Skip to content

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters…

  • Home
  • Christian Living
  • Government / Society
  • Home and Family
  • Projects and Games
  • Brief Thoughts
  • Contact Us
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters…

The Liberty Letter – page 2

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Access the PDF version to print and share with those in your circle of influence. Thank you!

This entry was posted in Government on July 3, 2021 by admin.

Post navigation

← The Liberty Letter What Makes a Home a Haven? →

Categories

  • Welcome!
  • Christian Living
  • Government / Society
  • Home and Family
  • Projects and Games
  • Brief Thoughts
  • Contact Us

Proudly powered by WordPress
What's on Your Heart? (August 2023)

Our family was recently helping the in-laws clear out some things that have built up in their home over time. As I was going through boxes of belongings that we had brought home to sort through, I came across stacks of cards that have been sitting in drawers and filing cabinets for years. There were cards for various holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays as well as get well wishes, thank you’s, and a smattering of congratulations and cards just for “thinking of you.”. Many were store bought; some were handmade. Most included at least a brief note, and a large number had a letter enclosed. I spread some of them out on the table—selecting especially from those given within my husband’s immediate family when he was growing up—and took a photo because I wanted to remind us all that sharing our heart in words (whether written or spoken) is important. You might think very highly of someone, but if you never tell him so, he will likely never know. You might be praying for someone, but if you never mention it to her, she will go on feeling alone. Is there someone you know who could use a card or a letter this week? It only takes a few minutes to write a paragraph or two, choose an appropriate Scripture verse to copy, and address an envelope. Who knows—the recipient may value your words and your thoughtfulness so much that he or she keeps your missive for decades! Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” A few well-chosen words can capture an otherwise fleeting sentiment and greatly encourage the heart of a family member or friend. Even as I was just rereading this before publishing it, the Lord brought the name of a friend to mind whom I know could use a reminder that regardless of the fact that “everything” seems to be going wrong in the world, God is still very much in control. Time to take up a pen and follow my own advice!

 

p.s. Another nugget I found when sorting through boxes of papers was “A Parent’s Prayer.” It was originally written by Gary C. Meyers, founder of Highlights for Children magazine, and it had impacted my mother-in-law enough when she came across it that she had taken time to copy it out longhand on a sheet of school paper so to have a copy of her own. You can read it here. Whether we pray through this prayer, pray the Scriptures, or pray words that are entirely our own, let us be diligent in praying for our children, whether little or grown.

Copyright (c) 2023
Live Not by Lies (January 2021)

On a more serious note, we discovered a book last year that we think is well worth recommending – Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher. The first half of the book is challenging reading, focused largely on historical events abroad (and why we should care) as well as the rise of soft totalitarianism here; the second half is challenging in its own way but is full of practical advice for living in perilous times. Our country is not what it used to be – hasn’t been for a long time – and we need to be prepared to stand in the days to come. This book will give you a picture of how other families have survived and thrived through hard times and how you can be equipped to do the same.

 

Here are a few brief quotes to whet your appetite for this important work:


  • “The ordinary man may not be able to overturn the kingdom of lies, but he can at least say that he is not going to be its loyal subject.”

  • “You can destroy as much by failing to build as by actively wrecking.”

  • “[S]imply by staying sane when everyone else is mad, we may hope to convey the human heritage.”

  • “Christians should stop taking family life for granted, instead approaching it in a more thoughtful, disciplined way. We cannot simply live as all other families live, except that we go to church on Sunday.”

The title of Dreher’s book comes from an essay by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn of the same title. If you’re interested, you can find that here. Geoff Botkin walks through the letter in this recent episode from his series Stand Up and Lead.

Copyright (c) 2021
He Was My Grandfather; I Loved Him. (June 2022)


Image from the picture book They Were Strong and Good
by Robert Lawson, winner of the Caldecott medal in 1941

I was re-organizing and cleaning in the bedroom a week or so ago when I came across a small photo album of some pictures my grandmother had given me from when I was growing up. My husband and some of our children were there, helping, and we stopped to flip through the album. When I saw one particular photo of a few family members sitting at a kitchen table, I stopped and put my finger on Grampey and held the book out so everyone could see better.
“He was my grandfather,” I said. Then the memory of this man that I loved—the man that that little girl with pigtails sat looking up at adoringly and chattering away at—came flooding back. All I could get out was “I loved him.”
Thank you, Lord, for “strong and good” grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and mothers. They are imperfect (as are we), but they are beautiful in our eyes. You have blessed us with the presence of each of them, using them to work out Your purposes in our lives, and we love them.
“Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.” Proverbs 17:6
Copyright (c) 2022
Those Who Didn't Go Astray (December 2020)

Our family finished reading the book of Ezekiel together this morning in devotions.  Tucked away in the last chapter is a verse with an important concept that might easily be overlooked amongst all the temple measurements, land divisions, and worship directives included in Ezekiel’s final vision.  Chapter 48, verse 11 says, “It [the holy oblation] shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.”  Notice that God has reserved a special future blessing in the Millennial reign for the part of Israel that obeyed Him, that didn’t go astray when all the others went astray!
Because God is immutable in character, He is still the same God today.   I believe He is still looking for those who will obey Him in spite of what is going on around them, who will delight in the narrow path while the majority stumble blindly along the broad way.  I encouraged my children again this morning to be like the sons of Zadok so that God may someday say of them, “This blessing shall be for the sons and daughters of the Beals, who kept my charge, who went not astray when the children of America went astray.”
You can encourage your children, mothers, to approach the Scriptures this way.  It is the Living Word, and we can find out how to relate to our Heavenly Father, how to please Him, and how to walk after Him and think His thoughts after Him by reading both the Old Testament and the New with the expectation that He wants us to glean something from them.  God still looks for those who will serve Him faithfully, and He still wants to bless them!  Teach your children how to hear the voice of the Shepherd and how to follow Him only, so that your descendants may be among those who not only live in the safety of the will of God in their lifetimes but who may one day receive special commendation directly from their Heavenly Father both in the Millennial reign and beyond.
Copyright (c) 2020
Remember Ebed-melech? (June 2020)
Do your children know of a man named Ebed-melech in the Old Testament? If they don’t, they should. His story is an encouraging one! You will find him referenced in chapters 38 and 39 of Jeremiah. In the first half of chapter 38, you can read how Jeremiah gives a prophecy to King Zedekiah that his princes do not like, so the princes have Jeremiah thrown into the dungeon (a miry pit). But there is a man in the palace, a servant Ebed-melech, who learns what has happened to this godly prophet and who becomes very concerned. And he doesn’t just “feel bad” about how Jeremiah is getting treated, but he determines to do what he can to right the problem. Ebed-melech goes to the king to beg Jeremiah’s life. Because “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord” (Prov. 21:1), Zedekiah allows this servant to take thirty other men with him and bring up Jeremiah from the pit where he was likely to have starved to death.
Ebed-melech’s actions please the Lord. We see in the end of chapter 39 that because of Ebed-melech’s courage and compassion, he is singled out for a blessing in a time of great judgment. God is going to allow the Chaldeans (Babylon) to destroy Jerusalem, and the fearful Ebed-melech is told that he will be there to see it happen but that he will be delivered because He has demonstrated faith in God.
Isn’t that what any of us would want for our children? For them to be spared in the time of judgment and for God to have his hand of protection upon them specially? II Chron 16:9a says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” Encourage your children to have a perfect heart toward God, to not only believe in Him but to act on their faith as Ebel-melech did, so that when God is next looking for someone to bless, He will notice them!
Copyright (c) 2020
Accidental Homeschooling (March 2020)
If you know “accidental homeschoolers” who are struggling right now with what to do with their new and sudden responsibilities, be sure to encourage them! You’ve been walking this road longer than they have. Remember to look back and give them a hand to help them along. Many of the families who now find themselves homeschooling due to Covid-19 will send their children back to the schools, but for some this will be the beginning of a journey they otherwise never would have known that they wanted to take! Let’s pray that God turns the hearts of the fathers and mothers of the nation to Him during this time, and that many families discover they’re not “stuck at home” rather they’re “blessed at home.”
We also need to pray for one another that we not react in fear to all the bad news around us. Remember that the Lord is near to us; He hears us when we cry out to Him (so long as our hearts are pure before Him). Let us not be like the rebellious city in Zephaniah 3 that would not receive correction of the LORD, that would not obey Him or draw near unto Him. Let us instead give God reverence, obedience, and devotion (I’m preaching to myself as well) that we can be like Jerusalem restored in verse 17 of the same chapter, which says
“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.”
Copyright (c) 2020
Thanksgiving Thoughts (November 2019)

We want to challenge you to incorporate education into your Thanksgiving celebration. Please don’t let the day go by without reminding your children and grandchildren why we celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place.  Let’s make sure that in our homes at least it’s about more than turkey and football.  Our forefathers and mothers sacrificed so much to come here and give us the gift of religious liberty. What better time to share some Scripture, some history, some encouragement for the next generation to carry the torch than when everyone’s gathered around the dining room table?
 
If you are looking for something to share but aren’t sure where to begin, here are links to a few excellent selections: Five Kernels of Corn, The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789.


O praise the LORD, all ye nations:
praise him, all ye people.
For his merciful kindness is great toward us:
and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.
Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 117

Happy Thanksgiving!

Copyright (c) 2019
See also: So Liberty’s Dying…
Keeping the "CH" in Christmas

For a happy Christmas, prioritize these three things:
 

CHrist — “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.”  (Isaiah 9:6a)
Remember it’s His birthday.  Put Christ first in your heart and in your holiday plans.
CHildren — “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD.”  (Psalm 127:3a)
Spend more time with your children than money on them.  Worry more about making memories than piling up presents.
CHarity — “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD.”  (Proverbs 19:17a)
Look beyond your own walls.  See who needs a meal, a gift, a call, an invitation to join the festivities, encouragement.
Do what you can to meet the need, and pray for God to supply the rest.


Merry Christmas from Roots by the River!

Copyright (c) 2019
Encouragement for Dedicated Parents

Encouragement for Dedicated Parents

I see your perfect hearts toward Me;
  I see your tender love.
I’ve watched you guide your children in
  The path that leads above.

The hours, the days, the months, the years
  You pour into their souls
Are not in vain; still train them in
  The way they ought to go.

Your work shall be rewarded
  Though in sowing time you weep.
Weed and water; persevere.
  With great gladness you shall reap.

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”   Psalm 126:5-6


 

Copyright (c) 2019, from Poems of the Path
September 2019 Thoughts

As we begin the new homeschool year, we wanted to take the opportunity to encourage you with two important Scriptures.  The first is a good reminder for us as parents and the second for our children:
 
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:33
 
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. – II Timothy 2:15