Art Series: Sister Wendy's Story of Painting

It is my total delight to introduce DoodleMom to you, also known as Kirsten to the blog today. I put a call out for people to do an art book post for the blog and Kirsten stepped up to the challenge. :)


Kirsten blogs at  DoodleMom's Homeschooling Life and is a new to me blogger this year.  Let me tell you...she is a gal who makes me think and ponder in a way I sometimes don't expect and that is a good thing eh?  :)  Keeps me from being stagnant and who wants that eh?

 Sister Wendy's Story of Painting

I did not notice until recently that a very proper and very, very smart nun with a history of teaching English and Art was also a master of polite sarcasm. 

My kids and I were watching Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting (available free on Docuwatch) and reading another chapter in her book of the same name. Art history with Sister Wendy reinforces and makes additional connections to the events and people of the history the kids are learning, as well as helping them to understand composition and technique. And Sister Wendy is also teaching my kids the fine art of polite sarcasm. 

My children sat on either side of me, magnifying glasses in hand so they could investigate each tiny detail of the paintings discussed in the text. We were looking over Sister Wendy’s comparison of illuminations from England, France, Ireland, and Spain, all from the same rough time period. And we came to this statement, “Like the Irish monks, the British also produced manuscripts of great beauty, this being one of the very few periods in which the least visual of national groups, the English speakers, attained international fame as artists.” “Hmmm,” I thought to myself. As we continued, my children began to pick up on the sarcasm as well. 

We got to the section discussing the Bayeux Tapestry and Sister Wendy wrote, “It displays the same jerky animation that we find in English manuscripts. A sort of Anglo-Saxon glorified comic strip…” Finally we read through the section on French illumination in which Sister Wendy wrote, “A lovely missal survives…,” and “…with a magnificent pictorial “O” and…” “OK,” said my son. “She definitely likes the French best and the English least.”  While her sarcasm stings and is quite apparent, it is also exceedingly polite. A grand way to show her preferences and dislikes. 

And, once my children recognized her sarcasm, the whole activity of studying art became an interactive one. First understanding Sister Wendy’s preferences, the reasons behind them, enjoying her wit, and finally forming their own opinions on the art or artist in question. All in all, a perfect way to study art.

Where to Find More

Book:
Amazon.ca: Sister Wendy's Story of Painting

Amazon.com: Sister Wendy's Story of Painting


Documentary: Sister Wendy`s Story of Painting (6 episodes)

 

 

About Kirsten

Kirsten West is a Christian Homeschooling Mom who blogs at DoodleMom's Homeschooling Life. 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

The East Gate to the Outer Court

Today we are reading from Ezekiel 40:1-4. Last time we met we learned about how we should respond to a word or vision from the Lord God:  Look, hear and Set Your Heart. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

Ezekiel is given a vision from the Lord God:    The bronze man with the measuring stick had work to do measuring in the city like structure that Ezekiel saw.  

⁵ And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man's hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. ⁶ Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep. ⁷ And the side rooms, one reed long and one reed broad; and the space between the side rooms, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end, one reed. ⁸ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, on the inside, one reed. ⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. ¹⁰ And there were three side rooms on either side of the east gate. The three were of the same size, and the jambs on either side were of the same size. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a barrier before the side rooms, one cubit on either side. And the side rooms were six cubits on either side. ¹³ Then he measured the gate from the ceiling of the one side room to the ceiling of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; the openings faced each other. ¹⁴ He measured also the vestibule, sixty cubits. And around the vestibule of the gateway was the court. ¹⁵ From the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ And the gateway had windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were palm trees.
 
All these exact measurements taken, everything just so exact.  Did you notice there were no half-measures?  Each measure was full.  Complete.  A complete Integer (sorry, math is on my brain since a math program my son is using, is using the term integer incorrectly). 

But nothing is lacking here.  Everything is just as it should be.  

All this exactness.  Makes me wonder what Ezekiel thought as he saw this. Was he desperately trying to remember the numbers?  The room locations?  Where the windows where?    How was he taking in this vision so he could adequately convey to the Israelites?

How do I take in God's word?  Ezekiel was told to Look, Hear and Set Himself in regards to what he would see and then later tell to the people.  Was he just seeing the rooms and the act of measuring?   Did he see that measuring as a sign of God's action toward the people?

It's hard to know at this point eh?

That's all I see in this reading so far.  I am wondering what Ezekiel will see in the next section.   More temple/city like structure area and more measurements or something else? 
  
This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Recipe: Tuna Cakes

I brought home this huge bag of tuna from the foodbank (they have reams and reams of it and are having a hard time getting rid of it).   So I thought today I'd make up some tuna dishes, so to eat now, some to eat later. 

First up: Tuna Cakes.  Hubby requested I make these.  I made a small one to tempt my son and to my complete shock the rest of the tuna cakes disappeared almost instantly. :)   His enthusiastic "you can make these again" warmed my heart.  :)

 I used this recipe. 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 10 tablespoons Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
• 3 (5 ounce) cans tuna, drained
• 3 tablespoons diced onion
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 
  
  

   

Directions

1. Beat eggs and lemon juice in a bowl; stir in Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs to make a paste. Fold in tuna and onion until well-mixed. Season with black pepper. Shape tuna mixture into eight 1-inch-thick patties.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat; fry patties until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.

Notes:
I'm reading this recipe over and realized I forgot one ingredient: The bread crumbs.   But it turned out so well it surprises me.  :)   Next time I'll put in the bread crumbs  :) 

My thoughts: YUM!!
Hubby's Thoughts: These are good
Son's thoughts: A request I make them again.

Look, Hear, Set your Heart

Today we are reading from Ezekiel 40:1-4. Last time we met we learned about how He will Pout out his Spirit. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

Once again the hand of the Lord comes upon Ezekiel.   He was brought to the city where he saw visions, in those vision he was on a very high mountain and and he saw a structure

like a city down to the south.

He saw a man like bronze with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand standing in the gateway.

 And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

This vision is going to be something Ezekiel has to tell the Israelites!   He needs to see this thing.  ACK!!!   I can hardly wait!   I find myself sitting here eagerly anticipating what this man in bronze is going to show Ezekiel.

As I realize that I wonder... do I go to church like that?   Do I regularly approach God's word with the eagerness.   Right now I am listening to a fascinating book called Ariel and I am just enjoying this book and want to hear what happens next.  I compare those two feelings...this one of wanting to know what the man in bronze has to say and What will happen with the dragonriders in Ariel.

And you know what... right now it's the same.  I want to know... but I know if life gets busy I can put off that anticipation.

J starts with Jump Canada and carries on..

Welcome to week J of Blogging through the Alphabet.  I am so pleased you have joined Amanda and I in this venture.  :)

I wasn't sure what to do with the Letter J.  

Attack Canada!! War Plan Red, A review

 Hey... did you know that the United States had a secret plan to invade Canada!?!?!?!   DASTARDLY BEASTS!!!!   I tell yah!  :)   (don't take me too seriously eh?)  You can learn all about it in War Plan Red.

But oh no!!!!   Canada had secret plans to invade the United States as well!!!   ... but really... we're not dastardly beasts.. really.  :)  LOL

Anyways, this book is a fascinating glimpse into the history between what is called "the friendliest border".   We weren't always so friendly, from the war of 1812, to the threatened trade of Canada as reparation by Great Britain for how they played both sides in the American Civil War, to the War of the Pig.  I know.. a war over a pig?!?!?!

I laughed.
I shook my head.
And the history I learned... oh my!  :)

The things they don't teach you in school.  

Like did you know that part of buying Alaska...was not only protection from Russia...but as a first step to buying British Columbia...and then slowly buying the rest of Canada?   Could you image that the entirety of the North American continent being one huge country?     Or how about trading Canada for Ireland or even have Canada AS an Irish Republic to launch attacks at Great Britain?  This was a scheme by the Fenians (catholic Irishmen).   It failed if only because most Irish in Canada were Protestant and the two simply didn't cooperate with each other.

Canadian Pride was well-establish since the start of my beloved land.   We started off declaring  "We are a northern people...more manly, more real, then the weak-marrowed bones and superstitions of the effeminate south".  (p.57)  Our success at Vimy Ridge solidified our national pride.  To this day, part of being Canadian is to tease our neighbour to the south.

So why build a plan to attack Canada?   As a means to attack Great Britain.   The awareness was that to attack Great Britain you would first need to take out their northern neighbour.

Included in the last 1/3 of the book is a reproduction of the American plan of attack.  The War Plan Red.

How we went from that to having such a friendly border... I don't know... but we've managed it.  :)  

Should you read it?
Yes!  If you are interested in the history of the border between Canada and the United States.  I found it fascinating... but I'm a Canadian.  I intend to hold on to it until my lad is old enough to read it for himself.  I suspect he'll find it interesting as a teenager.    It is a book written for young adults and up.

 

War Plan Red
Author: Kevin Lippert
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Pages: 128

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books. 

 Amazon.ca: War Plan Red: The United States' Secret Plan to Invade Canada and Canada's Secret Plan to Invade the United States

Amazon.com: War Plan Red: The United States' Secret Plan to Invade Canada and Canada's Secret Plan to Invade the United States


This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

He Will Pour Out His Spirit

Today we are reading from Ezekiel 39:25-29. Last time we met we learned about God's Holiness made Manifest. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

We saw how the Lord's holiness was made apparent to all...from Israel to the nations surrounding her. 

Now we find God making a promise to his people.   He will 

• restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel
• I will be jealous for my holy name. 

The end result of that should be this: 
 ²⁶ They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, 

Hymn Study: Praise the Lord: Ye Heavens Adore Him

Praise The Lord: Ye Heavens, Adore Him.

This is an older hymn, the first two verses found pasted inside the jacket of the hymnbook for the London's Foundling Hospital.    This was an orphanage that was famous for their children's chorus led by trained musicians.   It is remembered today through the hymnbook "Psalms, Hymns and Anthems of the Foundling Hospital, of 1796".   (source Cyber Hymnal)   There is a museum dedicated the the London Foundling Hospital.

The first two verses were penned by an anonymous author, the third verse was penned by Edward Osler.

The author of the first verse paraphrased Psalm 148, showing all creation praising the Lord.  Then it shows how the Lord created all, and all the world obeys his voice.   Verse two shows God's care for his creation, how his promises never fail.   Osler's third verse is our praise to God.

Edward Osler was a physician and author.  He worked as physician from 1819 to 1836.   After which he devoted himself to literary pursuits. Over time he ended up as the editor of the Royal Cornwall Gazette.   He wrote several literary works as well as hymns. (source hymnary)

Lyrics: 

Praise the Lord: ye heavens, adore Him;
Praise Him, angels in the height.
Sun and moon, rejoice before Him;
Praise Him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord, for He hath spoken;
Worlds His mighty voice obeyed.
Laws which never shall be broken
For their guidance He hath made.

Praise the Lord, for He is glorious;
Never shall His promise fail.
God hath made His saints victorious;
Sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation;
Hosts on high, His power proclaim.
Heaven and earth and all creation,
Laud and magnify His name.

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,
Lord, we offer unto Thee.
Young and old, Thy praise expressing,
In glad homage bend the knee.
All the saints in Heaven adore Thee;
We would bow before Thy throne.
As Thine angels serve before Thee,
So on earth Thy will be done.
______________________________

I thought this tune quite different, I liked how she sang it, but not sure if it would work as congregational singing.   She didn't sing the entire hymn.

A finally a more traditional approach

 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Family and Loyalty

The Homeschool Review Crew does word prompts for Instagram fun, I think it's great to have these words prompts for doing quick posts.  :)   I find them fun as sometimes it surprises me where my brain goes.  :)

The word for today is Family.  Let's follow my brain where it goes eh?

I had a friend tell me once in college that I had too strong a loyalty to my family.   At the time I was struggling with living my life as a young adult away from home, and I thought maybe, just maybe she was right.  Otherwise why would I be struggling so much?

As I've matured I have to question that.

I am not sure that one can have too strong a loyalty to their family.
Family is a central part of living in my eyes.
It's where you learn your place in the world. 
It's where you first learn manners, how to work, how to have a conversation, how to start forming your own world viewpoint.

I am not going to say that family is easy for everyone, cause not everyone comes from a stable, faith-believing family.  

And even with this stable, faith-believing family we have had our issues and struggles over the years as we butt heads over different ways to live out our lives of faith.  Within those struggles though is the safety net of the love of family.

Do I have loyalty to my family....you bet your bottom dollar...it's fierce and strong.  It's as real and tangible to me as my love for my heavenly Father.   (if not sometimes more).  :)   Through them I have learned the cost of love.    This has helped me in the raising of my son.

Family is ah... a good thing... not only my birth family, but also my made family.   
Hubby, son, and all our critters.  This is family.  And...it is good.

St. Patrick's Day Meal

 St. Patrick's Day was named of St. Patrick.   Born as Maewyn Succat, he was born a Roman Briton who was captured by pirates and turned into a slave in Ireland.   As a slave he became a Christian. He escaped Ireland only to be captured by the French, which gave him the opportunity to study Monasticism. 

He claimed he had a dream where he was to convert Ireland to Christianity.  He wasn't well received on the main land of Ireland so needed to start in some of the off shore islands.  

He used the shamrock to teach the idea of the Trinity to the Irish people. 
He is believed to have died on March 17, 461 AD.   The celebration of the day started in the 17th century and continues til this day.

With me down and out with a cold that is nasty enough to take away my voice and energy, my sweetheart was kind enough to make supper.   Since it was St. Patrick's Day he chose to honour St. Patty's Day  and made an Irish inspired meal for us.  (A first for us!)

He made

Corned Beef  (original recipe here)
Ingredients:
 3 pounds corned beef, trimmed of fat

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

10 whole cloves (or you can use 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves)

Directions:
Unwrap the corned beef, and remove the seasoning packet (use it in another recipe, such as roasted cabbage and potatoes) and trim as much of the fat from the meat as you can.
Rinse the corned beef under a bunch of cold water in a colander to wash away a bunch of the sodium.
(If you have time, you can even submerge the meat overnight in the fridge in a tupperware of cold water to release the excess sodium. In the morning, dump the water.)
In a small bowl,  make a paste of the honey, brown sugar, mustard, and cloves.
 Rub this mixture on all sides of the meat. Place the meat into your crockpot, and cover.
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until meat pulls apart easily with a fork. Let sit for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Irish Champ

Irish Cream Bundt Cake (recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed. Pour batter over nuts in pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto the serving dish. Prick top and sides of cake. Spoon glaze over top and brush onto sides of cake. Allow to absorb glaze repeat until all glaze is used up.
4. To make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream.

Irish Champ (original Recipe here)

Ingredients
1 Package Mashed potatoe mix (we use the kind you get at Costco) uses milk and water
1 bunch green onions
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
Heat water with thinly sliced green onions and butter in it.
Add the milk (as called for in potatoe mix recipe)
Add the mashed potatoe mix





©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Spring Break - Cooking Fun!

This week my son has been in cooking class all week. He's been bringing home cookies and pie and just having a good deal of fun.

He's made cookies with brown beans in it (what a delight surprising mom and dad with the knowledge).

Chicken dinner with potatoes and veggies.
A variety of dips and learning to spiralize veggies.
Desserts.
Maple bacon and pancakes.

He's been simple delighted with everything that they have made and was so pleased they sent him home with a cookbook.

Now he has more ideas of things to cook!



Friday we started our six week co-op session for HOPE. Hubby is teaching a gym class.   We had the children play Hotdog, Around the World, and Everybody's It.  Hard to get pics of fast moving children.

 I am teaching a "Making Zentangles class".   I will be using this book as a base of reference.  You can find my review of it here.

Homeschooling, faith and more.
Draw & Discover - art book series - teaching vocabulary through creative expression
Be mindful Gog of Magog, God is going to use you - devotional on Genesis 38
Weather Assignments - a word prompt post
Recipe for Fish Chowder - good tasting soup
One People, One Shepherd, One God - devotional on Genesis 37
Igloos and Inukshuks - blogging the alphabet post
God's Holiness Made manifest - devotional on Genesis 38:1-24
The Unstoppable Power of a United Praying Family.  learning more about prayer
Friend...when and where.   A Five minute Friday word prompt post.
St. Patrick's Day Meal.   In Honour of St. Patrick.

Reviews
Draw & Discover. Art books for young children
Let's Explore mountains.  A great book to learn about mountains
Walking with the Waodani.   Unit study on the Waodani
Found: Psalm 23 - a board book for young children

Linking up at the following blogs this week: 

Homeschool Highlights.

Homeschool blog and Tell.

Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Homeschool Nook.

Family Friday Linkup.

Amazon.ca: Zentangle: The inspiring and mindful drawing workbook with over 70 practice tiles

Amazon.com: Zentangle: The inspiring and mindful drawing workbook with over 70 practice tiles

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time

Friend.. where and when

When I think of the word friend I think.... 





Family...
First friendships are made with family I think.  Friendships between siblings and cousins.  Later friendship with parents.   It is here we learn the give and take between people... when as child first it's sometimes a knock down drag out type of affair, but as we get older turns into discussion, conversation and occasionally heated arguments.   But here are the foundations laid for later friendships, those bonds that include faith, similar interests, and mutual action.   (nothing like throwing hay bales around with an older sister).  :)


Real-life...
childhood and adulthood, running around in the community brings other relationships...some of these become bond-making friendships, some just become occasional get-to-know you relationships.   I have to admit, I don't have many.. what you'd call.. strong bond-making friendships in life.   I've learned to be wary as one too many people have taken what I thought was friendship and turned it into a weapon of singular destruction.

The Crew....
this year..oh..the friendships I am making on the crew is wonderful.   They aren't the same as in the flesh let's go out for coffee friendships.  They are the let's see if we can catch each other on-line and chat for a while.  Learning to share hearts without the "catches" the on-line conversation can bring...you know when you type something and someone interprets it differently than you meant?  It's great to read each others blogs and bring to the heart encouragement to each other.   It's wonderful to have a community where you can say "let's pray for this" or "I'm struggling with this" and offer that support to each other.   When we are no longer homeschooling I will miss that part of the crew... I really will.. but we aren't there yet eh?  :)

Similar Interests...
It's been also great this year to be making friendships with similar interest groups.  Like working at the foodbank or attending rabbit shows or being part of rabbit groups on-line.  Talking and sharing with each other, teaching new ways of doing things.  T'is a goodly thing to be useful eh?   To laugh and agonize with each other.  :)

This is a five minute Friday post. the word prompt is brought to us by Miss Kate.  Today the word is Friend.  What is Five Minute Friday?  Well it's a party of a group of like minded folks who gather on Friday to do a five minute free write around a singular word.  AND THEN we take the time to offer up encouragement to each other on this writing journey.  It's fun, though it's not always easy, but it is always good.   Come join us won't you?  You are always welcome.

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time, helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Review: Found - Psalm 23

 Found, a board book based on Psalm 23, is filled with the quiet peace and awareness of the care that the Shepherd of our lives watches over us all the time.

A Sturdy book to put in the hands of our littlest one, this is a tender story of how a shepherd takes care of his sheep, even the littlest, more way ward lambs. 

Many of the full-colour pictures show a young lamb cavorting around the shepherds feet, or being carefully carried.   Jago does an excellent job of illustrating this faith-based board book.

Put together by the same folks who did the Jesus Storybook Bible, it is simply a great book to share with young children. 

Isn't the detail on the page just lovely?   See the care the shepherd has for his lamb?

It's a book of verse, but not mindless trying to rhyme it all verse, it's verse the speaks of the simple truths found in Psalm 23. 

With Easter coming up, wouldn't it be great to introduce your young ones to the true Lamb of Easter.  Check out the book Found: Psalm 23.  Let the gentleness and peace of the Saviour come to you this season.  

I just love this scene of the shepherd running to mind that little lamb all lost and alone.

Found: Psalm 23
Author: Sally Lloyd-Jones
Illustrator : Jago
Pages: 20
Age: 1-4 years
Publisher: Zonderkidz

Reviewed for: Booklookbloggers.   








You can also find this book on Amazon.com: 
 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time

God's Holiness Made Manifest

Today we are reading from Ezekiel 39:1-24. Last time we met we learned about Be Mindful Gog of Magog. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

Behold..... Gog is still under threat!

The Prayer Saturated Family: The Unstoppable Power of a United Praying Family.

 Reading through a chapter every three weeks, this study is from "The Prayer Saturated Family".  You can read the rest of the series here.  This week we are doing chapter two "The Unstoppable Power of a United Praying Family".

The encouragement in this chapter is to remember that praying together as a family for the neighbourhood that you live in makes a huge difference, it can transform your whole neighbourhood.

The example was given of one family that prayed for their neighbourhood, eventually seeing families coming to faith and an entire neighbourhood changed. 

I have to admit that I struggled with the author's understanding of the prayer of Jabez.   His prayer reads "Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying "oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that you hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked."   This was not a prayer for increased spiritual influence in the world around him, this was a prayer of a man who wanted to be blessed of God with more land and good health.  Nothing more.   Mixed into a long line of genealogies, Jabez was a man who prayed, a man who was born in pain (v9) and didn't want more of it.  God extended grace to him and gave him what he wanted. 

I do love this line, "that real disciples create real disciples" (p.29).  We can train our children not to be afraid of the world but to pray through the world, through the territory that God gives them. 

Praying through your neighbourhood as a family does this: It teaches you where you can be a blessing from God to those in your sphere of influence.   Praying through your family can give you goals to meet.   God answers these prayers and changes the family, and changes the neighbourhood.

I have to admit, I struggle with this idea. 
I have an intellectual understanding of it, and I have seen prayer in surprising action on more than one occasion, but I struggle with the idea that the prayers of one family can have such a drastic result.  And what happens if a family takes this approach and sees no change occurring?     I suppose I am seeing more of the "what ifs" and less of the "God cans".   It stems, I think, from fear.   If I make this change, and pray with my family over the neighbourhood we are in now and over the future of where we will be, and God doesn't answer those prayers.  What will I do with that?

I should not let this stop me.
Just as I don't want fear to stop my lad from doing or trying something new...I shouldn't let the fears that I have about "what if God says no" to prayer concerning this family and the areas that God might place us in. 

See I have to remember this immutable truth God is the Lord.     His decisions, his call, his ways.  He knows ALWAYS what is the best for all his people.  All he requires from us is the willingness to listen to what he wants and the simple obedience to his will.   He works through the prayers of his people, and sometimes despite the lack of prayers of his people. 

He still works things out according to his will.

It is a comfort and a hope.