This is the Story of Christmas

When I was a child, all television programs were in black and white and there were only three networks—ABC, NBC, and CBS. While this arrangement did not make for particularly exciting television viewing, it made for simple television viewing.  Saturday nights gave viewers a choice of watching either Lawrence Welk or Gunsmoke, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons were devoted to televised sports on all three networks.

Holidays were devoted to the airing of the same shows every year that had been made to celebrate the particular holiday at hand. When I was very young—five or six years old—Christmas programming consisted of a number of re-enactments of the birth of Christ played back to back. Every year it was the same thirty-minute programs so that even as a child I was able to recognize the various productions from year to year.

Each of these programs consisted of a badly scripted and equally badly acted retelling of Mary and Joseph finding shelter in the stable and the wise men and shepherds paying tribute to the newborn king. However, none of them attempted to tell the viewer why this message is important to modern day humans or how it impacts on our lives.

Apparently, not much has changed. This year churches everywhere will hold Christmas pageants in which children will play the parts, and the retelling of the events chronicled in the Bible will be faithfully retold. All Christians love the story, and we will be glad to be reminded of how God sent Jesus to be born in the most humble of circumstances to live among us.

I wonder, however, what impact these pageants would have on those who have never heard the Gospel. Would they leave knowing why this message is important and how it impacts on their lives? My guess is that as beautiful as the story of the birth of Christ is, those who do not know Jesus would not understand that to appreciate what happened at the birth of Jesus we must understand why He came in the first place.

Therefore, I submit to anyone reading this who may not understand the why and how of the birth of Christ, this is the story of Christmas: God sent His son to earth to live among us so that we could know Him and love Him and accept Him as our Savior. If anyone comes to Jesus, He forgives him of his sins and gives him an abundant life here on earth and eternal life with God in Heaven. The Christmas spirit is the Holy Spirit who dwells in all who belong to Jesus, and He is with us every day.

This year as we share the story of Christ’s birth with our children, I hope that we will remember to tell them why He came and how His coming is relevant to our lives.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

Next

In Next, the 2007 movie starring Nicolas Cage and Jessica Biel, Cage plays a small-time Las Vegas magician whose ability to see two minutes into the future with absolute clarity, has enabled him to have a somewhat successful magic act and to supplement his income by using his psychic ability to win at the gambling tables.

When an FBI agent, played by Julianne Moore, becomes convinced that Cage actually can see into the future and that his act is not an “act” at all, the agency kidnaps him in order to force him to work with them to stop a group of terrorists from detonating a nuclear weapon on American soil.

Fortunately for Cage, while lying in bed one morning, he foresees these events and begins to mentally work out the various outcomes of a number of different actions that he might take. To his dismay he realizes that whatever option he selects, the outcome is the same—he is unable to prevent the bomb from being detonated, and his one true love, played by Jessica Biel, is killed in the explosion.

Cage finally realizes that the only way to save Biel is to leave her before the FBI takes him and tell her that he will meet her in a few weeks at a location known only to the two of them. Thus, he is able to save both his country and his true love from being blown to smithereens.

I saw Next in the movie theatre when it was released, and a couple of weeks ago, when I was channel surfing, it was again brought to my attention. As absurd as the premise is, I could not help thinking that we Americans now find ourselves in a very similar situation. As a nation we have made a series of bad choices that will result in disaster unless we can find a way to change our direction entirely. On the other hand, if we continue on our present path, no matter how hard we try to tweak the outcome, disaster is imminent.

Sadly, this country has embraced a godless, sinful world view that can end only in disaster. Whether we are governed by liberals or conservatives, unless those governing are men and women of God, they will make poor choices that will continue to break down the very fabric of our society. I am, therefore, petitioning each of you to join me in praying for revival for our nation and for the world.

I have been praying for revival since 1995, and during this time I have become focused on some specifics that I believe are key to a successful revival. Here are some of those points:

1.  Pray for what you want God to do. Do not limit your prayers because you think your requests are too big.
2. Pray for world-wide revival. It is not enough to have revival in our own city or our own state or even our own country. The world needs Jesus, and we need to pray for world-wide revival. As I pray, I ask Jesus to bring revival “to the United States, to all of North America, to all of Central and South America, to Europe, to Asia, to Africa, to Australia, to Antarctica, to the Arctic Circle, and to every island nation.” I pray that “there will not be even one square centimeter of land on earth where the Holy Spirit does not fall.
3. I pray that this will be the greatest revival that the world has seen, thus far, and that billions of people will be saved.
4.  I pray that those who sit in darkness will see a great light.
5. I pray that Islam will be pushed back for one-thousand years. When I first found myself praying this particular part, I felt intimidated, but then I realized that through Charles Martel prior to 800 A.D. and the Crusades a couple of hundred years later, that is exactly what happened. Why should we not expect it to be pushed back again?
6. I pray that we will see great revival in the Middle East where Christians are persecuted and killed for their faith. I pray that those people will be set free to preach the gospel and witness and worship openly.
7. I pray for revival in Israel. I pray that the Jewish nation will find Jesus and that millions of Jews will be saved.
8. Finally, I pray that God will allow me and my family to have our full part in bringing about this revival. I pray that we will be obedient to all that He has for us to do, and that we will bring many people to Jesus Christ.

Like the Nicolas Cage character, I have looked at the direction this nation is headed from every angle, and I am convinced that if we do not change paths, nothing is going to save us. A return to genuine Christian principles based on a relationship with Jesus Christ is our only hope. That return to Christ will happen only through genuine revival.

 

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

 

He Counts the Stars

He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great He is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited. (Psalms 147:4-5, LB)

What a beautiful, inspiring scripture. As we read these verses we can picture God standing in the blackness of the nighttime sky surrounded by white twinkling stars crowding around Him like sheep drawing close to their shepherd. As He calls each one by its pet name, each in turn gives Him its full attention. We see in these two verses a God who is not only loving and gentle but also powerful and all-knowing.

Yet, I believe that few of us ever take the time to really consider the full implication of these words. We know that there are a lot of stars, but just how many stars are there? No one knows, and because of the way that God designed the universe, no one will ever know, but that has not kept some of the best qualified scientists from guesstimating. I have, therefore, done some research so that I may share with you some of the best estimates from some of the most respected estimators on this subject.

Astronomer William Keel based his estimate of the number of stars in the universe on a formula by which he estimates the number of stars in the Milky Way and multiplies that number by the estimated number of galaxies in the universe.  Keel estimates the number of stars in the Milky Way at 400 billion but says that estimating the number of galaxies in the universe is a whole separate problem.

Other star estimators set the total of stars in the universe at 3 thousand million billion (3 followed by 16 zeroes).

I personally like what NASA has to say about the number of stars in the universe, “There are zillions of uncountable stars.”

Whatever the number of stars in the universe may be, we can be sure that it is so vast that we cannot comprehend it because it reaches so far beyond our human understanding. And that, I believe, is precisely the point. With one glance at His universe, God counts the stars. Whether that number is in the billions or the zillions makes no difference. He sees them all, and He has numbered each one.

Then, God calls each by its own pet name. We humans have trouble keeping our own children’s names straight. What parent has never stood staring at his child and called him by his sibling’s name? But not God. He knows each star by name, and He calls them to Him.

Yes, He is great, His power is absolute, and His understanding is unlimited! We can no more comprehend His power than we can calculate the number of stars in His heaven. Yet, we become afraid; we fear that He will not provide for us; we feel that we should not “bother” Him with our petty problems. We try everything else before we resort to prayer, as if petitioning our Heavenly Father is to be reserved for only the most hopeless situations. Our attitudes are often, “I’ve tried everything else. I may as well try praying.” Unfortunately, by the time we decide to pray we have often already conceded defeat.

We are coming to the close of a very difficult year for many Americans. Most of us believe that the new year will not bring a successful resolution to the problems that we face as a nation, as families, and as individuals. As a result, we are fearful of the future.

I encourage all of us as we go forward into this holiday season to remember that this mighty God who counts the stars and calls them all by name loved us so much that he stepped down from His throne to become flesh so that He could experience life the way we do. He was tempted in every way that we are tempted, and He suffered in every way that we suffer so that He could fully understand what it means to be human. When Jesus experienced temptation and suffering, He always responded the same way—He prayed. He never said, “I’m not going to bother God.” He prayed. And when He prayed, He knew that God would answer.

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. (You always hear me, of course, but I said it because of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.)” Then He shouted,” Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:41-43, LB)

Jesus set an example for us for all time. Part of that example was the way in which He entered into prayer. He always prayed about everything. And He always prayed knowing that God heard His prayers. He prayed aloud to teach us that the same God who counts the stars and calls them all by name, sees every detail of our lives and calls us by name so that we can enter into His presence and experience the peace and safety that only He can provide.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

Why I am Thankful this Year

This nation has just experienced what I consider to be the most disappointing presidential election of my lifetime. Millions of Christians probably agree with me because millions of us prayed and fasted and talked to everyone we knew about the importance of this election. We did everything we knew to do to make certain that our candidate was elected—and we lost. Yet, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I am aware that I have much for which to be thankful.

First, I am thankful that Christians are beginning to appreciate what a wonderful gift God has given us in allowing us to live in these United States. I remember a time when politics was considered a “dirty business” in which Christians should not involve themselves; as a result, Christians did not discuss politics or political issues. I am grateful that Christians now realize that it is both our privilege and our duty to involve ourselves in the political process and to make certain that men and women of integrity are elected.

 

Second, I am thankful that God’s ways are higher than our ways. Many of us, including me, prayed the verses from  II Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Most of us, including me, thought that God would allow us to win the election and that things would begin to get better. In light of the events of November 6, however, I now believe that God is doing something far greater than we had envisioned. I am seeing post-election Christians stand up and say, “Enough! We want our country back, and we won’t stop working until we get it!” God does not want to slap a Band-Aid on our land—He wants to heal it.

 

Third, I am thankful that God is always faithful. He admonished us to humble ourselves, to pray, to seek His face, and to turn from our wicked ways—and we did. We spent hours on our knees praying for ourselves, our neighbors, and our nation, and we can be absolutely certain that He has heard those prayers and that He will keep His promise.

Fourth, I am thankful that other Christians continue to join me in praying for our nation. I pray several times a day that God will heal our land and help this nation become the nation that He created it to be and that He will bless Israel so that they can live in quietness and peace. Twitter and Facebook attest to the many others who are holding this nation up before God in their daily prayers. We are praying for healing and revival that will cover the earth.

Fifth, I am thankful that God has a plan for this nation and His people that is far greater than anything we could ever envision for ourselves.

As we approach Thanksgiving I hope that all of us will remember to thank God not only for what He has already done for us but also for what He is now doing for us and what He will do for us in the days to come.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

What the World Needs Now

I was eighteen years old on February 7, 1964, when the Beatles first landed on American soil. Although I had seen a small photo of them in my husband’s copy of Newsweek and had been stunned by their “long” hair, I knew almost nothing about them. I do clearly remember the horror and embarrassment I felt when I saw the photo, however. Although their hair would not be considered long by any fashion standards from that day forward, in 1964 they appeared to me to look like cave men.

However, the “British Invasion” into this country brought much more than long hair. It brought with it a drug culture from which we as a nation have never recovered. I am not really blaming the Beatles; if they had not introduced America’s youth to drugs someone else would have, but when recreational drugs became part of our culture, everything changed.

Unfortunately, both medical doctors and psychiatrists extolled the virtues of marijuana, LSD, and various other mind-altering drugs. Fortunately for me, I always believed that drugs were horribly dangerous and that they would destroy anyone who sampled them even once. Thus, I was spared the consequences of taking drugs that millions of other people my age experienced.

It is interesting to note, however, that in the 1960s drugs were promoted as the way to “find God.” Many respected individuals, including Timothy Leary, constantly told young people that if they would take LSD, they would experience God. Psychiatrists regularly gave it to their patients—it is public knowledge that Cary Grant was regularly given LSD by his psychiatrist. And it is said that two of the Beatles, John Lennon and George Harrison, were introduced to LSD when their dentist gave it to them while they were having dinner with him. In fact, there were no warnings that drug use could be anything other than a mind-expanding experience that would help the user understand himself and his world while experiencing God on a level that a sober person could never know; anyone who refused to even try LSD was considered “square.”

After a few years America’s youth realized that they would not find God in drugs, and they stopped looking for Him there. Many began dabbling in the occult, and quite a number found Satan, but it became common knowledge that God would not reveal Himself to someone who was smoking a joint or tripping on LSD. Unfortunately, that knowledge did not diminish drug usage; it simply altered the users’ goals.

But, something happened to those young people who had been sincerely looking for God; that something was the “Jesus Movement”. Those who had been honestly seeking Him continued to search. They did not want the formality and dry services offered by the denominational churches. They wanted to cry out to God from their innermost beings, and they wanted Him to answer. Their hair was long (really long) and the girls dressed in sandals and long flowing dresses; the boys dressed in sandals  and loose fitting shirts with long flowing sleeves.  Their appearances made their parents cringe, but under all that hair and flowing fabric were hearts that cried out to know God. And God answered that cry.

In the late sixties and early seventies the Jesus Movement exploded. Services were held in which hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of young people gathered to pray and sing and worship. There were some abuses, of course, but the Holy Spirit began to fall, and people who had never known God began to find Him.

Today those people are known as the Baby Boomers. We are the Evangelical Christians who pray for our children and our neighbors and our country, but we are getting old. We must soon pass the torch, but this generation is not prepared to take it. There are, of course, many young people who are genuine Christians, but the fire that came with the Jesus Movement has been all but extinguished. If we are to survive as a Christian nation, we must experience a resurgence of faith that only comes when the Holy Spirit falls.

For the past seventeen years—since 1995—I have been praying for a revival in this nation that will spread across the world. I now pray daily for a revival that will spread like “a raging fire” across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica, and to every island nation. I pray that there will not be one centimeter of earth where the Holy Spirit will not fall and call people to turn to Jesus and be saved. I pray for the Christians who live in countries where they are persecuted for their faith that they will be free to worship Jesus and preach the gospel. I pray that those who are not even seeking Him will find Him. I pray that those who sit in darkness will see a great light and that the name of Jesus will be praised and honored across the globe. I pray that God will send the greatest revival that the world has known to this date. I pray all of these things because I know that no matter what happens politically or economically, unless we turn to Jesus Christ as The Answer to our problems, we are doomed.

Today I ask you to join me in praying for a world-wide revival. Please set aside a time each day when you pray with all your heart. There is no greater purpose that you can have, there is no greater gift that you can give, there is no higher calling that you can receive than to pray that the world will turn to Jesus Christ and be healed of the sin that is destroying billions of lives. For it is only through finding a relationship with Jesus that this generation of young people will be prepared to carry the work forward to the next generation.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and  in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

We're All Tired

I have voted in every presidential election for the past forty-six years, but I have never been as involved, as concerned, or as exhausted as I am this year. I have written about the importance of this election, not only for this generation but for all generations to come. I have prayed numerous times each day, and I have fasted until I feel drained. Frankly, I am ready for this to be over.

Monday night after the final debate I felt an enormous sense of relief. I wanted to shout, “It’s over!” and forget about the election until I go to vote on November 6. I suspect that a huge number of Americans feel as I do and are ready to put their feet up and relax a little. However, whenever I am tempted to slow down, I remind myself that now is not the time to quit.

I am reminded of a story I heard many years ago about a young woman who wanted to swim the English Channel. She prepared herself in every possible way. She practiced until she was in optimum physical condition. She ate a restricted diet which was designed to prepare her for the ordeal. And when the day came for her to attempt the swim, she covered her body in heavy grease to protect her against the cold water.

Since the shortest distance across the English Channel is 21 miles, she had carefully mapped the route to make certain that she followed it exactly. A boat followed alongside her as she swam so that if she encountered trouble her trainer could rescue her. In addition, he furnished her with liquids to keep her hydrated. At first, everything went well, but after many hours of enduring the hardships of such a swim, even though she had completed twenty miles of the twenty-one mile course, the woman called to her trainer, “I am exhausted. I can’t finish.”

“Yes, you can,” he called back. “You can make it. Don’t stop now!”

“No,” the young woman persisted. “I can’t. If I go on, I’ll drown.”  And against the advice of her trainer, she turned around and swam back to the point where she had started!

We have only thirteen days to go before we cross the finish line. If we stop now, we will, in effect, be turning around and swimming back to our starting point. We are tired, but this is not the time to slow down. We have worked far too hard to stop short of our goal.

As we come into this final stretch, I want to encourage you to continue to do everything you can to make certain that we take our country back, and I want to remind everyone of what Paul says: So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs, and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those who follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves, but become strong. (Hebrews 12:12)

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her newest novel, The Chosen, is available on Kindle and  in paperback. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net  or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

When Power and Force Collide

When I was twenty years old, I went to work for a large insurance company that was in the process of opening a branch in El Paso, Texas. Our branch dealt only with companies that purchased health insurance for their employees, and our offices were located in a large bank building in the downtown area that housed attorneys, accountants, and other professionals.

One day shortly after I began my job, I ran into a girl in the hall who had been my “best friend” in high school and discovered that she had just been hired to work at the accounting firm in the offices next door. We had both left the El Paso area for a brief time and had lost touch for several years, but we were delighted to find that we were going to be working right next door to one another. We would have an opportunity to see each other every day and have lunch together most days. Our friendship was instantly renewed.

Although Judy was the same age as I, she had already gone through a divorce and had returned to El Paso with her infant son and moved in with her parents. She seemed happy enough, but she was reluctant to talk about her life in California or her ex-husband. Occasionally, she made reference to something that seemed odd, but I thought that I should not ask too many questions. I would just try to be a good friend and set a good example.

Several months after we had been reunited, Judy came into my office at a time when she knew my boss was out and began to talk to me. She asked me whether I had seen the movie Bell, Book and Candle. I told her that I had not. She then asked me whether I knew what it was about. I told her that I thought it was about witchcraft. She then said, “When I was in California, I got involved with all sorts of things just like Bell, Book and Candle, and I can put spells on people. I can put a spell on you.”

 “No you can’t,” I replied. “I’m a Christian. No one can put a spell on a Christian.”

We had an exchange that continued for several minutes with her asserting that she could put a spell on me and me countering that no one can put a spell on me because I am a Christian.

I was not at all upset or frightened and thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but every time I claimed that my relationship with Jesus Christ protected me from any attempt to put a “spell” on me Judy became increasingly agitated.

Finally, she turned on her heel and walked out of my office. She never spoke to me again.

I am writing this blog to remind Christians that we should never allow Satan to scare us, and, in fact, if we stand our ground, we frequently find that we have scared him. We belong to Jesus Christ, and the only power that the devil has over us is the power we choose to give him. The devil uses force, but he has no power. All power belongs to God and to Jesus, and God’s power is unlimited. He created everything there is in heaven and on earth. He has the power to protect us and to help us in every situation. There is nothing that is too hard for God because His power can both destroy and create.

The devil, on the other hand, is very limited. He cannot create anything. He likes to destroy things—especially people’s lives—but he has never created one single thing because force cannot create. Lots of things have force: floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, but they are only able to destroy. Tornadoes have destroyed many towns, but you will never hear of one passing by and creating a town. Pretty much everyone is aware of the devastation that the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius left behind, but no one has ever reported a volcanic eruption that left behind a lush orchard or a field of wildflowers. Each year as hurricane season approaches, the coastal regions begin to prepare for the havoc that will surely result if one reaches land, but no one ever says, “I’m not worried because I think this year the hurricanes will repair all the buildings that need renovation. Some hurricanes in the past have done a lot of damage, but this year the hurricanes are going to bring restoration and prosperity.” No one ever says that because everyone knows that enormous force often destroys, but it never creates. Yes, the earth is filled with destructive forces, but those forces are nothing compared to God’s power.

Many Christians believe that the upcoming presidential election is the most important election of our lifetimes, and I agree. I have prayed, and fasted, and blogged, and written books dealing with the consequences of a second Obama term. I have talked to many people and done everything I can to affect the outcome, but, in the end, this is in God’s hands.

I will do everything that I can think of to ensure a Romney win in November, but I am not going to allow myself to be frightened or discouraged because I know that as long as we have the power of God’s Holy Spirit in us, the devil can never defeat us, and we never need to fear him. God has called us to take a stand against the forces of Satan. I have taken my stand to preserve liberty, and freedom, and one nation under God; take yours. And while you are standing, remember this: Whenever power and force collide, power always wins the fight.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her newest novel, The Chosen, is available on Kindle and  in paperback. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

Brother, Can You Spare a Minute?

The 1930s gave us a decade of the worst depression this country has ever experienced. Most of us are too young to remember The Great Depression, but all of us have heard stories about the joblessness, the homelessness, and the soup lines that defined that period of American history. Middle-class families were suddenly plunged into poverty and were destined to roam the country looking for work.

During the 1930s, the song Brother, Can you Spare a Dime? became an instant hit because it highlighted the plight of the middle-class American who begged on the streets in order to put a little food into his stomach. The newly created class of Hobos hopped off trains and knocked on people’s kitchen doors asking for whatever the housewife could spare. Even then a dime wasn’t much, but for those in need it just might make the difference between starvation and survival.

Eighty years later we find ourselves living in the twenty-first century version of the great depression. Americans are losing their jobs, their homes, and their futures at a rate that far exceeds anything we would have imagined only five years ago. In the 2012 remake, the soup lines are gone and families who have lost their homes and jobs are not begging on the streets; they are barely scraping by on a government issued check, but like their 1930s counterparts, they have little hope for the future.

However, the pleas for money have not disappeared. In the 2012 remake virtually all Americans who have access to a telephone, the Internet, or the U.S. mails are inundated daily with requests for money. We are told that if we can get ten dollars to some organization or another within the next 24 hours, they can stop a certain piece of legislation from being passed, or they can get a particular political candidate elected or defeated, as the case may be. The trick is that the money must be delivered in a specific minimum amount (of course, more is always better, but the minimum will do) and it must be delivered within a specific short period of time.

Today, I join the ranks of those who are asking Americans to give so that our country can be saved. However, I am not asking you to give money to turn this country around. My question is this: Brother, can you spare a minute? If you are willing to donate a minute to save our nation, here is how your minute will be used:

Your minute will be bundled with the minutes of tens of thousands of other Americans who have become a part of the If My People, 2012 call to action that is taking place right now and will continue through the election on November 6. However, please do not send your minute to me—do not even send your minute to Joel Rosenberg, who is one of the organizers of the event. Send your minute directly to God. Here is the way it works:

Many thousands of Americans are setting aside one minute every evening from now through the election to pray for our country as instructed in II Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and search for me, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear them from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.

The event calls for us to set aside one minute every evening so that we will all be praying at exactly the same time. Those on Eastern Standard Time pray at 9:00 P.M., those on Central Standard Time pray at 8:00 P.M., those on Mountain Standard Time pray at 7:00 P.M., and those on Pacific Standard Time pray at 6:00 P.M.  We are to ask God to forgive our sins both individually and as a country, to ask Him to heal our land, and to ask Him to send revival to our nation. We are also to pray for the upcoming election. This idea is so simple that everyone can take part. Even a child as young as three years old can put his little hands together and ask God to heal our land.

I hope that you and your family will join us in this effort. I believe that it is a great privilege to live in a nation where we can participate in events such as this one, and I am honored to be able to send my minute bundled together with those countless other minutes so that our land can be healed.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her newest novel, The Chosen, is available on Kindle and  in paperback. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

 

Be Careful What You Pray For

Christians know that the Bible tells us to pray for our leaders: Pray…for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for He longs for all to be saved… I Timothy 2:2-4.

Clearly, God wants everyone to be saved, and it is always right and good to pray for salvation for everyone. I cringe, however, when I hear Christians pray for God to bless ungodly leaders. When people are being blessed, they almost never change their lives or their actions. Do we really want the ungodly to continue in positions where they rule over us and continue to do those things that dishonor God and bring us suffering?

The United States of America is the most unique country in the history of the world. God has given us a form of government that is superior to any other, and our Constitution guarantees us many rights so that we can live without fear of falling victim to various practices that are common among governments of other countries. Part of the uniqueness of this country is that we were among the first that allowed its ordinary citizens to elect those who govern us. We have never been subject to a king who recognizes no authority other than his own. From the beginning we have elected our leaders. This is a privilege that carries with it great responsibility, but when it is done right, the results are that we are able to live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the lord.

Psalms 125:2-5 says, Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects His people. For the wicked shall not rule the godly, lest the godly be forced to do wrong. O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are right with the Lord…. And let Israel have quietness and peace.

This sounds harsh to our politically correct ears, but we can learn much about how to pray for our leaders by reading God’s Word. It is true that when the wicked rule the godly, the result is that the godly are treated brutally. Certainly, we have the current examples of Christians being imprisoned in middle-eastern countries solely because they are Christians. They are tortured and, sometimes, executed simply because they refuse to deny Christ. It is not God’s will for His people to be subject to His enemies because in those circumstances the godly are often forced to make the choice of whether to suffer and even die for their faith or to do wrong. 

When praying for our leaders remember these points:

• First, we live in a country where it is both our duty and our privilege to vote. Therefore, even as we pray, we must make a commitment to vote for the best candidates. Sometimes voting for the best candidates is as simple as voting against candidates who have proven themselves to be the wrong choices.
• Second, we must pray that God will remove from office all of those who do not honor Him and govern according to His precepts.
• Third, we must pray that God will give us men and women who will do exactly what he has put them in office to do and that He will give them wisdom and good judgment.
• Fourth, we must pray that our nation will return to God and become the country that He created us to be.
• Fifth, we must pray that we will be able to live in quietness and peace.
• Sixth, we must pray that God will grant quietness and peace to Israel.

We have only a few more days until the election. I hope that all of you will join me in praying daily for our nation and for our leaders so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord.

Read Joyce's new novel The Chosen free on Kindle October 3rd through October 7th.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother Her newest novel, The Chosen, is available on Kindle and  will be available in paperback October 1. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup

Fighting on your Knees

I was part of the “Jesus Movement” that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Most of those involved were hippies who were looking for spiritual answers in a material world. As an ultra-conservative young married who never even once experimented with drugs or Eastern philosophies, I was part of the very small minority of those non-hippie young people who were also looking for real answers to life’s real problems.

During the forty plus years that have passed since I first witnessed hundreds of people standing in churches singing choruses with their hands raised, I have seen many changes in the Evangelical Christian community. However, some things never change, and it is one of those constants that I want to discuss this week.

Every few years our country is put in jeopardy of not surviving as a free nation. Communism and Socialism seem always to be assaulting the gates, prepared to destroy Christianity, liberty, and justice in the United States of America. Since 2008 we have seen a tremendous escalation in anti-Christian, anti-American attacks, and, sadly, most of them come from our own government officials. As a result, we are once again faced with the dilemma of what we as ordinary citizens can do to win back our country.

Since 1960 every time we have found ourselves in a similar situation the go-to solution that has been embraced by the majority of Christians is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

A few weeks prior to the 2008 election the people in my church met to pray for the nation and the up-coming election. There appeared to be a consensus among those who attended that, perhaps, it was already too late; perhaps, there were not enough Christians, or at least not enough Christians who cared whether the United States would continue as a free nation; perhaps, because of America’s sins, God’s help was no longer an option. These were people of faith, but they were disheartened and discouraged, and they were finding it difficult to believe God’s promises.

I am glad that we serve a God who says of himself, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) The first thing we need to remember is that God does not need us; we need Him! He never depends on our having big enough numbers or good enough weapons. When he spoke to Solomon at the dedication of the temple he said, if my people, which are called by my name –that is you and me, and I believe that if it were only you and me, that would be enough. God did not say, “if enough people which are called by my name”. He said that if His people, the Christians, will pray and seek Him and turn from sin He will (not maybe—will) hear from heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land. What a promise!

During the past few months as I have prayed and fasted, I have become more and more aware of the sins of this nation. We Christians have stood against evil, but we have not stood against it nearly to the extent that we should have. We have not prayed for our nation nearly as fervently as we should have. We have fallen short. So what do we do?

First, we must get serious about prayer. We need to clean our own houses. The Bible says that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We need to start acting as if we believe that. Admit that we as individuals have fallen short of God’s perfect will for us, and ask for His forgiveness.

Second, we must turn from our wicked ways. We must become zealous about getting the sin out of our own lives. We must examine ourselves honestly and openly and confess our sins to God and ask for both forgiveness and deliverance. He will help us overcome all those things that are currently overcoming us. He will help us break free from the bondage in which sin holds us.

Third, we must pray for our nation. Pray for men and women of God who will lead this country into righteousness. Pray for men and women who will be obedient and do the things that God has put them there to do. Pray that God will send us leaders like Daniel who will make no mistakes because they are continually seeking Him and being led by Him.

Fourth, we must stop believing that we know more than God does about who can lead this country at this time. Most of us have spent a LOT of time praying for the right candidate to run against the current president. God has given us a man who has stood up to the most stringent examination from those opposing him and has emerged unscathed. We need to get behind him and tell others to support him.

Finally, we must vote. That is both our duty and our privilege as Americans. We have allowed godless men and women to rule this land for far too long. On November 6 we will have an opportunity to clean house—to clean three houses, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the White House. We need to make sure that we do so. Staying home is not an option. We do not have to agree with a candidate’s theology to appreciate that he is a man of good character who supports Israel and agrees with us on many core issues.

We are currently in a battle for the future of Christianity in the United States of America. We have sinned and fallen short, but God has told us exactly what we need to do to turn things around so that our land can be healed. Healed—not put on life supports—healed!

We are engaged in what may prove to be the most important battle of our lives, and we must win it. God has given us everything we need to ensure victory, but if we are to be victorious, we must fight this battle on our knees.

Read Joyce's new novel The Chosen free on Kindle October 3rd through October 8th.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother Her newest novel, The Chosen, is available on Kindle and  will be available in paperback October 1. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup

Celebrate Recovery

In the fall of 2011 a friend shared with me a dream she had in which she saw a young man standing next to a crushed motorcycle. As she looked at him, he began to fade, and she realized that unless God saved him, he would die. This dream served as my inspiration for The Warrior. As I developed the character of James Goodwin, the young man in the dream, I knew that he needed a lot of motivation if he were to give his life to Christ.

As I began to consider how James would break free from his personal demons, I naturally, turned for inspiration to the Celebrate Recovery (CR) program in my church that has helped so many people overcome the addictions and personal problems that were destroying their lives. As the story began to unfold, I incorporated Celebrate Recovery into the lives and personal testimonies of four of my characters.

Celebrate Recovery was begun in 1991 by John Baker, a pastor at Saddleback Church where Rick Warren is the senior pastor. Baker modeled Celebrate Recovery after the twelve-step recovery program that Alcoholics Anonymous developed, but it’s not affiliated with AA. Celebrate Recovery deals with every sort of addiction including alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, overeating, shopping, and hoarding. The purpose is to help people break free of their “hurts, hang-ups, and habits.”

“CR is based on the eight principles of the Beatitudes—also known as the Sermon on the Mount—found in Matthew 5:3-10. These are as follows:

First, I realize that I am not God. I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong things.

Second, I earnestly believe that God exists and that I matter to Him. I believe that He has the power to help me recover.

Third, I consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Jesus Christ’s care and control.

Fourth, I openly examine and confess my faults to God, to myself, and to someone I trust.

Fifth, I voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life, and I ask Him to remove my character defects.

Sixth, I evaluate all my relationships. I forgive all those who have hurt me, and I make amends for harm I’ve done to others—except when to do so would harm them or others.

Seventh, I reserve a time with God each day for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer.

Eighth, I yield myself to God to be used to bring His Good News to others, both by my example and my words.

While The Warrior is a fictional work, Celebrate Recovery is a real program available to churches everywhere. The testimonies in the book are inspired by real testimonies from real people who have completed the Celebrate Recovery program and broken free from the hurts, hang-ups, and habits that were separating them from the love of Jesus Christ and destroying their lives.

Download The Warrior Free from September 12th through September 16.
 

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother Her newest novel, The Warrior, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup
 

Back to School with Preschoolers--Discipline for Children

Today we finish Joyce's popular series on homeschooling with preschoolers in the house with the final post from the series: Discipline for Children.

Webster defines discipline as, “training that is expected to produce a specified character or pattern of behavior, especially that which is expected to produce moral or mental improvement.” Using that definition, this week’s blog discusses training for children that will last a lifetime.

The Bible promises us that if we will “train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) That should be the goal of all parents—to train their children so that when they are adults they will continue to live their lives in a manner that glorifies God and is an asset to society.  Training, however, is multifaceted and takes a great deal of time on the part of the parents. Last week we discussed training for babies; this week we will discuss training for older children.

Children should be assigned household chores as early as age two. They need to learn that they have a job for which they alone are responsible. At our house a child’s first “job” was picking up his toys. I always insisted that they put their toys away every time they finished playing with them. That usually involved picking up toys four or five times a day, but I taught them that picking up the toys was their responsibility. At first it was necessary for me to supervise them. I would point to each toy and tell them to pick up that toy and put it in the toy box.  That was a very time-consuming process, and I had so many things to do that I felt I could not afford to stand pointing at toys while they put them away. After all, I could have done it in a fraction of the time. However, I forced myself to go through this process every time the toys needed to be picked up. Fortunately, the day finally came when I could simply tell them to pick up their toys, and they would do it. After a few years, I did not have to tell them to pick up the toys; they knew that it was their job, and they did it. But, as in most things, the key was consistency. If I had picked up their toys part of the time, they would never have picked up their own toys. They would have learned that if you wait, Mom will pick up the toys.

I believe that the reason training is so often neglected is that it takes so much effort on the parent’s part. Most of us are not willing to spend hours teaching a child to do something that, in the first place, they do not want to do, and, in the second place, we can do much faster and more efficiently than they.

As the children grew older and could take on more responsibility, I gave permanent job assignments for household chores. The training process for each chore took a considerable amount of time, but because a child kept his job assignment for several years, he learned to do it quickly and well. I did, however, try to respect a child’s personal feelings about a particular job. If a child were genuinely opposed to his job, I would listen to his reasons for wanting a different job assignment, and it I thought his argument had merit, I would make the change.

At our house we had rules about almost everything. We had daily Bible reading and prayer where everyone was required to be present. The older children often read their Bibles on their own, but they were required to also attend the family Bible readings. Everyone was also required to memorize scripture each week. I kept this requirement fairly simple, and we all memorized the same verses which had to be recited word perfect by the end of the week. Television viewing was strictly monitored in terms of language and content, and everyone was required to keep the rules, regardless of age.

Although I required a great deal from my children, I always adhered to the same rules that I set for them.  I memorized the scriptures and had one of the older children quiz me on my recitation. I followed the same guidelines that I set for them in terms of television and movie viewing, and I never slacked on my household chores.

I believe that if we are to succeed as parents, we must lead by example. Our children are always watching us, and if they see that we are only giving lip service to the rules we have established for them, they will not feel obligated to adhere to them either. If we want our children to learn to live the kind of disciplined lives that will not only make them a blessing to us and to society but will bring them into obedience to God and result in their salvation, we must be willing to provide an example in our own lives which will point the way to their salvation. And that is what training a child in the way he should go is all about.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother Her newest novel, The Warrior, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup

Back to School with Preschoolers--Discipline for Babies

We are continuing reposting Joyce's popular series on homeschooling with preschoolers.  Today: Discipline for Babies
When we hear the word “discipline,” most of us think of spanking, grounding, sending a child to its room, withholding a privilege or some such similar action. Yet, none of these is discipline. They are all important because they are part of the punishment phase of discipline, but in and of themselves they are not discipline.

If these things that we have always imagined to be discipline are actually only punishment, what is discipline? Webster defines discipline as “training that is expected to produce a specified character or pattern of behavior, especially that which is expected to produce moral or mental improvement.”  If we accept this definition, we must conclude that if we want our children to become disciplined adults, we must concentrate on training them.

God has promised us that if we “train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) That promise provides a powerful incentive to train our children, but if we are to be successful, we must be willing to devote a good deal of our time and energy to the training process.

I believe that the most effective training is a two-part process that involves both physical and spiritual discipline. If either is neglected, children will lack some important elements that contribute to the well-disciplined life. I also believe that the training that produces a disciplined individual should begin early—preferably at birth. Therefore, in this blog I am focusing on discipline for babies.

Beginning with the birth of my first child I tried to provide a predictable routine that would help them thrive, both physically and spiritually. Thus, training began for our children the day that they came home from the hospital. Every evening I bathed them, changed their diapers, and nursed them. And promptly at 7:00 p.m. I put them in their cribs. Sometimes they fell asleep while they were nursing so that they were already asleep when I put them down, but if they were still awake after eating, I put them to bed anyway. I did, of course, get up in the night to nurse them, and I spent a considerable amount of time sitting in a rocking chair while the rest of the family slept, but bedtime had been established, and this simple bedtime rule began to bring order to their lives.

From the very beginning I established nap times, mealtimes, and bath times. I allowed my babies to nurse on demand, but meals were served at the same time each day. When my babies were old enough for solid food, I fed them their baby meals when the family ate. Because they ate their meals at the same time each day, as they grew older they rarely asked for snacks, and because they rarely ate between meals, they had good appetites at mealtimes.

Another extremely important facet of discipline that I began at birth was Bible reading. When my first child was born, I took my Bible to the hospital, and whenever the nurse brought her to me, I read the Bible to her. When we went home, I took time each day to sit in my rocker and read the Bible to her as we rocked. As Alexandra grew older she was accustomed to sitting quietly while I read the Bible aloud to her, and she did not find it difficult to continue doing so. As each new child came along—a total of ten in a little more than twelve years—he or she became accustomed to listening to the Bible in the same way. The older child moved from my lap to sit beside me on the couch while I read the Bible. Thus, we had a line of children arranged according to their ages with the oldest on the end and the baby on my lap. Because each child was introduced to the Bible reading at birth, I never had a problem teaching them to sit quietly during this reading. When they were very small, they occasionally tried to talk or get up and walk around the room, but I always told them that they had to sit down and be quiet until we finished, and they accommodated me.

A third thing that babies should be taught is to share. Sharing is important because it encompasses both physical and spiritual training—giving up something to benefit someone else. We tend either to “give in” to infants who cry because they want something or to ignore them completely. Neither of these options is a good one. I always talked to my infants as if they were adults. I explained to them that they could not take their older siblings’ toys, and I did not allow the older siblings to take theirs. However, I did make it clear that if no one were playing with a toy, anyone could play with it, regardless of who was the legitimate owner.

It might seem a little strange to talk to a baby who cannot answer, but I discovered that babies are able to understand language long before they are able to speak. By not only telling them that they could not do a particular thing but also explaining why they could not do it, I ensured that at the earliest possible moment they would begin to learn the rules.

Next week:  Discipline for Children

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother Her newest novel, The Warrior, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup