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