Joyce Swann's Blog, page 6
May 9, 2012
My House, God's Rules
As Mother’s Day approaches, we tend to think about what we can do to be better mothers. Most of us probably feel some sense of having failed to do everything we should to ensure that our children become the Godly individuals that we want them to be. This Mother’s Day, however, I hope that we will resolve to make a commitment to establish our homes as places where Jesus Christ is honored, and where His rules are never compromised. If we will do that, we will have come a long way toward becoming the Godly women that He created us to be.
After they had entered the Promised Land, Joshua called the people of Israel to him at Shechem and gave them instructions concerning their responsibilities to God. He told them that they must revere Jehovah and serve him in “sincerity and truth” and put away forever the idols that their ancestors had worshiped when they had lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt.
Joshua told the people that they must choose whom they would serve—the heathen gods or Jehovah. Then he concluded by saying, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24)
Joshua was the leader of God’s people, but they lived in a world where wickedness abounded. All of the surrounding nations were idol worshipers who indulged in the most horrible practices imaginable, and there was an ongoing spiritual battle to lure God’s people to participate in their ceremonies.
Yet, Joshua presented a very simple plan to the people of Israel: He told them to make a choice about whom they would serve, and then he declared his own choice—that he and his house would serve the Lord.
I believe that today we live in circumstances very similar to those Joshua encountered. We have the world-wide Church with its millions of sincere believers, but we are surrounded by those who hate Christ and who are always lurking about trying to seduce God’s people to join them in their wicked practices. It is, therefore, important to understand Joshua’s declaration concerning his own house.
First, he made it clear that each of the people of Israel had to decide for themselves whether they would respond to God’s laws and live accordingly, and he warned them that if they deserted God they would be destroyed—even though God had cared for them for such a long time.
Second, he took authority over the areas that he could personally control. He alone would decide what would take place within the confines of his own house, and his decision was that his house would be a place to honor God.
I have known a number of Christians who keep lowering the spiritual bar in their own homes because they want to keep their children close. They overlook drinking, pot smoking, and porn because they feel safer “knowing where their children are.” I do feel sympathy for these parents, but I do not support their decision.
Minor children need to understand, “This is my house, and everyone who lives here lives under God’s rules.” It may sound harsh, but this attitude is entirely necessary.
When our children are grown and have their own homes, we cannot control their behavior. We hope that our teaching and example have been sufficient to lead them into their own relationships with Christ and their own decisions to follow Him, but, when they become adults, children must decide for themselves whom they will follow.
The one thing we can always control is what goes on inside our own houses. Grown children who are not serving the Lord must understand that our houses are dedicated to the service of Jesus Christ and that no conduct that dishonors Him will be tolerated there. No matter what their ages the rule still applies, “My house, God’s rules.”
Joshua 24:31 says, “Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds which the Lord had done for Israel.” Those of us who are now the “old” men and women who have witnessed amazing deeds that God has done in our lives have a responsibility to the younger generation. It is our duty to never let them forget what God has done for us as a country, as families, and as individuals. By reminding our children that we are set apart for His service, we ensure that they will one day be the “old” people who will set the example for future generations and will say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
After they had entered the Promised Land, Joshua called the people of Israel to him at Shechem and gave them instructions concerning their responsibilities to God. He told them that they must revere Jehovah and serve him in “sincerity and truth” and put away forever the idols that their ancestors had worshiped when they had lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt.
Joshua told the people that they must choose whom they would serve—the heathen gods or Jehovah. Then he concluded by saying, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24)
Joshua was the leader of God’s people, but they lived in a world where wickedness abounded. All of the surrounding nations were idol worshipers who indulged in the most horrible practices imaginable, and there was an ongoing spiritual battle to lure God’s people to participate in their ceremonies.
Yet, Joshua presented a very simple plan to the people of Israel: He told them to make a choice about whom they would serve, and then he declared his own choice—that he and his house would serve the Lord.
I believe that today we live in circumstances very similar to those Joshua encountered. We have the world-wide Church with its millions of sincere believers, but we are surrounded by those who hate Christ and who are always lurking about trying to seduce God’s people to join them in their wicked practices. It is, therefore, important to understand Joshua’s declaration concerning his own house.
First, he made it clear that each of the people of Israel had to decide for themselves whether they would respond to God’s laws and live accordingly, and he warned them that if they deserted God they would be destroyed—even though God had cared for them for such a long time.
Second, he took authority over the areas that he could personally control. He alone would decide what would take place within the confines of his own house, and his decision was that his house would be a place to honor God.
I have known a number of Christians who keep lowering the spiritual bar in their own homes because they want to keep their children close. They overlook drinking, pot smoking, and porn because they feel safer “knowing where their children are.” I do feel sympathy for these parents, but I do not support their decision.
Minor children need to understand, “This is my house, and everyone who lives here lives under God’s rules.” It may sound harsh, but this attitude is entirely necessary.
When our children are grown and have their own homes, we cannot control their behavior. We hope that our teaching and example have been sufficient to lead them into their own relationships with Christ and their own decisions to follow Him, but, when they become adults, children must decide for themselves whom they will follow.
The one thing we can always control is what goes on inside our own houses. Grown children who are not serving the Lord must understand that our houses are dedicated to the service of Jesus Christ and that no conduct that dishonors Him will be tolerated there. No matter what their ages the rule still applies, “My house, God’s rules.”
Joshua 24:31 says, “Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds which the Lord had done for Israel.” Those of us who are now the “old” men and women who have witnessed amazing deeds that God has done in our lives have a responsibility to the younger generation. It is our duty to never let them forget what God has done for us as a country, as families, and as individuals. By reminding our children that we are set apart for His service, we ensure that they will one day be the “old” people who will set the example for future generations and will say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
May 2, 2012
A Really Good Mom
Today it is especially hard to know how to be a “good” mom. Child psychologists, educators, and church leaders all have their own definitions of what constitutes an outstanding mother.
Some “experts” say that the best mothers are ones who demand little and allow their children to live their own lives—even to the extent that they may in their early teens decide that they were born into a body of the “wrong” sex. Those who advocate this method of parenting believe that she who mothers least mothers best.
On the other hand, some child “experts” advocate the form of parenting adopted by Chinese Tiger Moms who force their children to study and practice on musical instruments until they are exhausted. Tiger Moms are cold, abusive, and cruel; their children fear them and cower at the sight of them. Yet, these moms are being praised in our press as moms who know how to get results.
Somewhere in between are the “experts” who advocate more normal parenting but vary in their opinions of how much should be expected of a child in terms of obedience, good school performance, and individual responsibility. They run the gamut from those who punish with a “time out” to those who advise corporal punishment to combat disobedience.
As I thought about writing my Mother’s Day blog, I searched the Bible for scriptures that would shed some light on what we mothers need to do to raise godly children. Surprisingly, the Bible has little to say about mothering. It provides some examples of excellent mothers, but it does not give much specific advice for how a mother ought to fulfill her duties. I did, however, find a recurring theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments that I believe is the key to becoming a really good mom.
Little children were brought for Jesus to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. “Don’t bother him,” they said.
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and don’t prevent them. For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” And he put his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. Matthew 19:13-15
First, bring your children to Jesus at birth, and keep them close to Him throughout their lives. It took some effort for those mothers mentioned in Matthew to physically take their children to see Jesus and to experience His blessing, and it takes some effort for us to take our children to church, to Sunday school, to vacation Bible school, and to the various church activities designed for children. It takes physical effort on our parts to make certain that they are involved in the kinds of activities that will lay the foundation for a life-long relationship with Jesus Christ. But when we understand that He is waiting to bless them and fellowship with them, I think that we would be very remiss not to take advantage of the many opportunities available to our children, if only we are willing to take them to Him.
You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the Holy Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus. The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone. 2 Timothy 3:15-17
Second, teach our children the scriptures. In the above passage Paul is addressing Timothy who was taught the scriptures by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. (2 Timothy 1:5) Timothy’s father was Greek and probably not a believer; yet, his mother did not neglect teaching her son the scriptures that would prepare him for a powerful ministry which would begin while he was still a very young man.
As Christian women we talk quite a lot about our husbands being the heads of the household. We tend to wait for them to take the lead in all matters spiritual. However, if for whatever reason our husbands fail to take the lead in reading the Bible to our children, then it is up to us to get the job done. I read the Bible to my ten children every day from the day of their births. Sometimes my husband was present for these readings, but more often than not, he was absent. No mother need ever neglect teaching her children the scriptures because her husband is working or away on business, or simply not a Christian. By taking on the responsibility of teaching them God’s word, she will be making them wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ and fully equipping them to do good to everyone.
O Israel, listen: Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone. You must love Him with all your heart, soul, and might. And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning. Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Third, make the scriptures a constant presence in our homes. We mothers spend more time with our children than anyone else. We are their first teachers and their first examples of Christianity in action. The Bible admonishes us to love God above all else and to think constantly about his commandments. Then it instructs us to teach them to our children—not just when we are having family Bible reading or are in a church setting. Every minute of every day we are to teach our children, both by example and by the spoken word to love Him more than anything and to study His word so that they will be prepared to do those things that He has planned for them.
If we will concentrate on making these three things central to our lives, we will have fulfilled our responsibilities as mothers. And if God declares us to be really good moms, who can argue with that?
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
Some “experts” say that the best mothers are ones who demand little and allow their children to live their own lives—even to the extent that they may in their early teens decide that they were born into a body of the “wrong” sex. Those who advocate this method of parenting believe that she who mothers least mothers best.
On the other hand, some child “experts” advocate the form of parenting adopted by Chinese Tiger Moms who force their children to study and practice on musical instruments until they are exhausted. Tiger Moms are cold, abusive, and cruel; their children fear them and cower at the sight of them. Yet, these moms are being praised in our press as moms who know how to get results.
Somewhere in between are the “experts” who advocate more normal parenting but vary in their opinions of how much should be expected of a child in terms of obedience, good school performance, and individual responsibility. They run the gamut from those who punish with a “time out” to those who advise corporal punishment to combat disobedience.
As I thought about writing my Mother’s Day blog, I searched the Bible for scriptures that would shed some light on what we mothers need to do to raise godly children. Surprisingly, the Bible has little to say about mothering. It provides some examples of excellent mothers, but it does not give much specific advice for how a mother ought to fulfill her duties. I did, however, find a recurring theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments that I believe is the key to becoming a really good mom.
Little children were brought for Jesus to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. “Don’t bother him,” they said.
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and don’t prevent them. For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” And he put his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. Matthew 19:13-15
First, bring your children to Jesus at birth, and keep them close to Him throughout their lives. It took some effort for those mothers mentioned in Matthew to physically take their children to see Jesus and to experience His blessing, and it takes some effort for us to take our children to church, to Sunday school, to vacation Bible school, and to the various church activities designed for children. It takes physical effort on our parts to make certain that they are involved in the kinds of activities that will lay the foundation for a life-long relationship with Jesus Christ. But when we understand that He is waiting to bless them and fellowship with them, I think that we would be very remiss not to take advantage of the many opportunities available to our children, if only we are willing to take them to Him.
You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the Holy Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus. The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone. 2 Timothy 3:15-17
Second, teach our children the scriptures. In the above passage Paul is addressing Timothy who was taught the scriptures by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. (2 Timothy 1:5) Timothy’s father was Greek and probably not a believer; yet, his mother did not neglect teaching her son the scriptures that would prepare him for a powerful ministry which would begin while he was still a very young man.
As Christian women we talk quite a lot about our husbands being the heads of the household. We tend to wait for them to take the lead in all matters spiritual. However, if for whatever reason our husbands fail to take the lead in reading the Bible to our children, then it is up to us to get the job done. I read the Bible to my ten children every day from the day of their births. Sometimes my husband was present for these readings, but more often than not, he was absent. No mother need ever neglect teaching her children the scriptures because her husband is working or away on business, or simply not a Christian. By taking on the responsibility of teaching them God’s word, she will be making them wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ and fully equipping them to do good to everyone.
O Israel, listen: Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone. You must love Him with all your heart, soul, and might. And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning. Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Third, make the scriptures a constant presence in our homes. We mothers spend more time with our children than anyone else. We are their first teachers and their first examples of Christianity in action. The Bible admonishes us to love God above all else and to think constantly about his commandments. Then it instructs us to teach them to our children—not just when we are having family Bible reading or are in a church setting. Every minute of every day we are to teach our children, both by example and by the spoken word to love Him more than anything and to study His word so that they will be prepared to do those things that He has planned for them.
If we will concentrate on making these three things central to our lives, we will have fulfilled our responsibilities as mothers. And if God declares us to be really good moms, who can argue with that?
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
April 25, 2012
The Names of God Part II--The Lord Who Heals
I have been blessed many times to encounter Jehovah-Rophe—the Lord who Heals, both in my own life and the lives of my family members. Today’s post deals with my mother’s healing from cancer that brought our family much joy but was not well received by the Christian community.
In 1991 my mother, who was seventy-years old at the time, was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was both stunned and devastated, and I cried and prayed for three days. After the initial shock wore off, however, I became convinced that God would heal her. She underwent surgery and a year of chemotherapy and, during that time, I prayed for her constantly. The chemo made her very ill, and the doctor finally advised her not to take the final two or three treatments.
During the following nineteen years Mother remained cancer free and healthy. Then, in 2010, at age eighty-nine, Mother told me that she was experiencing occasional “stomach aches.” She said that they were not severe, but she believed that her cancer had returned.
She asked her doctor to run some tests, and they revealed that she had a mass in her stomach about the size of a man’s fist. Even though the blood tests indicated that she might have cancer, because of her age, the doctor did not advise surgery. Mother was adamant. “I want this out of me!” she shouted to everyone within shouting distance—including me on the other end of the phone.
Finally, the doctor told her that he was going to do a biopsy to determine whether the mass was malignant. The procedure would be performed on an out-patient basis on the morning of October 4, and she would be back home by early afternoon.
I prayed that Mother would not have cancer and that the biopsy would come back negative, and I was totally convinced that she was cancer free. However, my husband and I made arrangements to fly to Kansas on the afternoon of October 4 so that I could take care of her in the event that she did not feel well after the biopsy.
When John and I arrived at my mother’s house about 5:00 P.M., no one was at home, and we immediately drove to the hospital. When we arrived, we discovered that the doctor had made a very long incision across Mother’s stomach, and that she was recovering from what appeared to be major surgery. We visited for a while and then took my step father home.
The next day the doctor said that he wanted to talk to me privately. He told me that prior to surgery they had done two different scans to determine the size and location of the mass. He had examined the results and knew exactly what he had to do to perform the biopsy. However, when he made a small incision, he could not find the mass. He continued to make the incision longer in order to locate it. Finally, he made the incision long enough so that he could “look under everything” to locate the mass. But, there was no mass! Mother was not only cancer free, she was mass free!
I was thrilled and did not even try to hide my enthusiasm. “I knew it!” I kept repeating.
When I returned to El Paso, I began to tell everyone what God had done for my mother. I was very surprised, however, to learn that hardly anyone shared my enthusiasm. The most common response was something like this: “Why would God do that? We have prayed for lots of young people with cancer who weren’t healed. They died and left families behind. Why would God heal someone who is eighty-nine years old?”
No one knows why some people are healed and others are not. But we do know this: We have been conditioned to believe that some lives have more worth than others, and we tend to “write off” people whom we believe are too old or too sick or too much trouble to deserve God’s help. Many Christians also have a mind set that God has a finite supply of miracles that He dispenses from time to time. When they are gone, they are gone. Therefore, healing should not be imparted to anyone who can no longer make a meaningful contribution to society. Those people conveniently forget that God’s power is limitless.
Fortunately, God has a different perspective on human life. We are all precious to him. Sometimes He takes us, and sometimes He heals us, but He always loves us. And sometimes, just when things look the darkest, we are privileged to meet Jehovah-Rophe, the Lord who Heals.
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
In 1991 my mother, who was seventy-years old at the time, was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was both stunned and devastated, and I cried and prayed for three days. After the initial shock wore off, however, I became convinced that God would heal her. She underwent surgery and a year of chemotherapy and, during that time, I prayed for her constantly. The chemo made her very ill, and the doctor finally advised her not to take the final two or three treatments.
During the following nineteen years Mother remained cancer free and healthy. Then, in 2010, at age eighty-nine, Mother told me that she was experiencing occasional “stomach aches.” She said that they were not severe, but she believed that her cancer had returned.
She asked her doctor to run some tests, and they revealed that she had a mass in her stomach about the size of a man’s fist. Even though the blood tests indicated that she might have cancer, because of her age, the doctor did not advise surgery. Mother was adamant. “I want this out of me!” she shouted to everyone within shouting distance—including me on the other end of the phone.
Finally, the doctor told her that he was going to do a biopsy to determine whether the mass was malignant. The procedure would be performed on an out-patient basis on the morning of October 4, and she would be back home by early afternoon.
I prayed that Mother would not have cancer and that the biopsy would come back negative, and I was totally convinced that she was cancer free. However, my husband and I made arrangements to fly to Kansas on the afternoon of October 4 so that I could take care of her in the event that she did not feel well after the biopsy.
When John and I arrived at my mother’s house about 5:00 P.M., no one was at home, and we immediately drove to the hospital. When we arrived, we discovered that the doctor had made a very long incision across Mother’s stomach, and that she was recovering from what appeared to be major surgery. We visited for a while and then took my step father home.
The next day the doctor said that he wanted to talk to me privately. He told me that prior to surgery they had done two different scans to determine the size and location of the mass. He had examined the results and knew exactly what he had to do to perform the biopsy. However, when he made a small incision, he could not find the mass. He continued to make the incision longer in order to locate it. Finally, he made the incision long enough so that he could “look under everything” to locate the mass. But, there was no mass! Mother was not only cancer free, she was mass free!
I was thrilled and did not even try to hide my enthusiasm. “I knew it!” I kept repeating.
When I returned to El Paso, I began to tell everyone what God had done for my mother. I was very surprised, however, to learn that hardly anyone shared my enthusiasm. The most common response was something like this: “Why would God do that? We have prayed for lots of young people with cancer who weren’t healed. They died and left families behind. Why would God heal someone who is eighty-nine years old?”
No one knows why some people are healed and others are not. But we do know this: We have been conditioned to believe that some lives have more worth than others, and we tend to “write off” people whom we believe are too old or too sick or too much trouble to deserve God’s help. Many Christians also have a mind set that God has a finite supply of miracles that He dispenses from time to time. When they are gone, they are gone. Therefore, healing should not be imparted to anyone who can no longer make a meaningful contribution to society. Those people conveniently forget that God’s power is limitless.
Fortunately, God has a different perspective on human life. We are all precious to him. Sometimes He takes us, and sometimes He heals us, but He always loves us. And sometimes, just when things look the darkest, we are privileged to meet Jehovah-Rophe, the Lord who Heals.
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
April 18, 2012
The Names of God: Part I--The Lord Who Provides
The Bible is filled with names for God that describe various aspects of His personality. Today’s post deals with a time when our family was experiencing extreme financial difficulties, and I encountered Jehovah-Jireh—the Lord who Provides.
After No Regrets was published Alexandra and I both accepted as many invitations to speak as possible, and the money we received as speakers was an important source of income for our family. Our expenses were paid, and we received an honorarium. In addition, we sold our tapes and books at these events. In the spring of 1991 Alexandra spoke to a group of homeschoolers, and on the return trip her plane was delayed for several hours. When all the passengers were boarded and the plane was finally ready to take off, the stewardess announced that to make up for the delay the airline would be giving one lucky passenger a free round-trip ticket to anywhere in the United States. She then announced the seat number of the winner.Alexandra did not even bother to check her seat number. The stewardess kept calling for the winner to identify himself, and finally the man sitting next to Alexandra said, “It’s you. You’re the winner.”I was thrilled for her. Alexandra gave everything she had to the family, and I felt that this was God’s way of doing something special for her. I asked her where she wanted to go with her free ticket. She told me that she did not have anywhere that she wanted to go.The ticket was good for only one year, and as the months passed, I began to exert some pressure on her to use it. I kept saying that she needed to treat herself to a vacation with that free ticket. She was working as a history instructor at the El Paso Community College and would have been doing well if she had not given every penny she earned to the family. She could use some of her own money to have a nice vacation with that free ticket. In February, 1992, when my mother was seventy years old, she was diagnosed with cancer. She had surgery and afterwards had to undergo chemotherapy. I really wanted to visit her, but I knew that was impossible so I talked to her on the phone and prayed for her, but I never said anything to my family about wanting to make the trip.One day Alexandra came to me and said that she was certain that God had given her that free airline ticket so that I could fly to Kansas to see my mother. I adamantly refused; she insisted. Finally she told me that she had checked the expiration date on the ticket and that it would expire in one week. I quickly made my reservations and was able to spend three days with my mother right after she came home from the hospital. My stepfather was with her, and she had plenty of money. I did not really need to be with her, but God knew that I should be with her, and He provided a way for that to happen a whole year in advance.I made a 1400 mile round trip with only ten dollars in my purse. I took my best “at home” slacks, a pair of old Dockers with an iron-on patch on the knee, and an old dress that still looked pretty good. My step father had his birthday while I was there, and I did not know what to do for a gift. I finally went to Braums and bought two ice-cream sundaes to go, one for my mother and one for him, and I wished him a happy birthday. When my mother asked me why I had bought only two sundaes, I said, “I didn’t want one. I’m on a diet.” Ten dollars wasn’t much, but it was enough.The day I flew home was the expiration date for the ticket. God has great timing!One of the most important lessons that I learned during those thirteen years is that what we want and what we need are rarely the same things. God did not always give us everything we wanted, but He always gave us everything we needed. During that time, I came to know Him as Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who Provides.
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
After No Regrets was published Alexandra and I both accepted as many invitations to speak as possible, and the money we received as speakers was an important source of income for our family. Our expenses were paid, and we received an honorarium. In addition, we sold our tapes and books at these events. In the spring of 1991 Alexandra spoke to a group of homeschoolers, and on the return trip her plane was delayed for several hours. When all the passengers were boarded and the plane was finally ready to take off, the stewardess announced that to make up for the delay the airline would be giving one lucky passenger a free round-trip ticket to anywhere in the United States. She then announced the seat number of the winner.Alexandra did not even bother to check her seat number. The stewardess kept calling for the winner to identify himself, and finally the man sitting next to Alexandra said, “It’s you. You’re the winner.”I was thrilled for her. Alexandra gave everything she had to the family, and I felt that this was God’s way of doing something special for her. I asked her where she wanted to go with her free ticket. She told me that she did not have anywhere that she wanted to go.The ticket was good for only one year, and as the months passed, I began to exert some pressure on her to use it. I kept saying that she needed to treat herself to a vacation with that free ticket. She was working as a history instructor at the El Paso Community College and would have been doing well if she had not given every penny she earned to the family. She could use some of her own money to have a nice vacation with that free ticket. In February, 1992, when my mother was seventy years old, she was diagnosed with cancer. She had surgery and afterwards had to undergo chemotherapy. I really wanted to visit her, but I knew that was impossible so I talked to her on the phone and prayed for her, but I never said anything to my family about wanting to make the trip.One day Alexandra came to me and said that she was certain that God had given her that free airline ticket so that I could fly to Kansas to see my mother. I adamantly refused; she insisted. Finally she told me that she had checked the expiration date on the ticket and that it would expire in one week. I quickly made my reservations and was able to spend three days with my mother right after she came home from the hospital. My stepfather was with her, and she had plenty of money. I did not really need to be with her, but God knew that I should be with her, and He provided a way for that to happen a whole year in advance.I made a 1400 mile round trip with only ten dollars in my purse. I took my best “at home” slacks, a pair of old Dockers with an iron-on patch on the knee, and an old dress that still looked pretty good. My step father had his birthday while I was there, and I did not know what to do for a gift. I finally went to Braums and bought two ice-cream sundaes to go, one for my mother and one for him, and I wished him a happy birthday. When my mother asked me why I had bought only two sundaes, I said, “I didn’t want one. I’m on a diet.” Ten dollars wasn’t much, but it was enough.The day I flew home was the expiration date for the ticket. God has great timing!One of the most important lessons that I learned during those thirteen years is that what we want and what we need are rarely the same things. God did not always give us everything we wanted, but He always gave us everything we needed. During that time, I came to know Him as Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who Provides.
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. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
