Family First?

~ Bev Parker ~ 2 Comments

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Or last?

One of the many beauties of home education is that family comes first, naturally.  The fruits of that, provided grace is in place, are unlimited, and this was brought home to me recently when I read an article about eliminating negative people (especially those who hinder living in faith and love) from our lives.

I respect the author of this article, and gave serious thought to her words.  Was I not eliminating such people out of fear of conflict, or perhaps because I’m too nice?  Were they truly a hindrance?  There was no question that these people are difficult and tiring, but were they really a problem?  A spiritual roadblock?

No.  And here’s why:  My family keeps me strong, on track.  We pray with and for each other, and with and for others, every single day.  When I am brought down by someone or something and make my fall evident with frustration and negativity, someone in my family will do as I’ve asked them to do:  Don’t let me get away with it!

We learned from Pastor Keith Moore’s example to say, in response to negativity (anything contrary to scripture), “If you say so.”

Aaaargh!  It makes us wanna box someone’s ears (I’ve been reading too much Georgette Heyer, if there’s any such thing as too much Georgette Heyer ).  But, instead, we take deep breaths, roll our eyes, wrinkle our noses as though at a very unpleasant odor, and change our words.

Example:

Me:  “I’m sick to death of his crap and I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind.”

Brat Child of Mine with Snarky Grin:  “If you say so.”

Me:  Really deep breath, mutterings, stomps, yeah-buts, etc.  Another deep breath.  “I am taking his nonsense as an unconscious cry for help, and I’m not giving him a piece of my mind because obviously I can’t spare it, and I’m going to stop and pray for him right now.  Will you, dearest child, agree with me in prayer?”

I just strengthened myself, lightened the load of the child who has to listen to MY crap, and prayed myself right out of Satan’s way of thinking and doing, and changed things for the person I prayed for.  Rather than a piece of my mind, he got a piece of God’s love.  Amen!

 

Authenticity at Home

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

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What is an authentic home?  In looking at the definition of authentic below (see the end of the post), we can deduce that, in a word, an authentic home is real.  Does your home feel authentic to you?  Are you comfortable in it, and does it offer comfort to others?

I am reminded of a purchase I made yesterday.  In a shabby chic sort of store, I searched for something to catch my eye, something to speak to my heart.  I wanted something that would slightly alter and enhance my home.

Mostly I saw things that wouldn’t stand alone.  They were attractive in their settings, but not something I really wanted at home (well, there was that framed picture that said, “Eat Cake for Breakfast” but I don’t care for art that tells me what to do). And then I saw it:  a red vintage umbrella.  The handle was wooden, it worked beautifully, it was red, and it was raining outside.  Yay! I had almost bought an umbrella a few weeks ago, but it was . . . well, let’s just say it was not Made in America (it broke when I opened it).  It was “cheaper” than the red umbrella in every way, and had I bought it, way more expensive.

I chose the authentic umbrella, just as I choose an authentic home.  Any time I can substitute wood for plastic, fresh for canned, a walk in the woods for floor exercises, my child singing in the shower for radio music, denim for polyester, shoe laces for Velcro, viewing the currently running Jan Brett art exhibit in Fort Collins vs. an intelligence-insulting matinee, lounging in a home-crocheted afghan on a second-hand leather couch rather than wrapping up in, and sitting on, new micro-fiber monstrosities, cotton diapers to replace paper/plastic sweat wrappers, homemade biscuits dripping with butter instead of Styrofoam with a stingy (thank God) bit of margarine . . .

You’re thinking this all sounds like too much work, and too time consuming?  What are you doing that’s more important, more satisfying, than authenticating your home, your life, your soul?

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See definition in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

Syllabification: au·then·tic

Pronunciation: /ôˈTHen(t)ik/

(abbreviation: auth.)

Definition of authentic in English:

adjective

1Of undisputed origin; genuine: the letter is now accepted as an authentic documentauthentic 14th-century furniture

More example sentences

  • He is in no doubt that the document is an authentic copy of the original.
  • In recent years, Disney’s park designers have filled the place with what look like real antiques, genuine artifacts, authentic junk.
  • A letter should have been sent to confirm that the references were genuine and authentic,’ he said.
  • Get more examples

Synonyms

legitimate, lawful, legal, valid

informal the real McCoy, the real thing, kosher

1.1Made or done in the traditional or original way, or in a way that faithfully resembles an original: the restaurant serves authentic Italian mealsevery detail of the movie was totally authentic

More example sentences

  • These hotels and restaurants did all they could to recreate all that is authentic in traditional Kerala cuisine.
  • The restaurant ensures that Mangalorean cuisine is made and served in its traditional and authentic form.
  • The crowd then made their way back to the High Cross Inn where they celebrated St Patrick s Day with traditional music including authentic bag pipe playing.
  • Get more examples

1.2Based on facts; accurate or reliable: an authentic depiction of the situation

More example sentences

  • The written word persuasively conveys the authentic ring of reliable authority in a way the recollected spoken word does not.
  • It’s based upon an authentic story that happened in the ’20s and ’30s.
  • Earlier an unnamed assistant editor had emphasised ‘the need for publishing absolutely accurate and authentic information’.
  • Get more examples

Synonyms

reliable, dependable, trustworthy, authoritative, honest, faithful;

1.3(In existentialist philosophy) relating to or denoting an emotionally appropriate, significant, purposive, and responsible mode of human life.

Example sentences

  • Hence, he argues that the appropriate mode for authentic human existence is the personal.
  • For Heidegger, authentic existence begins from self-understanding.
  • As such, for Heidegger, an authentic existence requires as its precondition a radical and not received experience of the past.
  • Get more examples

2 Music (Of a church mode) comprising the notes lying between the principal note or final and the note an octave higher. Compare with plagal.

Origin

Late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos ‘principal, genuine’.

“NO!” to Corrupt Communication, “YES!” to Grace

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

file000868689848 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” – Paul, in Ephesians 4:29

Paul says you have the say so.  YOU “let” no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.  If you have to duct tape your lips together, you just say “No!” to corrupt words.  “Corrupt” in this instance is translated from the Greek word sapros, meaning:

  1. rotten, putrefied

  2. corrupted by one and no longer fit for use, worn out

  3. of poor quality, bad, unfit for use, worthless

So, what kind of words, then, do we use?  Words good for edifying and ministering grace.  Let’s begin with “edify”, which comes from the Greek word oikodome, meaning:

  1. (the act of) building, building up

  2. metaph. edifying, edification

    1. the act of one who promotes another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness

  3. a building (i.e. the thing built, edifice)

Now, let’s look into ministering grace.  “Minister” is from the Greek word didomi, meaning:

  1. to give

  2. to give something to someone
    1. of one’s own accord to give one something, to his advantage

    2. to bestow a gift

  3. to grant, give to one asking, let have

  4. to supply, furnish, necessary things

  5. to give over, deliver

    1. to reach out, extend, present

    2. of a writing

    3. to give over to one’s care, entrust, commit
      1. something to be administered
      2. to give or commit to some one something to be religiously observed

  6. to give what is due or obligatory, to pay: wages or reward

  7. to furnish, endue

  8. to give
    1. to cause, profuse, give forth from one’s self
    2. to give, hand out lots
  9. to appoint to an office
  10. to cause to come forth, i.e. as the sea, death and Hell are said to give up the dead who have been engulfed or received by them
  11. to give one to someone as his own

    1. as an object of his saving care

    2. to give one to someone, to follow him as a leader and master

    3. to give one to someone to care for his interests

    4. to give one to someone to whom he already belonged, to return

  12. to grant or permit one

    1. to commission

And now for grace.  In the Bible, “grace” has different shades of meaning, from different roots, all of them marvelous, powerful, and wonderful.  In this verse, “grace” is derived from the Greek word charis, meaning:

  1. grace

    1. that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech

  2. good will, loving-kindness, favour

    1. of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues

  3. what is due to grace

  4. the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace

  5. the token or proof of grace, benefit

    1. a gift of grace

    2. benefit, bounty

  6. thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward

And now, let’s put ourselves on the receiving end.  Do I want to be the recipient of corrupt words–putrid words, words unfit for use, rotten words, death words?  I think not.  I was not created for this.  In God’s very image, I am created for love, for grace, and to minister grace.

Our mates, children, friends, and associates have no need of any corrupt communication which may be trying to “proceed out of our mouths.”

Choose life and say so.

Marriage Makers vs. Marriage Breakers

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

OUT  WITH THE JUDGMENT, IN WITH THE JOY!

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“Take the word ‘should’ out of your vocabulary.  Don’t say ‘should’ unless you’re looking in the mirror.”  A wise woman once said these words to me, and I took them to heart.  Or tried to.  No easy feat, this.

I want to talk today about the dangers of “should” and those of “supposed to” as relating to marriage, or indeed, any relationship.  I will try to avoid a rant, especially when I begin discussing my least favorite of all “supposed to’s”–“The man is SUPPOSED TO be the spiritual head of the house.”  Oooh, I feel my blood pressure rising already, so let’s just back up and talk about “should” dangers.

We each and every one have full plates–plenty, plenty of things to work on in our own selves.  But, alas, when a lass begins focusing on all those shortcomings of her mate (friend, sibling, parent, co-worker) her eyesight is adversely affected.  She looks right over the running-over pile on her plate.  To put it another way, worrying yourself about someone else’s faults will make you blind to your own.  You will personify that person admonished in the Bible to get the giant plank out of their own eye instead of worrying about the speck in someone else’s (Matthew 7:3,4).  Sounds like looking at someone else’s little faults actually gives our own room to grow.

And if this is not bad enough, when we zero in on another’s faults, their eyes become wide open to our faults!  I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t need that.

Should-ing people is, however, a fine and sure way to decrease your popularity, in case you are that rare person who prefers being unpopular, who likes to be thought of as an ill wind or a foul odor.  While I’m not overly concerned with popularity in general, I am quite concerned about being popular with my mate.  It just makes sense to me.

OK, here we go with a cousin to should:  supposed to.  The statement, “The man is supposed to be the spiritual head of the household,” has caused misunderstanding, anger, and disappointment  in more than one relationship.  What in fact, does that mean, anyway?  It depends on who you ask.  These words, tossed about from preacher to congregation, from husband to wife and from wife to husband, mean something slightly, or radically, different to everyone.  Often, however, they aren’t owned words–words taken in by the man and developed by God.  Rather, they are thrown words–words accusing of shortcoming, of failure.

Wife and husband rarely see that statement in the same light, but neither do they communicate about their respective perceptions.  So, as they become frustrated with each other, and as the children see their dad failing at this obviously all-important mandate, the water of family life circles the drain.

Like “should,” “supposed to” is a  boomerang.  When you tell someone else what they should do (unless of course, they ask for, respect, and desire your opinion, which they rightly trust will be delivered in love) you become blind to your own duties of love and responsibility, and you focus the eyes of your accused on your own shortcomings.

These behaviors put you in a place of chaos, a place where you step out of touch with God’s voice and plan for yourself, even as you interfere with what He may be trying to say to your victim.  That’s right, I said VICTIM.

The bottom line is you are judging, and as promised, you will be judged, you will have a sad and sorry outcome.  Just as a wise woman once said, “Take ‘should’ out of your vocabulary.”  And as another wise (at least in this instance) woman adds, “Take ‘supposed to’ out at the same time.

Fathers, (and Mothers) Provoke Not Your Children to Wrath

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

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My motives are pure:  I love children.  They are of exceedingly great value in my eyes.  Therefore, when I see them, as in the grocery store not long ago, screaming at and hitting their mothers, I am more than grieved, shocked, and appalled.  I am mystified.  Or was.

I drove home sick at my stomach.  “I don’t understand, Lord,” I prayed.  “Why would a mother put up with this?  How does this happen?”

And insight came:  She hasn’t done the nurturing, she knows deep inside she has no right to admonish.  Ah yes, Ephesians 6:4, KJV–And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

That child was provoked to wrath, in this case I surmise by the mother as well as the father, because of the absence of balance.

I, for one, have always preferred nurturing to admonition.  John (my husband) told me long ago, that if I had to err, my children would be better off with a little less nurturing and a little more admonition.  My response was that I don’t have to err, not if my nurture and admonition are directed by the very Spirit of God Himself, and that I will nurture my children until their cups runneth over, thank you very much.

I secretly thought I would just leave most of the admonishing to him, and I know I have plenty of sisters who think this way.  Not good.

My daughter is acquainted with a young woman who said she wished her mom had married someone else.  This is a family where the mom never disciplined, so the dad had to be the bad guy.  Not fair, not healthy.

We must all be brave enough to examine our parenting in the light of scripture, and let our child’s behavior be the indicator of where we might be missing it, be it nurture, admonition, or simply complete disregard for the author and finisher of good parenting–that would be our child’s Creator.

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Just a Little Spanking for You, Mommy, Should You Choose to Accept it

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

For kinder, gentler parenting advice and admonitions, go directly to the end of this post and read about Sally Clarkson’s book, The Mission of Motherhood.

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Counting to three.  Counting to three loudly.  Counting to three with threats (or rather, promises about to be broken). Is there anything sadder, sillier, more tiresome, or less effectual than a counting mommy?  I think not.

I ask myself, “Why?”  I ponder the questions, “Why can’t they see it doesn’t work?” and “Who is responsible for this parental drivel?”

Hell.  Hell holds the reason, the source, the blindness, and the responsibility.  Worst of all, the outcome is Hell–the Hell on earth of frustrated and angry parents living with bratty kids, and frustrated and angry kids living with witless parenting.

And books from Hell, written I surmise by:  men, or women who have nannies, or perhaps women who have never had a child, and yet, unbelievably, think they have the tiniest clue what they’re talking about.

What are the clues for me, the reader, that such authors have no clue?  A listing of some of the most glaring offenders begins with “The Fairness Doctrine,” reminding me that yes, there is something more tiresome than counting.  It’s grown-ups (well, in age at least) whining, “It’s not fair,” and teaching their children that fairness is their birthright, that everything and everyone should bend over backward to make sure they get their “fair” share.

Perversely, Fairness advocates, having taught their children greed, and disrespect, will insist they share and even give away favorite treasures to the neighbor’s even greedier get, or a whiny sibling. The child with the strongest will and weakest mother will win (and lose) in such encounters.

Fairness Doctrine devotees are also often proponents of “reasoning” with their little geniuses, and vehemently opposed to spanking.  I can hear it now, echoed by more than one lily-livered mommy, “Spanking is violence,” she says with pious horror and superiority.  “We don’t hit,” she adds in that valley girl affectation which makes real women squirm.  And yet, these children are often violent–screaming at and hitting their parents and siblings, without the slightest beginnings of the self-discipline necessary for life.  I submit to you where there is no natural order (that would be parents, rather than children, in charge) the most tyrannical and least qualified will rule.  Yes, there are households where two-year-olds reign.  Could anything be more ridiculous?

Yes.  We progress!  There is yet a further level of ridiculousness in today’s anti-logic parenting mantras.  They don’t spank, but they whine, wheedle, gripe, groan, endlessly and mindlessly repeat themselves, raise their voices, scream, and even cry.  “You made Mommy cry,” she blubbers.  PA-THET-IC!  Very probably she isn’t smart enough to spank.  Indeed, if she thinks spanking is violence, if that is what it is when she does it, perhaps she’s at least right in this one thing–she should not spank.

“Boys will be boys,” she smirks.  And criminals will be criminals, Mommy Idiotica.  Anything, it seems, is preferable to training your son that the world wasn’t expressly created for his amusement and debasement.

 “Safety first!” she mimes to justify keeping her listless, pasty-faced children indoors just because it’s nippy outside, as though it is actually good parenting (or even doable) to protect kids from any and all possibility of physical harm, even as she parks them in front of the TV at every opportunity, paying little or no attention to the mind-numbing and soul-bending messages bombarding their malleable psyches.

“Oh, kids are tough,” she explains as though she actually believes this lie, and also believes she possesses the wisdom of the ages.  Kids are humans, and therefore complex and beautifully fragile and sensitive beings, affected for good or bad by every single moment of their lives, and even more so, by every thought, word and deed of their parents.

These are a few of my (non) favorite things, and I have the credentials to talk about them–I have successfully raised world-changing (as opposed to weak, whiny, selfish, indecisive, crowd-following, world-destroying) children, and I have loved (almost) every minute of it.

P.S.  Villages are nice addendums, perhaps, but they cannot make up for ignorant, lazy, and irresponsible parenting.  Effective parenting is very hard work, so just accept that and get on with it. Prepare yourself for the long, long, long haul of teaching, re-teaching, training, praying, searching, paying attention, reading that same book over and over and over, praying, reading the Words of Jesus, and did I mention praying?  You don’t get overs on this, so live in the now–you have NOTHING more important to do than getting to know your child’s heart. Know that this parent/child training is ongoing and rigorous, and will stretch and grow you like nothing else on earth. Know also that the rewards are beyond compare and comprehension.  They are, as my daughter Hannah used to finish each night as we said her prayers, “peace and love and joy!”

P.P.S.  Should I write a book, entitled perhaps, “No One Loves a Brat, Be She Mother or Child”???  Speaking of books, the very best book on parenting I’ve ever read was by a woman raising world-changing children:  Sally Clarkson, bringer of great light via her masterpiece, The Mission of Motherhood. 

Home Comforts

~ Bev Parker ~ 2 Comments

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Whether or not you homeschool, your children are watching and learning your attitude about homemaking.  If you’re like most moms, things get a bit messy at times, especially in our minds!  We need a bit of decluttering, a little refurbishing, direction, and refreshment.  I give you the beyond-anything book, Home Comforts.

Home Comforts, by Cheryl Mendelson, is one of my two favorite books on making home a haven (the other is Alexandra Stoddard’s Creating a Beautiful Home). Cheryl (she is a friend even though we’ve never met) has done her homework. A former attorney, she’s very diligent and disciplined, and has the intelligence required to make a good job of homemaking.

As this book is over 800 pages long, and covers anything and everything you can think of, I can’t begin to do it justice here. But as an example here’s a quote from the chapter on home cooking: “Good meals at home satisfy emotional hunger as real as hunger in the belly, and nothing else does so in the same way.”

Cheryl goes on to discuss how and why not to use cookbooks–I am vindicated! I believe a recipe is only someone else’s creation, certainly nothing written in stone. Of course, if Julia Child wrote it I will pay attention. But someone telling me to make pumpkin cake without salt, or that you don’t need all those walnuts in your oatmeal raisin cookies? I don’t think so.

As usual, I am loving the sound of my own horn tooting, and it’s time to get back to the marvelous book at hand. Home Comforts covers anything and everything you might ever want to know about homemaking.  You will be sorry when you’ve turned the last page, and if you’re like me, determined to read it again.

And to share it with others, especially family.

Do you want to excel at the high and highly rewarding calling of homemaking?  This book, so aptly named, will inspire and gladden your heart, and perhaps best of all, it will convince you that what you do at home truly matters.

It’s “Raising Mannerly Children,” Not, “Ignoring Aggravating Miniature Terrorists”

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

Note:   This picture was taken Mother’s Day, 2015, but I am pairing it with an article written in 2010, as I consider it worth repeating.

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The Importance of RAISING MANNERLY CHILDREN cannot be overemphasized. Manners are, in essence, simply the thoughtful consideration of the needs and wants of others.

The Golden Rule is so named because if you learn it, all else of value follows.

And if you don’t . . .

A life of misery–for you, your child, your child’s spouse and children and coworkers, neighbors–is what’s in store if you don’t teach your children manners.

Or, let’s look at it another way: Teach your children to think of others and they will naturally have manners.

This is an ongoing task (see the article’s end for how to begin with ease and quick results), but the rewards are commensurate with the effort.

Seth, (a 10-year-old), has an excess of energy, and sometimes tears through the house like a dervish. Recently he raced past the girls and me, who were having a pleasant conversation, yelling and brushing against us.

It was time for conscious parenting. Time to heed that little voice in my head that said, “Stop what you’re doing, stop having a nice chat with your girls, and deal with this.” So I stopped.

IT’S MY JOB.

Not fun, but necessary. I will not be the mother of a hellion, who thinks the conversations and happiness of others beneath his time and consideration.

Yes, we all know someone like this. An adult. Not a pretty picture.

Remember: If you don’t care enough to teach your child to be kind and considerate, who will?

But how?  Where to begin?  An excellent place to start is with Munro Leaf’s books, those loved and still remembered by my kids–Manners Can Be Fun, How to Behave and Why, and How to Speak Politely and Why.

Fun, funny, great illustrations, and effective:  Munro Leaf.

Done! by Don Aslett

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

 

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Done! by Don Aslett is excellent.  Usually, with non-fiction I scan the table of contents for something worthwhile, take much of even the choicest subjects, then scan and glean.  Gleaning is the art of checking the author’s views against real wisdom (God’s opinion) and against personal experience, and seeing if there is anything worthwhile leftover.

In Done! I have found a treasure, start to finish–no need for gleaning.  Rather, there is a need to buy the book (giving my current overdue copy back to the library), read it again, and make it required reading for my kids, beginning with Chapter 8–The Magic of Early.

Don Aslett turns a lot of conventional “wisdom” on its head in this book, speaking from a wealth of experience and success in all areas of his life.  Done! is fun, entertaining, easy to read, and inspiring.  What more could you ask?

Healing Scriptures Personalized for Confessing

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

Compliments of my husband, John, here are numerous scriptures on healing, many of them personalized for you to read about yourself, or to insert the name of someone you’re praying for.  See the note at the end for my thoughts on essential oils (including frankincense and myrrh) and healing.

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Exodus 15:26  I diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord my God and do what is right in His sight, and I listen to and obey His commandments and keep all His statutes, and He puts none of the diseases upon me which He brought upon the Egyptians, for He is the Lord Who heals me.

2 Kings 20:5  . . . . .  Thus says the Lord, the God of David my forefather: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you.

2 Chronicles 7:14  . . . . .  I am called by the name of God.  I humble myself, I pray, I seek, I crave and require of necessity God’s face, and turn from my wicked ways; God hears from heaven, forgives my sin, and heals my land.

Psalm 6:2  Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak, faint and withered away; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

Psalm 30:2  O Lord my God, I cried to You and You healed me.

Psalm 41:1-3  I am blessed, happy, fortunate, and to be envied for I consider the weak and the poor; the Lord has delivered me in the time of evil and trouble.  2The Lord protects me and keeps me alive; I am called blessed in the land; and He does not deliver me to the will of my enemies.  3The Lord sustains, refreshes, and strengthens me on my bed of languishing; all my bed You, O Lord turn, change, and transform in my illness.

Psalm 103:1-3  Bless affectionately, and gratefully praise the Lord, O my soul; and all that is deepest within me, bless His holy name!  2 Bless affectionately, and gratefully praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not one of all His benefits—3 He forgives every one of all my iniquities, He heals each one of all my diseases,  4 He redeems my life from the pit and corruption, He beautifies, dignifies, and crowns me with loving-kindness and tender mercy;  5 He satisfies my mouth, and my necessity and desire at my personal age and situation, with good so that my youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s – strong, overcoming, soaring!

Psalm 107:20  He sends forth His word and heals me and rescues me from the pit and destruction.

Psalm 119:33-50  Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I keep it to the end steadfastly.  34 Give me understanding, that I may keep Your law; yes, I observe it with my whole heart.  3 5Make me go in the path of Your commandments, for in them do I delight.  36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetousness, robbery, sensuality, or unworthy riches.  37 Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity, idols and idolatry; and restore me to vigorous life and health in Your ways.  38 Establish Your word and confirm Your promise to Your servant, which is for those who reverently fear and devotedly worship You.  39 Turn away my reproach which I fear and dread, for Your ordinances are good.  40 Behold, I long for Your precepts; in Your righteousness give me renewed life.  41 Let Your mercy and loving-kindness come also to me, O Lord, even Your salvation according to Your promise;  42 I have an answer for those who taunt and reproach me, for I lean on, rely on, and trust in Your word.  43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I hope in Your ordinances.  44 I keep Your law continually, forever and ever, hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it.  45 And I walk at liberty and at ease, for I have sought and inquired for and desperately required Your precepts.  46 I speak of Your testimonies also before kings and am not put to shame.

47 For I delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.  48 My hands also I lift up in fervent supplication to Your commandments, which I love, and I meditate on Your statutes.  49 Remember fervently  the word and promise to Your servant, in which You have caused me to hope.  50 This is my comfort and consolation in my affliction: that Your word has revived me {and} given me life.

Psalm 147:3  He heals my broken heart and binds up my wounds, curing my pains and my sorrows.

Proverbs 3:1-8   I forget not God’s law or teaching, but let my heart keep His commandments;  2 For length of days and years of a life worth living, and tranquility inward and outward and continuing through old age till death, these they add to me.  3 I do not let mercy and kindness, (shutting out all hatred and selfishness), and truth, (shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood) forsake me; I bind them about my neck, and write them upon the tablet of my heart.  4 So I find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight or judgment of God and man.  5 I lean on, trust in, and am confident in the Lord with all my heart and mind and do not rely on my own insight or understanding.  6 In all my ways I know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He directs and makes straight and plain my paths.  7 I am not wise in my own eyes; I reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn entirely away from evil.  8 It is health to my nerves, and sinews, and marrow, and moistening to my bones.

Proverbs 4:20-27  I am a son of God. I attend to His words; consent and submit to His sayings.  21 I do not let them not depart from my sight; I keep them in the center of my heart.  22 For they are life to me who has found them, and healing and health to all my flesh.  23 I keep and guard my heart with all vigilance, and above all I guard, for out of my heart flow the springs of life.  24 I put away from me false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk I put far from me.  25 I make my eyes look right on with fixed purpose, and my gaze is straight before me.  26 I consider well the path of my feet, and let all my ways be established and ordered aright.  27 I turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; I remove my foot from evil.

Proverbs 12:18  There are those who speak rashly, like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.  I do not speak rashly.  I seek wisdom.  My tongue brings healing.

Proverbs 13:17  A wicked messenger falls into evil, but a faithful ambassador brings healing.  I am a faithful ambassador.  I bring healing.

Proverbs 14:30  A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.  I envy no man.  I am jealous of no man.  I am not wrathful.  I have a calm and undisturbed mind and heart, and they are life and health to my body.

Proverbs 15:4   A gentle tongue with its healing power is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit.  I have a gentle tongue, and its healing power is a tree of life for me.

Proverbs 16:24  Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.  My words are pleasant as a honeycomb.  They are sweet to my mind and healing to my body.

Proverbs 17:22  A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.  My heart is happy and it is good medicine for me.  My mind is cheerful and works healing for me.  It is moisture to my bones.

Proverbs 18:9 . . . . he who does not use his endeavors to heal himself is brother to him who commits suicide.  I use all my endeavors to heal myself.

Isaiah 53:5  Jesus was wounded for my transgressions, He was bruised for my guilt and iniquities; the chastisement needful to obtain peace and well-being for me was upon Him, and with the stripes that wounded Him I am healed and made whole.

Isaiah 58:8   My light breaks forth like the morning, and my healing, my restoration and the power of a new life, spring forth speedily; my righteousness, my rightness, my justice, and my right relationship with God go before me, conducting me to peace and prosperity, and the glory of the Lord is my rear guard.

Isaiah 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me (Jesus), because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the physical and spiritual captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound,

Jeremiah 3:22  Return, O faithless son, says the Lord, and I will heal your faithlessness. And I answer “Behold, I come to You, for You are the Lord my God.”

Jeremiah 17:14  Heal me, O Lord, and I am healed; save me, and I am be saved, for You are my praise.

Malachi 4:2  But unto me who reveres and worshipfully fears the name of God shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings and His beams, and  I go forth and gambol like a calf released from the stall and leap for joy.

Matthew 4:23  And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news, the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every weakness and infirmity among the people.

Matthew 4:24  So the report of Him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all who were sick, those afflicted with various diseases and torments, those under the power of demons, and epileptics, and paralyzed people, and He healed them.

Matthew 8:13  Then to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.”

Matthew 8:16  When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick.

Matthew 9:21  For she kept saying to herself, If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health.

Matthew 9:22  Jesus turned around and, seeing her, He said, “Take courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was restored to health.

Matthew 11:5  The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed (by healing) and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have good news (the Gospel) preached to them.

Mark 1:42  And at once the leprosy completely left him and he was made clean by being healed.

Mark 3:10  For He had healed so many that all who had distressing bodily diseases kept falling upon Him and pressing upon Him in order that they might touch Him.

Mark 5:34  And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me, springing from faith in God) has restored you to health. Go in into peace and be continually healed and freed from your distressing bodily disease.”

Mark 6:56  And wherever He came into villages or cities or the country, they would lay the sick in the marketplaces and beg Him that they might touch even the fringe of His outer garment, and as many as touched Him were restored to health.

Mark 10:52  And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has healed you.” And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road.

Luke 5:15  But so much the more the news spread abroad concerning Him, and great crowds kept coming together to hear Him and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.

Luke 6:18  Even those who were disturbed and troubled with unclean spirits, and they were being healed also.

Luke 6:19  And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him, for healing power was all the while going forth from Him and curing them all saving them from severe illnesses or calamities.

Luke 7:21  In that very hour Jesus was healing many people of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of sight.

Luke 8:46  But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me; for I perceived that healing power has gone forth from Me.”

Luke 9:2  And He sent them out to announce {and} preach the kingdom of God and to bring healing.

Luke 17:19  And He said to him, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God) has restored you to health.”

Luke 18:42  And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight! Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your faith in God) has healed you.”

Acts 14:8-10  Now at Lystra a man sat who found it impossible to use his feet, for he was a cripple from birth and had never walked.  9 He was listening to Paul as he talked, and Paul, gazing intently at him and observing that he had faith to be healed,  10 Shouted at him, saying, “Stand erect on your feet!” And he leaped up and walked.

Acts 28:8  And it happened that the father of Publius was sick in bed with recurring attacks of fever and dysentery; and Paul went to see him, and after praying and laying his hands on him, he healed him.

James 5:15-16   And the prayer that is of faith will save me if I am sick, and the Lord will restore me; and if I have committed sins, I will be forgiven.  I will confess my faults, my slips, my false steps, my offenses, and my sins, and pray also for others, that I may be healed and restored to a spiritual tone of mind and heart.  I am the righteousness of God, and my earnest, heartfelt, continued prayer makes tremendous power available, and is dynamic in its working.

1 Peter 2:24  Jesus personally bore my sins in His own body, on the tree as on an altar, and offered Himself on it, that I might die and cease to exist to sin, and live to righteousness. By His wounds I am healed.

Deuteronomy 5:16  I honor my father and my mother, as the Lord my God commands me, that my days may be prolonged and that it may go well with me in the land which the Lord my God gives me.

Deuteronomy 5:29  I have a mind and heart in me always reverently to fear God and keep all His commandments, that it might go well with me and with my children forever!

Deuteronomy 5:33  I walk in all the ways which the Lord my God has commanded me, that I live and that it goes well with me and that I live long in the land which I shall possess.

Deuteronomy 6:18  And I do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it goes well with me and that I go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give to my fathers,

Deuteronomy 12:28  I am watchful, and obey all these words which You command me O Lord, that it goes well with me and with my children after me forever, when I do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord my God.

Psalm 46:1  GOD is my Refuge and Strength, mighty and impenetrable to temptation, a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Psalm 112:5  It is well with the me, as I deal generously and lend, and I conduct  my affairs with justice.

Psalm 119:65  You have dealt well with me, your servant, O Lord, according to Your promise.

Psalm 119:140  Your word is very pure (tried and well refined); therefore I, your servant, love it.

Psalm 128:2  For I eat the fruit of the labor of my hands; happy, blessed, fortunate, and enviable shall I be, and it is well with me.

Proverbs 4:26  I consider well the path of my feet, and let all my ways be established and ordered aright.

Proverbs 5:15  I drink waters out of my own cistern of a pure marriage relationship, and fresh running waters out of my own well.

Proverbs 10:11  My mouth, the mouth of the uncompromisingly righteous man, is a well of life . . . .

Ecclesiastes 8:12  Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his days seemingly are prolonged in his wickedness, yet surely I know that it is well with me who reverently fears God, who reveres and worships Him, realizing His continual presence.

Isaiah 3:10  To me, who has been made righteous, it is well with me, for I eat the fruit of my deeds.

Jeremiah 7:23  But this thing O Lord, did You command me; I listen to and obey Your voice, and You are my God and I am Yours; and I walk in the whole way that You command me, that it is well with me.

Psalm 86:12-13  I confess and praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole united heart; and I glorify Your name forevermore.  13 For great is Your mercy and loving-kindness toward me; and You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol, from the exceeding depths of affliction.

Psalm 91:1-16  I dwell in the secret place of the Most High, and I remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty, Whose power no foe can withstand.  2 I say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I confidently trust!  3 For He delivers me from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.  4 He covers me with His pinions, and under His wings I trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.  5 I am afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.  7 A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it is not near me.  8 Only a spectator am I, inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High, as I witness the reward of the wicked.  9 Because I have made the Lord my refuge, and the Most High my dwelling place,  10 No evil befall me, nor any plague or calamity come near my tent.  11 For He gives His angels especial charge over me to accompany and defend and preserve me in all my ways of obedience and service.  12 They bear me up on their hands, lest I dash my foot against a stone.  13 I tread upon the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent I trample underfoot.  14 “Because you have set your love upon Me, the Lord, therefore will I deliver you; I will set you on high, because you know and understand My name, and have a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—you trust and rely on Me, knowing I will never forsake you, no, never.  15 You shall call upon Me, and I will answer you; I will be with you in trouble, I will deliver you and honor you.  16 With long life will I satisfy you and show you My salvation.”

Exodus 23:24-26  I do not bow down to false gods or serve them or do after their works; but I utterly overthrow them and break down their pillars and images.  25 I serve the Lord my God; He blesses my bread and my water, and He takes sickness from my midst.  26 I do not lose my young by miscarriage nor am I barren in my land; The Lord fulfills the number of my days.

Deuteronomy 7:9-15  I know, recognize, and understand therefore, that the Lord my God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps covenant, (and steadfast love and mercy with me who loves Him and keeps His commandments), to a thousand generations,  10 And repays those who hate Him to their face, by destroying them; He is not be slack to him who hates Him, but requites him to his face.  11 I keep and do the instruction, laws, and precepts which He commands me.  12 I hearken to these precepts and keep and do them, and the Lord my God keeps with me the covenant and the steadfast love which He swore to my fathers.  13 And He loves me, blesses me, and multiplies me; He also blesses the fruit of my body and the fruit of my land, my grain, my new wine, and my oil, the increase of my cattle and the young of my flock in the land which He swore to my fathers to give me.  14 I am blessed above all peoples; there is not male nor female barren near me, or among my cattle.  15 And the Lord takes away from me all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt does He put upon me, but lays them upon all who hate me.

Psalm 34:17-20  When I who am righteous, having been made the righteousness of God, cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers me out of all my distress and troubles.  18 The Lord is close to me when I am broken of heart, and saves me when I am crushed with sorrow for sin when I am humbly and thoroughly penitent.  19 Many evils and afflictions confront me, who is consistently righteous, but the Lord delivers me out of them all.  20 He keeps all my bones; not one of them is broken.

 James 4:7  I am subject to God.  I resist the devil, stand firm against him, and he must flee from me.

Romans 4:19  Abraham did not weaken in faith when he considered the utter impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s deadened womb.  20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver or doubtingly question concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,  21 Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.  22 That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness, or right standing with God.  23 But the words credited to him were written not for his sake alone,  24 But they were written for my sake too.   Righteousness, (standing acceptable to God) is granted and credited to me also, who believes in, trusts in, adheres to, and relies on God, Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,  25 Who was betrayed and put to death because of my misdeeds and was raised from the dead to secure my justification, and my acquittal, making my account balance and absolving me from all guilt before God.

Romans 8:2 & 11  For the law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus, the law of my new being, has freed me from the law of sin and of death.  11 The Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in me,  and He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life my mortal, short-lived, perishable body through His Spirit Who dwells in me.

Mark 11:22-24  And Jesus, replying, said to them, “Have faith in God [constantly]. Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].”

I always and continually put my faith and trust in God. His Word is true, and He is faithful to His Word. When I pray, I believe I receive; I am confident in the fact that it has already been taken care of on my behalf. Thank You, Lord!

Deuteronomy 30:19-20  The Lord has called heaven and earth to witness this day against me that He has set before me life and death, the blessings and the curses.  O Lord I choose life, that I and my descendants may live  20 and may love the Lord our God, obey His voice, and cling to Him. For He is my life and the length of my days, that I may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to give to my fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

1 Kings 8:56-57  Blessed be the Lord, Who has given rest to me, according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise which He promised through Moses His servant.  57 The Lord my God is with me as He was with my fathers; He does not leave me nor forsake me.

Psalm 107: 17, 19-21  When I am foolish, and made ill because of the way of my transgressions and am afflicted because of my iniquities . . . . .  19 Then I cry to the Lord in my trouble, and He delivers me out of my distresses.  20 He sends forth His word and heals me and rescues me from the pit and destruction.  21 Oh, I praise and confess to the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to me!

Psalm 118:14-17  The Lord is my Strength and Song; and He has become my Salvation.  15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tent and private dwelling of me, who am uncompromisingly righteous: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and} achieves strength!  16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and achieves strength!  17 I do not die but live, and I declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord.

Isaiah 41:10  I fear not, for there is nothing to fear, for you are with me, O God; I do not look around me in terror and am not dismayed, for You are my God. You strengthen and harden me to difficulties, yes, You help me; yes, You hold me up and retain me with Your victorious right hand of rightness and justice.

Jeremiah 30:16-17  Therefore all who devour me are devoured; and all my adversaries, every one of them, go into captivity. And they who despoil me become a spoil, and all who prey upon me the Lord gives for a prey.  17 For He restores health to me, and He heals my wounds, says the Lord . . . . .

2 Corinthians 4:18  I do not consider or look to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless {and} everlasting.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5  For though I walk and live in the flesh, I do not carry on my warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons.  4 For the weapons of my warfare are not physical weapons of flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds;  5 I  refute arguments, and theories, and reasonings, and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God; and I lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ the Messiah

Galatians 3:13-14, 26-29  Jesus Christ purchased my freedom , redeeming me from the curse and doom of the Law and its condemnation by Himself becoming a curse for me, for it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (is crucified);  14 To the end that through my receiving Christ Jesus the blessing promised to Abraham has come upon me, so that I through faith receive the realization of the promise of the Holy Spirit. . . .  26 For in Christ Jesus I am a son of God through faith.  27 I have been baptized into Christ and into a spiritual union and communion with Christ the Anointed One, the Messiah, and I have put on (clothed myself with) Christ.  28 There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for I am one with Christ Jesus.  29 I belong to Christ, and I am in Him Who is Abraham’s Seed; so then am I Abraham’s offspring and spiritual heir, according to the promise.

Ephesians 6:10-18  I am strong in the Lord and empowered through my union with Him; I draw my strength from Him, that strength which His boundless might provides.  11 I put on God’s whole armor, the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies, that I may successfully stand up against all the strategies and the deceits of the devil.  12 For I do not wrestle with flesh and blood, contending only with physical opponents, but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the master spirits, who are the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.  13 Therefore I put on God’s complete armor, that I may be able to resist and stand my ground on the evil day of danger, and, having done all the crisis demands, stand firmly in my place.  14 I will stand therefore, and hold my ground, having tightened the belt of truth around my loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity, moral rectitude, and right standing with God,  15 And having shod my feet in preparation to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness, produced by the good news of the Gospel of peace.

16 I lift up over all the covering shield of saving faith, upon which I can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one.  17 I take the helmet of salvation, and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.  18  I pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all manner of prayer and entreaty.  To that end I will keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints, God’s consecrated people.

Philippians 4:6-9  I do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, I continue to make my wants known to God.  And God’s peace is mine, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace which transcends all understanding garrisons and mounts guard over my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

For the rest, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, I will think on, and weigh, and take account of these things, and fix my mind on them.  I practice what I have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in Christ and His disciples; I model my way of living on it, and the God of peace, of untroubled, undisturbed well-being, is with me.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give me a spirit of timidity, of cowardice, of craven, cringing, fawning fear, but He has given me a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Hebrews 10:21-23  And since I have such a great and wonderful and noble Priest, Who rules over the house of God,  22 I come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) heart in unqualified assurance, and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having my heart sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and my body cleansed with pure water.  23 I seize, and hold fast, and retain without wavering, the hope I cherish and confess, and my acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable, sure and faithful to His word.

1 John 3:21-22  My conscience, and my heart do not accuse me; they do not make me feel guilty and condemn me, for I have confidence, complete assurance, and boldness before God,  22 and I receive from Him whatever I ask because I watchfully obey His orders, observe His suggestions and injunctions, and follow His plan for me, and habitually practice what is pleasing to Him.

1 John 5:14-15  This is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which I have in Him: I am sure that if I ask anything or make any request according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to me, and hears me.  15 And since I positively know that He listens to me in whatever I ask, I also know with settled and absolute knowledge that I have granted to me, as my present possessions, the requests I make of Him.

3 John 1:2   God wishes above all things that I prosper in every way and that my body may keep well, even as my soul keeps well and prospers.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20  I know that my body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within me, Whom I have received as a Gift from God.  I am not my own, 20 I was bought with a price, purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own. So then, I honor God and bring glory to Him in my body.

James 1:2-6  I Consider it wholly joyful whenever I am enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort, or fall into various temptations.  3 I understand, and am assured, that the trial and proving of my faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.  4 I let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that I am a person who is perfectly and fully developed, with no defects, lacking in nothing.  5 If I am deficient in wisdom, I ask of the giving God, Who gives to me liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it is given to me.  6 I ask in faith, with no wavering, no hesitating, no doubting.

Note:  I am a true believer in God’s gift of plants for medicine (see Ezekiel 47:12).  This of course includes herbs, but I have found essential oils to be herbs on steroids.  If you’d like to know more about essential oils (like what’s so big about frankincense and myrrh and what is holy anointing oil?), please e-mail me:  homefrontshow@yahoo.com, or leave a comment.