We are now in Week 9 of homeschool and thankfully everyone seems to be getting a decent grasp on everything.  We have made some adjustments to our schedule, in that we were beginning at 8am and it has slowly migrated to roughly 9am (don’t ask).  I was keeping a pretty timely schedule, where we would spend a specific amount of time on each subject.  Now, we just work till we get through each subject. I pretty much expected this relaxation in our schedule, because I pretty much stink at schedule-keeping (true story).

One thing has occurred that I didn’t expect, though. . . 

We start out with our Bible, memory verse, and whatever is on the schedule for Bible reading.  My Father’s World has books that are meant to be used for family reading time, but if it doesn’t happen within our Bible time, it sure won’t happen in the evening (things happen, I forget, the kids are playing outdoors, it’s bedtime, yada, yada, yada).  I digress…

You would think these books are just for the kids, teaching them about the sacrifices of others and their desire to further the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But wouldn’t you know…they have become a blessing to me.

There have been 2 in particular that have really spoken to me.  In the first week, we read “God Speaks Numanggang”.  It talks about the Hynum family and how they moved to Papa New Guinea.  They trekked across the jungle to live in a village where they didn’t know anyone and couldn’t speak the language.  They built a house and slowly learned Numanggang.  They then began to write the language down and taught the people how to read and write their own dialect.  Then they spent the next 30 years writing the New Testament and Psalms in Numanggang. 

These people were so excited to read God’s word and to know that He spoke to them in their own language.

At the end of this book there was a short story about a Khakas woman who prayed for over 40 years that God would send someone to translate the Bible into Khakas.  She could only understand a little Russian and therefore was only able to understand a little of what the minister preached each week.  She was 82 years old before the first Gospels were translated into the Khakas language.  God was faithful to answer her prayers.

I did end up crying in front of my kids at the end of this book.  To think how spoiled (blessed) I am that I can pick up that Bible on my nightstand any time I chose, but somehow I let the cares of life keep me away from it.  

For the past 2 weeks we have been reading about a linguist missionary, named Cameron Townsend.  His goal and desire was to see the Bible translated into every language.  He wanted every person to realize that God did care about them and that God did speak their language.  I tell you, there have been times that I have been reading to the kids and I have had to pause, take a few deep breaths, because I was about to start weeping (again). 

Mainly, it has been when we read how each time that Cam or his group faced a road block; God would miraculously make a way.  It reminded me of the verse “Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you”.  All Cam cared about was spreading the word of God to every tribe and tongue.  So, in turn, God opened the doors.  Because of this one man’s determination the Bible has been translated into over 500 languages. 

I have found myself overwhelmed at moments, thinking “God I want to make a difference in Your Kingdom.  I want to make a difference in the life of others.  Lead me and guide my footsteps, so that I can do something for your Kingdom.”

Isn’t it funny that something I had intended to be a blessing and teaching instrument for my children is blessing me as much as them (and maybe more)?  I love how God can use the simplest things to get my attention and tug at my heart.  It’s like through this He is saying to me “Don’t squander the ‘little’ blessings you have”.  Yes, I have all my basic needs met, and while I may not be exactly where I want to be in life, God knows where I am.  Just like He sees you and has not forgotten you.  He speaks to us sometimes in ways that may seem unusual, but as long as you get the message, does the delivery really matter?  I am so thankful for the gentle reminder to be thankful for the little things (that really are much bigger than we realize).  I am thankful for that Bible on my nightstand and the reminder to make it a priority, not a afterthought of my day.

I hope that this post helps to inspire some of you to be thankful for the little nudges that God gives you.  Be thankful that he cares enough about you to remind you that He loves you, whether through his word or a children’s book.

Health and Blessings,

Amanda