What Does God See When He Looks At You?

This question has been stirring around in my mind for the past week. What does God see when He looks at me? I asked Him to show me what He sees. I have put this into a series of articles for my Becoming Beautiful e-zine – You are welcome to join up – It is free!! – see the join up box on the right hand side.

As a taster here is part of the first article-

What Does God See When He Looks At You?

I have been thinking a lot about our outward appearance this week. My mind started thinking about what God sees when He looks at me. Have you ever thought about that? What catches God’s eye when He looks at you?

Is it your new hairdo? or your ratty old house clothes?

Is it a joyful mother and wife? or a harassed screaming woman?

Is it a generous friend or a selfish lonely person?

Well, I asked God to show me in His word what He sees when He looks at me. I discovered six things that God sees. Let the truth of what God SEES sink into your mind and heart. Believe on it and allow God’s word to renew and restore your life. Because God’s purpose for you is to experience LIFE with a capital L! Abundant Life – which is Life that is OVERFLOWING!

Check out John 10 v 10 in the Amplified –

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)

Don’t allow the enemy to come and steal your joy and life. Don’t allow the thief to tell you that you are no good or that you don’t have the right body. Any thoughts that steal, kill or destroy your happiness is not from God and should be discounted.

God’s purpose for you is not to just give you life BUT for you to ENJOY your life. Now , not just when you get to heaven but God wants you to ENJOY your life now. It isn’t a little bit of enjoyment, no; He wants you to have an abundance of joy in your life. To be so full up with the good life that it overflows and spills all over everybody else!!

Well, I had better tell you what the 6 things that God showed me – I get so carried away with that verse. Every time I read it lately I get really excited at how much God loves us to want us to have AND enjoy life.

So, what does God see when He looks at YOU?

1. God sees His DAUGHTER

Gal 3 v 26 “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons (daughters) of God through faith”

He doesn’t see a stranger or even a friend BUT a daughter. He is a Father who is looking at His daughter. What‘s the difference? A lot! A father has a vested interest in His children. He wants them to have the best in life, to learn and to be happy. He wants you to GROW – He doesn’t want you to stay as a little child, which is not natural.

You need to take in His food Ps 37 v 3 “Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on his faithfulness and truly you shall be fed”

You need to exercise your faith (action! and confessing His word) and grow through prayer, reading and hearing His word, praising Him and trusting Him through your daily experiences.

If you want to read more – join the Becoming Beautiful e-zine!

Rachel Larkin

Who is the builder of your home?

Here is a fantastic promise for you and your family -

Hebrews 3 v 14

The Builder of ALL things and the furnisher of the entire equipment of ALL things is God.

Who is the builder of your home school? Is it you, the mum or is it the dad or is it the government? This verse says that God is THE BUILDER. He is the one that will build your home school to where it is providing your children with knowledge, resources and skills so that they can discover their life purpose.

God not only is the builder but He is also the FURNISHER – He will add the “cream on top” for your home school – the little extras that make all the difference. Maybe a mentor that will come alongside your teen and assist in a certain skill or extra finances to send the family on a overseas trip that will open your children’s eyes to the world.

This takes all the “stress” out of home schooling (well it can help!) – we are not called to be the “builder” or “furnisher” of our homeschool – but God. It is His responsibility to provide us with the resources, time and energy (PTL!) to teach our little ones and big ones.

This verse says ALL THINGS – so not only our home schools but -

God is the BUILDER of our family relationships

God is the BUILDER of your home business

God is the BUILDER of this website

God is the BUILDER of our physical house

God is also the FURNISHER – He provides ALL the equipment, knowledge, resources and experiences for our family, homeschool, business and home.

GOD IS THE BUILDER AND FURNISHER OF MY LIFE!

Isn’t that awesome – let it sink in and take root in your heart.

Rachel Larkin

My Great Homeschooling Ideas – Part One

I am going to share with you some of My Great Homeschooling Ideas. (Keep reading for the FREEBIE!)

Todays idea is very simple but can be very effective!

Its using the idea of playing cards and turning the concept into one that is fun and educational.

My boys LOVE Australian V8 Supercars. Did I say my boys LOVE it? Well that is an understatement – they REALLY REALLY LOVE them. So I thought that I would turn their passion and love of V8 Supercars into a set of cards (sort of like Baseball cards, I guess – not that I have seen what a Baseball card looks like!).

I found some pictures of the cars and the drivers on the internet along with information of the cars and drivers. I then measured a normal card from a pack of playing cards and created an Excel spreadsheet. I cut and pasted the pictures and information into Excel. I had the driver picture and information on one card and the car and car details on another.

I then printed them out onto normal A4 photocopy paper using colour ink. Then I laminated them and cut them out. They look fantastic.

The boys have worn them out! – They started out by playing a sort of matching game with them – matching the cars with the drivers – this was great for my begining reader!. My ‘maths’ minded boy started working out how old the drivers were from the date of birth information on them. They learned geography from the information about place of birth and where they are living now.

My boys are into making lists – the V8 Supercars Cards that I made, gave them great content for their lists. I keep finding paper everywhere with the names of the drivers and cars that they have written out – guess what that is – COPYWORK!!! yep that is copywork.

An amazing side effect is how they have learned about sponsorship and advertising – every car is signwritten with the sponsors name and slogan. There has been many a discussion on advertising and sponsorship. WOW – just from making a set of plain cards!

I have included them here as a pdf file so you can see what I am talking about. Click here for -v8 supercar 2007 cards

Now this idea has huge potential – you just need to spend some time thinking about the interests and hobbies of your children and see how you can incorporate it into a set of cards.

What about a set of cards about – animals? countries? sports people? flags? solar sysyem? cars?

The ideas are limitless.

Share your ideas with us – use the comments

Rachel Larkin

20 Foods That Will Help You Relax! – Part Four

Here are the final five foods that will help you relax!!!

16. The B vitamins and Vitamin C are important anti stress nutrients that help calm the nervous system. Try tangerine and raspberry juice or carrot, beansprout and cranberry juice.

17. Lettuce based juices are excellent for helping you relax at bedtime. Lettuce has a strong flavour so mix it with carrot juice.

18. All fruit and vegetables are rich in antioxidants. These help preventing age-related brain degeneration. They are also our main source of potassium an important mineral for soothing the nerves. Eat 5 portions of fresh fruit and veg daily.

19. Mint is a herb that helps lower feelings of anger and nervousness. Add it liberally to salads or sprinkle it on vegetables.

20. Zinc and iron are essential for optimum brain function, mental health and mood balance. They are found in lean meats, seafood, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes (peas, beans, lentils, soybeans and alfalfa)

Well that’s that – 20 foods that will help you to be calm! Which one has worked for you?

Chocolate beats it hands down for me (he he)

Rachel Larkin

20 Foods That Will Help You Relax! – Part Three

Here are the next five!

20 Foods That Will Help You Relax – Part Three

11. Selenium is great for mataining mood balance. Brazil nuts are rich in this mineral and 3 or 4 a day will be enough, as well as providing a handy snack. Other selenium rich foods include rice, wheat, seaweed and seafood especially shrimp and tuna. I never knew that – I’m off to buy some Brazil nuts!

O12. Oily fish are rich in omega-3 essential fats. One of these fats, DHA is found in the brain in large quantities. Fish oils have been shown to alleviate depression and hyperactivity.

13. Magnesium-rich foods are vital to help calm the mind and balance moods, particulary if you are prone to PMS. Green leafy vegetables are rich in magnesium; other sources include dried fruit, nuts , seeds and legumes.

14. Pear, celery and ginger juice is a good mood booster. Pear is rich in potassium for brain function, celery is used by herbalists as a nerve tonic and ginger peps you up.

15. Selected herbs steeped in boiling water for 10 minutes provie a useful antidote for tension headaches. For 2 cups, use 1 1/2 tsps of mixed dried skullcap (a mild sedative), lavender flowers (soothing) and lemon verbana (calming). Strain and sweeten the mixture with a little honey. NB of course please make sure you check out with your doctor before drinking this if you are pregant or have any health problems!

Only 5 more to go!

Let us know what you think!

Rachel Larkin