek perfectly behaved geniuses, does not
turn into a drill sergeant, thinks no evil about friends' educational choices.

Love bears all my children's challenges, believes all my children are God's precious gifts, hopes all my children establish permanent relationships with Christ, and endures all things to demonstrate God's love.

Love never fails.

Where there are college degrees, they will fail; where there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

For we know in part and we teach in part.

But when the trials of life come to our children, the history, math, and science will be done away and faith, hope and love will remain; but the greatest of these is love.

(Note: This was emailed to me, I do not know the source.)

Do you need a transplant?

(clip art courtesy: www.heartlight.org)

What Is Your Attitude?

(clip art courtesy: www.heartlight.org)

This Says It For Me!

(clip art courtesy: www.heartlight.org)

In His Hands by B. J. Hoff

Almost 24 years ago, Rob's first gift to me was the poem, "In His Hands," by B. J. Hoff on a stained glass item that folded in half. Recently, I discovered, it had cracked on one side and needs to be discarded because it could cut fingers or hands. I must confess that I am sad because I would love to give it to Christine as a keepsake.

In His Hands

The hands that made the world

And gave the sun and moon their light

Are the tiny hands of a baby

Born one cold December night.

The hands that still the wind

And tame the fury of the sea

Are the calloused hands of a carpenter

Who lived in poverty.

The hands that held the power

To break the binding chains of sin

Are the gentle hands that washed the feet

Of tired and dusty men.

The hands that cleansed the leper,

Healed the blind, and raised the dead

Are the praying hands of one who cried,

"Not my will but Thine instead."

The hands that shaped the universe

And flung the stars in space

Are the nail-pierced hands of a dying man

Who suffered in our place.

The hands of our creator,

Lord and King of Heaven above,

Are the Saviour's hands, forever

Reaching out to us with love.

B. J. Hoff

(graphic courtesy: www.heartlight.org)

Amazing History!

Spiritual Hugs

Yesterday was a definitive reminder of Psalm 34:15, "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry." Caring for a loved one during and after surgery can be very stressful. When one becomes sleep-deprived, the flesh is weak and basically, "it ain't pretty." Suffice it to say, it was just a rough morning for me. God in His infinite mercy quickly turned it around through several individuals and situations.

When one has a teen who has back surgery, the day-to-day process like showering and so forth can become challenging. I called my friend Nicole and she bought some anti-bacterial shower gel which was like a huge blessing. Then Gerald and Hazel stopped by with some ice cream, some jewelry trinkets for Christine which encouraged both Christine and myself.

While these precious saints were here, Lee called and invited us to use their "sit-down," shower to bathe Christine and wash her hair. It's the little things that oftentimes trip us up. God had an answer to my prayers and all I had to do was to ask. Instead I wasted time fretting which is sin. Thankful for a long-suffering and patient Heavenly Father with abundance forgiveness.

Who would have thought, our first outing would be to take care of Christine's hygiene? God did and He provided over-the-top. Another blessing from our time with Lee and Beth was their family was scheduled to bring us a meal. By going over to their house, we were able to take a plate of food to Rob at the dealership. This is something we normally do, "take meals to Rob at the dealership." So this outing had many side benefits to it as well.

On the way to the dealership, Christine said to me, "This was fun and we can do more outings." Anyone who has had surgery, the normal tendency is to stop doing ones regular activities. I'm not speaking of the normal restrictions that come with surgery. What I'm speaking of is the reluctance to resume ones normal life again. Yesterday, was a benchmark for Christine in that she realized, "life goes on and she will be just fine."

Before our first outing, Christine received a sweet card from Charlotte and Jacob which she read to me and shared it made her smile. Todd, Debbie and Evan, dear friends of ours sent Christine a care package which had some neat items inside it. God used Debbie's card to convict and redirect my thinking pattern.

Caregivers get exhausted and I was and it was showing in many ways. God's grace was liberally poured out to me throughout the day and the night.

Last night we went for a 15 minute walk due to the lateness of the hour. We rejoiced that the weather a tad cooler. Christine doesn't like thunderstorms so she asked if she could sleep downstairs. She slept on the couch while I slept on the cot. When she woke up this morning, she said, "we both got a good night's sleep." I replied, "we sure did!."

My former pastor during my college and seminary years, Dr. John Bisagno taught me, "sometimes the most spiritual thing one can do is to rest." Isn't it amazing how rest refreshes us and our outlook changes?

My dearest friend, Leigh Brawner from Schenectady, NY and my "Mother Mentor," sent me a book the other day. It is entitled, "The Rainy Day Book, Pick Me UPs For When You're a Little Blue!" She and her family lost her precious husband to pancreatic cancer. She totally understands. One of the Bible verses in a paraphrase version reads as following, "People do what is right may have many problems, but the LORD will solve them all." - Psalm 34:19

In the NKJV it reads, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all." In my margin I had written, "Dealing with a 2 year old . . . Do You Need A Hug?" Apparently I wrote this when Christine was 2 years ago. God knew 11 years ago that I would need and read this verse. Isn't God gracious?

With hearts of gratitude and great praise!

Kathy, Rob & Christine
Psalm 62:8

(graphic courtesy: www.heartlight.com)

(Note: This entry comes from Christine Lundberg's Caring Bridge Page, August 12.)