LIFE
RESTORING FOUNDATION
and
Restoring Lives from Adversity to Destiny
ISSUE 6
Plug in Power up
Clearing up after the storm
13 Steps to Academic Success A heart towards god:
facing life’s giants
10 Tips for building yourself up in the lord
Walking in the Spirit child's-play
To this our 6
th
Issue of the
Restoring Life Foundation Magazine. The spring has always been a time which symbolises new life and hope; as such our desire has been to provide you with keys, tips and insights to help make this new season one where God through His Spirit might birth new things for each one of you. To this end we tackle the three giants that each believer will have to fight and defeat on their sanctification journey – The World, the Flesh and the Devil. We draw on lessons from nature and challenge you to connect to the spiritual truths hidden in your spiritual seasons, inviting you to cut back or promote growth as the season dictates. We share the journey as a friend recognises his ability to move forward is determined by what and where he is connected, Christabel Bacchus offers some insights into getting your children off to a good start in primary school, we have an prophetic Word from Yolanda Ballard, Jo Cotter shares the insight into moving in the Spirit as taught by her six year old grandson, Eileen Agnes reminds us that God doesn’t abandon us as we go through the waters, and finally we look at the seriousness of the sins of omission This has been one of the most challenging issues we have published to date; this may be because sanctification is a hotly contended topic. We pray that as you peruse this edition that you will find something to inspire and encourage you on your journey.
COPYRIGHT © RESTORING LIFE FOUNDATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright of articles and photographs in the Restoring Life Foundation Magazine remain with the original contributors, No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the copyright owner. Applications should be made directly to www.restoringlifefoundation.org
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification...” 1 Thessalonians 4:3
Content Tips for building yourself up in the lord
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Walking in the Spirit child's-play P10
A heart towards god:
facing life’s giants P12
13 Steps to Academic Success P36
and
Plug in Power up
P16
STAND EMBLAZED IN MY P20
LOVE
Clearing up after the storm P26 AMBASSADOR P44
The sin of omission - Silence in the face of sin. P45
Tips for building yourself up in the lord
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1. Find scriptures that remind you of how God sees you, here are some to get you going! • • • •
You were called and pre-planned by God Jeremiah 1:5 You are shaped by Him Psalm 139:13 Gods Child is able to call Him Daddy Galatians 4:6 Precious in God’s sight, honoured, loved and He will give men for you, and people for your life. Isaiah 43:4 • Complete in Him, Colossians 2:10 • Strengthened and powerful Colossians 1:11 • Chosen and appointed John 15:16 • Made in His image Gen 1:26-28 2. To encourage yourself read them over yourself daily and believe God, He cannot lie. 3. Keep an encouragement book of positive things others see in you, scriptures, details of your gifts talents and accomplishments. 4. You were created in God’s image so find the character traits that describe God, like honest, faithful, true, kind, etc ask God to help you develop the ones that you lack.
5. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23) Listen to your self-
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talk. Is it negative or positive? This is a big clue as to the condition of your heart. Spend time encouraging yourself with the truth. Enjoy nature it can be a place where you can be with God. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1) Seeking revenge creates bitterness—avoid it like the plague. ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.’ (Leviticus 19:18, NIV) Notice your successes. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19) Learn from your mistakes. God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we've done wrong. (1 John 1:9) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. (James 1:23-24 ) Last but not least, deepen your relationship with God. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. (James 4:8 )
Walking in the Spirit child's-play By Jo Cotter Lukey and I were watching a cooking show on TV and one of the cooking ingredients was calves brains. Lucas was fascinated by the idea that one could eat brains and proceeded to pretend to grab my brain and eat it. Pointing to the side of his head he says, “ Now that I have your brains I know just how much you really love me. It is like 100 thousand times more than I thought!� And I thought, if I could just put on the mind of Christ, maybe I would better understand the Fathers love for me.
Then he said, pointing to the side of his head again, “ Ohhhhh! Does Pappy know you had boyfriends before him! I'm quite sure my grandson never thought of me as having had a life before Pappy. “ What was the name of your first husband?” he asks. Now, I was married for about 10 minutes way back in my BC days. It’ s not something that comes up in conversation; in fact, my adult children don’ t even know I was married once before. “ Was his name Sally?” he asks. “ No, John. No, it was Jim.” Jim may be a very common name, and it may just have been a lucky guess …….. and I might have just dismissed it; however, just the other day he says to me, out of nowhere, “ I know your secret, you know. What was your first husband’ s name? Joe? John?” Then, mercifully, he is distracted and the conversations stops. Is he hearing from God, I wonder? Is it possible that he is already developing a gift for the Word of Knowledge? I don’ t know, but I wonder. I think that at age 6 he already has his prayer language. I hear him sometimes when he’ s playing alone. It doesn’ t sound like baby talk or gibberish. It sounds to me like his prayer language. He speaks it, innocently, as though it was everyday normal. It makes me wonder. Can I learn from my 6-year-old grandson that type of ‘ faith like a child’ that Jesus spoke of. An openness and joyous innocence that doesn’ t question - just receives and transmits as though it was everyday normal. It blesses me to watch him. Maybe watching him will teach me something too.
I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." Mark 10:15
A heart towards god:
facing life’s giants 15 Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.1 John 2:15 -17 (NKJV)
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ach one of us should expect that we will encounter at least 3 giants on our path to sanctification. The World the flesh and the devil. If we are to successfully navigate through life without being defeated by any one of these we need to adopt the right strategy for each one.
The World. We are told in scriptures that we are to live in the world but not be of the world but what does that really mean in practice.
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Planet Earth is the geographical location that God ordained for
each one of us to be born to live in and unless Jesus returns first or we are somehow translated to heaven it is the place from which we will die. However occupying the space called Earth does not mean that we are to live by worldly standards or allow the world system to dictate the way we live, for the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God... (1 Corinthians 3:19). In fact we are told that we live and move and have our being in Christ (Acts 17:28).
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e do this by identifying how the world has influenced and guided our life ,and changing our mind about what will guide our life in the future. Therefore to live from a heavenly perspective we must accept the mind of Christ and allow our worldview to become a Kingdom worldview (Romans 12:2). The battlefield against the world is in our mind, it is on the front that we must fight, we do this by overthrowing arrogant 'reckonings,' and every stronghold that towers high in defiance of the knowledge of God, and we carry off every thought as if into slavery--into subjection to Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:5 (Weymouth New Testament)
The Flesh
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The Flesh is that part of us that is governed by appetite and
desires. Now this relates to far more than food or sexual appetite but refers to our drives of all kinds. Our flesh reflects our idols, those things that we desire to comfort satisfy and fulfil our needs but always come up short. Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV) 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God
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any things that most people don't think about come under this category like pride, a desire for recognition, privilege and self promotion. Envy is greed wrapped up in slightly more pleasant language. It's linked to not being satisfied with what we have and covetousness.
Low self esteem, which is linked to pride. A person with poor self esteem feels bad about themselves often because others don't hold them in high enough regard to make them feel good about them-self. God tells us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought but to be sober in our judgement. He also charges us to prefer and honour one another. The flesh can only be conquered through dying to self. This is found in the fruit of the Spirit of self control - not surrendering to the desires, peace is a reflection of trust in God, love for God and others, over and above self, patience is knowing Gods timing is perfect. Far too often we want a quick fix, but sanctification is a journey, not a destination. Paul gives the solution to the church in Galatians 5:16-17 (NKJV) Walking in the Spirit 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
The Devil
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In order to be free and stay free deliverance can be called for.
As Jesus said when He was here some will not go except for prayer and fasting. This is not the ‘be all or end all’ of the discipleship process. On the contrary it is a spoke in the tyre of sanctification. Deliverance will not solve all your problems but it will solve the problem of demonic oppression or intrusion. Like a medication that flows through a body removing an infection, deliverance, will eject the enemy. Getting free however is only half the battle because to maintain your freedom you must stand in the truth that Satan and his friends were defeated at the cross and walk in holiness by the Spirit of God. Now this does not mean following some formula of asking the question of what would Jesus do each time you come a cropper. It rather means listening for the voice of God through His Word and His Spirit and obeying those things He is leading you into in that moment. Like a blind man might rely on his dog to carefully guide him through life we must turn away from our own earth bound vision and turn to the ultimate guide in life - God.
Remember that for each giant that you face there is a different route for victory
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For the world - you must let go of the earthly worldview and have your mind renewed
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For the flesh - you must die to your carnal nature and allow the fruit of the Spirit to mature in your. To grow fruit of the Spirit you must remain in the vine.
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For the devil - he must be cast out and you must submit to God and resist the devil that you do not open the door to further infection.
If wounds gave entrance to the world, the flesh, or the devil bring your broken heart to God He is the expert broken heart binder.
By Cheryl Ridener
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Plug in
Power up
By Ann Lane
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have been encouraging a friend wanted to get into my day, therefore I who has been struggling in his mar- ignored his suggestion and I began to riage for three years; the sad thing wind down our conversation and say about his situation is that he has only goodbye. However, just before we finbeen married for three years. So his ished those niceties he told me that he struggle has persisted since its couldn’t take his wife anymore because start. One thing that amazes me about he was empty. In a flash I rushed uphis situation is the dexterity of his stairs and plugged in my mobile phone, memory; this is because he is able to this was too much of a discipleship moaccurately recollect what seems to be ment for me to let it go. He had unwitevery wrong word, slight, tingly stumbled into his ...Don't think you mistake and his wife has problem and without recare better than ever done This works exognising it, his solution. you really are. Be ceptionally well with his honest in your selective amnesia which al- evaluation of yourselves, measuring lows him the great fortune His problem was not his yourselves by the of not being able to recall faith God has given wife, her attitude towards any of his own misdeeds. I him, or even his attitude us. Romans 12:3 have tried to encourage him towards her. His problem to focus on his heart, parwas he was not plugged ticularly as it relates to his wife but he in. He had spent nearly three years can't see an issue with himself - after waiting, anticipating, and expecting his all ‘she is the one failing God and him’. wife to power him up, and she had failed to do it. Kind words were missing, time and attention were absent, Our most recent dialogue has taken a love and comfort were not there and he new tack of power and fruit. One day was empty. Operating like a new born when we were chatting online I told waiting for someone to put a nipple in him I had only 12% power, shortly af- his mouth. However his emptiness was ter that my power dropped to 5%, then not a sign of an awful wife, but a sign of 4%. Not wanting to end our conversa- his disconnect from the one who did tion He said “why don't you just plug love him, wanted to comfort and enyour phone in, I'm not finished talking courage him, his emptiness was fruit of to you”? At first I resisted because I a disconnect from God.
‘Its-their-faultitis’
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o often when we are in difficult situations and circumstances we look to a source outside of ourselves as the root of the problem. To stem the flow of pain we can ‘cut off’ the very people God wanted us to be connected too, wrongly associating them with the source of our pain. Just like my friend suffering from ‘its-their-faultitis’ we become fruit inspectors in other peoples gardens, seeing bad fruit trees all around us, whilst all the time not appreciating the poor state of our own rottenness. If you are in this position and you are seeing bad fruit on other peoples trees I have one word for you -
STOP!
You are not the gardener, that's God’s job through the Holy Spirit. You cannot convict anyone ,only He can do that. What you do is criticise, condemn and accuse; thereby joining ranks with the enemy, who loves it when you become like him - ‘the accuser of the brethren’. Don't judge them; be gracious. Remember the way you are judging will be the same way you will be judged. Put the axe down. Step away from their tree!
START TO Look at your own fruit. What does it look like? Are you displaying all of the fruit of the Spirit? No! I guessed as much. What's missing? Now begin to confess your sin, repent to that friend or family member who you've been criticising.
Listen to God for a strategy on how you can begin to allow Him to prune away the bad fruit and fertilise the soil of your heart that your fruit will be holy. Remember a healthy tree will bear fruit that is healthy and a diseased tree will bear either no fruit or a rotten disgusting tasting fruit. Jesus is the vine, you must plug into Him. There is no bad, disgusting tasting, or rotten fruit in Him, neither is their barrenness. Therefore if you have examined the look and taste of your fruit and it is not up to scratch then plug into the Vine of Christ, let Him fill you and power up.
Always remember that even if you are able to accurately diagnose the particular disease (sin) in the tree, not everyone can take the truth about themselves. Watch out! The Bible warns us that some who are searching for temporary pleasure will trample on eternal pearls of wisdom, then go on to attack you like vicious dogs. “Don’t give something that is holy to dogs. They will only turn and hurt you. And don’t throw your pearls to pigs. They will only step on them. (Matthew 7:6 ERV)
be conscious of your criticism of others. I am a committed believer in the ‘speck and log principle’, that is if I am noticing something in someone else, my log has made me sensitive to it. I am now coming around to the practice of taking what I am noticing to God and asking Him to do log eye surgery. Why don’t you try it too? “Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood that is in your own? Why do you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You are a hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to get the dust out of your friend’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5 ERV) If you have found yourself struggling with the consequences of a spiritual disconnect let me encourage you with some verses of scripture: Galatians 5:16-24 ERV So I tell you, live the way the Spirit leads you. Then you will not do the evil things your sinful self wants. 17 The sinful self wants what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against the sinful self. They are always fighting against each other, so that you don’t do what you really want to do. 18 But if you let the Spirit lead you, you are not under law
John 15:4-5 Stay joined to me and I will stay joined to
you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must stay connected to the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must stay joined to me.
To summarise plug in and power up for He promises to give His Sprit without measure.
f o STAND o EMBLAZED IN MY
LOVE
by Yolanda Ballard
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rab hold of the hem of My garment, and you will be healed. Escape the cares of this present age by basking in My intimate presence. Gather together with the saints, and worship Me endlessly like there is no tomorrow for each day that passes by brings you closer to My perfect will being established through you. Line upon line and precept upon precept each step you are learning to be more like Me as you learn by basking in My intimate presence and feasting upon My word. You must eat all the fresh manna that you can while you have time. Grow strong as you receive the meat, the grain, the honey and the milk.
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ou need to learn each step of the way how to become a soldier in My end time army. For yes, you will go against the giants, but you have great warriors of old to pattern your life by their example. Like King David, he knew Me so well because He delighted to be with Me. He was a man after My own heart, and He learned to trust in My faithfulness to carry out what he spoke forth and act upon in his faith. He stood against the giant with confidence, because he knew that I would meet him at his need and defend him.
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ust learn by the great men of faith by their examples like Daniel who never backed down to compromise in order to please man. He committed his life unto death to please Me, and he had no fear. So many walked by faith but still trembled in fear at what they had to face, but they kept their head set like flint to accomplish My will in their life. Thou I slay them they still trusted Me.
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want you to be bold in the coming days. I want you to be strong, determined ones. No matter what you face, never back down for you will surely overcome by the word of your testimony, the blood of the Lamb, as you choose to love not your life unto death.
And as you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, but you will come out as fine gold, and when you are raised up with Me, you will hear me say that you were a good and faith-
he battle will be long and hard, but you must conquer every land that I bring you through. You must keep your eyes on My promises; with your Sword easily accessible for you have prepared it well to be able to use it at every incidence that you will come up against.
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For yes, your Shield glistens with My power for you have hid My word in your heart. Your treasures are above where no thief can get to nor can any rust damage their value. For earthly treasures do not interest you any more. You have become Kingdom minded. You know your position seated with Me at the right hand of the Father high above all power and principality. For yes, you are emblazed with My love, and in My love you will
stand. That was what motivated you to become a mighty warrior, one who I can trust with My power and might and also with My glory. I knight you for battle. You wear My armour of royalty well, for you are sons of the King, The Lord Most High, and I am blessed to call you Mine! March on! Take the land! Tear down the strongholds! My kingdom will come, My will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
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Clearing up after the storm By Cheryl Ridener
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great wind blew through my area last winter, which was rather frustrating. At times as I waited out the storm it sounded as if my patio door was getting ready to blow in; it shook so much that I poised myself ready to run. Wind and broken glass don't really go well together, so I wasn’t prepared to play ‘dodge the shaft’ anytime soon. There is more than just one reason that the wind frustrated me though. You see at the beginning of that week I had decided that it was time to see my front lawn again (note to self: check the weather report prior to spending an entire day bagging leaves). The falling leaves had made it a rainbow of reds, oranges and golden browns, and while in one way it looked beautiful, in another it looked a mess. I was starting to think that all the leaves in the neighbourhood had decided to pay me a visit, then for some reason had decided to stay. Maybe it was the views, or friendly people, maybe it was because my children had forgotten how to play outdoors and they wanted to invite them out. Whatever the reason, they were here, and by the look out of the window, here is where they were staying. Six hours after I began as the sun was setting, the rain was falling, and my mood was dropping, I finally finished bagging the last leaf I was going to pick up, rake up or sweep up. At least for that day anyway. Was my lawn perfectly free, was my drive completely naked of the reds, oranges and browns? Oh no it was not, but it was enough. Where hundreds of thousands of leaves once lived consuming the green like piranhas on a feed, now green could not only be seen, but once more, the lawn was like a fleshly vacuumed carpet with just a handful of specks here and there.
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here are consequences for delaying those things we don't like to do.
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s I climbed into the shower after I returned from the garden waste recycling bank I surveyed my hands. Blisters, corns and hard skin covered the landscape that I now needed to tend too. Along with my aching back, I was dealing with the consequences of leaving something I was responsible for unattended for far too long. How often do we delay those chores we don’t like to do, particularly when we know they will be challenging? But life is more than chores, and the things we leave unattended, more than leaves. Far too often procrastination is rooted in fear, and those fears can often be many, and linked to previous failures or pain. My reality was that the pain I felt, because I delayed, was far greater than it would have been if I had taken the time to maintain my front lawn properly. This is also often the case when it comes to our spiritual self, we let things slip and slip until we find ourselves with a mess that we can’t really resolve without experiencing some real difficulty. The storm that followed my clean up resulted in many more leaves being deposited on my front lawn; as they lay there dead, cut off from their source of life, I realised that they were passed their season for beautifying our trees. Some leaves came down with the branches that the wind ripped off, but most did not. Whilst the branches that remained will bear fruit once more, those on my lawn would be bagged and left at the garden recycle centre on my next visit.
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hree lessons I learned from the storm and leaves.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Life continues on, but the seasons change; and each season brings its own challenges. Autumn and Winter brings the challenge of things dying, whilst Spring and Summer brings the challenge of things growing. In the Autumn and Winter I have to deal with the consequences of what grew in the Spring and Summer. I need to know what season I am in so that I approach my challenges with the right tools. In your life too, there will be a time for things to grow and a time for things to die. Relationships and habits, are very rarely neutral, some are for a season and some for a reason. Know the season for each one, and then you will know whether you need to encourage its growth or cut it off and remove it far from you.
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Proverbs 3:6 Trust in the LORD with all
your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Growth requires change; for a seed to become a plant it must metamorphoses before it can become exactly what God ordained it to be. Change requires us to not just change our directions, but to change the map we are using to get there.
It’s no good using a map for London Kentucky in the USA if you are trying to navigate London England in the U.K. The name may be the same but you are not even in the same time zone. Be prepared to check with the driver where He is taking you, that way you will not misinterpret the people, places or situations you encounter en-route.
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John 15:1-2 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the
vinedresser. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. Don’t ignore the pain; it’s real and necessary for each one of us. Everything you experience has been filtered by God, His grace is sufficient for you to go through. Don’t try to do it in your own strength, you cannot bear fruit without Him, but pruning is part of the process.
So the next time you find yourself facing a storm ask yourself the following questions: Am I keeping up to date with my spiritual, emotional, mental and physical maintenance?
Am I aware of the season that I am currently in?
Is it a time to allow growth, or is it time to cut off a few things?
Am I trusting God in the storm or leaning on my own understanding?
13 Steps to Academic Success Former Headteacher and Ofsted Lead Inspector Christabel Bacchus, highlights 13 ways to help get your child off to a positive start to their learning.
Introduction: Raising achievement in schools requires an understanding of the factors influencing performance. British research suggests that most previous studies have focussed on the reasons why specific groups of children are underachieving. However, in recent years, studies of successful schools that raise the achievement of all pupils have increased our understanding of the ways in which schools can enhance pupils’ academic achievement. A number of research projects looked at examples of schools that provide an environment in which pupils flourish. These identified the key characteristics of successful schools in raising achievement including strong leadership, high expectations, effective teaching and learning, parental involvement, and an ethos of respect with a clear approach to racism and bad behaviour. The following 13 steps will help to get your reception child off to a positive start in their learning.
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Train the Children
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phesians 6 v1: 3 states: “Children,
obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth”. Verse 4 gives a further instruction to fathers: “And you, fa-
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hristian families always need to start with God’s word the Bible gives parents, excellent advice on how to bring up children, Proverbs 22:6
says “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”. Note that the scripture uses the word ‘train’ – this implies that bringing up a child will require specific teaching or instruction. It will not happen without our active involvement. God requires us to be good stewards of the children he has entrusted to us.
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Men take the lead
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Parental Involvement in the school
thers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord”. Note that the onus is on fathers. Where no father is present, who is to do the training? Naturally we would say the mother – but also the Church has a role to play in this. Regular attendance at Church or Sunday School will reinforce what parents are teaching at home. Children who learn to respect and honour their parents, who are the first authority figures in their lives, by being obedient, will be able to transfer those principles in respecting the authority of teachers and others.
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good school will want to engage with you in supporting your child’s learning. It is important that you do your homework and find out as much as you can about the school prior to your child starting in the Reception class. Go on to the school’s website and find out about the school’s values and the curriculum and look for information about how parents can be involved in the school. Some schools make home visits to get to know the family prior to a child starting school. This is a good thing and is helpful in making sure that any particular needs your child has are known ahead of time.
schools to be either Good or Outstanding. A school that ‘Requires Improvement’ or one that is ‘Inadequate’ will be monitored closely by inspectors.
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How well are pupils achieving?
on to the Ofsted website and look up the School Data Dashboard. It provides a snapshot of the school’s performance at Key Stages 1 (aged 7 years) Key Stage 2 (11 years) and Secondary School Stage 4. The School Data Dashboard will support information given in the Ofsted (ofsted.gov.uk) inspection report on the school and provides details of how the school has performed over a three year period, in terms of expected progress, the attainment of pupils, attendance rates and how the school has closed the gap in attainment between disadvantaged and other pupils. Ofsted expect
Introduce yourself
ntroduce yourself to your child’s teacher as soon as you can and at the end of the school day from time to time, ask how your child is getting on. Any concerns that you have or the school may have can be addressed immediately. If you are unhappy about how your child is progressing or if he/she doesn’t want to go to school, make an appointment to see the class teacher and ask for help in addressing the concerns. Do not wait until the Parents Evening.
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Homework
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n the Reception class it is common for a child to bring home a reading book and schools expect that parents will take time to discuss the book – looking and talking about the pictures if there are few words and asking questions about the story. Good schools will explain how they teach phonics (sounds of letters) and reading. Whether or not a book comes home it is always good to read stories to your child and talk to them about school. Set up a routine when children get home from school. Perhaps watch children’s TV for an hour or so to relax. It is advisable to shield young children from watching the News (which is often disturbing) or Soaps which present deviant behaviour as ‘normal’. Sit with your child to have supper and talk about the day and then do homework or reading. It is possible to buy workbooks to help children with handwriting, phonics, letter recognition, and counting. But only for half an hour or so at this age.
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Provide opportunities
Visit art galleries, museums, and concerts.
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ake the time at the weekends to visit places of interest connected with your child’s project work at school. For example, if the topic is Egyptians, visit the British Museum. (Even if the school is arranging a visit). Do not just rely on the internet for supporting information – even the journey to a museum and looking around can broaden your child’s perspective of the world.
A number of museums and art galleries in the U.K. have free entry. To find one that suits your taste visit http:// www.moneysavingexpert.c om/deals/free-museumsand-art-galleries
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Bedtime
ake sure your child goes to bed early so that they are alert and ready to get to school on time the next day.
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rovide opportunities for your child to develop an interest or activity such as playing a musical instrument, or a sport as this will develop confidence and self-esteem. This should be in addition to what the school provides. Taking an active interest in your child learning to swim (by taking him/her to a swimming club) or joining cubs/brownies will widen their circle of friends.
Getting sufficient sleep is vital for all age groups. Research suggest that teenagers may actually need more sleep than in previous years. Below are the recommended sleep times for school age children: 4 years old: 11.5 hours per day The daytime naps will have ended and 11.5 hours of sleep at night are possible. 5-12 years old: 11-9.25 hours a night As the child gets older, the night time hours of sleep will reduce slightly, as they tend to stay up later in the evening. 12-16 years old: 9.25-8.5 hours per night For further information on recommended sleep times visit: http://www.webmd.boots.com/ children/baby/guide/children-needsleep
11
Use positive language
10
Volunteer
Do
G
not take time off school to go on holiday
D
o not take time off school to go on holiday. This is a rule which applies to all schools and breaking the rule will put your child at a disadvantage a) because it gives them the impression that rules can be broken and b) they will miss out on their learning.
12
U
se positive language when speaking to your child – “I am so proud of you”, “I really appreciate how thoughtful you are”, “You are special”. Make conversation with your child and do not use simple words to explain things – by using a wide range of words it will enable children to use these words too and to become confident in speaking to others.
et involved in the school by volunteering to join the class on school trips, listening to children read or by becoming a Class Rep on the “Friends of the School” or PTA. Or consider becoming a school governor. If you do not have the time, get involved in events that take place at the weekends i.e. the Summer Fair. Look at ways you can offer your services to the school e.g. if you can speak another language you could act as a translator If the school has an International Evening – cook some of your own food and take it along. Or if the class project allows you the opportunity to contribute artefacts or books, or a story of your own, offer to contribute. . They will appreciate your interest and participation and it shows you are actively interested in supporting the school.
13 P Prayer
ray with your child every day before they leave for school. Ask God to bless their ability to learn, to give them knowledge and skills, to choose friends who will be a positive influence and to protect them from any negativity.
Following these 13 steps does not guarantee that everything will be smooth sailing for your child, However by trusting God and taking these steps you will be aligning your children with Gods word and with the best practice for achievement.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a
broken
spirit saps a person's strength.
Proverbs 17:22
AMBASSADOR “ambassador,” I saw the look, the grin. I could see his mind working; do you know the look I mean? The look that’s says ‘yeah right’, ‘whatever’, ‘she doesn’t know what she’s saying’. “Yes Ambassador”, I peep a little higher, firmer, trying to prove a point. But within, I howled, I cried, I died because of the shame I felt. Shame at the dirty truth that as a witness he had bore. Shame for not a word was hid, and so the angels saw. Shame that standing before the cross, my saviour pierced through by sin. Shame to know I done the devils work, my heart had turned within. Not only that but, I had been another hindrance to the kingdom of my Prince. A hindrance how? I pretended—whilst knowing, all along. I was a temptation I think I was an ambassador to the enemy rather than an ambassador to the Lord. “Ambassador”, I say again, and whisper a prayer of repentance. I peak up again “AMBASSADOR” aloud this time, knowing resurrection Sunday. He said “no one takes my life, I lay it down myself”. Working together as one the Spirit and I resound “AMBASSADOR!” for He will also take it up again.
by The3Dwoman
The sin of omission Silence in the face of sin. OMISSION
1. to leave out; fail to include or mention 2. to forbear or fail to do, make, use, send, Many Christians are conscious of the sins of commission in their lives, but far fewer are as alert to their sins of omission. Jesus warns us in the parable of the sheep and goats found in Matthew 25:31-46 that there will be both rewards for right doing and punishments for sins of omission. Whilst remaining silent about a crime, may result in an earthly judge finding the accused not guilty. This parable stands as a stark warning to any who think that being silent or failing to act on a matter is a defence that will get them off the hook when it comes to the final judgement. It is reported that confession is good for the soul - so here goes. Whilst visiting with family I sat silently whilst a lady was given a glass of fruit flavoured cider, it tasted delicious, and although when I later looked at the bottle it contained 4% alcohol, I never told her. It turns out that this lady never knowingly drinks alcohol, and if she had discovered that she had she would have been distraught, so I thought it would be better to play down the matter. To say I was convicted of my sin of omission would be to understate the way I felt. I was caught in the web of deceit created by this well meaning older gentleman who is always trying to get this mature lady to loosen up, and her longstanding Christian friend, who also sat by and encouraged her to ‘drink up’ whilst telling her how delicious the drink was. Whilst I repeatedly told her that the bottle contained Cider, and she asked several times whether it was alcohol free, I never went back to her with the alcohol content once I discovered how much it contained. I was reminded of this account when I read the Ambassador Poem by ‘The3Dwoman’ and once more I am grateful for the blood and the cross of Christ.
By Ann Lane
The sin of omission
God is looking for true worshippers those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. What relationships in your life are you struggling with truth?
What Sins of Omission need your attention?
What Sins of Commission need your attention?
Silence in the face of sin Sins of omission allowed to remain secret in an emotionally healthy relationship will eat away at the heart of the relationship like cancer. They must be brought into the light, failing to do so may result in the partner finding out The deceit can often cause more hurts
What issues are you aware of in your family, church, work or community that God is challenging you to address? than the misdeed itself.
What action will you commit to take to address the issue? (Be Specific)
When will you address this issue? (Be Specific)
Tel: + 44 (0) 7562 216916 Email: restoringlife@ymail.com Web: WWW.RESTORINGLIFEFOUNDATION.ORG Restoring Life Foundation RestLFoundation