A Man after God's own Heart

Good morning all!

Well, it has been way too long since I've written a blog.  I miss sharing this journey with you!  But I have LOVED our small group conversations on Sunday mornings about our Bible readings.  What an incredible journey we are on as we read through all of God's Word together!

I apologize for having to drop the writings for a while.  I have had some health challenges (nothing serious)   that caused me to have to change the way I spent my time for a little while.  Plus we continued to have kids sick off and on, and then on top of all of that just LIFE.  Family and ministry keep us very busy, and I had to step back and pray for God to show me where I needed to be spending my time so that I didn't neglect what was most important to Him.

With that said, I sure hope you are keeping up with your Bible readings for the year.  There is nothing so important as knowing God through His Word!  Everything we do while in this life on this earth is preparing us for Eternity.  Look at every task and activity that way.  It's all about Eternity.  It's all about God.  Are you all about God?

While on a homeschool fieldtrip yesterday with several families who are some of our most precious friends on the planet, one of the dads had a phone call he answered.  He is a hard-working, very successful business man who runs one of the top tree removal and landscaping businesses in Houston.  But he is SO family-oriented and down-to-earth.  He lives to serve his family and his Lord.  They are also a rescue family with Little Footprints and currently have a precious newborn in their home.

I overheard him "messing with" the man on the phone in a fun way, saying, "__________, you think about hunting; I think about God."  He chuckled, but anyone who knows this man knows it's true.  Seeds watered and planted for the Kingdom!  I have no doubt that my friend will continue to share Jesus with this man until he becomes a follower of Christ.

This week we read about Saul and David.  If you have fallen behind, THIS IS THE PLACE TO PICK UP AGAIN!!!!  You HAVE to know the life of David to understand so much of what is in the Bible and to see the beauty and richness of the Psalms.  God called him a "man after My own heart."  He loved the worship that took place in the make-shift tent/tabernacle of King David so much that He intends to rebuild it (Acts 15:16).  Not Moses' tabernacle, not Solomon's temple, but David's tent.  There was something extra special to God about that place:  the wholehearted worship that took place within it.    My best friend recommended a book to me a few years ago called God's Favorite House by Tommy Tenney that talks all about this.  God is "homesick" for David's tent.  May we also build for God every Sunday a house of worship full of people passionately seeking Him so that He longs to be there like David's tent!

DON'T MISS THIS CRUCIAL TIME OF GROWING!  We all should long for God to see us as men and women after His own heart and to call our church His favorite place of worship like He did with David!

My homeschool friend is certainly a man after God's own heart, as is my precious husband and so many of the dads we are blessed to have influencing our sons, both in our homeschool group and in our church.  These men are a treasure hard to find in our generation.  May we all encourage and support our husbands in being men willing to do foolish things for the Lord, as David did when he danced with reckless abandon down the streets before His God.  May we never ridicule them, as his ungodly wife Michal did (you will read about this later), for loving God passionately.

As moms, may we be committed to doing the hard and counter-culture job of raising modern-day knights devoted to serving and loving their God in a world that tells them to "obey their thirst."  If you study any character in the Bible other than Jesus, may it be David.  And if you are a woman raising a son or if you have influence in a young man's life, may you pray for God to give you wisdom and use the life of David as well as the book of Proverbs (written by David's son Solomon) to guide you.  May we not repeat the sad, sad story we read about last week in Judges when a new generation grew up that did not know the Lord or follow His commands (Judges 2:10).  Moms, aunts, grandmas and sisters, IT IS OUR WATCH!  What will we do with it?

My husband has been doing some devotions with Caleb from a book called The Squire and the Scroll.  It is a fantastic book for boys.  When I was at a homeschool conference a few years ago, I found a companion book that has awesome devotions for dads to do with their sons to teach them what it means to be a godly young man who is prepared to be a godly husband and humble leader for the Kingdom of God some day.  Caleb has enjoyed the picture book for the last few years (of course--what boy doesn't love a story about a young man slaying a dragon and being made a knight!), but just recently they began doing the devotions in this new season of Caleb's life.  Now he understands the deeper meaning behind this excellent story!

You can order them from Christian Book Distributers:  Squire and the Scroll/Princess and the Kiss.  As you will see, there is also a book for girls called The Princess and the Kiss.  I'm doing it with Courtney, and it is excellent.  It also has the companion devotional book.  I thank God for tools like this that equip us as parents to fulfill the job God gave us when He entrusted His children to us.  "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."  (Deut. 6:6-7)  Take note of the first part of that Scripture:  these words shall be upon YOUR heart, mom and dad.  They must be upon your heart before you can teach to your children and train them in the way they should go. 


Enjoy your study of the life of David--the youth who defeated a giant by the power of God, and the one from whom our Lord would eventually come.


"...the LORD has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler of His people....”  (1 Samuel 13:14)


"And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him."  (1 Samuel 18:14; ESV)