BLOGS
Spring has arrived! I can see the evidence all over my front yard. No, not green grass, robins or tulips, I’m talking about the scooters, bikes, footballs, and baseball gloves. That is a sure sign around here that the weather is improving (despite the recent snow).
Spring is always an exciting time of year. It’s as if God allowed much of his creation to rest for the season of winter and now slowly coaxes it all back to life right before our eyes. It is a time full of happy anticipation as we watch the earth awaken to colorful beauty once again. As a mother, we live our lives in anticipation. We eagerly wait nine months for the arrival of a baby, and when they are finally placed in our arms we are responsible for anticipating all of their needs. As they grow we continue to prepare and plan ahead for what they will need to be nourished and well cared for. We anticipate their excitement at birthdays and holidays and we anticipate their need for comfort and love when they are hurt or disappointed. You could say it is a part of our job description. It is also in the job description of being a follower of Christ. We are called to live lives of anticipation. It may be better phrased that we are allowed to live lives of anticipation. Jeremiah 29:11 is a favorite verse for many people for good reason; it gives us great hope. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” When we have surrendered our lives to Christ and understand that God has full authority and control over everything that happens to us (full sovereignty), we have great freedom. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Catch that? If you love God, ALL things work together for GOOD. Once again: God is in control, God has your best interests in mind, he intends everything for your good, and it is all done ultimately for his purpose, his glory. What will God do in your life? I don’t have that answer, but God does. He wrote your story long ago and it ends very well (if your heart belongs to him). You get to live in anticipation of what is in store for your future. This doesn’t mean that life will be roses, God’s Word does not promise that. Only that what happens is for your benefit and will magnify God in your life. As it says in Psalms 112, “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.” We also get to anticipate meeting our Savior face to face one day. Whether this life ends and we join him in paradise or he returns to us before then. We get to live in great excitement of this glorious event occurring in our futures! What an amazing thing to look forward to. Everything we do, say, read and think should be in preparation for that exact moment. “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’” – Isaiah 25:9 I have a smile on my face just typing about seeing Jesus someday! How about you? Are you excitedly anticipating the return of your Savior? If so, continue to rejoice, for that day is on the horizon. Be ready (see Luke 12:35-40)! If this is not something you feel excitement for, time for a serious heart check. Do not delay another second; seek Jesus now. Allow him to bring spring to your heart, regenerating life where before there was death. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26 I enCOURAGE you to let the signs of springtime remind you to live in excited anticipation of what God desires to unfold in your heart and life and ultimately of Jesus’ glorious return to gather his beloved to himself! Ladies, please let me know if you have ever experienced one of these days (if you haven’t just keep quiet). I sat down at the computer to write a blog but forgot my Bible. As I went to grab it I saw cleaning supplies left out and remembered that I had started to clean the bathroom but only got halfway done. I better get that done, but I should shower first. After I showered I remembered I needed to switch the clothes in the washer to the dryer. I get to the laundry room and realize I never started the washer because it wasn’t a full load yet. So I went to the boys’ room to get dirty cloths and see that I still needed to hang up the clean clothes I left there earlier. After finishing, I remembered I really had to get that blog done. So I sat down at the computer but forgot my Bible. As I went to grab it I saw cleaning supplies left out and remembered that I had started to clean the… wait a minute…
So here I sit, feeling like I have been running crazy today and I still have only a half clean bathroom (which may be better than a half dirty bathroom depending on how you see things), a washer full of dirty clothes and a blog still needing done. Some days I wonder… is this how it starts? That slow decline of brain functioning they talk about on the radio? Where is that Sudoku book I had around here? When is the last time I did a crossword puzzle? OR… has all my Diet Pepsi drinking finally caught up to me? Did the aspartame turn my brain to Swiss cheese like Tristan Miles always told me it would? Its scatter brained days like this that keep me truly thankful that I have a Heavenly Father that has everything under control. He never forgets to feed the sparrows, stock the snow reserves or cue the sun for its rising. Nothing is beyond his capabilities or grasp. God always accomplishes what he sets out to do each and every day. There is nothing left at the end of his “to do list” ever. I praise God that he is forever perfect and his goodness never ends. God never changes. What comfort I take in that! He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). There is no need for God to change, you can’t improve on perfection. You can never add to or take away from it; otherwise it would not have been perfect in the first place. The word I love to read in the Bible is “steadfast”. It appears 219 times in the ESV Bible according to my search on biblegateway.com. 132 of those times are in the Psalms, which is where I have been reading it morning after morning as I study that book of the Bible. 202 times out of the 219 it is connected to the word “love”. Here are a few instances: Psalms 63:3, “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” Psalms 59:16, “I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.” Psalms 100:8, “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” My heart rejoices every time I come across that word. I love serving a God that is steadfast. I looked up the definition and here are the words I found: firmly loyal, constant, unswerving, fixed, unchanging, and unmovable. How awesome is that? Yes! Those words describe my God and his love for me! Woo Hoo! So on days like this when I feel a little out of sorts and wonder about the soundness of my mind, I breathe deep and praise a God that is constant and unmovable. He doesn’t experience forgetfulness or have senior moments. He never doubts, worries or struggles. “He upholds the universe by the word of his power,” (Hebrews 1:3). This does not tire him or wear him out even a little. He is fully and eternally sufficient to handle all he plans to do. That includes loving you with his steadfast, unswerving, fixed and unchanging love. He had it written down 219 times so you would understand it. I must wrap this blog up now (just remembered I turned my hot iron on two hours ago to do my hair). Ladies, take comfort in knowing no matter how crazy or scattered we feel, we serve a God that is infinitely secure. He is deep and still, perfect and unchanging. He is steadfast. I enCOURAGE you to place your scattered mind and heart in his hands today. Trust in him to be your rock and solid footing always! My youngest son, Troy, has an unusually long tongue (just ask and he’ll happily show you). He also has a voracious appetite. One evening this past summer the boys talked us into eating supper outside on the patio table. While we bowed our heads and Phil gave thanks I heard noises to my right. I peeked my eyes open (don’t act like you don’t do it once in a while too ) and I see Troy running his big tongue along the filthy table licking up a pile of sloppy joe that had fallen from his bun. I grimaced as I could see the dirt he was taking in and that he was just inches away from ingesting bird poo.
Troy was hungry for the meat, but was also willing to eat a lot of dirt to get it. We often do the same thing in a spiritual sense. We feel a hunger for more inside of us, a hunger for God and spiritual goodness. It is our soul longing for sustenance, so we look for what we can feed it. We grab the latest “Christian” best seller and find Jesus talking to us in first person, yet these are not the same words in red from the Bible. We turn on the radio to our favorite station yet hear more about being positive, uplifting, and non-offending than being salt and light in the world. We watch feel-good movies that drop God’s name and play with our emotions yet are so off base scripturally that they are laughable. We search for a good sermon online or a pithy quote to “like” on social media. Not all of these activities are bad or sinful, but when a soul is longing to be nourished it needs the real stuff without the extra dirt tossed in. What sense does it make to lick up the dirt along with the meat just so you have to sort it out after it is already inside of you? God tells us through James that we are “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27, NIV). Many times godly instruction and God’s Word can be accompanied by a lot of unnecessary additives and fillers, this is what I am calling “dirt”. Think of the dirt as pollution to your body. It may not always be blatantly “bad” but even the “fluffy stuff” can act like smog and cloud our vision of Jesus. The world throws enough trash at us each day; don’t willingly add more to your diet. Don’t acquire a taste for it little by little in seemingly innocent ways. There is a lot of dirt masquerading as “Christian” goods out there. We need to be very careful in what we read, listen to and declare as “good.” This requires a lot of discernment on our part; a lot of comparing to the only source of Truth. Remember that Jesus Christ is the Word of God made manifest (read John 1). There is nothing we can read, sing, type or say that can add a single ounce of worth to him. There are many great writings and songs that point us toward him, and I am a fan of many these, but never a follower. I follow Christ alone, God’s Word alone. I have used dirt as my example, but many times it may look more like fancy glitter. It may even taste sweet like honey, but it will not last. The dirt will turn to slippery mud, the glitter will catch in your throat, and the honey will turn sour in your gut. Only God’s pure Word stands eternal and will not diminish. Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” I’m not really overly concerned about my kids eating some dirt now and then in the physical sense, no biggie. I have a house of boys and the five second rule is alive and well here. However, when I see those I love eating spoonfuls of dirt (or glitter) in the spiritual sense I will do what I can to grab their hand, toss the spoon, offer a fork and knife and put the filet of God’s unadulterated Word in front of them and say, “Eat!” I enCOURAGE you to do the same. Full. Always full. The arms of a mother are full of sippy cups, dish rags, toys, laundry, shoes, books, mystery gunk, blankies, sports equipment, groceries, or the kids themselves. Full at any given moment and at any given time.
The rare moments when our arms are free, our minds are full. To do lists run through our heads along with questions like “How can I magically transform a pound of hamburger into a decent supper?”, “Will a few minutes in front of the TV screw up my child?” and “How long until nap time?” Oh the crazy times of mothering! So during these years when your time (and energy) is being taken over by young ones with their demands and needs, are we allowed to take a hiatus from growing in God and being useful for his Kingdom? You know my answer of course… no! For you Moms who find yourself in this season of life, I want to give you three areas of encouragement to hold on to today. 1.) God is with you. “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalms 1:2 You may feel many days that “quiet time” with God is impossible. You can’t get away from the demands of your day and those around you to spend 30 minutes in the Word like you feel you should. Good news! God is not only present in quiet times but also in the wild, noisy, and even chaotic times (see Hebrews 13:5)! He is not frightened off by crying babies, grumpy toddlers or moody teens. Praise God for that! God is never far away. When you belong to God, his Holy Spirit dwells within you and will never leave you (read John 14:1-17). Learn to appreciate his presence even when times are wild. Need suggestions? Pray out loud, worship and praise God with singing, grab your Bible in the morning and memorize one line, think on it throughout your day, or listen to the Bible or a sermon online. Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles Wesley) was a mother of 10 children yet she spent two hours a day in prayer. How? By flipping her apron up over her head. She told the children that when they saw her apron up she was in prayer and not to be bothered. She could not remove herself from her duties but she could still focus on God. 2.) God is growing you. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water…” Psalms 1:3a Trees are one of God’s amazing creations. You can’t see them growing but they are. Over time, if they get all the water and nutrients they need, they become tall, full and beautiful. That is what God does in your heart during the years of motherhood if you are his. He grows you little bits at a time over many years (“from one degree of glory to another” 2 Cor. 3:18). You won’t realize all he has done until you look back and see the changes yourself. God is amazingly gracious to us and he values us far more than trees. Too many moms make the mistake of thinking that their purpose in motherhood is to produce godly children. That is a great goal, but only God produces anything godly. God’s purpose for you in motherhood is to produce a godly woman. He allows you to experience so much during motherhood to mature you in him. Does this mean that God allows sickness, disabilities, and defiance in our children to grow us toward him? Absolutely! Is God behind the sleepless nights, skinned knees, and picky eaters? If you believe in the sovereignty of God he is! Things we often see as “interruptions” in our days (or nights) are often God taking the time to teach us and asking us to grow our roots deeper in him (our source of living water). 3.) God is what it’s all about. “…that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither.” Psalms 1:3b We are creations of the Master Gardener, made to magnify his greatness. It is to this end we live, breath and raise others to do the same. Make no mistake; this life is not about you. Rejoice in that fact, if it was, we would be sorely disappointed. God has filled your arms to overflowing so that your hearts could also be filled to overflowing with all his goodness, mercies and love. He continues to prune and fashion you into the masterpiece he desires you to be and one that will reflect him beautifully. Trust God in this. Mothers, today whether you find your arms full of sweet cuddles or a battle of wills, know that God has great purpose for each of these moments. After all…he has you in his arms. There is currently a group of local men serving God in India in the name of Jesus Christ. I praise God for their obedience to this call and their desire to spread the Good News to the lost. I have been thinking a lot about the wives that have been “left behind” here at home, mostly because a few of them are close friends of mine.
I tire of hearing myself and others tell them that they are a part of the mission team because they are supporting their husbands and allowing them to “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:20). I do not want to minimize this fact, it is very true. And, yes they will receive blessings as being senders of those who spread the gospel, but there is much more to it than that. The same God that is 100% present with the men in India is also 100% present with these ladies at home. As their men packed up and jumped on planes to carry them thousands of miles away, I imagine God was saying, “Alright, Daughter, let’s do this thing! I have so much I want to teach you and so many ways I want to grow your faith in Me during this time!” These two weeks may give them a break (or not)from making big meals, doing extra laundry and cleaning up extra messes (sorry guys, but you know it’s true) but it is not a break from growing in depth of relationship with their Heavenly Father. Any change in our mundane daily life routine is a great opportunity for testing and learning more about what is truly in our hearts. Yes, it can be a time of refining but also an exciting time of putting into practice what God has been training us for. During this time on your own God may make you face some pretty tough questions: Am I living as if God is truly sufficient for me? Do I believe it when I read, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)? When things go crazy and I feel alone, do I turn to “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction” like it tells me in 2 Corinthians 1:3 and 4? Am I prepared with God’s Word to fight the Enemy when I feel the attacks of anxiety coming (Ephesians 6)? Am I humble enough to ask for help if I need it (Galatians 6:2)? Ladies, this time can provide moments of amazing intimacy with your Savior. A time of building yourself up in love and trust of Him using His Word as your rock. This is also a great time to test your “Powers of Oneness” (yes, I made that term up, but it fits : ). It can be easy to feel like “one flesh” when you are in close proximity to your spouse, but how does that work when they are on the other side of the world? Does the distance negate or lesson the connection? Not a chance! Does God say without reason, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”? Jesus confirmed and repeated this statement in Mark 10:7-9 and added, “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Your “oneness” remains. So how do you plan to keep this connection strong and continue to be a suitable helper to your husband even while he is away? Prayer is the best answer. Praying for your spouse is powerful and one of the best ways to love your husband. Have your children pray for their father and family leader as he leads from another location. Continue to honor him as the authority of your household by the way you make (or delay) decisions and in the way you talk about him to your children and others. Actually it is quite awesome to think of your “one flesh” being on opposite sides of the world and yet acting with one shared desire to glorify God. Be sensitive to nudgings of the Holy Spirit. When life sends you “interruptions” see them for what they truly are: God’s sovereign hand intervening for a reason. Whether it is being up in the night with a needy child or a case of insomnia at 3:00 am. God has a plan for your heart and attention no matter what time of day (or night) it is. Worship him wherever you are and whatever you are doing, even with arms full of children, laundry or crochet needles (yes, you know who I am talking about). I’m praying for you ladies. Time spent walking in full surrender and obedience to God is always POWERFUL whether in small town India or small town America. This was the simple text a friend sent me several weeks ago. I had been sitting reading my Bible and was struggling deeply with an issue concerning one of my children. My heart was aching and the tears were flowing freely down my face. When the text came my first reaction was, “How did she know? Could she hear me crying from across town?” Silly, I know and totally illogical, but the perfect timing of her simple question was supernatural. I burst into uncontrollable sobs. This time because of the amazing ability of my Father God to comfort me using one of his other children.
This little message spoke volumes of love, concern and encouragement to my heart. Does that seem strange? It shouldn’t. I knew the sender well and I knew the care behind these words. She was and is a sister in Christ; therefore we share something very strong. In 1 Corinthians 12:4, 5 it says, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord.” The same Spirit resides in each of us who belong to Christ, so this shouldn’t be surprising at all. This is the Holy Spirit given to us as a gift from Jesus Christ as our helper to be with us forever. The world cannot receive him because it does not know him, only those redeemed by Jesus have the Holy Spirit. “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17. The Holy Spirit is God (part of the trinity) and dwells in us. Mind blowing? Absolutely. Allow the Spirit to nudge you toward good works and loving others, “especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10. We do these works for the glory of God and they result in thanksgiving toward God in us. If you are a believer, when someone crosses your mind, know that there is a reason for it. Pray for that person then reach out to them if you feel led to. It could be a simple text, email, written note or phone call. Maybe you need to go further and invite them out for coffee or lunch. Any of these seemingly small acts could mean so much to them. Be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit; it is truly obedience to God. I have a friend who often takes pictures of the beautiful scenery around her. Whenever I see something I know she would capture, I pray for her. On my drive into Dubuque for work I turn off the radio and pray for those God places on my heart that day. It may be for a known prayer request or a general prayer for God’s will to be done in their life. If someone stays on my mind, I connect with them in some way through messages or meeting for a simple talk and prayer. This is what family does for one another. We pray, we encourage, and we spur one another on toward Christ always. How can you do this for someone today? But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. – Hebrews 3:13 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. – 1 Thess. 5:11 In last week’s blog (on pursuing a closer relationship with God) I told you how I was not so good at reaching out to others, and if I had my own (selfish) way I would most likely keep to myself. I have been thinking that I need to expand on that. It may seem odd to hear those comments from a “Director of Women’s Ministries”. After all isn’t that pretty much my job description? Funny thing about blogging, it causes you to show some of what is in your head and sometimes those are very vulnerable thoughts.
You may call God mysterious, purposeful or even mean. He seems to always somehow draw out and make known to you your weaknesses. This could be a character deficiency, a failure at something, or even a physical limitation. What I’m talking about today are not areas of sin like lust, addictions, or gluttony but more a poor personality bent. Which, when left undisciplined, could turn into a sin of disobedience. Now don’t think that this weakness is a flaw in how God designed you; as if he messed up or accidently dropped you in the creation process. It is there for a purpose! God made you exactly the way he intended to. He has big plans for your specific weakness. Take comfort and joy in that fact, but don’t become content with it. The Bible has given us a great visual for why he created us with weaknesses. If you have received Christ you have a great treasure inside of you, it is the light of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). Your body is the container for this light, fashioned from the dust of the earth. You are an ordinary clay pot holding an awesome and powerful light. 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Now, God could have made us out of airtight Tupperware or strong steel. We could hold in that light and not allow anyone else to see it. Some live this way, pretending they are made of fine metal and have it all together. They polish themselves and act as though they are strong and have no weakness. What a load of bologna! How could you be any good to those around you that way? I rejoice in being a clay pot just like God designed me to be, with all of my flaws and deficiencies! Each weakness in my clay, allows the light of God to shine through. Paul often boasted in his weaknesses for this very reason, read 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Here is verse 9, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” God isn’t mean, he is fully wise and he loves you. He ultimately desires (and deserves) more glory for himself. Therefore, he has given you an area of weakness in which he can demonstrate his perfect power and show his light to others. Allow this to happen, expose your weak areas to be used by God. Ladies, take a moment to think about a weakness you have. You can probably name one fairly quickly. It could be a fear of what others think, a tendency towards selfishness, a need to always have things orderly, a fear of leaving the house, or even laziness. How can you turn this around on the Enemy and allow God to shine through you using this weakness? Ideas may include becoming a radical giver, asking a friend for coffee, inviting others into your home, or investing your time in projects that bless God instead of watching another TV show. My weakness is my desire to keep to myself and not interact with others. However, God has placed a passion for his Word in my heart and has commanded me to teach and share what God has done in my life. Therefore when I do speak, teach, or lead it is only through the power of God and not my own selfish desire for attention. I plan to allow God to use my weakness in order to magnify himself more. I will do this by doing the exact opposite of what my flesh is screaming for. Instead of staying in my comfortable cocoon, I will step out and connect with others. I will share what God has done in my life and what he offers to those who will receive him. I want to pursue others like Christ pursued me. Many of you ladies reading this will be on my list, so be warned… I may soon be pursuing YOU! This past Sunday afternoon I was in a dark and cold building sweeping up what looked like dust bunnies that had been hit by an enlarger ray in a sci-fi movie. I did this for nearly two hours and the place was still a mess after I was done. I was wearing Carhartts, long underwear and rubberized work gloves (that still somehow don’t keep my hands from turning black). The mask I had to wear over my mouth and nose was uncomfortable and made it hard to breath. Not exactly how someone wants to spend their day off…yet…for some reason I found myself smiling.
It has been a rough year for a variety of reasons, not the least of which has been the fire that consumed our business in November. As you can see from above, the cleanup process has been messy, slow and time consuming. The gigantic dust bunnies are the insulation that fell when the ceiling came down. It covered everything in the back half of the shop, things like burned up cars, melted electronics, ruined tools and tons of broken glass. There is no electricity so the only light comes from our headlamps and the meager sunlight that comes through the few windows that are not boarded up. It is a dark and cold place (another reminder that I want no part of Hell). Despite all of the gloom, my heart was still warm that afternoon and at times I even found myself singing the songs I had heard at church that morning. These are the final days of 2014 and my mind was on the past twelve months. If I had to gauge the worth of our past year by the world’s standards I may have a right to feel sorry for myself and complain (the fire, canceled family vacations, kidney stones, surgery, etc.). Praise God, I don’t care what the world’s opinion is. I only desire to gauge my success through the eyes of God. He has blessed me with so much in 2014: watching our church family grow and desire more of God, an opportunity to serve alongside brothers and sisters in Kentucky, seeing a friend give her life to Jesus, being provided more opportunities to share my faith, seeing the love of Christ grow in my children, watching my husband handle difficult situations with godly grace and strength, and so much more. Wow, what an awesome year! Don’t worry, I’m not always this cheerful, I have to get my attitude adjusted frequently. At times my perspective gets skewed and I can feel the pity party starting. There are times I have been in the same burned out shop hauling garbage and I had no desire to sing or smile. I have learned it’s those times that I need a good slap of truth to get my head back on straight. One of my favorites is the same one the Pastor used on Sunday morning – Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” And if you start Romans 12, you might as well just keep on reading, because the whole chapter is great. Verses 9-21 are about the marks of a True Christian. Verse 11, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (NIV). I love that verse, it sums up how we should take on every New Year (heck, every new day)! How has your past twelve months been? Have you seen growth towards God in your life? Have you been working towards what pleases Him or yourself? Are you closer to Jesus now then on January 1, 2014, do you know him better? That is how each and every year must be gauged. If you aren’t sure or if you haven’t experienced growth towards Christ, this is the perfect time to start! If you are tired of the same old resolutions of weight loss, exercise and home organization (yep, I’m reading your mind) then make a change toward eternal betterment. Let 2015 be the year that you put yourself aside and choose to please Jesus instead. Then no matter what occurs in the next twelve months, whether it’s health problems, parenting issues or losing your job, if you truly strive to serve and glorify God you will have had the best year yet. It’s time to go for it and have a truly Happy New Year! Ladies, my goal of this blog today is to encourage you to become boldly thankful every day. If you want joy in your life then giving thanks to God is the path that gets you there. Being thankful is the antidote to the dissatisfaction you are experiencing in life today. This may seem too simple and too close to wishful thinking, but I challenge you to put it into practice and see for yourself.
Here is what Paul has to say about giving thanks – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 This verse includes three activities that we should be doing perpetually: rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks. That is what our days should look like; these are what should be on our lips continually: praise, prayers, and thanks to God. I want to focus on giving thanks because I believe that the other two will follow if you get that one right. Give thanks in all circumstances. What does it take to always be thankful? An easy life? A life free from troubles and pain? Did Paul’s life look like that? No…read the book of Acts. Paul’s life after receiving Christ included beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, and more. He had no life of leisure. More importantly, look at the life of Jesus; he was hated, had no place to lay his head, and was brutally beaten and crucified. These examples should speak volumes to us today. We tend to think that those who lived two thousand years ago can’t identify with our lives or the pain we go through. Quite the opposite is true! We can’t relate to their lives of difficulties because of our lives of comfort. If Paul and Jesus could rejoice and give thanks to God in everything they went through, then I certainly can do the same in my life and through my difficulties. I want to get very practical with you now, Ladies. I want to deal with the anti-thankful state we often find ourselves in; the state of want or dissatisfaction. If you are like me, you hate those feelings; always feeling a little behind and a little less than everyone else around you. Here is how you combat that emotion: get your eyes on Christ. Remove from your eyesight all earthly things that make you covet and want “more”. If you feel unsatisfied with your looks after reading a fashion magazine, trash it. If you feel unhappy with your home after watching HGTV, block the channel. If going to the mall makes you want to buy more stuff, stop going there. Be firm with yourself and get rid of distractions to thanksgiving. “Lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely” - Hebrews 12:1. Recognize that these are all the Enemy’s attempts at stealing your joy. Fight that by giving thanks to God for what he has given you. I find that when I am thankful for the house, body and life situation that God has blessed me with, there is no room for discontent. With Christ I am completely full; there is no lacking or need unmet. This is not to say that I don’t have earthly needs, but my eternal needs (what is of utmost importance) are fully satisfied. Paul knew exactly what he was talking about when he told the Thessalonians to “give thanks in all circumstances.” He knew that our varying circumstances don’t change our relationship with our Savior. No matter what else goes on around us, or what happens to us, if we have Jesus, we have everything. If you have accepted what he has done for you on the cross, you are eternally well and safe. You can never lose that relationship and that is why there is always reason to give thanks. Our God is an awesome and mighty God, and has promised that once you are his, no one can snatch you out of his hand (John 10:28,29). In that we rejoice and give thanks in every season and in all circumstances! If you have not started this relationship with Jesus, you are not eternally secure and no amount of thanksgiving will get you there. There is no better time than right now to accept his gift. Allow God to fill you with his eternal blessings and begin a new life of thanksgiving; always living in anticipation of his goodness. Ladies, I want you to be determined in this quest of giving thanks. Not just in the next couple of weeks, but always. Get rid of distractions in life that lead to dissatisfaction. Mothers, teach your children to be continually thankful. Let them see you praise God when difficulties come. With a thankful heart fully satisfied in God you will find true and everlasting joy. Have you ever had to work in a group where there was no leader? No one took the reins to guide the group in a clear direction and so the members simply flounder along with no good guidance. Or maybe you have been in a group where there are too many leaders. Two different people feel they know what is right for the entire group and but want to lead in different directions. In either situation the result is confusion and frustration for all involved.
Both of the above scenarios are common in families today. There are times when neither the husband nor the wife takes a clear lead and decisions are left up to chance or each takes a turn being in charge at different times. This sounds like a fair way to run things, but when put into practice this causes a mess. In the reverse, both the husband and the wife claim leadership and then often try to lead in different directions. Each spouse may feel they know the best way to discipline the kids, make family decisions, or handle the money. This causes great confusion for the children and keeps families going in circles instead of making progress toward any priorities. So what is the answer? You must name a chief of your tribe. There must be a clear leader whose decision is final. According to the Bible, this must be the husband. Now Ladies, stay with me and just keep on reading. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 it says, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” We can see in this verse that the husband is to be the head of the wife, so this is Biblical. The husband is assigned the role of being the leader in this marital relationship. This is no easy task, just ask Adam. We know that it was his wife, Eve, that first ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, but who takes the blame? Read Romans 5:12, “…sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men…” Adam takes the blame of allowing sin to enter the world and therefore spreading to all men. Eve was our first example of how our actions can dishonor our husbands. If the husband is to lead his wife, who is leading the husband? The verse in 1 Corinthians 11 clearly tells us it is Christ himself. The husband takes his cues on how to lead from Jesus. That right there should be enough to completely satisfy us… but if not, check out what Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”. There is no greater love than the love of Christ towards his bride of the church. Husbands are called to have this type of sacrificial love towards their wife. Don’t miss the enormity and intensity of this. Jesus poured everything he had, including his blood, out for his bride of the church. Husbands are called to no less than this. I know the question that is coming… what happens when you have a husband who is not serving the Lord? Does this give you the permission you have been hoping for to chuck this marriage and check out eHarmony? No way. You are still called to submit leadership to your non-believing husband. You will be the model of Christ to him in how you serve him. Pray for his salvation and love him toward Jesus with all you have. Read 1 Peter 3:1-2, these verses speak directly to this. Ladies, allowing your husband to be the Chief of your household is very freeing. God’s way of doing things is always best, including how he has set up leadership in marriage. I’m proud to call Phil Chief of our little tribe and I will gladly support him as he keeps his eyes on Christ. I admit I have failed at this so many times; I have tried to step in front of him thinking I know what is best. When I do this I feel the shift of unrest and unbalance it causes. This discernment has come not through years of marriage, but from maturing in my walk with Christ. My Pastor recently used the metaphor of dancing to describe this marital balance. There can only be one leader for a dance to be beautiful, if both try to lead (or neither) it is an uncoordinated mess. In our home I relate easier to the tribe mentality (could be because Phil and I are lousy dancers). I like thinking of our household as a small band of warriors with a mutual mission and the bond of relationship. We stand together, armed with the Word of God as we battle a real Enemy that desires to keep our family from being effective and fruitful. This leads me to the gift that God has granted all wives… encouragement. Once we name our husband as the Chief of our home it does not release us of responsibility or leave us without a say in how the family is run. God has given us a super-power in the form of how we use our words and actions to build up our man. Watch for ways to praise his efforts and respect his decisions. Demonstrate a Biblical marriage for your children so they will know how to care for their own tribe someday. Watch for my upcoming blog on the beauty of submission. |
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