Learning His Voice

A few months ago, Jason came up to our bedroom to share of a nightmare Carter had been experiencing for years.  It happen to be the night that he (Carter) finally decided to unload the burden he had been carrying for so long.

This nightmare wasn't about dinosaurs or scary robots. No.  This was beyond something a small child could process.  The details he was sharing with Jason were precisely what is laid out for us in Revelation (except the poor kid always awoke before Christ came back).  This was a whole different realm that he was dealing with and he was doing it on his own.   While our hearts were so heavy with the level of fear and intensity that he was experiencing, we were also awakened to the idea that this child was able to be apart of something so spiritual. A gift.

And suddenly we felt completely ill-equipped.  Here we have been teaching them how great our God is.  We were sending them to Christian school, we were going to church, sharing the things that God was doing in our lives, yet we never expected God to be working just as much in their own. It was a complete wake up call.

We immediately contacted some friends of ours that have older children and have been heavily involved with the encouraging and equipping of their children's spiritual gifts.  We knew that they experience such things all the time with their children, but I guess we had been so focussed on making it through the day that we didn't realize that ours had that capability or that they did from infancy.  
Not until that night. 
I met with her and discussed the situation and it was such a sweet and simple conversation.  One that ignited a little pilot flame that has always been burning, but just unable to be reached.

From that point, I spent about two days in prayer. I felt a bit overwhelmed. I want to encourage and equip my children to do everything they have been created to do.  You know, they have a lot of capabilities, these kids of ours. Every child has the ability to be a world changer. Who do you think is responsible for giving them the tools to do so? We are. 
We are.  
And then there it came again, the feeling of being ill-equipped and a little bit overwhelmed as to where to start. :)

But the process has been far from it.

And that's what I would like to share with you.  Because the small, simple things that we are learning to do with these children are very much similar to what every adult should be doing if they want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. 

I think every time I do one of these posts, my heart races and my stomach turns out of fear of how it can come across.  I want you to know that this is written not out of authority or out of know-how.  I want to share with you what we have been learning to do with our children, in hopes that we can raise up a generation that will change the world.  And that's not being idealistic.  It's been promised...

After those few days in prayer, I asked the Lord to show me some of their spiritual gifts.  Well, right away we were aware that there is some prophetic giftings with Carter (these can also be called words of knowledge, or encouragement depending on the situation).  Do to the nature of his dreams (which he started journaling and we were even more amazed at what the Lord has shown him), it was pretty much a given.  It kind of takes your breath away when you read about his opinions on the New Jerusalem.  Powerful.

The Lord gave me a few flash backs to when the babies were new.  Everett had a natural tendency to lay his hands on them and pray strength and healing over them.  At the time we thought it was cute, but now, we're learning it wasn't cute.  It was powerful.  Ever since we became aware, we take every single opportunity to have him pray over someone.  Because his prayers are powerful, and through the Lord's words, he made it known that Everett has the gift of healing. Fevers have been broken, backs healed and flues have been instantly relieved after this small child lays hands on the sick.  I understand this can come across crazy. Especially if you're not a believer, but read the Bible.  You will see.  It's always been a part of his plan.

The other children, while still very young now take time to pray, spend time listening to worship music and spending a few minutes of quiet time with the Lord to develop a relationship with him.  The difference between them and us? They have far less traffic in those minds of theirs. Therefore, if the Lord wants to speak to them, they hear him clearly and usually immediately if they are given the chance to recognize that it's him.  Try it. Have your child listen to a worship song.  Have them ask God to show them a picture or tell them something.  They can either color it or share it with you.  Most of the time, it's amazing and beautiful and so child like.

Sometimes it's strange and you question where the heck it came from. But that's okay.  Encourage it because more often than not, they will hear his voice and learn to create a tunnel between their heart and his.  If they can train this young to know his voice, it will be very hard to leave him because it we be comfort and a part of them, as it should be with us.

If you would like to hear his voice, you need to be willing to take risks.  That's the way it works.  Sometimes that risk is a failure. But how else would you know that it wasn't his voice if you never acted upon it?  You don't. So it's a journey. I've had to ask forgiveness for saying the wrong thing, thinking that the Holy Spirit guided me... it happens.  But it's all about fine tuning your ears and heart to be able to hear him, just as we do with our children.

It's only been a few months, but the visions and words that they have been sharing with us are so incredibly powerful. Their child-like prayers are effective. It's how it's supposed to be, for all of us!

My encouragement for you...if you would like to hear his voice and it's hard for you to do... spend some time in worship music or the quiet of your room.  Tell him to show you something.  Maybe you dream a lot... you know the Lord uses dreams all the time because this is the one time that your spirit is awake but your body is sleeping...it's sometimes the only way he can communicate with us because of our ability to tune him out during the day.  Pay attention to your dreams, pray about what they mean.  Because they usually always have meaning. He works through scripture or through the words of others, but he is always speaking to you. Take the risk of trusting that it's his voice you hear.  Act on it...then you will suddenly experience what it means to be "Spirit-led". 
As will your children!

During this time (which was a part of our homeschooling decision as mentioned before), the Lord had given us a few verses... I honestly didn't know the relevance of these verses until situation after situation takes place and we see the fruit of it in our children!

Joel 2:28
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions."

Isaiah 44:3
"For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."

Deuteronomy 6:6
"And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Keep these words in your heart that I am telling you today. Do your best to teach them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as something special to see on your hand and on your forehead. Write them beside the door of your house and on your gates."

If this tugs at your heart and you're hoping for more information/direction, I highly encourage you to read "Raising Spiritual Children".  It's an excellent read and very encouraging regardless if you have children or not.


Thus Far

What a unique memory, our start at a new adventure, something that we will forever remember as different and exciting. I think this homeschooling journey may actually force me to write here a bit more... for fear of losing moments and stages that I normally wouldn't experience.

  That's been one out of many realizations I have had in the past two weeks. I am getting to know my kids even more because I am getting to know them at their most strained or most inspired states. It's been so encouraging!  Everett has such a quick wit, and while I've known that, it shines while he's learning which has been an unexpected blessing!  Carter has such a sense of peace when he is learning. There's not much teaching with him, it's as if he's reviewing everything he already knows up there in that mind of his.

These moments, among others I want to remember. I don't know what God has for us as far as the longevity of this journey is concerned, but I have every intention of documenting these moments of awareness and intimacy with my children.
We're only two weeks in, but I can now understand what they mean when they say, "It's so very difficult at times, but the rewards are worth it". I experienced that day one, then two, three, then four and so on. I feel like our days are filled with highs and lows.  

The highs, they're fulfilling. Exciting. Encouraging.

The lows, they're frustrating and it takes all of the discipline in my heart to fight against doubt and the spirit of comparison... I did let my mind go a few times and it was deadly.
I learned.  
And so here we are.
It's crazy busy. I have an incredible amount of respect for teachers now.  Incredible.
There is so much work to be done and needs to be tended to. 
I have never been so physically exhausted in my life! 
I am bouncing around the house all day.

See the picture below? I'm usually in the middle (and add one more on there from time to time). It gets hot in there. And I'm pretty sure those kids have no spacial awareness. And I fight the need to push out and be free nearly every 5 minutes. :)
But then we are done reading, and I send them out to "recess" and all I hear is them laughing together, helping each other, and entertaining one another.
Building the strongest of ties (and coming back covered in dirt).
Then my heart bursts with joy and gratefulness that He has asked me to do such a task. 

A few things.
These babies make things much louder. And more messy.
The other day, I was working with Carter on his hardest subject, completely oblivious to what was going on three feet away from me.
When we were done, I looked over to see that the twins had removed every single puzzle and board game from the drawers.  Pieces scattered everywhere.  Those are the things that can send one over.
I would love to say that I calmly laughed and made a game out of picking them up, but I didn't.

I've never failed so much in my life at being a mother.  But I've never succeeded as much either, and that's in a two week period. I joked with Jason the other night that their memories of me will be so bi-polar!

Regardless, I want to be honest (for myself and as an encouragement to others starting).  
Highs and lows. 

Scarlett, who has never shown interest in anything academic-related has suddenly wanted to be involved in everything. I've found myself making little lesson plans for her and giving her plenty of busy-work.  She's been memorizing Bible verses and poetry at the same level of Everett! Even the babies are catching on to the poetry. So fun. I'm not sure why we never made an effort to memorize before.
One thing that has really helped with the rhythm of our day is to have the week pre-planned for each kid.  This really gives you a good idea of what needs to be done and when.  It also gives the kids a visual so they can swap out subjects, rearrange their day or cram a few extra things in on one day so another day can be more based around adventure.

I've mentioned that I've been able to come under some amazing homeschooling moms.  They have all stressed the importance of organization for successful homeschooling. I couldn't agree more.  It gave me so much confidence before I even started, knowing what's expected of me and them. If you're looking for a tool to help with this, I recommend "The Planned Approach". This book was actually written by one of those helpful mothers I keep mentioning. :)

I've been pleased to learn that almost all of the curriculum I have chosen has fit our family and the boys' individual needs.  The only one we are struggling with is Writing With Ease for Carter.  It seems to be fine for Everett. The concept of narrating classic literature and dictating it has been difficult for him.  He gets a bit frustrated with what's required for him to understand and remember...so we're heading a little more "Charlotte Mason" and using books and passages I choose, rather than what's provided in the work book. I'm hoping once he understands the concepts and gets in a rhythm with dictating, that it won't be so difficult for him (to be honest, the passages they provide for a third grader are even difficult for me to dictate).

Aside from that portion, the boys are loving school!
I get a lot of hugs and words of affirmation from them both.
Of course it's difficult being home all the time, so we usually make our way out once a day, exploring ponds, orchards, rivers, or doing PE with our friends.  

I thought we would be wanting to finish school early so we have a free day, but truth is, it's kind of fun mixing it all up throughout the day.  Plus, we've been using the babies' nap as a great time to focus and enjoy work... per Everett's words the other day, "It's like a different house when those rascals are sleeping!!".