Fun Fridays: Weekly Download

Worship Wednesdays: The Name of the Lord (Part 2)

This week I want to continue looking at the names of God in the Old Testament and talk about how they should influence the way we approach worship. To recap last week we talked about Elohim  which meant the Almighty God and is associated with God being the Creator. This week I want to look at El Elyon.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High,  








who has delivered your enemies into your hand." He gave him a tenth of all.

The phrase God Most High is repeated three times in the above passage. In Hebrews this is El Elyon. Take a look at verse 19. He is described as the Possessor of heaven and earth. Some translations have this as Creator, but I think Possessor fits nicely here. This shows us God as sovereign, as ruler over all He has created.

Let that sink in for a moment. He is the ruler of EVERYTHING. He can honestly and truly answer why questions with "I said so." It is this name that carries His authority over life. He makes the rules, whether you like it or not. But what about all the bad things that happen to us in life?

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

Sometimes God uses trials to form something better in our lives, this might be a character trait we are lacking or a way of drawing us closer to Him. God may use wars, famines, floods, and other tragedies to judge nations or to bring people to know Jesus as Savior. More often than not we will never know the reasons behind tragedy and suffering, but we can be sure that God is in control and He knows what He is doing.

He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and we would be wise to remember that He is the focus of our worship. It's not about our personalities, our preferences in music, or our traditions. It's about honoring God and obeying His rules. Ultimately we belong to God our creator, and we worship Him because we were created to worship Him.

Read Part 3 here.

Managing Mondays: Managing Yourself

Some of you may have noticed the sporatic nature of some of the BLOG entries as of late. This is due in part to it being the start of the new school year and also to an increase in church activities, September was a very busy month.

This got me thinking. Am I trying to do too much? Am I overextended? In some ways, yes I am. So, let me say right off the bat that the blog will go on. Though, I think Managing Mondays will be an every other week feature, alternating with the new homeschool focused Teaching Tuesdays. That being said, what are someways that we can avoid future burnout?

1. Set realistic goals. Seriously, the biggest mistake people make when goal setting is setting the bar too high. It's one thing to say you will read your Bible daily, it's another to say you will memorize the entire New Testament by the end of the year.

2. Know your limitations. This goes hand and hand with the first one. This is, honestly, the one I struggle with all the time, especially with having a chronic illness. Sometimes we just want to do more than is physically possible for us to do. I hate to sound cliche but, you really can't be in two places at once.

3. Take time for yourself. As parents, especially homeschooling parents, we tend to place the needs of our children and our children's interests ahead of our own. When was the last time you pursue one of your own interests. We all need to recharge our batteries now and then. Take a sanity break every now and then.

4. Take time with God. Similarly, we need to take time to be alone with God. Make it a priority to read His word and to pray everyday. This can be as simple as a great devotional, or going for a quiet walk where you can talk to Him as you walk. You can even combine it with a sanity break. Tending a flower garden you love lends itself to great conversation with the one who made the flowers bloom.

Remember, we are of no use to our families if we are burnt out and exhausted. Taking time for yourself is definitely a lesson we should not only learn, but also pass on to our children. Just as we want them to be dilligent, we also want them to avoid overextending themselves. Even God took time to rest on the seventh day, how much more do we need to rest?