Tea with Hezollah by Ted Dekker & Carl Medearis

After taking over a month off from book reviews, I am finally back in the saddle.  My first review of the year was Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis.

Tea with Hezbollah is the account of Dekker and Medearis' journey through the Middle East to explore the significance of Jesus' teaching regarding loving our enemies.  Their goal was to discover what the people Americans considered to be their greatest enemies think of Jesus' commandment to love our neighbors, as represented by the story of the Good Samaritan.

It seems an incredible journey, meeting with princes in Saudi Arabia, brothers of Osama bin Laden, representatives and leaders of Hezbollah and even Hamas, among others.  The idea of two Westerners, regardless of background or status, gaining an audience with such prominent members of Middle Eastern culture seems impossible.  Yet these two men accomplished the impossible and lived to tell quite the tale.

One thing I love about this book is that it communicates a few very important cultural tidbits about Arabs in general.  First of all, the hospitality.  Arabs are incredibly hospitable people.  Although it seems far-fetched to think that Americans could go in and sit down with those we consider to be at the forefront of terrorist activities, on an individual basis it makes perfect sense.  Sitting down to visit over tea is a favorite past-time in the Middle East, regardless of nationality.  In fact, my parents have sat down to tea or a friendly meal one day with someone who the day before had taken them to court! It is all "okay" and we can be friends right now even if we must stand as enemies tomorrow.  This is the Arab way, and although it may seem illogical to our western mindset, it is the epitome of hospitality to them.

Which leads to the second tidbit - mentally we as Americans process information very differently from Arabs.  As Dekker and Medearis progress through the interviews recorded in Tea with Hezbollah, they consistently ask for a favorite joke.  The interviewees share their jokes, causing all Arabs in the room to laugh uproariously - except for the authors themselves.  This shows more clearly than anything else, in my opinion, the difference in mindsets between Arabs and Americans.  We think differently.  We process differently.  And this plays a huge part not only in the individual differences between representatives of each culture, but also in the political incompatibilities.  I applaud the inclusion of such a question in the interviews!

Despite the fascinating story of this book, I had several issues with Tea with Hezbollah.  The story itself was very compelling.  It was a riveting read, from the historical tidbits to the personal interviews, from the harrowing tales of Medearis' past experiences in the Middle East to their current journey through dangerous territory.  From a literary perspective, this was a fascinating book.  But, I struggled with several perspectives as I read this book. 

First, Dekker and Medearis adopt a very loose view of Scripture.  In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is.  He responds that the greatest is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and that the second greatest is to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Then in Luke 10:24-37, we find the parable of the Good Samaritan based on these same two commandments.  Somehow Dekker and Medearis manage to wrest from these two passages that loving our enemies was Jesus' greatest commandment, and this is the basis for many of their interviews throughout the book. While I don't have a problem with asking Muslim leaders what they think about the parable of the Good Samaritan (and was quite interested in their responses), I do have a problem with misrepresenting the Word of God in such a way.

Secondly, I was a bit frustrated with Dekker's generalization of Christians.  I must qualify this by saying that I do understand the Middle Eastern view of the label "Christian."  In Jordan, for example, when a child is born, his religion is put on his birth certificate.  He is either Christian or Muslim, based on the religion of his family.  Of the "Christians" in the country, however, only a small percentage of them are truly believers in Jesus Christ, just as there are Muslims who do not consider themselves to be religious. Thanks to this religious grouping, many who are called Christian have no comprehension of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Many of the atrocities seen in the Middle East are actually the actions of "Christian" political groups.
  .Having explained this, it is easy to understand why there is a warped view of the label "Christian" in the Middle East.  Dekker, however, extended this to an overall generalization of Christians worldwide.  The greatest frustration with this generalization is not Dekker's attitude as much as the fact that throughout the book he was critical of the West's generalization of the Middle East and vice versa.  If we as individual Americans need to be willing to recognize the humanity and personality of individual Arab Muslims, and vice versa, then can the same courtesy not be offered to individual Christians?  There are Christians around the world - including the Middle East - who still do justice to the label "little Christ," but apart from one individual act of love, very little credit is given to those believers who truly give their all in the name of Jesus Christ.  Most credit is given to those who devote themselves to humanitarian causes, regardless of their religion.

It appeared to me that Medearis and Dekker desired to try to compel Americans as a whole to love Arab Muslims as a whole by reporting what those we consider to be our enemies think of the Good Samaritan.  The truth, however, is that loving our enemies is not a national or political act.  It is an individual act.  We as individual believers are expected to love our enemies, and even in recent months there have been numerous public examples of this love.  Having spent a decade of my growing-up years in the Middle East, I have seen my own parents show love and extend grace to those who have attempted to hurt them in one way or another.  I see the same thing from believers on an individual basis around world, regardless of cultural division.  This is how it is to be done - one on one, from Christ's followers to the world. 

My bottom-line review of this book would be that it is, indeed, a fascinating read and a riveting tale when read as the journey of two men through "enemy" territory. 

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. If you are interested in reviewing books for WaterBrook Multnomah, click here for more information.  To buy this book, click here.

The Right Hero

I've long been fascinated by a man named Gamaliel.

The Bible doesn't tell us much about Gamaliel, other than that he was Paul's teacher and that he stood up for the apostles when they were brought before the Council. Despite the scarcity of Scriptural reference to Gamaliel, we can discern a great deal about his character and wisdom from Acts 5:33-42. Go ahead – hold your mouse over the reference and read the story. I'll wait.

Isn't that powerful? This prominent Pharisee spoke a great truth that actually granted the apostles freedom to go preach some more. Yes, they were told not to, but they did it anyway. And, eventually it did cost most of them their lives. But, not this time. And it was all thanks to the wisdom of a man named Gamaliel. Or was it?

Reading this passage makes me want to hold Gamaliel up as a great man – a hero of the faith in the cause of the early church. The truth, though, is that there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other to show that he ever embraced Christianity. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Jews and Christians alike have their traditions regarding his faith, but no one has solid proof.

But, when it's all said and done, does it really matter? Is Gamaliel really the one we need to hold up in this situation? Or, could it be that we need to see Someone else's hand in the matter and give Him the glory?

Whether Gamaliel accepted the truth he defended in this situation or not, his wisdom was not truly what accomplished the freedom of the apostles. It was God's action through Gamaliel that accomplished this miracle. He still had more work for the apostles to do, and it was not His plan that the disciples face martyrdom quite yet. He just used Gamaliel to see His will fulfilled.

In this day and age, God still uses many people and circumstances to accomplish His purposes. As we observe His work, we need to be careful to give glory to the right Hero. Speak of God's accomplishments, not of the person's greatness.

Just like Gamaliel, our modern-day “heroes” are just tools. The real force is God Himself. That is where the glory belongs.

Mama's Boy

Some of you may have noticed something – both those of you who know us personally and those of you who have frequented this blog and our family blog. My son is a mama's boy. Big time.

Now that he's getting older (three and a half, at this point) we are, in many ways, fully immersed in the process of teaching him that other people can do things for him as well. At least he's progressed to the point where other people are acceptable, especially for social interaction. But, when there is a need, it's “I want Mommy” all the way.

As his mom, I can't do it all. I need help. I can't always be the one to dress him, cuddle him when he gets hurt, push his chair up to the table, or get his snack. Sometimes Daddy, or even big sisters, need to help with that. Although it's rare, sometimes Mommy needs to be gone, and my silly boy needs to be able to deal with other people meeting his needs.

From a human perspective, a mama's boy needs to be properly trained to be open to other people's involvement in his life. Not to remove the bond, mind you – I don't ever want to lose the love. But, he needs to learn to rely on and have solid relationships with others.

From a spiritual perspective, though, I think there might be a lot we can learn from mama's boys (and daddy's girls).

You see, when I look at this sweet boy and his complete reliance on me, I see a little bit of the relationship I should have with my heavenly Father. There are a lot of things and people my son likes to have around him for comfort and fellowship. He loves the days when his daddy's home. He can't stand to be separated from his beloved sisters. He wants his stuffed puppy and his little silkies. And, he always seems to have a pile of cars wherever he goes. Those are his little comforts and delights.

But, when it comes to needing love, the deepest levels of comfort, or a supply of needs, none of those other things or people work. On all levels, he has a need for Mommy.

What if I were to have that relationship with my heavenly Father? He has created me to need earthly relationships. That is obvious from the very beginning of His Word and is reinforced throughout. He has created me to crave those little comforts and delights. But my true and constant need should be for Him. For His continual presence near me. When I am lonely, I should go straight to Him before anyone else. When I need comfort, I should desire His. When I have need, who else can provide better?

I should want no other more than I long for Him. I should be a Daddy's girl to the extreme.

So, while I am going to be teaching Steven that there are other people who can help take care of him, I hope to teach him that, above all, he should be a Daddy's boy with more reliance on his heavenly Father than on anyone in this world, myself included.

All About Him

Acts 4:24-30 records a prayer prayed after Peter and John had been arrested, threatened, and then released. When I read this passage, I was in a stretch of life when God was really expanding my heart and mind's exposure to information about the persecuted church around the world. I have long been familiar with tales from the persecuted church, but it seemed as if I was hearing more and more about it – and still am.

Reading this passage forced me to stop and think yet again – how would I respond?

In this prayer, the believers are coming together and are lifting up their hearts, pleading to the Lord to glorify Himself through the persecution. But, what I find interesting is that they did not claim the persecution as being against themselves. They recognized that the persecution was against the Lord Jesus Christ, not the church.

Would I respond that way? Or would I respond by complaining at how horribly Iwas being treated?

The truth is that it's not about me. It's about the Lord. It's about the expansion of His kingdom. It's about the attack against Him.

I have never truly felt persecution. Some days I think that persecution would do us as a church much good, waking us up to the depths of serving the Lord. Whether it comes or not, every day we go through things in life that we feel are attacks against us and against our rights and freedom. My prayer is that I will begin, even with things as trivial as those, to grow to a point that realize nothing is an attack against me – it is an attack against Christ. May I no longer wallow in self-pity but instead be thankful that I am counted worthy of suffering for His sake and pour my whole being into turning making sure all I experience gives glory where it is due – to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Plan

There are several verses in Proverbs – Prov 16:9 being forefront in my mind at this moment – that deal with the idea of man making plans, but God being the One who truly puts everything into motion.

I generally consider myself to be in tune with this concept. After all, God's will is the best, whether it goes along with my plans or not! Besides, if I'm truly in tune with God, I'll make my plans according to His will anyway, right? So, that means things will typically go according to the plans I've laid out because I've laid them out with His guidance. I can live with that!

The problem is that even when we plan in accordance with His guidance, sometimes He still has things in store for us that don't line up with our well-laid plan. He doesn't always let us know what is coming and let us plan accordingly. Sometimes he wants to remind us that He's still in control, even when things don't go as we expect them to. And, to be honest, I don't always respond well to those situations.

Interestingly enough, it was not any circumstance of my own that got me thinking about this. It was, instead, a phone call.

The phone call came in the wee hours of the morning this morning – 12:05 to be exact. It was my mother saying she and my father were making the one hour drive from their house to the hospital where my brother and sister-in-law were also heading in preparation of welcoming their firstborn into the world.

Now, to truly understand the connection, let's back up a few days to last Saturday. We were all sitting around my parents' living room on Saturday afternoon just visiting. My parents had just arrived in the country the day before, taking some vacation time from the mission field to make sure to be here for the arrival of their newest grandchild. That, combined with the fact that the baby's due date was only two and a half weeks away, insisted that the conversation delightfully revolve around the baby's impending arrival.

As this is my brother and sister-in-law's first child, we were giving them little tips on what to expect. And as all good expectant parents, they had a plan. A good plan.

Then came the early morning phone call with the news that the baby had decided to make her appearance two weeks early without choosing first to turn and come out head first. Preparations were consequently being made for a c-section. And with that one hitch the plan was out the window.

As I lay awake after the phone call, I wondered how I would have responded. To be honest, I didn't have to wonder. I knew. I would have fussed, whined, cried, pouted, and generally been irritated with the whole situation. “This wasn't the plan! This wasn't what I wanted! I didn't even have time to mentally prepare for this!” Never mind the healthy baby – what about my plan!!

I have no idea what went through my sister-in-law's mind as she faced this unexpected hitch in her plan. All I know is that she and my brother welcomed a beautiful – and healthy – baby girl into the world a little over an hour after that first phone call. The path was not what they'd planned, but the results were everything they'd hoped for.

Sometimes things don't go according to my well-laid plan. But, they never go contrary to God's plan. He is never surprised, and nothing is ever out of His control. And the next time my plans go awry, I pray that I will remember this very truth and faithfully accept what God has in store. The results might not be a precious baby girl, but they will be just as beautiful because they are given directly from the hand of God!

Fulfillment

In last week's post about Acts 3:13, I mentioned that I firststalled on the first seven words of the verse. The rest of the verse was no less powerful!

First we see the combination of those first seven words with the following five words.

At first glance, these two phrases seem redundant. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the patriarchs of the entire Jewish nation. So, referring to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and as “the God of our fathers” should technically mean the same thing.

But, Peter is trying to make a point here. The people are looking upon Peter and John in utter amazement. They have just done something incredible by healing the lame beggar. So, there must be something very unique about them, right?

Peter points out which God he's talking about (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and then he ties himself and John to the people by stating that he, too, is descended from these great men. He and John are the same as the crowd – common Jewish men.

With the next phrase, Peter pulls Jesus into the picture. He connects Jesus to the fulfillment promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Suddenly Jesus is no longer just a fascinating teacher and prophet who has been recently crucified. Now He is the living, breathing fulfillment of what the Jews have been awaiting for generations!

But, then comes the final sentence in the verse. Peter has tied himself and John to the crowd by heritage. He has tied Jesus to the fulfillment of the promise given through the patriarchs. But, now he is reintroducing the idea of a uniqueness between the two apostles and the crowd. It is a uniqueness that ties the two of them to Jesus and leaves out the crowd. You see, the crowd crucified Jesus. He and John followed Jesus.

And there is the difference. There is the reason why Peter and John have the power to heal. That is why the people are standing in amazement, wondering how in the world men could have such power.

What follows in the next verses is a simple oration by Peter, explaining to the people that if they repent and accept that Jesus is the promised Messiah, then they, too, will be able to anticipate involvement in the wondrous works of the Holy Spirit.

Wow. In two simple sentences this uneducated fisherman wove together a picture of the need for repentance.

We sit back sometimes and wonder at the lives of great men and women of faith. We wonder what they have that we do not. We wonder why their lives seem so much more fruitful.

It doesn't take anything or anyone out of the ordinary or special to accomplish such things. It takes people who are willing to follow Jesus. Not just say a prayer and invite Him into our hearts, but truly follow Him. To those people He gives the power to do great things. To those people He gives the right words at the right time. Those people He uses.

So, the question comes to us. Who will we be? Will we stand around amazed at what we see? Or will we move through life expecting the great hand of God to work through us?

Satisfaction

I have long loved Psalm 90:14. Just mull over these beautiful words for a moment...

O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Does that not just make you want to sing simply by reading it? When I'm struggling – especially when it's 5:00 in the morning and I would really rather be curled up in bed than starting my day – I toss these words around in my mind and remind myself of His lovingkindness.

But, one morning recently, this verse was even more poignant than usual. Somehow the meaning of it just stood out more emphatically.

You see, last Wednesday morning, I was absolutely and utterly exhausted. We had already hit snooze and stayed in bed an hour longer than we should have, and it was still nigh unto impossible to get going. And then the Lord brought this verse back to my mind.

I began to think about my satisfaction. I felt unsatisfied with sleep. I hadn't had enough, apparently, and I felt as if I required much more to truly feel rested.

O satisfy us in the morning with your lovingkindness...

I was hungry and thought the only way I could get going was through a good breakfast.

O satisfy us in the morning with your lovingkindness...

I had a to-do list and felt that the only way to gain satisfaction for my day was to complete it.

O satisfy us in the morning with your lovingkindness...

...that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Wow. Yes, physically there are things that I need. That's life on this earth, and it will be that way until we meet our Savior for eternity. But, will meeting those physical needs ever truly satisfy?

Will more sleep satisfy if I haven't discovered how to find rest amid the chaos in the arms of my Savior?

Will food satisfy if I haven't nourished my soul with the Word of God?

Will checking off items on a to-do list satisfy if I haven't accomplished anything that matters for eternity?

O, Lord, please satisfy me today with me your lovingkindness that I may truly taste what real satisfaction is all about.

God's Long Vision

I absolutely love how there are no accidents in the wording of Scripture. God has an amazing way of working through His people to write His Word.

This truth is so beautifully expressed in Acts 3:13. Peter and John were on their way into the temple to pray when they were stopped by a lame beggar. Instead of giving him the money he requested, they, through the power of Jesus, gave him the ability to walk and earn his own money. The crowds are incredibly amazed, and Peter and John jump on that amazement as a chance to share the gospel with the people in the temple.

And so we reach verse 13. And, I must confessed that when I was reading Acts 3 recently, I got stuck for quite some time on verse 13.

I first stalled on “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Peter is showing something absolutely beautiful here. He is showing the very long vision of our amazing God. He is showing that it's not about one incident in a person's life – it's not even about that one person's life. It's about how everything works together in the accomplishment of His purposes.

You see, all three of these men had to wait for the fulfillment of something. And, even as they waited for their own fulfillment, they had no idea that the true fulfillment would actually come centuries after their deaths.

• Abraham was promised a land and the heritage of a great people. But, he had to wait until he was 100 years old to even give birth to a single heir. He never saw the great people that came from this one son. He never met Jesus face to face on this earth. He saw the partial fulfillment of the promise in his son Isaac, but the true fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham is still being lived out every time someone new is brought into the kingdom of God!

• Isaac was the only heir to God's promise to Abraham. Yet, at 40 Isaac was still unmarried. When he finally married Rebekah, it was another 20 years before she became pregnant and gave birth to twin boys. They both had to wait and wonder, and the waiting nearly drove Rebekah crazy! It was obvious that the fulfillment of God's promise had to come through Isaac and Rebekah, but I wonder how many times they thought for sure that they had been forgotten. Waiting. Much waiting.

• Jacob definitely knew about waiting. He waited seven years for his beloved Rachel, only to be given her sister Leah instead. He then worked seven more years for the right to be Rachel's husband. But, it's a later period of waiting that really broke this man's heart. I twas a waiting period in which he didn't even realize what he was waiting for. He thought he was waiting for death so he could be reunited with his beloved Joseph, Rachel's firstborn. In reality it was waiting to discover that Joseph was, in fact, alive and had been put in an amazing place of power to be the salvation of Jacob and the brothers who had betrayed him.

So, what do these stories have to do with the sermon Peter was preaching? They really have less to do with the waiting and more with the fulfillment. Peter's audience knew that the true fulfillment of these men's waiting – of the promise that had been made to them – was to be found in the Messiah. In seven words, using three names, Peter skillfully reminded his audience what they were waiting for. He reminded them that they were still hoping to see this promise fulfilled. And, he set them up to hear of the fulfillment – to hear that the Messiah had come, had been crucified, had risen again, and was now imparting His power to ordinary men like Peter and John.

Is that not absolutely beautiful? Is that not powerful? Is that not exciting?

And it gets even better. Just like these three patriarchs – and even like Peter and John - we are a part of God's long vision. We are awaiting the fulfillment of Christ's return, and in the meantime we are part of the grand plan to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth! What an exciting story we have!

Anytime we feel that our wait is interminable, may we be reminded of these seven words and have our faith restored. Our immediate fulfillment may seem delayed, but God has very long vision, and He is working on that vision even as we wait.

The Freshness of Something Old

Sunday morning I pulled a few items of clothing out of my closet and drawer that I hadn't worn in a while. Many of my tops have been unwearable for a while because of weight gain. Now that I've finally gotten the weight back off, though, it has taken me a little while to remind myself that I can wear those clothes again. When I remember, though, it is fun to pull out something old and have it feel like a completely new outfit.

It's like coming out of a long season, like our long southern summers, and being able to pull on that favorite jacket or pretty sweater that hasn't been seen in a while. There's something refreshing about bringing out something old that hasn't been seen in while and enjoying it as if it were new.

Do we ever think to do that with spiritual truths? Or even with familiar Bible stories? Think of some of the stories you loved as a child. When was the last time you just sat down and read the story in its entirety, just to relish the delight of it once again?

It is crucial to keep moving forward. Our lives depend on it! We cannot grow if we are not learning and trying new things. But, unlike clothes, the old spiritual truths of Scripture never wear out. In fact, the things we learned as children or as new believers are the foundation of what we know now. Without them, we would not be who we are today.

Sometimes we just might need to dig back into the depths of our knowledge and understanding and be refreshed by those things we learned long ago.

On Sunday morning I had a newer skirt to put together with a very old top and sweater. It gave the old a look it had never had before. In the same way, the maturity we have gained spiritually just might give us a fresh perspective on some foundational truth we learned long ago. There might be a freshness to something familiar that we never thought possible.

So, now and then I encourage you to look back. Look back at those favorite stories and passages. Look back at old sermon notes or journal entries. Look back at old prayer requests and praises. Think back to those things that were not recorded, but are stored in your heart and mind. It might surprise you what freshness you find simply by pulling out something old.

Update

I just posted a thankfulness post on the family blog, and one of the things listed was an update on how Upward practice went on Monday night.  Click here to check it out!  God is good! 

Challenging Learning

When I committed to learning visibly before my children, I really didn't expect the Lord to lay quite this big of a challenge in front of me.

The first Upward Sports ministry of Monticello, AR, is getting off the ground this week with a basketball league. And I have been asked to be a coach.

When I checked the little box that said I'd be willing to coach, I meant that I'd be willing to help. You see, I really don't like teaching children other than my own. Give me youth or college girls or a group of women. Give me administrative tasks, and even parents to interact with. But, please don't give me other people's children!

But, that's not even the worst of it. I've handled children before and we've all lived to tell the tale – many times happily. So, no, having to work with children is far from the worst part. The worst of it is that I know nothing about basketball. Okay, I take that back. I know enough to know which team has the ball, and I can keep up with the score. But, I know very little about the court, the rules, the players, or anything else. It's not that I don't enjoy basketball. I had fun going to games when I was in college, and I enjoy keeping up with the Razorbacks once football season is over. But, I really and truly know nothing about the structure of the game.

And yet, here I am – the coach of a KG-1^stgrade coed team.

I would be lying if I said I was excited about this challenge. On the contrary, I have been in tears of frustration about it. But, the Lord has reminded me of Philippians 4:4-7 and challenged me to rejoice and be thankful as I seek His help.

As I asked the Lord to show me ways to be thankful in this, He helped me realize what an awesome learning situation this truly is. It's one thing to teach something that I know well to someone else. It's quite another thing to teach something as I'm learning it. It's fresh. It's new. And I am fully aware of how difficult it is to learn.

I have the added blessing of being very uncoordinated. I have never been an athletic person. In fact, my father used to tease me by telling me that coordination strikes every ten seconds – and someday it would strike me! Now and then I am struck by the lightening of coordination, but it is definitely not something that comes naturally.

For all of my knowledge of basketball and coordination, I might as well be one of those five and six year olds, freshly learning the game.

Each week I'm going to be just ahead of those little ones. Every Monday night I will see my own struggles to learn a new concept mirrored in these children. My prayer is that the image will help me have insight into ways to teach these concepts. My prayer is that the image will give me patience as I teach these concepts. And, my prayer is that the image will allow me to connect with these children in ways I could never do were I trying to teach them from within my comfort zone.

I'm still not thrilled about the whole situation. I'm still concerned about my ability to coach a game in two weeks, much less two practices between now and then. But, the Lord is showing me very clearly that visible learning sometimes means showing my children that I am willing to learn something that is completely outside my comfort zone in order to accomplish a task He has set before me. And, I pray that they take that lesson with them with a willingness to accept their own challenging learning experiences.

Visible Learning

My kids are still at an age where they think I know a lot. Not everything, but a lot. I'm one of the ones they come to with their questions, and it still surprises them when I don't know.

Yep, they're still young.

I can remember how it felt at times, though. I wondered if I would ever know some of the stuff my mom knew. I struggled to learn in school and life, and she just seemed to have so much knowledge already! Even in those times I didn't want to acknowledge her wisdom, I definitely recognized her knowledge. It was a scary thing to become a mom myself and wonder how I would ever just know things.

But, I can look back over the years of parenting and realize that I have learned. I have definitely learned a lot.

And, so, my children see the things that I just “know” and marvel much as I did as a child.

I think I've mentioned before that my mother was always visibly learning. She was always taking a course or reading a book. To this day she loves to learn. But, it was obvious to me that she gained her knowledge because she truly worked for it. As I watched her, I wasn't sure I would want to put as much effort into continuing to learn as my mom did, but I was always proud of her knowledge.

My children are not as old as I was when I really started noticing my mother's learning. But, something happened the other day that made me realize it's not too early to start.

I have been lately convicted of the need to get back to Scripture memory. Not just the girls' school passages or the weekly Acteens verse, but personal and steady Scripture memory. So, the other day as I was standing at the kitchen counter assembling a chicken pot pie, I placed my little two-ring binder on the counter in front of me and began practicing a passage from Philippians.

Olivia was intrigued.

“ What are you learning that for, Mommy?” she asked curiously.

“ Just because,” I answered. I explained to her that I needed to memorize Scripture because it helped me to live it better. To my delight, she thought that was neat. And I was encouraged to be a visibly learning mom.

As I begin to make a conscious effort to visibly learn in front of my children, I pray I will be promoting a legacy of learning that they will adopt as parents some day.

After all, it's never too late to learn something new.