All Articles For Miersma, Jan

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.” These words of Psalm 104:24 are echoed in the familiar hymn “How Great Thou Art.” We sing this old favorite with great enthusiasm, and yet in our daily lives we are sometimes rather insensitive to God’s “power throughout the universe displayed.” We so easily fall into habits of life that cause us to take God’s wonderful creation for granted. We don’t spend much time wandering “through the woods and forest glades” or hearing “the birds sing sweetly in the trees.” Because...

How blessed in God’s sight is the family! We joyfully sing the paraphrase of the very familiar Psalm 128, where the psalmist celebrates its joys and privileges. God intended that, in most cases, royal children should grow and develop in covenant family life. He said inGenesis 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone…,” and in Proverbs 18:22, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.” He created us to need others with whom we can live in an intimate communion of life. Growing up in a believing family is a blessed privilege,...

Mrs. Miersma is the wige of Rev. Thomas Miersma, pastor of Immanuel PRC in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. Hemlines rise and fall, waistlines ascend and descend, necklines descend and then plunge. How do royal children, and perhaps especially royal daughters, run through this fashion gauntlet? Parents must teach the royal children whom God has entrusted to their care to navigate this danger-fraught course. As royal children we wear distinctive garments, the finest in the kingdom. Does the way we dress reflect our spiritual garments as children of the great King? When we examine the clothing of the royal children, we begin...

Mrs. Miersma is the wife of Rev. Thomas Miersma, missionary in Spokane, Washington. Previous article in this series: August 2007, p. 446. As we draw these articles on royal children to a close, we will look briefly at one additional means to develop our ability to deal with the written and spoken word, especially with a view to understanding the Word of God. Having considered in previous articles the importance of regular and meaningful conversation with our children and the important part that reading aloud with our children can play in developing their God-given abilities, we turn to the importance...

Mrs. Miersma is the wife of Rev. Thomas Miersma, missionary in Spokane, Washington. Previous article in this series: April 1, 2007, p. 300. Last time we began to look at developing in ourselves and our children the ability to read the written word and listen to the spoken word with understanding. We saw how important this ability is, for we are children of the Word: reading and listening to the Word of God with understanding is the means by which God works our growth in the knowledge of Him and our salvation. From the Word of God in II Timothy 3:15,...

Mrs. Miersma is the wife of Rev. Thomas Miersma, missionary in Spokane, Washington. Royal children are children of the Word, children who must develop in their abilities to listen and speak and to read and write with understanding. Since they are stewards of the abilities and talents that their heavenly Father has given them, we as parents and teachers will encourage the development of their talents with a view to serving our Father King. We wrote of talents, not so much with an eye to differences of natural endowment, but from the perspective of abilities that, though they vary, we...

Mrs. Miersma is the wife of Rev. Thomas Miersma, missionary in Spokane, Washington. Previous article in this series: October 1, 2006, p. 10. Continuing to consider the subject of stewardship of the gifts and talents that God has given to us, let us look at ways in which these abilities are developed as our children move into their school years. The purpose of much of their formal education is to bring out and develop their God-given abilities, not only those that are natural gifts, but the abilities they will need in order to labor as citizens of the kingdom of...

Mrs. Miersma is the wife of Rev. Thomas Miersma, missionary in Spokane, Washington. You are so talented!” “I just don’t have a talent for that.” You have probably said or heard these words many times. What are talents? Are some people just born talented while others are not? Are gifts and talents to be defined strictly in terms of intelligence and of artistic or athletic abilities? As royal children of our heavenly Father, given the privilege to labor in His kingdom, to represent His cause in this world, and to serve Him in heartfelt gratitude, we have seen that He...

Mrs. Miersma is the wife of Rev. Thomas Miersma, missionary in Spokane, Washington. “I don’t have time right now.” “I’ll do that when I have more time.” “I finally have some free time.” “I wish I could just have some time for myself!” How frequently such expressions cross our lips or thoughts and those of our children. Stewardship of time is a challenging subject for us to deal with. God’s Word clearly sets forth the principles, but applying these principles is something that we must each do in the place in which God has set us, in the freedom that...

Mrs. Miersma is the wife of Rev. Thomas Miersma, missionary in Spokane, Washington. Mine!” shouts the two-year-old with furrowed brow. “Give it to me!” Nearly everyone, especially those who are parents, has heard these words at one time or another. Psychologists tell us that the child is simply learning to distinguish between what is his and what is another’s. While there may be a grain of truth in this idea, we can also see that such behavior is often the expression of the sinful nature we are born with. Shaking our heads and smiling a little, we reflect that the...