Isaiah 40:11 I believe captures the essence of the shepherd and his sheep best:
He tends his flock like a shepherd
He gathers the lambs in his arms
He carries them close to his heart
He gently leads those that have young.
Notice that the shepherd gathers the lambs in his arms and not upon his shoulders. The reason for this is to calm the lambs by allowing them to hear the beating of the shepherd's heart, not the beating of his voice. This is what my son was yearning for all of those years:to hear the beating of my heart not the beating of my voice. It has now been seven years since I experienced this incredible transformation. Is my son following? Yes indeed. But only when he hears my heart beating louder than my voice!"
That's what got to me: are my children hearing my heart beating louder than my voice?
~This is a portion of the message I heard by Mark Hamby.
Mark Hamby was my favorite speaker at the Cincinnati, Ohio homeschool convention I attended a few days ago! Check him out...he also runs the Lamplighter Publishing which reprints awesome books from the 1600's, 1700's , 1800's & 1900's.
http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/I had such an amazing time and feel so uplifted as a parent and homeschool mother. It was amazing to see so many others who are in the same war I am in: the war for my children's souls. To me that is what homeschooling is all about. Teaching our children how to draw near to their Heavenly Father and to experience Him in a way that is life changing!
We are heading to this Beach in a week & I am so excited I can't hardly stand it!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't been to the ocean since my Honeymoon 10 years ago! This will be my kids first time seeing the ocean, and they are almost excited as much as I am! We are taking the entire week off from "regular" schoolwork next week and doing a huge unit study on the ocean. I praise the Lord for this opportunity to experience the breathtaking beauty of His creation!
