I just feel like writing today. I got up early, thanks to my alarm clock (Caleb). . .he watched a Thomas video while I read my Bible and a book titled, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, by RC Sproul. I read while drinking a nice hot cup of coffee, with a fire in the fire place, and darkness outside. It was cozy.
Yesterday I took David to the local elementary school to have his speech evaluated. He, according to the nice lady who tested him, “needs intervention” and she would like to start seeing him for about 1/2 hour to an hour every week. Will you please pray that I will find someone willing to watch my other 4 children so that I can take David? I need to be there in the room while she works with him. I was pleased with the meeting, she had him saying words beginning with “S” and “F”, and he said some words perfectly that he has never said before. I had tears in my eyes once or twice, I have been so burdened by his speech. He has a rich vocabulary, but just isn’t where he needs to be with all the sounds.
I have a quote that I wanted so share. I was reading yesterday from the book, Ladies of the Reformation, written by J.H. Alexander. The book is historical and thought-provoking and is full of mini-biographies of influential Christian women from the Reformation time period. I was reading about Elizabeth of Brandenburg, who was the daughter of the King of Denmark, and who married the Elector of Brandenburg, Germany. She lived in the early 1500’s. Later in her marriage, and after the birth of her four children, she was able to read a copy of the New Testament (translated by Martin Luther) and her “heart was opened” and she believed. She suffered persecution from her own husband and had to flee for her life. At the end of the chapter, I was struck by these words:
“She loved and studied Luther’s translation
of the Bible with his marginal notes, and marked
down many favorite chapters in Isaiah, the Psalms,
John, and the Epistle to the Romans.
‘God be for ever praised in heaven above’, she said,
‘that these words are thus recorded, for more
than a thousand times I have felt in my
heart that they are true.‘”
What she said about the Bible was beautiful to me, and I am going to copy it in the cover of my own precious Bible. So many times have I turned to it in distress, to find calm and peace for my soul. So many times I have gone to it thirsty, and come away refreshed.
Again, this morning I read another passage from a book, All of Grace, by Spurgeon. I read something that helped me a great deal. I think we have all struggled from bad thoughts. For me, I am particularly prone to negative thinking—in all areas, as a mother, wife, my physical health, my spiritual growth–I have had negative thoughts about all of those things. In the chapter titled, “I can do Nothing”, Spurgeon writes specifically to those who may have the weakness of “Tormenting and Blaspheming Thoughts”. I read:
“These thoughts, if you hate them, are not
yours, but injections of the devil. He is
responsible, and not you. If you strive against
them, they are no more yours than are the cursings
and falsehoods of rioters in the street.
It is by means of these thoughts that the devil
wants to drive you to despair, or at least
from trusting Jesus.
“Jesus died for those who are guilty of ‘all manner of
sin and blasphemy’ (Matt. 12:31). Therefore,
I am sure He will not refuse those who are
unwillingly the captives of evil thoughts.
Cast yourself upon Him, thoughts and all,
and prove that He is mighty to save. He can still
those horrible whisperings of the fiend, or He
can enable you to see them in their true light
so that you will not be worried by them.
In His own way, He can and will save you
and, at length, give you perfect peace.
Only trust Him for this and everything else.”
The next time I get mired in my own destructive thoughts (I am very introverted so I have lots of time to think, LOL), I will read back over this quote.
Now, have you ever noticed that any good devotional time with the Lord ends up with more love for Christ, the One who has made this wonderful relationship possible? The One who has brought peace to our soul? That is how I felt this morning. . .and so I read through a hymnbook to try to find a hymn that would reflect those feelings.
“I’ve found the pearl of greatest price,
My heart doth sing for joy;
And sing I must, for Christ is mine,
Christ shall my song employ.
Christ is my Prophet, Priest, and King:
My Prophet full of light,
My great High Priest before the throne,
My King of heavenly might.
For He indeed is Lord of lords,
And He the King of kings;
He is the Sun of Righteousness,
With healing in His wings.
Christ is my peace; He died for me,
For me He gave His blood;
And, as my wondrous sacrifice,
Offered Himself to God.
Christ Jesus is my All-in-all,
My comfort and my love;
My life below; and He shall be
My glory-crown above.
John Mason, 1646-94
I am aware that, at times, when we share personal thoughts about our relationship with God, we do not get as much feedback. However, for today, I ask that if you have anything to say of your Savior, anything that He is teaching you, anything that you have learned in your Christian walk, that you will write it down for the rest of us to read. The comments are often just as encouraging as the actual post, I have discovered over and over. Do you have a quote, a verse, a bit of something encouraging? Then, please tell us how and/or why the Lord is good to you today.
Now, I have some packing to do. We are going to NY for the weekend. Tomorrow Grace and I are going to a tea party, hosted by my husband’s 90 year old Grandmother. From what I understand, she is using this time to give away some of her dishes and pretty things. Isn’t that touching?
Love to you all~
Good to be Home 
How is the Lord good to me today? He helps me remember things I need to do ~ I am so rushed sometimes and forget what things were needing done before I have to leave again ~ but when I ask, He promptly reminds me. It is a small thing to many, perhaps, but today, it is precious to me that He helps me in every detail ~
What a precious thing your husband’s grandmother is doing ~
I will be back to comment. 🙂 I don’t have the time right now – sorry!
Oh wow, that sounds like a fun tea party to attend!
I thought of something I wrote down just this morning. For some reason I felt compelled to insert my name and gender into these verses taken from the Psalm of David chapter 21…
“*My Name here* shall have joy in YOUR strength, O LORD; and in YOUR salvation how greatly shall she rejoice! You have given her her hearts desire, And have not withheld the request of her lips. You have made *my name* exceedingly glad with YOUR presence. Be exalted O LORD!!”
I am learning to trust God with our housing situation, and believe that He has our best interest in mind, even though it seems to be taking a long time. He has always come through in the past, and will continue to do so~
My second son had trouble pronouncing some sounds too, and when he was 4 I think it was, he went to speech therapy…saying a prayer that you will get all the details worked out with your children. Have a great weekend~
His love for me is so amazing…no matter how far I wander from Him during the day, no matter how busy I get, He in His great love for me is always there whispering to me to come back and walk with Him, He never tires of waiting for me, He never gives up on me, He is always there for me…
I have been reading about the time when David was being “stalked” by Saul. David felt so low, but God always lifted him up.I wish I could give you a hug today, you sound like you could use one. 🙂 David is going to thrive with the extra help. His needing help in this area is no reflection on you. I know you probably feel like it is. Maybe God has allowed David to need this extra help because there is someone at that school you need to minister to. I will pray about the help you need with the other children.Have a great time at the tea party. It sounds so lovely. I hope Grace gets something wonderful to remember her great-grandmother by.
Once again, today, I am in awe of my Savior, and what a personal God He is. I am reminded how God is always aware of me – little, insignificant me! He loves me with such an intense, fervent love. A love that I did nothing to deserve – and do not deserve. But rather a love that He deserves from me. A love that I will never be capable of upon this earth. I hold Jeremiah 31:3 close to my heart. “The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” (ESV) Those words thrill my soul and warm my heart in ways I cannot even explain! Jesus loves ME, this I know!!
The Lord has blessed me with friends today — I spend my days in the classroom, but my lunches spent here reading about our Lord are such a blessing in the midst of the busyness of the day. Thank you for sharing, to all.
Good thoughts. Meditate on these things. The lovely, the noble, the things of good report…I am by personality more pessimisstic and negative. It’s just another of those things that Jesus is in the process of redeeming and making new. I think you know what God is teaching me (as reflected in my post about motherhood!), and I feel so encouraged by you. I’m glad the Lord brought you into my life at “such a time as this”. I’m inspired by you and your relationships. I thank God upon every remembrance of you!
This morning’s devotional thoughts were about not judging the way other ladies spend their time. I’m dealing with feelings right now regarding a dear friend’s attitude and decisions that I find hurtful. I read an e-mail yesterday about writing hurtful things in the sand, and blessings in stone. Love is patient, love is kind,love thinks no wrong… Strong words when you feel like lashing out and saying how it looks from your perspective.
So glad that you had a wonderful devotional time with the Lord, in the early morning. God always speaks to our hearts and it is always worth getting up a little earlier or taking that extra time in the day to be with Him. He always gives nuggets of hope and inspiration. Right now, the Lord is my comforter. He alone loves me for me. Enjoy your tea party tomorrow and the weekend!
On a morning when I woke up tired, again, and not sure how this day would go, He, again, was my strength. What a wonderful day it was, in HIS strength, not mine. Jeremiah chapter 31 has been my chapter this week, as I’ve gone back to it again and again for encouragement-I love that someone else already quoted it,too!-here is verse 25, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Ahhh, this is how the Lord was good to me today.
I am glad that David will be getting help! If I lived near you I would’ve loved to watch the kids! I hope someone steps right up and volunteers soon! I too have experienced the joy of having more love for Christ after a devotional. You know, sometimes I just read to say I’ve read it and don’t let God’s word really sink in and renew me, but when I read with devotion to God, I leave changed. The verse that constantly comes to mind in my life a lot, because I have to many “could be’s” is “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:25 v26 goes on to say that the Spirit helps us in our weakness and when we don’t know what to pray for the Spirit intercedes for us. I struggle a lot with the patience part of waiting but when I remind myself of that verse and verse 28 I can have joy in the waiting.
The Lord has been teaching me, also, to keep my thoughts in check and aligned with His Truth, not my own fears and worries. My husband Terry passed on these thoughts, shared by a friend of his – I thought they were very insightful:”Faith and worry are essentially the same thing, but faith is trust and belief in God, while worry is belief that something (bad) will happen…” Also, a quote by Winston Churchill that went something like this: “My life has been full of trials and tribulations, most of which never happened.” I am learning to put my trust in the LORD, Whose plans for us are not to harm us, but to give us a HOPE and a FUTURE. (Jeremiah 29:11)Hope you are enjoying your grandmother’s tea party and weekend!
The Lord has been so gracious to put wonderful therapists in our lives. Isaac does physical, occupational and speech therapy every week. Altogether he has 5 sessions a week. God always gives us the therapist that we need for that time. Sometimes I find that the therapist needs us more than we need her. Honestly, God has brought people to us that need to see a testimony of Him, and little children bring such glory to Him even in their area of need. As a matter of fact, God is often glorified in MY area of need – because when I am weak, then He is strong!
If you have any questions about therapy, please don’t hesitate to ask. I also work in a pediatric therapy clinic. I know all the “ins and outs” and would be glad to help out if I can.
Alesha
Your post is beautiful. God is so good to me I can’t even begin to put it into words. Today, He set my feet on the firm foundation of His word and reminded me that I do not have to be run by all the things happening in my life. HE is life and HE is able. That was my joy today.
I want to encourage you that my son has a ‘speech and language delay’ along with a few other ‘issues’. It is amazing what therapy has done for him. The love and attention these therapiest give my children (2 of them are in therapy) is priceless. I feel so blessed that they can recieve these services! Someone will step in to help with your children. Our school has a parent led service right at the school where little ones can play while the parents are helping in other classrooms and such. Maybe the school you are taking David to has something like that where the other kids can hang out for a bit while David recieves therapy.
Blessings to you!
~Amy
Shanda I know David will get his speech delays worked out . I too have a daughter that has been getting help with her delays for about 8 years and now she is 12 and we are still in the process of finding out why she learns or doesnt learn things and she may have aspbergers syndrome , and eveyday brings a new challenge to me , but I know god doesnt give us more than we can handle, you are such a inspration to me with your pictures and your love for you family .All will work out , parenting doesnt come with a hand book we just do the best we can do. Lori
This was a beautiful, thought-provoking post, Shanda. My personal growth lately has been involved in the word “patience” and how it affects me.Romans 5:3-5 (KJV) “(3) . . . we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; (4) And patience, experience; and experience, hope: (5) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”If the experiences I’m encountering are teaching me patience, and experiences teach me that my “hope” is in Him, then I should rejoice and not feel negative when reviewing my circumstances. I tend to see “what COULD go wrong” and I’m never sure if that would be called “having forethought” or called “having negative thinking patterns”!!!BTW: I continue to pray for you daily!
I, too, have a 6 year old who, in preschool, no one could understand, even often times his own Daddy : ) He started speech therapy when he was 5, and last year in kindergarten a speech therapist worked with him two days a week during school hours. This year he is seeing her as well, and he has conquered the F’s and S’s, which were the first hurdle. Now they are working on R. It will come. I know as a mother you just want to have it be okay. And it will be : )
I was reading Micah chapter 6 and verse 8 tells me what God wants from me: To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. That’s it! How could a God who sacrificed His own Son for MY sins ask so little of me, ‘chief among sinners’?! That’s the beauty of His love. And I thank Him every day for it. Thanks for your insightful entry. It’s so refreshing to think on spiritual things, and read what others are thankful for : )
Mary
Shanda I am the same way…a bit introverted and therefore I think:) I’m not sure why but my thoughts tend to run down the negative path if I am not 100% on guard!!…and your site has helped me so much to reverse that! Thank you so much for that quote and all you post on this site. I actually have been by “accident” studying what the bible has to say about joy and am surprised at how much the bible actually says about it!!!!!! It just blows me away how much God LOVES his children and wants them to have “heaven” in their hearts, minds and souls. I posted about that recently on my blog.I left you a comment a few days ago (but you had sick little ones so you were extremely busy)…in my comment I wondered if you would like to be penpals. Please message me to let me know yes or no…either way…don’t worry I wont be offended if you don’t have time for another pen pal:) but I thought I’d check just in case….Have a wonderful day….we are having a good one here….I think noticing all the blessings in my life is starting to be a bit more automatic….thanks to Gods word AND wonderful women like you who take the time to share so much!