Go For It!

We celebrate the discovery of our country by Columbus this month. Columbus, like all explorers, was driven by the need to conquer the unknown. The economic reason for his trip is well known--to find a shorter route to the far east to trade. What isn't stressed as much was the fact the Columbus sailed to lay claim to new lands not only for his sponsor's country, but for God. When landing on the various lands on his trip, he planted the flag and wanted the native peoples to hear about Christ. (It's amazing what you can learn from films when you're substitute teaching!)

Go explore the world on your own this month--without leaving home!

Pray for the World and "visit" virtually (pun intended) any country and learn about it and its needs. In the book, Radical, one of the things David Platt encouraged us to do was pray for each country and that people would be willing to go there to tell its citizens about Jesus. My daughter has this website as her opening page on her computer so she prays for the country of the day each morning.(http://www.operationworld.org/countries-alphabetically) Do this with your family, or get out the maps and see where your church missionaries might be. Sponsor a child through Compassion International or give to Samaritan's Purse. Thinking globally will expand your family's horizons.

Go to your Bible. It can open your heart and mind to all kinds of new thoughts.

Read a book you've never studied before. I found myself in the book of Amos, in the Old Testament, the other day. Amos was a shepherd prophet who was warning the people to turn back to God. I have a Women's Devotional Bible and different authors write devotional thoughts about passages. The one that caught my eye was entitled, "Those Cows of Bashan", by Jean E. Syswerda. In Amos 4:1, Amos is comparing the over indulged and selfish women of the area to the cows!! Well...I had taken the last couple of days off from my usual duties to indulge in reading, so I definitely felt the reproof of scripture! It sort of tickled me, though, to find this verse--who knew? (Talk about being "whapped upside the head" - Often verses will jump out and grab us this way!) So, instead of being pampered, lazy creatures we're to go and get with it...serve others and lay claim to new or old territories in Jesus' name.

Go Home!
Since we're not going to be lazy cows, we're going to use another Bible p

arable to inspire us to explore some ways to get our homes ready for Fall.

The Bible tells us about the ant who is busy storing food away for the winter while the grasshopper does nothing. Now is the time to do fall housecleaning and get ready for Fall and Winter. Dare to go where no one has gone for awhile to clean--send the kids under the beds to vacuum with the dust buster. (Be sure to instruct them not to suck up large items--like socks, kleenex, etc.) I used to offer my kids a prize for the most unusual item found! (And the floor under our beds was never as empty as in this picture!) Explore the areas under the sofas, and couch cushions, the light fixtures, the closets. Time to change out summer clothes for fall/winter. Wash the jckets, coats and blankets.

Explore your recipe box and cookbooks-choose new foods to prepare from another country or area of the U.S.A. Play different types of music at meal times. (Classical, for example)

Go Outside
Take the kids outside after dark and lay on a quilt to look at the stars. Point out the

North Star. Find the Big Dipper, in the North sky, and look from the last star of the dipper bowl up 4-5 times--that star is the North Star, the only star that does not change it's position. Early explorers used that star to navigate. A walk around the neighborhood on a fall evening in the dark is fun for the family, also.

Go Wild--Explore the bounty of nature--bring in the colorful leaves, nuts, and pumpkins. Delve into the the

inner parts of a pumpkin to carve a jack-o-lantern. Roast the seeds! For an easier option, just use a black magic marker to color on a face.

Serve cold or hot spiced cider. Simmer cinnamon sticks, cloves, and apple slices or orange slices on the stove for a "welcome home" scent.

Light candles for supper. Claim family meal times as times to rediscover each other. Be bold like explorers in the face of adversity and take back any television, computer and other gadgetry uses that are not family friendly. Check books and music in your home for the same. Hold high standards for what your family is hearing and seeing--yes, there will be mutiny among your crew (Columbus dealt with this also) but if you're claiming ground for Christ, then hold your course! (If Columbus managed to find the New World, your teen can manage to navigate to school without tech support if need be).

Just Go....

read a book aloud to your family-explore the lives and times of people around the world and long ago. Learning about the trials and successes of others, especially Christians, can be an inspiration for all of us still. Stories of Bible men and women show us God's plans and love remain even if we mess up.

down the hall-to sit on the bed of your child or teen to say good night and pray for them. Something about the dark seems to get kids to open up about problems and concerns they never mention earlier in the evening! Talk about unchartered territory! Be there to listen and pray.

across the street to visit or help a neighbor.

to your school to volunteer to help be a mentor or tutor for a student who needs help.

to your church or community to volunteer some time and your talents.

to your knees to pray.

So please, go...and keep going! Wherever you go, by your actions and words, lay claim to that "ground" for Christ!

p.s. I'm going to go do the mountain of laundry that piled up while I was indulging myself like a... well, you know.....