Proverbs 31:20 "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."
So this week we're going to skip ahead a bit to verse 20. With Christmas just around the corner, this tends to be the time of year that we think about the needy more and more.
Over the years before digital photography was invented, I had a tenancy to take photos and never develop the film. So here it is 7 years after I converted to digital and I have an entire grocery bag full of used film that has never been developed!! So about two months ago I decided that I'd develop them 2 rolls a week. Last night I picked up the two from this week and was really excited to see photos from one of my favorite Christmases!
I had worked in the Collection department collecting negative checking accounts. I'd call people and set up payment arrangements to get them paid off so they didn't get hit with a law suit. I heard every excuse in the book, and most of the time they were lying so I had to really use my instincts to make sure they were telling the truth. One day, I received a call from a lady who had three children and she said they had lost everything they had, and didn't have a place to stay so they were staying in a halfway house. She was just so devastated that Christmas was in three weeks and she would not be able to provide for her family! I made payment arrangements with her best I could and then we ended the call. As I sat thinking about those poor kids I knew I had to do something! I sent an email out to the banking employees asking for donations! The entire bank came together and donated clothes, toys, even a bike, and an entire Christmas dinner! On Christmas Eve that year I loaded up a truck and drove down to deliver the gifts. The truck was filled to the brim and I was convinced this would be the best Christmas EVER! When I arrived I began to unload the truck and the kids were squealing with excitement! There was something for everyone, even the mom and dad! Sitting there watching the excitement and seeing how grateful those children were opening the gifts was the best Christmas gift anyone could have ever given me!!
Now that I have children of my own, it's so easy to get lost in buying for them at Christmas and wanting them to have the best of everything. As I pick out their gifts and place them in my basket, I picture their faces opening that gift on Christmas morning! Those little faces give me so much joy! However, those little faces learning to give someone else joy, is even better!! I want my girls to learn to extend their arms to the poor, and needy. I want them to have more joy watching someone opening a gift then getting a gift themselves!
So this week, you Challenge is to find a way to give back this week to someone less fortunate. This is a great thing for your children to witness! Weather it's buying a homeless person a meal, or going through old toys and letting your children give their toys to another child, or volunteering at a soup kitchen. However you decide to give back is okay big or small!
Head over the facebook page and let us know how you gave back this week, or how you intend to give back! Prayers this week that God will lead you to the right person!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Challenge # 16: November 29 - December 5, 2010
Proverbs 31:17 “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.”
Well, Happy Holiday’s ladies! I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!! It’ so good to be back this week preparing things for Christmas, and getting everything back in order from Thanksgiving! I feel like life has been such chaos since the baby was born in August, but I’m hoping to be more consistent now with the challenges!
I’m so excited about Christmas this year! I think it’s because it’s the first year that both my oldest girls are old enough to really appreciate all the traditions and fun things leading up to the holidays! So that means more work and preparation for me, and finding new traditions for our family!
Okay so let’s get down to the challenge this week!
When my husband and I first got married, he had a back condition that I was aware of but didn’t know or realize how serious it was. After a year or so we were told he would eventually need surgery and was referred to a back doctor who was actually the same doctor who worked on Christopher Reeve after his accident. We were further referred to an Orthopedic/Neuro-Surgeon who has since said he will eventually have to have surgery but to wait as long as possible! The longer we wait the more technology we will have, and the better the surgery will go. He was also very surprised that he was not in more pain then he was.
The last 5 years I knew in the back of my mind that he would need surgery someday, but I felt like we couldn’t live our lives based on that fact. We had to still go forward and when the day came the day would come. I never treated my husband any different, still expected him to pick up the girls, put them in the car…I mean after all he is my husband, the strong man I married right?... hurt back or not.
A few weeks ago my 18 month old fell on a chair and her tooth went through her bottom lip. We decided to take her to the ER, and thankfully she did NOT need stitches. As we were leaving the hospital, my husband was carrying her through the parking garage, when he suddenly had to stop. He bent all the way to the ground (baby still in arms) and squatted stretching his back. He told me it was really hurting and he couldn’t carry her any further. I took her from him and carried her the rest of the way to the car.
Since that day a few weeks ago, his back has gotten worse, and worse! One day he was in the bed all day long, and most days end with him having sciatic nerve pain. He went from taking a pain pill occasionally to having to take three different pills, three times a day! And we’re scheduled for another trip to the doctor in January which I do fear will result in scheduling the surgery if there isn’t another form of pain relief.
As his wife it’s been scary for me to see this happening before my eyes. I’m sure it hasn’t been an easy thing for him either. He can no longer lift the kids, put them in the car, carry them, or help me with heavy things without having severe pain. It’s mostly up to me now. While my husband is still a strong man, I’m sure for any man this would be a hard thing feeling like they’ve lost their strength. But he can rest assured, he is still one of the strongest men I know – back condition or not!
See, the last 5 years I’ve been so having babies, being a mom, and being wife that I’ve not had the time to prepare for this task that I knew would be before me eventually! I’m so out of shape that after a week of lifting our 4 kids and doing the heavy lifting things that he normally did, I can hardly sleep at night because of my own muscle aches! It’s been taxing on me trying to get used to helping with these things!
So ladies my question for you is, are you in shape? Are your arms strong for the tasks that you might be given? Or are you like I was and thought that you can’t live your life based on the fact that something might happen later on? You might not have a husband with a back condition, but in 10 years are you going to be healthy and able? Are you going to be able to run with your children and play games outside? Are you going to be able to live worry free, knowing that you are in good health? I know I want to!!
So your challenge for this week is to get an exercise routine down if you haven’t already! At least 3-5 days a week! And if you have, add in something extra to that routine this week. Push yourself a little harder. With the holidays here, we are most likely going to be indulging in yummy cookies and lots of food, so no better time then now to burn some calories!!
Also, I'm so excited that we now have 84 followers on our facebook page! Once we hit 100 people, we will have another give away!! Please pass this blog along to your friends, you never know whose marriage you might save!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Challenge #15: November 8, 2010-November 15, 2010
Proverbs 31:17: She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
With the winter months approaching, for me it's so hard to get motivated to do anything around the house! I just want to stay warm all day and hang out with a good book! This is probably the hardest time of year for me because I hate the winter! During the summer I can get up and do all my housework and just go, go, go all day long! But something about the winter slows me down!!
I've retreated to my crockpot the last two weeks for meals, put off my chores all weekend long and now it's Monday and I'm living in chaos and trying to climb my way out of it! I was really not working vigorously this last week. I'm even behind on all 4 of my blogs!!
So ladies your challenge this week is to "Work vigorously!" This is going to be a huge challenge for me this week since it's winter. A few months ago it would have been cake! So lets take a look at your week, how often do you lay around reading, watching TV, getting on the Internet while your work just sits there growing bigger and bigger? Lets try to have less of that this week and more work accomplished!!
Prayers this week as we become vigorous!
With the winter months approaching, for me it's so hard to get motivated to do anything around the house! I just want to stay warm all day and hang out with a good book! This is probably the hardest time of year for me because I hate the winter! During the summer I can get up and do all my housework and just go, go, go all day long! But something about the winter slows me down!!
I've retreated to my crockpot the last two weeks for meals, put off my chores all weekend long and now it's Monday and I'm living in chaos and trying to climb my way out of it! I was really not working vigorously this last week. I'm even behind on all 4 of my blogs!!
So ladies your challenge this week is to "Work vigorously!" This is going to be a huge challenge for me this week since it's winter. A few months ago it would have been cake! So lets take a look at your week, how often do you lay around reading, watching TV, getting on the Internet while your work just sits there growing bigger and bigger? Lets try to have less of that this week and more work accomplished!!
Prayers this week as we become vigorous!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Challenge # 14 October 20. 2010 - October 27, 2010
Proverbs 31:15-16 “She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.”
Verse 16: “She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.”
I planted my first garden this summer. Scary I know! I have never in my life kept anything non-human alive long enough to bloom, so I knew me planting a garden was going to be interesting! I blame it on the pregnancy hormones and the need to nurture something; and the thought of feeding my children amazing homegrown veggies was a plus. It was also a plus that we could save some money by canning some veggies for the winter, and eating out of the garden in the summer.
My first step was research. The search for a great informative book on what in the world I was supposed to do, since the extent of my green thumb started with watering, and ended with exposure to the sun. After that it was time to prep, plant, water, and wait! Prepping the soil was the hardest part! In the book it didn’t seem too hard you just took 1/3 of vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 compost, mixed them together and put them in your garden. But boy I tell you, the mixing was painful! We had dust flying and pieces of stuff in our hair, and the thought that I was mixing manure up with my hands made me gag! After I planted my seeds, I checked on them daily, watering and waiting, weeding and chasing off squirrels with my fake Owl. Then at the end of a long two week wait, they started to bud, and grow. After two months or so we started to reap a harvest! After all that hard labor, nurturing, feeding and manure kneading, we had an overflow of salad, green beans, strawberries, and other fresh veggies!
Half way through the summer, I had our baby girl and stopped giving to my garden. I didn’t have the time to weed, water, and spend time nurturing it the way I did before, and our harvest died out. It no longer produced veggies or fruits like it did in the past. Every now and then we’d get one bean, or one strawberry but not enough to feed a family of 6. I just couldn’t invest in it as much as I did before and eventually, we reaped NOTHING!
For a lot of people the subject of Money and God together is a sore subject. I never really got that because didn’t God make money? I teach my 4 year old that God makes everything, every toy they get God provided for them, every job we have God provides for us, and every cent of money that is earned God is entrusting to us to be wise with.
In my opinion the wisest investment you can make with your money, would be to tithe! What is funny is that if you have ever listened to, or read any Susie Orman books, or Dave Ramsey books; the one thing they all say (Christian or not) is to give away 10% of your money to a charity, organization, church etc because when you give it will come back to you!
Years ago I was in a bad relationship with someone who didn’t really want to live by God’s principals. I wanted to tithe and he thought it was stupid to tithe! So for years I did not tithe because of this. Finally when I broke away from him, I decided that the first thing I was going to change in my new life was tithing. I had a new apartment, but wasn’t sure I could afford all the bills that came with it. I also knew I needed to “give back to God what was God’s”. So I sat down one evening to do my first week of bills for my new place. I took out my check book, wrote out my tithe and prayed over it. I went on to paying the rest of my bills, and when I was all out of money, I had three bills that were left unpaid, and only about $10.00 left in my bank account for the next 2 weeks! It costs me 40.00 a week in gas alone just to get to work, so I began to panic. I knew I had that amount in tithe that I could withhold, so I kept that in the back of my mind.
The next day was Sunday, and I just happened to be singing my first solo in the choir that morning. They always passed the offering plate to the choir before the service started and as it was coming in my direction I froze. Knowing I was giving away the end of my money for two weeks, no groceries, and no gas money suddenly made me nauseous! So I gripped my check tight, whispered “Lord you know my needs bless this money!” and dropped it into the offering plate in slow motion.
When the service started I took a deep breath and came forward to deliver my solo. Then when it was time for the message, it was about DOUBT! He talked about how everyone doubts God, even Christians. He asked if anyone was having problems with doubting God to come forward to get prayed for. I thought “well there is no way I’m going up there and having everyone see I was just singing and I doubt God, how embarrassing!” But at that moment the entire first two rows of people in the choir walked down to be prayed for….so I just crept in the back of them! We were told to all line up across the front. Then I heard Pastor shout, “YOU!” I looked up and that finger was pointing RIGHT AT ME! He says, “Come up here!” Oh boy I’ve really done it now!! He says, “you were up here ministering and praising God, but yet you are now down there asking for prayer because your doubting? See even ministers can doubt God sometimes, I doubt God sometimes!” Then he says “would you mind sharing with us what you are going through?” I said, “Well, I’d just gotten out of a marriage where I was cheated on and abused, I’m going through a divorce and starting a new life and it’s just really hard to trust that God is going to provide for me what I need.” Then when I was through he asked me to step down to get prayed for.
As I went back to my spot in line a man came to me and asked to pray for me he said “I’ve been there, God blessed me and now he will bless you” and then he handed me a check for $100.00!! Already in that moment God showed me he was bigger than my fears, bigger than my $10.00 in my bank account and BIGGER than the tithe I had given that morning. But he didn’t want to stop there, I had a line of people handing me money! It was all so overwhelming and the power of God was so strong in that place that I almost couldn’t catch my breath! After the line of people was gone, I gathered myself and my things and headed to the door. Just when I thought God could do no more, he decided to show off a bit and prove to me beyond any doubt that he WAS my provider. I heard foot steps running up behind me and a man yelling “MA’AM, MA’AM!” I turned to see a plain looking older man who I’d never seen before. He says “I know where you are, I know where you’ve been and I’ve been there too, please take this small blessing so that God will bless me too." And he handed me a check. I didn’t look at the check but took it and thanked the man for the blessing. I got to the car, opened the check and it read $500.00!! I left church that Sunday with over $656.00, 10x the amount of my tithe! From that day on, my first and most important investment has become my tithe! You see when you invest in something, just like the garden, you will have an abundance of blessings come out of it.
Luke 6:38 says “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-9 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Got time for one more story?
After I had my first baby and returned to work, I decided it was too agonizing to leave my baby with someone else all day long. My husband and I both desired to be able to raise her ourselves instead of letting someone else do it for 8 hours a day. (Not that that is bad, it’s just our own desires) Problem was I was making more money than him at the time and that was our MAIN income! We prayed and prayed, about it and finally felt peace that I should just step out in faith and quit! I gave my notice that week and kept doubting wondering if I’d made a mistake, I mean after all we were loosing at least 60 if not 70% of our income!
The next Sunday our pastor’s wife was teaching about tithing. She told a story about how she was given 5-5 gallon buckets of laundry detergent when her 4 children were young. She was convicted to give two of those buckets to their youth pastor at church, which she did. She said ever since then God has always blessed her with laundry detergent! She would get to the bottom of her 5lb bucket and the next Sunday there was one waiting for her in the lobby of the church with her name on it, one time in the trunk of her car. And then when they moved to our church, one of the members who owned a business and gave her FREE laundry detergent for LIFE!
Upon hearing this story the Lord started speaking to my heart he said “increase your tithe from 10% to 15%!” haha! Me, “WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY! I JUST QUIT MY JOB!” Again “INCREASE YOUR TITHE TO 15%, I WILL SUPPLY YOUR NEEDS!” And that is what we did!
The first year of my daughter’s life, we never bought a diaper but they were all given to us! 4 years and 4 kids later, on the same income, we do not often have to buy clothes, they are all given to us! We’ve never missed a bill, and we’ve never been hungry. We’ve prayed for a new kitchen floor when we had water damage and ended up with an entire new $14,000.00 kitchen for free, we prayed for a new fridge and ended up with a free new fridge.
I’m not sharing these things with you for pity, or to expose our family, but so that you can see that when you invest in God, he will invest in you! With the economy the way it has been the last few years, I know several people who’ve lost their retirement, and other investments. The only investment that is guaranteed is the one into God’s kingdom.
So ladies your challenge this week is to review and re-invest your money wisely! Are you tithing? If not then just do it! If you don’t have a home church you go to find a ministry that has blessed you and give back to it so they can bless others. If you are already tithing, maybe pray and ask God if you are giving the amount he wants you to give?
Make sure to head over to the discussion forum on the facebook page. Feel free to share with us your convictions on the subject, questions, concerns, or even praises and blessings. Also, please share this ministry with your friends by posting a link on your facebook page. You never know whose marriage you might save or whose life you will change!
Prayers, love and blessings this week!
Verse 16: “She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.”
I planted my first garden this summer. Scary I know! I have never in my life kept anything non-human alive long enough to bloom, so I knew me planting a garden was going to be interesting! I blame it on the pregnancy hormones and the need to nurture something; and the thought of feeding my children amazing homegrown veggies was a plus. It was also a plus that we could save some money by canning some veggies for the winter, and eating out of the garden in the summer.
My first step was research. The search for a great informative book on what in the world I was supposed to do, since the extent of my green thumb started with watering, and ended with exposure to the sun. After that it was time to prep, plant, water, and wait! Prepping the soil was the hardest part! In the book it didn’t seem too hard you just took 1/3 of vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 compost, mixed them together and put them in your garden. But boy I tell you, the mixing was painful! We had dust flying and pieces of stuff in our hair, and the thought that I was mixing manure up with my hands made me gag! After I planted my seeds, I checked on them daily, watering and waiting, weeding and chasing off squirrels with my fake Owl. Then at the end of a long two week wait, they started to bud, and grow. After two months or so we started to reap a harvest! After all that hard labor, nurturing, feeding and manure kneading, we had an overflow of salad, green beans, strawberries, and other fresh veggies!
Half way through the summer, I had our baby girl and stopped giving to my garden. I didn’t have the time to weed, water, and spend time nurturing it the way I did before, and our harvest died out. It no longer produced veggies or fruits like it did in the past. Every now and then we’d get one bean, or one strawberry but not enough to feed a family of 6. I just couldn’t invest in it as much as I did before and eventually, we reaped NOTHING!
For a lot of people the subject of Money and God together is a sore subject. I never really got that because didn’t God make money? I teach my 4 year old that God makes everything, every toy they get God provided for them, every job we have God provides for us, and every cent of money that is earned God is entrusting to us to be wise with.
In my opinion the wisest investment you can make with your money, would be to tithe! What is funny is that if you have ever listened to, or read any Susie Orman books, or Dave Ramsey books; the one thing they all say (Christian or not) is to give away 10% of your money to a charity, organization, church etc because when you give it will come back to you!
Years ago I was in a bad relationship with someone who didn’t really want to live by God’s principals. I wanted to tithe and he thought it was stupid to tithe! So for years I did not tithe because of this. Finally when I broke away from him, I decided that the first thing I was going to change in my new life was tithing. I had a new apartment, but wasn’t sure I could afford all the bills that came with it. I also knew I needed to “give back to God what was God’s”. So I sat down one evening to do my first week of bills for my new place. I took out my check book, wrote out my tithe and prayed over it. I went on to paying the rest of my bills, and when I was all out of money, I had three bills that were left unpaid, and only about $10.00 left in my bank account for the next 2 weeks! It costs me 40.00 a week in gas alone just to get to work, so I began to panic. I knew I had that amount in tithe that I could withhold, so I kept that in the back of my mind.
The next day was Sunday, and I just happened to be singing my first solo in the choir that morning. They always passed the offering plate to the choir before the service started and as it was coming in my direction I froze. Knowing I was giving away the end of my money for two weeks, no groceries, and no gas money suddenly made me nauseous! So I gripped my check tight, whispered “Lord you know my needs bless this money!” and dropped it into the offering plate in slow motion.
When the service started I took a deep breath and came forward to deliver my solo. Then when it was time for the message, it was about DOUBT! He talked about how everyone doubts God, even Christians. He asked if anyone was having problems with doubting God to come forward to get prayed for. I thought “well there is no way I’m going up there and having everyone see I was just singing and I doubt God, how embarrassing!” But at that moment the entire first two rows of people in the choir walked down to be prayed for….so I just crept in the back of them! We were told to all line up across the front. Then I heard Pastor shout, “YOU!” I looked up and that finger was pointing RIGHT AT ME! He says, “Come up here!” Oh boy I’ve really done it now!! He says, “you were up here ministering and praising God, but yet you are now down there asking for prayer because your doubting? See even ministers can doubt God sometimes, I doubt God sometimes!” Then he says “would you mind sharing with us what you are going through?” I said, “Well, I’d just gotten out of a marriage where I was cheated on and abused, I’m going through a divorce and starting a new life and it’s just really hard to trust that God is going to provide for me what I need.” Then when I was through he asked me to step down to get prayed for.
As I went back to my spot in line a man came to me and asked to pray for me he said “I’ve been there, God blessed me and now he will bless you” and then he handed me a check for $100.00!! Already in that moment God showed me he was bigger than my fears, bigger than my $10.00 in my bank account and BIGGER than the tithe I had given that morning. But he didn’t want to stop there, I had a line of people handing me money! It was all so overwhelming and the power of God was so strong in that place that I almost couldn’t catch my breath! After the line of people was gone, I gathered myself and my things and headed to the door. Just when I thought God could do no more, he decided to show off a bit and prove to me beyond any doubt that he WAS my provider. I heard foot steps running up behind me and a man yelling “MA’AM, MA’AM!” I turned to see a plain looking older man who I’d never seen before. He says “I know where you are, I know where you’ve been and I’ve been there too, please take this small blessing so that God will bless me too." And he handed me a check. I didn’t look at the check but took it and thanked the man for the blessing. I got to the car, opened the check and it read $500.00!! I left church that Sunday with over $656.00, 10x the amount of my tithe! From that day on, my first and most important investment has become my tithe! You see when you invest in something, just like the garden, you will have an abundance of blessings come out of it.
Luke 6:38 says “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-9 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Got time for one more story?
After I had my first baby and returned to work, I decided it was too agonizing to leave my baby with someone else all day long. My husband and I both desired to be able to raise her ourselves instead of letting someone else do it for 8 hours a day. (Not that that is bad, it’s just our own desires) Problem was I was making more money than him at the time and that was our MAIN income! We prayed and prayed, about it and finally felt peace that I should just step out in faith and quit! I gave my notice that week and kept doubting wondering if I’d made a mistake, I mean after all we were loosing at least 60 if not 70% of our income!
The next Sunday our pastor’s wife was teaching about tithing. She told a story about how she was given 5-5 gallon buckets of laundry detergent when her 4 children were young. She was convicted to give two of those buckets to their youth pastor at church, which she did. She said ever since then God has always blessed her with laundry detergent! She would get to the bottom of her 5lb bucket and the next Sunday there was one waiting for her in the lobby of the church with her name on it, one time in the trunk of her car. And then when they moved to our church, one of the members who owned a business and gave her FREE laundry detergent for LIFE!
Upon hearing this story the Lord started speaking to my heart he said “increase your tithe from 10% to 15%!” haha! Me, “WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY! I JUST QUIT MY JOB!” Again “INCREASE YOUR TITHE TO 15%, I WILL SUPPLY YOUR NEEDS!” And that is what we did!
The first year of my daughter’s life, we never bought a diaper but they were all given to us! 4 years and 4 kids later, on the same income, we do not often have to buy clothes, they are all given to us! We’ve never missed a bill, and we’ve never been hungry. We’ve prayed for a new kitchen floor when we had water damage and ended up with an entire new $14,000.00 kitchen for free, we prayed for a new fridge and ended up with a free new fridge.
I’m not sharing these things with you for pity, or to expose our family, but so that you can see that when you invest in God, he will invest in you! With the economy the way it has been the last few years, I know several people who’ve lost their retirement, and other investments. The only investment that is guaranteed is the one into God’s kingdom.
So ladies your challenge this week is to review and re-invest your money wisely! Are you tithing? If not then just do it! If you don’t have a home church you go to find a ministry that has blessed you and give back to it so they can bless others. If you are already tithing, maybe pray and ask God if you are giving the amount he wants you to give?
Make sure to head over to the discussion forum on the facebook page. Feel free to share with us your convictions on the subject, questions, concerns, or even praises and blessings. Also, please share this ministry with your friends by posting a link on your facebook page. You never know whose marriage you might save or whose life you will change!
Prayers, love and blessings this week!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Challenge #13 October 7-October 14, 2010
Proverbs 31:15-16 "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."
Last week we all adjusted our bedtime so that we can fit in some of that "ME" time that is so much needed. But what did you actually do with those extra hours or minutes that you had?
One thing I've noticed in my walk with Christ is that sometimes he can have the worse timing! I can't tell you how many times I've been praying over something and he will give me a dream and wake me up in the wee hours of the night. One time I recall in particular the Lord woke me up for two weeks straight at 4am every morning, wanting me to seek Him! I'd lay back down and try to fight Him on it, but he would make my spirit so restless I couldn't even lay in bed. I had to get up!! What is it about God and the morning? Why does he have to be such an early bird?!
It makes me think of the hymn "In the Garden" I'm not a hymn person by any means but this is one of my favorites!
"I walk in the Garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear falling on my hear, the Son of God discloses.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice, is so sweet the birds hush their singing
But the melody that he gave to me, within my heart is singing."
That sums it up for me! In the morning, it's quiet the birds are singing, dew still on the ground everything is fresh and renewed. And that is the time for us to be fresh and new as well. This picture of "morning" reminds me of the first day after God created the earth and all that is in it. He looked around and said "it is good!"
There is nothing like waking up in the cool of the day and seeking the Lord first thing.
My husband has been in ministry since we first were married. We've been through a lot of things and seasons. I remember in the beginning when we were serving, we got so burnt out on being there so much, and giving so much. We never had the time to receive from the Lord ourselves! It became such a dry season for us. Until finally we were able to take that break and spent time with the Lord. Cause you see, You can't fill up an empty glass if the pitcher is empty as well! You can share your knowledge but what good is knowledge if it's not accompanied by the Holy Spirit? Even Satan knows the bible. How are you going to pour into those beautiful children of yours or friends, or family members if you are empty!
In our verse this week it says "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." This doesn't always have to be a PHYSICAL food, but it can be a spiritual food! In order to provide food it must be planned, prepared, mixed up, flavored, and baked in order to seal that flavor. Same with us. In order to provide others with spiritual food we must plan to get up early, prepare to study, let God mix it up in our hearts so we can be Salt & light, and then sprinkle and shine on everyone the rest of the day!
So Ladies your challenge this week is to Seek the LORD, ask him for a new and refreshing touch of his Spirit. Ask him to help you to pour into your family this week the things he is speaking to your heart!
Make sure to join us in the discussion forum on our facebook page and let me know what God did for you this week!
Also make sure to post a link to our facebook page on yours and invite friends to join...you never know whose marriage you might save!
Last week we all adjusted our bedtime so that we can fit in some of that "ME" time that is so much needed. But what did you actually do with those extra hours or minutes that you had?
One thing I've noticed in my walk with Christ is that sometimes he can have the worse timing! I can't tell you how many times I've been praying over something and he will give me a dream and wake me up in the wee hours of the night. One time I recall in particular the Lord woke me up for two weeks straight at 4am every morning, wanting me to seek Him! I'd lay back down and try to fight Him on it, but he would make my spirit so restless I couldn't even lay in bed. I had to get up!! What is it about God and the morning? Why does he have to be such an early bird?!
It makes me think of the hymn "In the Garden" I'm not a hymn person by any means but this is one of my favorites!
"I walk in the Garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear falling on my hear, the Son of God discloses.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice, is so sweet the birds hush their singing
But the melody that he gave to me, within my heart is singing."
That sums it up for me! In the morning, it's quiet the birds are singing, dew still on the ground everything is fresh and renewed. And that is the time for us to be fresh and new as well. This picture of "morning" reminds me of the first day after God created the earth and all that is in it. He looked around and said "it is good!"
There is nothing like waking up in the cool of the day and seeking the Lord first thing.
My husband has been in ministry since we first were married. We've been through a lot of things and seasons. I remember in the beginning when we were serving, we got so burnt out on being there so much, and giving so much. We never had the time to receive from the Lord ourselves! It became such a dry season for us. Until finally we were able to take that break and spent time with the Lord. Cause you see, You can't fill up an empty glass if the pitcher is empty as well! You can share your knowledge but what good is knowledge if it's not accompanied by the Holy Spirit? Even Satan knows the bible. How are you going to pour into those beautiful children of yours or friends, or family members if you are empty!
In our verse this week it says "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." This doesn't always have to be a PHYSICAL food, but it can be a spiritual food! In order to provide food it must be planned, prepared, mixed up, flavored, and baked in order to seal that flavor. Same with us. In order to provide others with spiritual food we must plan to get up early, prepare to study, let God mix it up in our hearts so we can be Salt & light, and then sprinkle and shine on everyone the rest of the day!
So Ladies your challenge this week is to Seek the LORD, ask him for a new and refreshing touch of his Spirit. Ask him to help you to pour into your family this week the things he is speaking to your heart!
Make sure to join us in the discussion forum on our facebook page and let me know what God did for you this week!
Also make sure to post a link to our facebook page on yours and invite friends to join...you never know whose marriage you might save!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Challenge #12 September 28-October 4, 2010
Proverbs 31:15-16: She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
Well here recently after having baby #4 I've noticed a huge change in my life especially. I have NO TIME TO BREATHE!! I'm on the go all day long! If one thing in my day gets off the entire day is a mess! I have NO TIME for phone calls, Internet, or reading anymore. And if I do decide to get on the phone, update some blogs or crack open a book...4 crying babies all the sudden emerge from nowhere needing immediate responses to the deadly misquote bites, hair pulling sister, or hunger pains. Life in our household is very active and loud at the moment!
Last week I actually was having a strange sleeping schedule. For some reason I couldn't sleep past 4:45am. So every morning last week I was up before the sun! It really became quite enjoyable! There are so many things I can get done in those 2 hours of peace and quiet! I got up and checked email, had some coffee, did my bible study, had some exercise, showered, and made breakfast all before the little ones became conscious! I actually had some ME time! It was amazing!! Only problem was by the time 6:00pm rolled around, I was so exhausted I couldn't even hardly eat my dinner so I had to start drinking Coffee after dinner! Even then it only got me to 10:00pm!
This week I somehow went back to normal, I get to bed before 11 and haven't woken up will 8-9:00am. And this week is a nightmare! I get up do school with the girls, then it's lunch time, then I feed the baby, then naps, then cleaning, then feed the baby, then ON AND ON all day and into the night... I haven't gotten hardly a second of that peace and quiet that I've become so fond of in the early mornings!
So your challenge for this week Ladies is to look at your sleep schedule and when you get up in the mornings and get up 30-60 minutes earlier this week then you normally do, or than your kids normally do. In order to be good successful wives and mothers, we have to have that time to hear from the Lord in the mornings, or take our shower, or have quiet coffee! We have to have time to just be ourselves and take care of us so we can be better caretakers of our families. If you had an extra 30-60 minutes a day with no kids...what could you do??
Prayers this week ladies as you fast your sleep for the good of your souls. Make sure you head over to the facebook page and participate in the discussion this week! We're slacking a bit over there! Also don't forget to invite your friends to join us you never know whose marriage you will save!
Hugs!!
Well here recently after having baby #4 I've noticed a huge change in my life especially. I have NO TIME TO BREATHE!! I'm on the go all day long! If one thing in my day gets off the entire day is a mess! I have NO TIME for phone calls, Internet, or reading anymore. And if I do decide to get on the phone, update some blogs or crack open a book...4 crying babies all the sudden emerge from nowhere needing immediate responses to the deadly misquote bites, hair pulling sister, or hunger pains. Life in our household is very active and loud at the moment!
Last week I actually was having a strange sleeping schedule. For some reason I couldn't sleep past 4:45am. So every morning last week I was up before the sun! It really became quite enjoyable! There are so many things I can get done in those 2 hours of peace and quiet! I got up and checked email, had some coffee, did my bible study, had some exercise, showered, and made breakfast all before the little ones became conscious! I actually had some ME time! It was amazing!! Only problem was by the time 6:00pm rolled around, I was so exhausted I couldn't even hardly eat my dinner so I had to start drinking Coffee after dinner! Even then it only got me to 10:00pm!
This week I somehow went back to normal, I get to bed before 11 and haven't woken up will 8-9:00am. And this week is a nightmare! I get up do school with the girls, then it's lunch time, then I feed the baby, then naps, then cleaning, then feed the baby, then ON AND ON all day and into the night... I haven't gotten hardly a second of that peace and quiet that I've become so fond of in the early mornings!
So your challenge for this week Ladies is to look at your sleep schedule and when you get up in the mornings and get up 30-60 minutes earlier this week then you normally do, or than your kids normally do. In order to be good successful wives and mothers, we have to have that time to hear from the Lord in the mornings, or take our shower, or have quiet coffee! We have to have time to just be ourselves and take care of us so we can be better caretakers of our families. If you had an extra 30-60 minutes a day with no kids...what could you do??
Prayers this week ladies as you fast your sleep for the good of your souls. Make sure you head over to the facebook page and participate in the discussion this week! We're slacking a bit over there! Also don't forget to invite your friends to join us you never know whose marriage you will save!
Hugs!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Challenge #11 Sept 21-Sept 28, 2010
Proverbs 31:14 "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."
The last few weeks we've taken more of a spiritual take on this verse. This week I'm going to take more of a physical take.
When I think of this verse literally, I picture a woman, a mother, a wife. She wakes up while it's still dark out, showers, dresses and puts on her shoes for her long journey. She isn't tired, but excited. She isn't dreading her day, but energized for it! She heads out on her long journey across the fields, across the deserts, across the mountains until she comes to town. She examines every fruit, every veggie, and every piece of meat while carefully choosing only the best, freshest and leanest! If she cannot find what she is looking for, she continues on her journey until she does. She is wise about her findings, picky about what she takes back to her family, and practical about what is needed. Sometimes her hunt for the best can take an entire day, and sometimes it only takes hours.
I remember back in the day before I had 4 children. I could get up for work, work till 5, then head to the grocery store, post office, bank and 5 other places within an hour! Now, it is an ALL DAY affair!
I've had to get a little more picky about some foods since I've had children, less picky about others, and wise about the amount of money we are willing to spend in order to feed our family. I spend more time clipping coupons, and looking at sale papers and plotting out our journey to get our necessities than I do fixing my hair and putting on make up anymore!
I for one know how painful those long grocery store trips can be with little one's. I can honestly say that some of those trips have given me the privilege of knowing the pain Christ felt on his journey to Golgotha where he was crucified! Oh how many times I've been in a store with unruly children and I just want to crawl in a hole from all the piercing looks and screams, and sounds of broken spaghetti sauce on the ground. I just have to remind myself that Christ's journey was longer and his pain and suffering was far beyond what mine is when I go grocery shopping! At least I know he is there beside me the hole time and won't give me anymore than I can handle!
The last three-four weeks we've eaten take out for dinner almost EVERY day! Now we never went anywhere that we didn't have a coupon for, or where they weren't offering free kids meals and it was still at least 15-$20.00 per meal. I had a baby, 5 weeks ago and for the last three-four weeks I was still recovering and did not have the energy to make dinner! It became so much easier for me to just go grab something! Now here it is 5 weeks later and I feel greasy, and tired and just gross from all the fast food! My girls (while they love a good chicken nugget meal) are sensitive to certain foods making them hyper, unable to sleep, and just irritable depending on what they eat. So for the last three-four weeks, yes meals have been easier on ME, but they have been harder on everything and everyone else! We've spent over 250.00 a week on eating out, that is 600.00 more a month that we normally spend! My children have been in a lot of trouble for not obeying, and not going to bed. They've been up some nights till 11:00pm, 12:00pm and sometimes 1:00am.
Life for us is so much better when we take that 1 day a week journey to the grocery store and run all our errands and be done with it! Sure we start at 10:00 in the morning loading up all 4 kids, and we don't get home until after 8:00pm, but the rest of the week my girls are not in trouble, and go to bed when they are suppose to! Not to mention we have a lot more money to use for other things!
I believe what God is trying to tell us here is that even though things are more convenient, doesn't make them better for us! We can't be selfish because we don't feel like standing in the kitchen for 30 minutes whipping up some mac & cheese and hot dogs for our family if it will save us a $20.00 per meal! (I'm so guilty of this!) If we need to take that extra hour or two a week and clip coupons, look them up online and print some off in order to save some extra money for our family and be good stewards of our money that God has trusted us with, so be it! What ever length you have to go to, to bring the best to your family, it will be totally worth it in the end! And even now days there are so many resources online to help with these little things. (I'll list my favorites at the end.)
So ladies, your challenge this week is to make an action plan. Do you need to order sunday papers to get coupons? Do you need to shop once a week, once every 2 weeks, or once a month even?(LOVE freezer cooking!!) Do you need to do a monthly meal plan and shopping list and stick to it? Whatever it is that you need to do in order to eat better, and save some money lets do it this week! Head over to the discussion forum on the facebook page and share some meal plans, recipes, or coupon tips!
~Hugs and prayers this week!
***Check out these websites***
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/con__WhatIsTheGroceryGame.cfm
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://e-mealz.com/
http://www.menus4moms.com
http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking/freezer-cookbook-recipes
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-07-03T16%3A21%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
http://www.redplum.com
http://www.cincysavers.com/
The last few weeks we've taken more of a spiritual take on this verse. This week I'm going to take more of a physical take.
When I think of this verse literally, I picture a woman, a mother, a wife. She wakes up while it's still dark out, showers, dresses and puts on her shoes for her long journey. She isn't tired, but excited. She isn't dreading her day, but energized for it! She heads out on her long journey across the fields, across the deserts, across the mountains until she comes to town. She examines every fruit, every veggie, and every piece of meat while carefully choosing only the best, freshest and leanest! If she cannot find what she is looking for, she continues on her journey until she does. She is wise about her findings, picky about what she takes back to her family, and practical about what is needed. Sometimes her hunt for the best can take an entire day, and sometimes it only takes hours.
I remember back in the day before I had 4 children. I could get up for work, work till 5, then head to the grocery store, post office, bank and 5 other places within an hour! Now, it is an ALL DAY affair!
I've had to get a little more picky about some foods since I've had children, less picky about others, and wise about the amount of money we are willing to spend in order to feed our family. I spend more time clipping coupons, and looking at sale papers and plotting out our journey to get our necessities than I do fixing my hair and putting on make up anymore!
I for one know how painful those long grocery store trips can be with little one's. I can honestly say that some of those trips have given me the privilege of knowing the pain Christ felt on his journey to Golgotha where he was crucified! Oh how many times I've been in a store with unruly children and I just want to crawl in a hole from all the piercing looks and screams, and sounds of broken spaghetti sauce on the ground. I just have to remind myself that Christ's journey was longer and his pain and suffering was far beyond what mine is when I go grocery shopping! At least I know he is there beside me the hole time and won't give me anymore than I can handle!
The last three-four weeks we've eaten take out for dinner almost EVERY day! Now we never went anywhere that we didn't have a coupon for, or where they weren't offering free kids meals and it was still at least 15-$20.00 per meal. I had a baby, 5 weeks ago and for the last three-four weeks I was still recovering and did not have the energy to make dinner! It became so much easier for me to just go grab something! Now here it is 5 weeks later and I feel greasy, and tired and just gross from all the fast food! My girls (while they love a good chicken nugget meal) are sensitive to certain foods making them hyper, unable to sleep, and just irritable depending on what they eat. So for the last three-four weeks, yes meals have been easier on ME, but they have been harder on everything and everyone else! We've spent over 250.00 a week on eating out, that is 600.00 more a month that we normally spend! My children have been in a lot of trouble for not obeying, and not going to bed. They've been up some nights till 11:00pm, 12:00pm and sometimes 1:00am.
Life for us is so much better when we take that 1 day a week journey to the grocery store and run all our errands and be done with it! Sure we start at 10:00 in the morning loading up all 4 kids, and we don't get home until after 8:00pm, but the rest of the week my girls are not in trouble, and go to bed when they are suppose to! Not to mention we have a lot more money to use for other things!
I believe what God is trying to tell us here is that even though things are more convenient, doesn't make them better for us! We can't be selfish because we don't feel like standing in the kitchen for 30 minutes whipping up some mac & cheese and hot dogs for our family if it will save us a $20.00 per meal! (I'm so guilty of this!) If we need to take that extra hour or two a week and clip coupons, look them up online and print some off in order to save some extra money for our family and be good stewards of our money that God has trusted us with, so be it! What ever length you have to go to, to bring the best to your family, it will be totally worth it in the end! And even now days there are so many resources online to help with these little things. (I'll list my favorites at the end.)
So ladies, your challenge this week is to make an action plan. Do you need to order sunday papers to get coupons? Do you need to shop once a week, once every 2 weeks, or once a month even?(LOVE freezer cooking!!) Do you need to do a monthly meal plan and shopping list and stick to it? Whatever it is that you need to do in order to eat better, and save some money lets do it this week! Head over to the discussion forum on the facebook page and share some meal plans, recipes, or coupon tips!
~Hugs and prayers this week!
***Check out these websites***
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/con__WhatIsTheGroceryGame.cfm
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://e-mealz.com/
http://www.menus4moms.com
http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking/freezer-cookbook-recipes
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-07-03T16%3A21%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
http://www.redplum.com
http://www.cincysavers.com/
Monday, September 13, 2010
Challenge #10 September 14-20, 2010
Proverbs 31:14 "She is like the merchant ship, bringing her food from afar.
It's so good to be back ladies! I'm so excited to start back with the challenges this month after a 4 week break! I hope everyone is rested up and ready to get back in this and give it their all again! My husband and I have been blessed with a beautiful 6lb 2oz baby girl, she is such a blessing to our lives and fits in with our family just perfectly! I couldn't be happier!
The last few days as I've been praying over this next challenge and what direction the Lord wants me to go with it. God brought to my mind a sermon my husband gave a long time ago called "Living Water-Ride it out." I always love listening to my husband preach/teach. He is so gifted and anointed and has so much wisdom and knowledge to share! So anyways I remembered we had a recording of it so I've spent most of my night trying to convert an MP3 file into a movie file, and load it onto facebook. It took some searching for free software and googleing to find out how the heck to do that but I think I finally have something! So I'm going to be quiet now and let you listen to him this week (I'll throw in my two cents after he is finished.)
I've broken his sermon into three parts. The first is about 5 minutes, then there is a media clip 2nd and then the rest of it is 3rd. Turn up your speakers and enjoy!!!
Oh goodness that clip gets to me everytime! Proverbs 31:14 "She is like the merchant ship, bringing her food from afar. As we talked about in our previous challenge, Merchant ships take a long time to get from point A to point B. They carry TONS of weight, but also have a weight limit cause too much weight will put the ship under. The Ship moves slow and when out to sea like that can come in contact with high waves, hurricanes, bad storms, pirates! But no matter what the ship goes through it will get to point B!
I'm not sure who this post is for because it's not EXACTLY what I wanted to write but it's what God gave me this week so I know it's for someone out there! Keep your eye on point B, give it over to God and "DON'T QUIT", cause God wants "EVERYTHING YOU GOT" and and when you "don't have anymore" he is going to be right there to pull you the rest of the way through!
I can't tell you how many times I've gotten on my knees and cried out "LORD it hurts and it burns, and is so heavy!! Lord I'm out of strength, it's too hard, I can't do it!!" And now I know why God never takes the blindfold off so I can see the whole picture, because if he did and I saw how much farther I had to go, I would quit! But when it's over and I turn around and see how far I've come, It's so worth it and I know that next time I might be able to even go a little further!
Matthew 11:28 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest"
So your challenge this week is to face those storms head on, and keep focused on getting from point A to point B while calling out to God! Not complaining, not crying and no QUITTING!! What is your storm this week? How have you been dealing with it so far and what can you do different? I want you this week to step out of your comfort zone and let me know how I can pray for you in your storm. You can message me, or post it in the discussion forum on the facebook page.
Prayers this week as we get back into our challenges!
Lots of Love!
It's so good to be back ladies! I'm so excited to start back with the challenges this month after a 4 week break! I hope everyone is rested up and ready to get back in this and give it their all again! My husband and I have been blessed with a beautiful 6lb 2oz baby girl, she is such a blessing to our lives and fits in with our family just perfectly! I couldn't be happier!
The last few days as I've been praying over this next challenge and what direction the Lord wants me to go with it. God brought to my mind a sermon my husband gave a long time ago called "Living Water-Ride it out." I always love listening to my husband preach/teach. He is so gifted and anointed and has so much wisdom and knowledge to share! So anyways I remembered we had a recording of it so I've spent most of my night trying to convert an MP3 file into a movie file, and load it onto facebook. It took some searching for free software and googleing to find out how the heck to do that but I think I finally have something! So I'm going to be quiet now and let you listen to him this week (I'll throw in my two cents after he is finished.)
I've broken his sermon into three parts. The first is about 5 minutes, then there is a media clip 2nd and then the rest of it is 3rd. Turn up your speakers and enjoy!!!
Oh goodness that clip gets to me everytime! Proverbs 31:14 "She is like the merchant ship, bringing her food from afar. As we talked about in our previous challenge, Merchant ships take a long time to get from point A to point B. They carry TONS of weight, but also have a weight limit cause too much weight will put the ship under. The Ship moves slow and when out to sea like that can come in contact with high waves, hurricanes, bad storms, pirates! But no matter what the ship goes through it will get to point B!
I'm not sure who this post is for because it's not EXACTLY what I wanted to write but it's what God gave me this week so I know it's for someone out there! Keep your eye on point B, give it over to God and "DON'T QUIT", cause God wants "EVERYTHING YOU GOT" and and when you "don't have anymore" he is going to be right there to pull you the rest of the way through!
I can't tell you how many times I've gotten on my knees and cried out "LORD it hurts and it burns, and is so heavy!! Lord I'm out of strength, it's too hard, I can't do it!!" And now I know why God never takes the blindfold off so I can see the whole picture, because if he did and I saw how much farther I had to go, I would quit! But when it's over and I turn around and see how far I've come, It's so worth it and I know that next time I might be able to even go a little further!
Matthew 11:28 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest"
So your challenge this week is to face those storms head on, and keep focused on getting from point A to point B while calling out to God! Not complaining, not crying and no QUITTING!! What is your storm this week? How have you been dealing with it so far and what can you do different? I want you this week to step out of your comfort zone and let me know how I can pray for you in your storm. You can message me, or post it in the discussion forum on the facebook page.
Prayers this week as we get back into our challenges!
Lots of Love!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Challenge #9 July 30-August 5, 2010
So for the month of August we are moving onto verse 14.Proverbs 31:14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
One thing my husband and I have discussed in the last few months is how much we have begun to dislike living in the state of Virginia. I'm not sure if it's just the area we are in or if it's the entire state, but it seems like it is just such a fast paced area!
People around here are so busy all the time! At one time in our lives, we were so busy and on the go so much, that we only had time to stop by the house to drop things off and grab something else. That life got old fast! People here are so busy that I have to make an appointment to call them! Most of my conversations with people end up like this:
"we should get together sometime!" Other person, "yeah that would be great!" me "okay well when is a good time to call you to set up a play date?"
Haha, have you ever heard of such?! Scheduling an appointment to call and schedule an appointment, that is just crazy!
In verse 14 it talks about being like the merchant ship. A Merchant ship is very large, it can hold a lot, but is very slow to get to where it needs to go! However this method is used and even preferred over using a plane because it takes less energy and can hold so much more than a plane. Sometimes it's better to slow down and take your time instead of being so busy and going, going, going all over the place.
One thing I've implemented in the last year in my life is doing all my errands in 1 day, and only being gone from home, 1 day a week! When I'm away from home so often and I get so busy with life, it's so hard to enjoy it! I find myself trying to keep up with my home, cooking, bills, and other things instead of being able to spend time with my family, and have a relaxing evening with my husband.
Just this week I've been in such a nesting mode to get the house organized for baby #4 to make her appearance. Before my house would be cleaned but I'd let my bedroom go for weeks, or it would be cleaned but cluttered, or cleaned but disorganized. Whatever the state of our home, I never felt that I could just sit down at night and play a game with my husband or pull out my scrapbook stuff and go at it, because I either had so much on my mind that needed done and couldn't concentrate without getting stressed. Or maybe I just felt guilty for having ME time when I didn't have my house in the order I wanted it! But this last week I've gone through every drawer, every space, every nook & cranny of our home and organized, got rid of things and got our home in the order that I want it! I can't tell you what a huge difference it has made in our moods, and in how de-stressed I feel in the evenings! I feel like I can actually do other things that I like, or that my husband likes, and I actually feel great about our home!
Would I have been able to do this when my life was chaos and I was on the run all the time...NO WAY! And I didn't either, nor did I spend quality time with my husband without having a million things on my mind!
So this week ladies, lets take a breath, slow down, take our time and get that long list of things done that we've wanted to do for a long time!! Faster is not always better. Re-evaluate your schedules and move as much to 1-2 days as you can instead of being gone away from your home so much. You will be surprised at how much less stressed you are when you slow down your life a little and become more efficient. No husband wants to come home to a stressed, chaotic woman after a hard day at work and become even more stressed himself. Your time with your husband should be completely about you and him! Take time to get to know each other again this week, instead just riding in the car to the next errand together. Take 10 minutes every day and have "couch time" with your husband when he gets home NO MATTER WHAT! Send the kids to their rooms to play and let him talk about his day, with your undivided attention! Remember slow and steady wins the race!
Make sure to head over to the discussion tab on the facebook page and let us know how you are doing this week
Please continue to help us grow this ministry! If you place a link to the The Modern Proverbs 31 Wife on your facebook page you will receive three entries into our end of the month drawing, just post on the facebook wall and let me know you've done it. You never know whose marriage you will save just by posting a link!
One thing my husband and I have discussed in the last few months is how much we have begun to dislike living in the state of Virginia. I'm not sure if it's just the area we are in or if it's the entire state, but it seems like it is just such a fast paced area!
People around here are so busy all the time! At one time in our lives, we were so busy and on the go so much, that we only had time to stop by the house to drop things off and grab something else. That life got old fast! People here are so busy that I have to make an appointment to call them! Most of my conversations with people end up like this:
"we should get together sometime!" Other person, "yeah that would be great!" me "okay well when is a good time to call you to set up a play date?"
Haha, have you ever heard of such?! Scheduling an appointment to call and schedule an appointment, that is just crazy!
In verse 14 it talks about being like the merchant ship. A Merchant ship is very large, it can hold a lot, but is very slow to get to where it needs to go! However this method is used and even preferred over using a plane because it takes less energy and can hold so much more than a plane. Sometimes it's better to slow down and take your time instead of being so busy and going, going, going all over the place.
One thing I've implemented in the last year in my life is doing all my errands in 1 day, and only being gone from home, 1 day a week! When I'm away from home so often and I get so busy with life, it's so hard to enjoy it! I find myself trying to keep up with my home, cooking, bills, and other things instead of being able to spend time with my family, and have a relaxing evening with my husband.
Just this week I've been in such a nesting mode to get the house organized for baby #4 to make her appearance. Before my house would be cleaned but I'd let my bedroom go for weeks, or it would be cleaned but cluttered, or cleaned but disorganized. Whatever the state of our home, I never felt that I could just sit down at night and play a game with my husband or pull out my scrapbook stuff and go at it, because I either had so much on my mind that needed done and couldn't concentrate without getting stressed. Or maybe I just felt guilty for having ME time when I didn't have my house in the order I wanted it! But this last week I've gone through every drawer, every space, every nook & cranny of our home and organized, got rid of things and got our home in the order that I want it! I can't tell you what a huge difference it has made in our moods, and in how de-stressed I feel in the evenings! I feel like I can actually do other things that I like, or that my husband likes, and I actually feel great about our home!
Would I have been able to do this when my life was chaos and I was on the run all the time...NO WAY! And I didn't either, nor did I spend quality time with my husband without having a million things on my mind!
So this week ladies, lets take a breath, slow down, take our time and get that long list of things done that we've wanted to do for a long time!! Faster is not always better. Re-evaluate your schedules and move as much to 1-2 days as you can instead of being gone away from your home so much. You will be surprised at how much less stressed you are when you slow down your life a little and become more efficient. No husband wants to come home to a stressed, chaotic woman after a hard day at work and become even more stressed himself. Your time with your husband should be completely about you and him! Take time to get to know each other again this week, instead just riding in the car to the next errand together. Take 10 minutes every day and have "couch time" with your husband when he gets home NO MATTER WHAT! Send the kids to their rooms to play and let him talk about his day, with your undivided attention! Remember slow and steady wins the race!
Make sure to head over to the discussion tab on the facebook page and let us know how you are doing this week
Please continue to help us grow this ministry! If you place a link to the The Modern Proverbs 31 Wife on your facebook page you will receive three entries into our end of the month drawing, just post on the facebook wall and let me know you've done it. You never know whose marriage you will save just by posting a link!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Challenge #8 July 22-28, 2010
Prov 31:13 "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands"
**Hello ladies, first of all just a note to let you know I am now 32.5 weeks along with baby #4 and will probably start getting a little behind on my postings until after the baby comes with all I need to do to get ready for her, so please be patient. But also please be eager to get to the next challenge! Just cause they are late does not mean they aren't coming!!
Last week we talked about protecting the hearts of our families through the things we watch, say, or bring into our home. This week we're going to talk about "Selecting the Best for our family" which goes right along with last week!
But this week, we are going to dig a little deeper into our hearts! We're going to examine our own hearts for selfishness.
This subject has been on my mind all week long! I've come in contact with so many people around me who want to make good selections for their families, but when it comes down to it, are not capable of putting their own wants and desires aside to make the best choices for their families.
When I think of this verse in Prov. 31:13, I picture a wife sitting down at a table looking through mounds of fabric. She picks out pieces that are pleasing and beautiful to her, however, her selection is for her husband and his taste is much different. So the wife puts aside her picks, and tries to pick the BEST materials that she thinks her husband would like!
If she had picked out a material that she would want him to wear, or she thought would look better on him even though he did not care for that material, I'm sure her husband would not have been very happy.
We all have our preference on how we want to run our households as a wife or mother. However, sometimes our preference isn't always BEST for our husband or our children.
I remember when my husband and I were about to get married, we were planning our honeymoon for two weeks in Cancun. I was totally excited to get new outfits. I ordered myself some tropical looking dresses and thought he should match me! So I also found him a few tropical beach shirts. Only really thinking of myself and how cute I thought we'd look together as newlyweds, I didn't really take into consideration his style. So when the shirts came in, he was very nice about it. He told me he would wear them cause they would be cooler on the beach, but that he probably wouldn't ever wear them again, and he hasn't!
That is just a small example of putting our own desires or preferences before others in our families. There are so many other ways we as women, mothers, and wives tend to do this daily.
So this week your challenge is to examine your heart with every selection, decision you make. Pray over your choice, make sure it isn't coming with selfish motives but with the BEST interest of your children and husband in mind. This can be anything from what type of dinner you make this week, does your schedule accommodate you or your husband and children, do you only clean when it's convenient for you, do you spend time with your kids besides TV? This can go all the way back to our last weeks challenge with what we watch, listen to or people we hang out with. Are we selecting the BEST most beautiful things for our families or are we selecting them according to our own desires?
Praying for you all this week, examining your own hearts can get pretty messy and ugly sometimes so hang in there and keep with it!
Remember from now till the end of the month you will be entered into the drawing to win the book "Captivating" by John & Stasi Eldredge by replying to discussion forums and even posting on the Facebook wall. Make sure you share this ministry with your friends, you never know whose marriage it will save!
**Hello ladies, first of all just a note to let you know I am now 32.5 weeks along with baby #4 and will probably start getting a little behind on my postings until after the baby comes with all I need to do to get ready for her, so please be patient. But also please be eager to get to the next challenge! Just cause they are late does not mean they aren't coming!!
Last week we talked about protecting the hearts of our families through the things we watch, say, or bring into our home. This week we're going to talk about "Selecting the Best for our family" which goes right along with last week!
But this week, we are going to dig a little deeper into our hearts! We're going to examine our own hearts for selfishness.
This subject has been on my mind all week long! I've come in contact with so many people around me who want to make good selections for their families, but when it comes down to it, are not capable of putting their own wants and desires aside to make the best choices for their families.
When I think of this verse in Prov. 31:13, I picture a wife sitting down at a table looking through mounds of fabric. She picks out pieces that are pleasing and beautiful to her, however, her selection is for her husband and his taste is much different. So the wife puts aside her picks, and tries to pick the BEST materials that she thinks her husband would like!
If she had picked out a material that she would want him to wear, or she thought would look better on him even though he did not care for that material, I'm sure her husband would not have been very happy.
We all have our preference on how we want to run our households as a wife or mother. However, sometimes our preference isn't always BEST for our husband or our children.
I remember when my husband and I were about to get married, we were planning our honeymoon for two weeks in Cancun. I was totally excited to get new outfits. I ordered myself some tropical looking dresses and thought he should match me! So I also found him a few tropical beach shirts. Only really thinking of myself and how cute I thought we'd look together as newlyweds, I didn't really take into consideration his style. So when the shirts came in, he was very nice about it. He told me he would wear them cause they would be cooler on the beach, but that he probably wouldn't ever wear them again, and he hasn't!
That is just a small example of putting our own desires or preferences before others in our families. There are so many other ways we as women, mothers, and wives tend to do this daily.
So this week your challenge is to examine your heart with every selection, decision you make. Pray over your choice, make sure it isn't coming with selfish motives but with the BEST interest of your children and husband in mind. This can be anything from what type of dinner you make this week, does your schedule accommodate you or your husband and children, do you only clean when it's convenient for you, do you spend time with your kids besides TV? This can go all the way back to our last weeks challenge with what we watch, listen to or people we hang out with. Are we selecting the BEST most beautiful things for our families or are we selecting them according to our own desires?
Praying for you all this week, examining your own hearts can get pretty messy and ugly sometimes so hang in there and keep with it!
Remember from now till the end of the month you will be entered into the drawing to win the book "Captivating" by John & Stasi Eldredge by replying to discussion forums and even posting on the Facebook wall. Make sure you share this ministry with your friends, you never know whose marriage it will save!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Challenge#7 July 15-July 21, 2010
Proverbs 31:13 "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands."
Do you ever just want to run around the house with no clothes on when you're the only one home? Sounds freeing right? Would you ever decide to stand in the kitchen and cook without clothes on? I know I wouldn't! Why? I'd be afraid of what I might catch on fire! LOL. We wear clothes for protection of our bodies, for modesty, for many different reasons!
The first outfits were made by God to protect and cover Adam and Eve after the fall of man. Genesis 3:11 "And he said, "who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? Genesis 3:21-22 "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil...."
Before the fall of man, we had no knowledge of Good and Evil. Unfortunately, today we are all BORN naked with a sinful nature. I never taught my 4 year old to lie, or to steal toys from her sisters, or to be disrespectful to her Mom & Dad; she did these things naturally! But I do have to teach her that they are wrong, that she should share, not to lie, and not tell Mommy & Daddy NO! I call this "clothing their hearts."
There are so many meanings for the word "Naked;" I wanted to share a few of my favorite (***):
1. Without clothing or covering
2. Bare or stripped
3. without protection***
4. defenseless, unprotected, exposed***
When Adam and Eve realized they were naked in the garden of Eden, they hid from God, their best and only friend, their Father, the only person who could have helped them in the situation. They felt the shame of the sin that they committed. Then, (does this sound familiar) God asked them, "WHY did you disobey me when I told you NOT to do this? Because you disobeyed you will have to be punished." And then God forgave them and made garments for them to cover their nakedness.
That reminds me so much of when I discipline my children; my first question is WHY did you do this?! Then I always go on to the discipline, and punishment; afterward we hug and kiss, and then they are corrected, or I guess you can say that I clothe their hearts from sin by correcting the problem and telling them how this can be avoided next time.
When we clothe our children and husbands' hearts, we cover up their nakedness, and protect their hearts from sin, shame, and destruction. So many times it's the small things that leave our children/husbands' hearts exposed. Things like: what we watch, what we listen to, what we say around them.
When my husband and I were dating in the VERY beginning, years ago, I remember one time being in a Blockbuster looking for a movie to rent. Along comes another girl. Her belly was hanging out, short shorts, low cut top, you get the picture. I watched him fix his eyes on her and watch her walk across the room. Now to be fair, I even watched her because, really, you couldn't not stare at her with what she was wearing! But, him watching her, if we were married at the time, could have opened up a WHOLE load of problems for our marriage.
On television now days, anything goes- even on the "family" programs! It's important as the wife, the heart of the family, and the one who "clothes" the hearts of your family, to set standards for these type of things. For our family, I have to say my husband was actually the one who set the standards in this area. Once we were married he has always been VERY respectful of me and what he watches. He always makes sure to check and see what something is rated, and rarely ever watches something rated R. If something pops up unexpectedly, he will turn his head or fast forward it; in several cases, he has just turned it off the show completely. I've never had to ask him once to do this; he just does because he knows how important it is to me that he be shame free, and protected from the bigger things that the little things can lead to.
As the wife, we might not be able to control everything our husbands want to watch. However, we can control what we watch. I don't know how many times in the past I've watched some shows like Grey's or Desperate Housewives and they always start out clean and then you get hooked. Then they throw in some homosexuality, premarital sex, you name it- and because you're hooked already it's hard to turn it off! My husband will sit and watch them with me at times and up pops a half naked woman! By limiting what we watch as the wife, even if our husbands decides to watch things on their own that we don't agree with, it will still clothe and protect their hearts. Then you can walk away knowing you've made the right choice for your family. My husband has said before "if it's not good enough for our kids to watch it, then why would it be good enough for us to watch?"
It is the same with our children, how many times have we turned on a cartoon and just sat them in front of it without REALLY knowing what they are watching?! I did this when my 4 year old was younger. I wasn't familiar with all the new cartoons when I first became a mom, and assumed they were all okay for her. So, I'd turn on NICK, sit her in front of Spongebob or whatever was on, and go clean my house! Until one day, I sat with her, and actually watched it! It was a funny cartoon, but Spongebob was lying and cheating!! If he were real, he would not exactly be someone I would want my children to learn character traits from!
Ephesians 4:27 "And do not give the devil a foothold." If you were walking across the room and someone grabbed you by the foot, you wouldn't just lose your balance, your entire body would fall crashing to the ground! From that small hold that someone could get on your foot, it could effect your entire body! From that one naked woman, or small temptation your husband watches on a show you turn on, it could effect your entire marriage. From that one lie that your child sees on a cartoon and thinks is funny, it could effect them the rest of their lives!
Our challenge this week is to observe your family. Take a closer look at what you are bringing into your home: games, movies, music, gossip, anger, even people etc. Figure out how you can clothe your family's hearts, or protect their hearts, from these things. If you've never paid attention to what your kids are watching during the day, sit with them one day this week, all day, and find out! What in your life can you protect your family from that could be destructive to their hearts? You will be amazed at the impact these things have on your family.
Just this week, I decided to really crack down on what my kids were watching. I have felt recently we've been a little less strict on the cartoons, and I've been having the worst few weeks behavior-wise with them. So, this week they have gotten MAYBE 1 hour of TV and it has been a Veggie Tale, a Bible DVD, or something about God. Already, in these few short days, it has made a HUGE difference in their character!
I'm praying for wisdom for you all this week; I know it can be hard to give up things that you've done/watched/listened to for so long, but it will be totally worth it in the end! Love you all!
Make sure to head over to the discussion tab on the facebook page and let us know what you've observed about your family this week!
Please continue to help us grow this ministry! For the month of July if you place a link to the The Modern Proverbs 31 Wife on your facebook page you will receive three entries into our end of the month drawing to receive the book "CAPTIVATING" by Stasi & John Eldredge! You never know whose marriage you will save just by posting a link!
God Bless!
Do you ever just want to run around the house with no clothes on when you're the only one home? Sounds freeing right? Would you ever decide to stand in the kitchen and cook without clothes on? I know I wouldn't! Why? I'd be afraid of what I might catch on fire! LOL. We wear clothes for protection of our bodies, for modesty, for many different reasons!
The first outfits were made by God to protect and cover Adam and Eve after the fall of man. Genesis 3:11 "And he said, "who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? Genesis 3:21-22 "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil...."
Before the fall of man, we had no knowledge of Good and Evil. Unfortunately, today we are all BORN naked with a sinful nature. I never taught my 4 year old to lie, or to steal toys from her sisters, or to be disrespectful to her Mom & Dad; she did these things naturally! But I do have to teach her that they are wrong, that she should share, not to lie, and not tell Mommy & Daddy NO! I call this "clothing their hearts."
There are so many meanings for the word "Naked;" I wanted to share a few of my favorite (***):
1. Without clothing or covering
2. Bare or stripped
3. without protection***
4. defenseless, unprotected, exposed***
When Adam and Eve realized they were naked in the garden of Eden, they hid from God, their best and only friend, their Father, the only person who could have helped them in the situation. They felt the shame of the sin that they committed. Then, (does this sound familiar) God asked them, "WHY did you disobey me when I told you NOT to do this? Because you disobeyed you will have to be punished." And then God forgave them and made garments for them to cover their nakedness.
That reminds me so much of when I discipline my children; my first question is WHY did you do this?! Then I always go on to the discipline, and punishment; afterward we hug and kiss, and then they are corrected, or I guess you can say that I clothe their hearts from sin by correcting the problem and telling them how this can be avoided next time.
When we clothe our children and husbands' hearts, we cover up their nakedness, and protect their hearts from sin, shame, and destruction. So many times it's the small things that leave our children/husbands' hearts exposed. Things like: what we watch, what we listen to, what we say around them.
When my husband and I were dating in the VERY beginning, years ago, I remember one time being in a Blockbuster looking for a movie to rent. Along comes another girl. Her belly was hanging out, short shorts, low cut top, you get the picture. I watched him fix his eyes on her and watch her walk across the room. Now to be fair, I even watched her because, really, you couldn't not stare at her with what she was wearing! But, him watching her, if we were married at the time, could have opened up a WHOLE load of problems for our marriage.
On television now days, anything goes- even on the "family" programs! It's important as the wife, the heart of the family, and the one who "clothes" the hearts of your family, to set standards for these type of things. For our family, I have to say my husband was actually the one who set the standards in this area. Once we were married he has always been VERY respectful of me and what he watches. He always makes sure to check and see what something is rated, and rarely ever watches something rated R. If something pops up unexpectedly, he will turn his head or fast forward it; in several cases, he has just turned it off the show completely. I've never had to ask him once to do this; he just does because he knows how important it is to me that he be shame free, and protected from the bigger things that the little things can lead to.
As the wife, we might not be able to control everything our husbands want to watch. However, we can control what we watch. I don't know how many times in the past I've watched some shows like Grey's or Desperate Housewives and they always start out clean and then you get hooked. Then they throw in some homosexuality, premarital sex, you name it- and because you're hooked already it's hard to turn it off! My husband will sit and watch them with me at times and up pops a half naked woman! By limiting what we watch as the wife, even if our husbands decides to watch things on their own that we don't agree with, it will still clothe and protect their hearts. Then you can walk away knowing you've made the right choice for your family. My husband has said before "if it's not good enough for our kids to watch it, then why would it be good enough for us to watch?"
It is the same with our children, how many times have we turned on a cartoon and just sat them in front of it without REALLY knowing what they are watching?! I did this when my 4 year old was younger. I wasn't familiar with all the new cartoons when I first became a mom, and assumed they were all okay for her. So, I'd turn on NICK, sit her in front of Spongebob or whatever was on, and go clean my house! Until one day, I sat with her, and actually watched it! It was a funny cartoon, but Spongebob was lying and cheating!! If he were real, he would not exactly be someone I would want my children to learn character traits from!
Ephesians 4:27 "And do not give the devil a foothold." If you were walking across the room and someone grabbed you by the foot, you wouldn't just lose your balance, your entire body would fall crashing to the ground! From that small hold that someone could get on your foot, it could effect your entire body! From that one naked woman, or small temptation your husband watches on a show you turn on, it could effect your entire marriage. From that one lie that your child sees on a cartoon and thinks is funny, it could effect them the rest of their lives!
Our challenge this week is to observe your family. Take a closer look at what you are bringing into your home: games, movies, music, gossip, anger, even people etc. Figure out how you can clothe your family's hearts, or protect their hearts, from these things. If you've never paid attention to what your kids are watching during the day, sit with them one day this week, all day, and find out! What in your life can you protect your family from that could be destructive to their hearts? You will be amazed at the impact these things have on your family.
Just this week, I decided to really crack down on what my kids were watching. I have felt recently we've been a little less strict on the cartoons, and I've been having the worst few weeks behavior-wise with them. So, this week they have gotten MAYBE 1 hour of TV and it has been a Veggie Tale, a Bible DVD, or something about God. Already, in these few short days, it has made a HUGE difference in their character!
I'm praying for wisdom for you all this week; I know it can be hard to give up things that you've done/watched/listened to for so long, but it will be totally worth it in the end! Love you all!
Make sure to head over to the discussion tab on the facebook page and let us know what you've observed about your family this week!
Please continue to help us grow this ministry! For the month of July if you place a link to the The Modern Proverbs 31 Wife on your facebook page you will receive three entries into our end of the month drawing to receive the book "CAPTIVATING" by Stasi & John Eldredge! You never know whose marriage you will save just by posting a link!
God Bless!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Challenge #6 July 8, 2010-July 14, 2010
Okay so I've been a huge slacker this week with posting! So sorry it's late, but at least you got a few extra days to not have to worry about a Challenge ;)
So this week in keeping with our verse this month Prov. 31:13 " She Selects wool and flax and works with eager hands." Our challenge this week is going to be to "Work with eager hands."
Lets look at the definition of "EAGER":
Having or showing keen interest, intense desire, or impatient expectancy.
I can't honestly say that I get up every morning "eager" to start my day as a mother, wife, and homemaker. Most days I dread getting out of bed to look at my pile of laundry & dishes, not to mention the changing the baby's morning blow outs that start my mornings off JUST wonderfully! Then at the end of a busy day after being with three kids all day long in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy, I can't honestly say I am always "eager" to prepare, and make dinner for my husband who is returning home from a long day of work himself.
Now the kids bedtime, I get "eager" for on those long days, but being eager to clean and cook and change diapers and re-clean the same room 3 times during the same day and vacuum the same room 3 times is not my idea of something to be eager to do!
The things in my day I do become eager about is wanting to cuddle with my kids and husband, wanting to teach my children about Christ on a daily basis, finding tools and resources to teach them about Christ, eating that home cooked meal at the end of a long day. The best part of my day that I am most eager for, is when my husband comes through the door, grabs me tight, looks in my eyes and kisses me hello like it's the first time he has ever kissed me.
Sometimes that kiss I am so "eager" for at the end of the day, gets distracted when he comes home. It gets distracted by the mess the girls made again in the living room while I was in the kitchen trying to prepare dinner, or gets distracted by the pile of laundry that didn't make it into the washer today because I was too busy with the kids, or just didn't feel like it. Or some days it gets distracted by the rush to get the whole family out the door and loaded into the car to go get some dinner because I didn't feel like making it that day.
So much of that mess could have been avoided if I could have just worked with "eager hands" all day every day. My husband understands how hard it is with three little ones and being pregnant so he doesn't always expect the house to be SPOTLESS, but he works all day and my job is the house and the kids, and the last thing I want is him to come home to a dirty house and feel like he has to work more, or feel like our home isn't a place he WANTS to be to relax.
Also by being "eager" to keep a clean house, it allows you to have MORE free time during the day to to the things that you LOVE and are passionate about. Where as, if your house is unclean, it just always feels like you can't relax because there is always something else to do!
A great website that has helped me develop a good routine is www.flylady.com. If you are a busy mom or wife this site will really help you to get everything done that needs to be done in order to have a clean home.
So this week I challenge you to "work with eager hands." Wake up CHOOSING to desire a clean house this week. And CHOOSING to keep those hands moving throughout the day to make your house a home for your husband to come home to. And if you are already good at keeping a clean house, just go deeper, de-clutter, disinfect those toys that haven't been wiped down in a while, wash those curtains etc. Remember When you change your environment you change your life!"
Praying for you all this week! Make sure you head over to the Facebook Page in the discussion tab for this week and let us know how it's coming!! When you post this week you will earn 2 entries into the end of the month drawing for July!
Keep it up ladies, your doing fantastic!!
So this week in keeping with our verse this month Prov. 31:13 " She Selects wool and flax and works with eager hands." Our challenge this week is going to be to "Work with eager hands."
Lets look at the definition of "EAGER":
Having or showing keen interest, intense desire, or impatient expectancy.
I can't honestly say that I get up every morning "eager" to start my day as a mother, wife, and homemaker. Most days I dread getting out of bed to look at my pile of laundry & dishes, not to mention the changing the baby's morning blow outs that start my mornings off JUST wonderfully! Then at the end of a busy day after being with three kids all day long in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy, I can't honestly say I am always "eager" to prepare, and make dinner for my husband who is returning home from a long day of work himself.
Now the kids bedtime, I get "eager" for on those long days, but being eager to clean and cook and change diapers and re-clean the same room 3 times during the same day and vacuum the same room 3 times is not my idea of something to be eager to do!
The things in my day I do become eager about is wanting to cuddle with my kids and husband, wanting to teach my children about Christ on a daily basis, finding tools and resources to teach them about Christ, eating that home cooked meal at the end of a long day. The best part of my day that I am most eager for, is when my husband comes through the door, grabs me tight, looks in my eyes and kisses me hello like it's the first time he has ever kissed me.
Sometimes that kiss I am so "eager" for at the end of the day, gets distracted when he comes home. It gets distracted by the mess the girls made again in the living room while I was in the kitchen trying to prepare dinner, or gets distracted by the pile of laundry that didn't make it into the washer today because I was too busy with the kids, or just didn't feel like it. Or some days it gets distracted by the rush to get the whole family out the door and loaded into the car to go get some dinner because I didn't feel like making it that day.
So much of that mess could have been avoided if I could have just worked with "eager hands" all day every day. My husband understands how hard it is with three little ones and being pregnant so he doesn't always expect the house to be SPOTLESS, but he works all day and my job is the house and the kids, and the last thing I want is him to come home to a dirty house and feel like he has to work more, or feel like our home isn't a place he WANTS to be to relax.
Also by being "eager" to keep a clean house, it allows you to have MORE free time during the day to to the things that you LOVE and are passionate about. Where as, if your house is unclean, it just always feels like you can't relax because there is always something else to do!
A great website that has helped me develop a good routine is www.flylady.com. If you are a busy mom or wife this site will really help you to get everything done that needs to be done in order to have a clean home.
So this week I challenge you to "work with eager hands." Wake up CHOOSING to desire a clean house this week. And CHOOSING to keep those hands moving throughout the day to make your house a home for your husband to come home to. And if you are already good at keeping a clean house, just go deeper, de-clutter, disinfect those toys that haven't been wiped down in a while, wash those curtains etc. Remember When you change your environment you change your life!"
Praying for you all this week! Make sure you head over to the Facebook Page in the discussion tab for this week and let us know how it's coming!! When you post this week you will earn 2 entries into the end of the month drawing for July!
Keep it up ladies, your doing fantastic!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Challenge #5 June 30, 2010-July 6, 2010
Proverbs 31:13: She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
Okay how many of you goes out and buys their own wool and flax and weaves their own materials like they did back in the biblical days? ANYONE? Not me! I have a sewing machine that I got for Christmas three years ago sitting in my laundry room that has been turned on maybe one time! I don't even know how to use that, let alone weave the actual fabric for the clothing!!
So how can selecting wool and flax and working with eager hands apply to us in modern times, when we just run down to the nearest Walmart, Target, or Sears and buy some already made clothing? I'm glad you ask!
Back in biblical times a woman who could weave their own fabric was a very skilled woman. It took a lot of time, love and eagerness to accomplish something this detailed, and in my opinion still does! The process she had to go through in order to work with the wool, I can only imagine, was tough! Wool can be dense and curly making it hard to work with, so it takes a really patient, loving and determined person to do such a tedious skill.
While we in modern times might not do much weaving for ourselves or families with actual fabrics, we can do it spiritually with Christ. In the weaving process (from what I've researched) there are two different ways the yarn is used to keep the garment woven together. One of them is called "warp yarn" and the other which looks to be the foundation and what holds everything else together is called "Weft Yarn". Here is a photo of what it looks like:
I'm sure most of us have had a thread on a sweater or shirt come loose and what happens if we start to pull at that "Weft Yarn"? The entire shirt starts to unravel! If that foundation of the weaving is pulled out or disturbed, frayed, or snagged, it can destroy the entire garment!
Same with our foundation in Christ. We as the "heart" and weavers of Christ, have a job to do in our families, we are to be skilled and eager to pick the best things for our families, our husbands, and children. We want to weave Christ into every area of our children's lives as well as our own and our husbands. Our job as the heart of the home, is to guard the little hearts in our home. How can we do that? By choosing the best "yarn" to weave throughout their lives. Making good choices for their hearts by protecting them from damaged yarn, or frays, so that they wont unravel. One thing that a husband loves more than anything about a wife is knowing that she loves and cares for his children, and teaches them well.
Weaving Christ into our family starts at the heart, your heart. You have to be eager to do this and then start developing that skill to smooth out the dense curly wool that covers our children's hearts, our own hearts, and our husbands hearts, and weave it into something beautiful. When a fabric is woven together correctly it will not come apart, same with our families! When a family is woven together correctly, with Christ as our foundation, it will not unravel!
What do you really do every day to weave Christ into not only your life but into your relationship with your husband, into your children's lives? Do you spend time reading your bible with your children? Do you spend time in prayer with your children? What they see in you is what will end up in their hearts.
So our challenge this week is to make a firm foundation and weave Christ into our families in every area. If you are already doing this GREAT! But I'm sure there could be some improvement somewhere! So for our challenge this week, lets start making sure that you get some quiet time not only in reading your bible, but also in prayer and lets include our children in that time. Not just reading to them, or praying for them, or bedtime prayers, but actually setting aside "prayer time" and "bible time" to read out loud or even pray out loud so they can hear your heart, and start to build that foundation in their own hearts. You can do this with your husband as well, but however you choose to do it, make sure your children are included.
Sometimes I'll just pray in the car while driving and the girls are in the back, or while I'm doing dishes just start praying out loud. This will also help with their own prayer lives.
Now if you do not have children or are a expectant mommy, you can still work on yourself, pray for your future children, and also maybe ask your husband to join you in that prayer and even your devotion time this week. If your husband is not a believer or chooses not to participate with you, continue to include your children, and in your private prayers, pray that God will open his heart to what you are trying to do.
I'm so excited about this new challenge! With God as our foundation we can only become stronger women and better wives and mothers.
Make sure to head over the the discussion tab, on the facebook page and stay active. The more active you stay the easier it is to continue with the challenge because you will have support from other women who are going through the same thing.
Also After 10:00pm tonight we will start a new list of entries for the end of the month drawing for July, so make sure you help to grow this ministry by putting a link on your facebook status and then commenting on the wall of the facebook page to let me know you did it. You will also get an extra entry for participating in the discussion forum on the facebook page.
Praying for you all this week!
Okay how many of you goes out and buys their own wool and flax and weaves their own materials like they did back in the biblical days? ANYONE? Not me! I have a sewing machine that I got for Christmas three years ago sitting in my laundry room that has been turned on maybe one time! I don't even know how to use that, let alone weave the actual fabric for the clothing!!
So how can selecting wool and flax and working with eager hands apply to us in modern times, when we just run down to the nearest Walmart, Target, or Sears and buy some already made clothing? I'm glad you ask!
Back in biblical times a woman who could weave their own fabric was a very skilled woman. It took a lot of time, love and eagerness to accomplish something this detailed, and in my opinion still does! The process she had to go through in order to work with the wool, I can only imagine, was tough! Wool can be dense and curly making it hard to work with, so it takes a really patient, loving and determined person to do such a tedious skill.
While we in modern times might not do much weaving for ourselves or families with actual fabrics, we can do it spiritually with Christ. In the weaving process (from what I've researched) there are two different ways the yarn is used to keep the garment woven together. One of them is called "warp yarn" and the other which looks to be the foundation and what holds everything else together is called "Weft Yarn". Here is a photo of what it looks like:
I'm sure most of us have had a thread on a sweater or shirt come loose and what happens if we start to pull at that "Weft Yarn"? The entire shirt starts to unravel! If that foundation of the weaving is pulled out or disturbed, frayed, or snagged, it can destroy the entire garment!
Same with our foundation in Christ. We as the "heart" and weavers of Christ, have a job to do in our families, we are to be skilled and eager to pick the best things for our families, our husbands, and children. We want to weave Christ into every area of our children's lives as well as our own and our husbands. Our job as the heart of the home, is to guard the little hearts in our home. How can we do that? By choosing the best "yarn" to weave throughout their lives. Making good choices for their hearts by protecting them from damaged yarn, or frays, so that they wont unravel. One thing that a husband loves more than anything about a wife is knowing that she loves and cares for his children, and teaches them well.
Weaving Christ into our family starts at the heart, your heart. You have to be eager to do this and then start developing that skill to smooth out the dense curly wool that covers our children's hearts, our own hearts, and our husbands hearts, and weave it into something beautiful. When a fabric is woven together correctly it will not come apart, same with our families! When a family is woven together correctly, with Christ as our foundation, it will not unravel!
What do you really do every day to weave Christ into not only your life but into your relationship with your husband, into your children's lives? Do you spend time reading your bible with your children? Do you spend time in prayer with your children? What they see in you is what will end up in their hearts.
So our challenge this week is to make a firm foundation and weave Christ into our families in every area. If you are already doing this GREAT! But I'm sure there could be some improvement somewhere! So for our challenge this week, lets start making sure that you get some quiet time not only in reading your bible, but also in prayer and lets include our children in that time. Not just reading to them, or praying for them, or bedtime prayers, but actually setting aside "prayer time" and "bible time" to read out loud or even pray out loud so they can hear your heart, and start to build that foundation in their own hearts. You can do this with your husband as well, but however you choose to do it, make sure your children are included.
Sometimes I'll just pray in the car while driving and the girls are in the back, or while I'm doing dishes just start praying out loud. This will also help with their own prayer lives.
Now if you do not have children or are a expectant mommy, you can still work on yourself, pray for your future children, and also maybe ask your husband to join you in that prayer and even your devotion time this week. If your husband is not a believer or chooses not to participate with you, continue to include your children, and in your private prayers, pray that God will open his heart to what you are trying to do.
I'm so excited about this new challenge! With God as our foundation we can only become stronger women and better wives and mothers.
Make sure to head over the the discussion tab, on the facebook page and stay active. The more active you stay the easier it is to continue with the challenge because you will have support from other women who are going through the same thing.
Also After 10:00pm tonight we will start a new list of entries for the end of the month drawing for July, so make sure you help to grow this ministry by putting a link on your facebook status and then commenting on the wall of the facebook page to let me know you did it. You will also get an extra entry for participating in the discussion forum on the facebook page.
Praying for you all this week!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Challenge#4 June 23-June 29, 2010
Last week was a huge challenge for me! Well, they all have been really but, something about last week just really got to me. So after the week I had with last weeks challenge it was a little hard for me tonight to find the words to even post the next challenge. I pulled up the blog wrote a few things, and then walked away. Then did it again and walked away, but still didn't feel that the words or ideas were inspired by God. So I had to delete it all pray about it and start all over. And here we are!
Sticking with the same verse this month PROVERBS 31:12 "She brings him good not harm all the days of her life." We have one last challenge that goes with this verse!
After the week I had last week it took everything in me to continue with this challenge this week, but I'm going to push through those feelings and continue to strive to be the wife God intended for me to be. Just because something gets harder and harder, doesn't mean we just quit, in that case none of us would even be a Christian! That's the beauty of being a Christian, see, we know that the outcome will eventually be good because God is for us! We might go through a lot of valleys and have to pull ourselves through some quick-sand along the way, but how comforting to know that God is waiting at the end to celebrate our victory! That has been the ONLY thing that has kept me going some days. Going through trials and hard times should just make us want to run through them faster and harder just to get to the other side!
So going along with our other challenges this week I want us to work on "the way we speak to our husbands" trying to be "gentle not harsh."
This one again I can already tell you is going to be a hard one for me. I am a very strong person. I know what I want and when I put my mind to something I make sure I accomplish it! I also can be very aggressive at times, I have a strong personality, however, I'm also VERY sensitive. When I love someone, I REALLY LOVE THEM! When I'm friends with someone, I'm fully committed to that friendship for life, and when I hear someones problems, I don't just hear it with my ears I feel their pain and take on the situation as if it were my own. Sometimes it's hard for me to take that sensitive heart on the inside and let it match the outside.
When my husband and I first got married and I knew he was called into ministry, I would watch the Pastor's wives at the churches we'd go to. I would study them from their hair styles, to the way they prayed to their actions and the way they talked. The one thing I found in all of them, is that they are some of the strongest women on the outside, and the most sensitive loving women on the inside. The key was in the way they balanced it. See God doesn't want us to throw away that strong side in us, he wants us to just use it for the right reasons. We need to have that strong, aggressive side to us so we can be bold in our faith, and stand up for our family and children. When we allow that side to dominate and to tear down our husbands with harsh words, that is when having a strong, bold side becomes harmful.
The way we speak to our husbands is so important! It not only can harm him, but also our children. Those of us with little kids know that children hear and repeat EVERYTHING! We not only don't want them repeating harsh words but we don't want them to grow up thinking it's okay to marry someone who treats them harshly because their parents acted that way!
Proverbs 18:21 "The tongue has the power of life and death..." Your words have the power to give your husband life, or tear him apart! Your words also have the power to give your marriage life, or death! How many times can you think of when you've spoken to your husband badly, or torn him down with words? Again it could just be little things like for instance "Did you not fix your hair today?" or "can't you just ever pick up your clothes after your shower?" or anything that starts with "Why can't you ever....?"
We all have little things that we continue to do daily even though we know our spouse hates it. Mine is, I always take the plastic thing off the milk cap and leave it laying on the counter instead of putting it in the trash 2 feet away from me. My husband has mentioned it to me a handful of times, but he has realized this is something that might not be very important to me like it is to him especially when I'm trying to make three milk cups with three very thirsty babies, all screaming at me at the same time! And I have to say he now just picks it up and puts it in the trash without a word!
After my last video I posted about Ed & Rachelle, they really captivated my interest! So I started watching more and more of their videos! So check out this video I found of Ed and Rachelle.....
You can see how important this was to him, but maybe she had her mind on something else and forgot. A simple, "honey, I found this in the disposal it's really important to me that you put it in the compost pile" would do, but in the video he seemed a bit harsh, almost treating her like a child at some point by reminding her of the rules. This would have made me feel torn down, like I never do anything right, and belittled which for a man to feel this way can be very harmful!
Proverbs 15:1 " A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
There have been so many times I could have answered my husband more gently than I did and avoided a huge blow up fight, or even just avoided hurting his feelings!
So this week lets be more aware of how we answer our husbands, are we being gentle or harsh? Can we avoid conflict this week by giving a gentle answer, or even turning away wrath and anger by avoiding the urge to pick out little things that aren't REALLY that important. Also, lets make sure to build our husbands up this week, encourage them! If you have something negative to address them with make sure you start out with two positives, then the negative after, this will soften the impact of the negative. Try to leave the past in the past, and work on a new gentle future.
Love you all, praying for you this week and hope you will pray for me as well! Don't forget to go over to the Facebook page and put your thoughts in the discussion forum. If you haven't commented on last weeks challenge do that as well I'd love to know how you did!! Be on the look out this week, for more chances to win an extra entry into the end of the month drawing for next Wednesday!
Sticking with the same verse this month PROVERBS 31:12 "She brings him good not harm all the days of her life." We have one last challenge that goes with this verse!
After the week I had last week it took everything in me to continue with this challenge this week, but I'm going to push through those feelings and continue to strive to be the wife God intended for me to be. Just because something gets harder and harder, doesn't mean we just quit, in that case none of us would even be a Christian! That's the beauty of being a Christian, see, we know that the outcome will eventually be good because God is for us! We might go through a lot of valleys and have to pull ourselves through some quick-sand along the way, but how comforting to know that God is waiting at the end to celebrate our victory! That has been the ONLY thing that has kept me going some days. Going through trials and hard times should just make us want to run through them faster and harder just to get to the other side!
So going along with our other challenges this week I want us to work on "the way we speak to our husbands" trying to be "gentle not harsh."
This one again I can already tell you is going to be a hard one for me. I am a very strong person. I know what I want and when I put my mind to something I make sure I accomplish it! I also can be very aggressive at times, I have a strong personality, however, I'm also VERY sensitive. When I love someone, I REALLY LOVE THEM! When I'm friends with someone, I'm fully committed to that friendship for life, and when I hear someones problems, I don't just hear it with my ears I feel their pain and take on the situation as if it were my own. Sometimes it's hard for me to take that sensitive heart on the inside and let it match the outside.
When my husband and I first got married and I knew he was called into ministry, I would watch the Pastor's wives at the churches we'd go to. I would study them from their hair styles, to the way they prayed to their actions and the way they talked. The one thing I found in all of them, is that they are some of the strongest women on the outside, and the most sensitive loving women on the inside. The key was in the way they balanced it. See God doesn't want us to throw away that strong side in us, he wants us to just use it for the right reasons. We need to have that strong, aggressive side to us so we can be bold in our faith, and stand up for our family and children. When we allow that side to dominate and to tear down our husbands with harsh words, that is when having a strong, bold side becomes harmful.
The way we speak to our husbands is so important! It not only can harm him, but also our children. Those of us with little kids know that children hear and repeat EVERYTHING! We not only don't want them repeating harsh words but we don't want them to grow up thinking it's okay to marry someone who treats them harshly because their parents acted that way!
Proverbs 18:21 "The tongue has the power of life and death..." Your words have the power to give your husband life, or tear him apart! Your words also have the power to give your marriage life, or death! How many times can you think of when you've spoken to your husband badly, or torn him down with words? Again it could just be little things like for instance "Did you not fix your hair today?" or "can't you just ever pick up your clothes after your shower?" or anything that starts with "Why can't you ever....?"
We all have little things that we continue to do daily even though we know our spouse hates it. Mine is, I always take the plastic thing off the milk cap and leave it laying on the counter instead of putting it in the trash 2 feet away from me. My husband has mentioned it to me a handful of times, but he has realized this is something that might not be very important to me like it is to him especially when I'm trying to make three milk cups with three very thirsty babies, all screaming at me at the same time! And I have to say he now just picks it up and puts it in the trash without a word!
After my last video I posted about Ed & Rachelle, they really captivated my interest! So I started watching more and more of their videos! So check out this video I found of Ed and Rachelle.....
You can see how important this was to him, but maybe she had her mind on something else and forgot. A simple, "honey, I found this in the disposal it's really important to me that you put it in the compost pile" would do, but in the video he seemed a bit harsh, almost treating her like a child at some point by reminding her of the rules. This would have made me feel torn down, like I never do anything right, and belittled which for a man to feel this way can be very harmful!
Proverbs 15:1 " A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
There have been so many times I could have answered my husband more gently than I did and avoided a huge blow up fight, or even just avoided hurting his feelings!
So this week lets be more aware of how we answer our husbands, are we being gentle or harsh? Can we avoid conflict this week by giving a gentle answer, or even turning away wrath and anger by avoiding the urge to pick out little things that aren't REALLY that important. Also, lets make sure to build our husbands up this week, encourage them! If you have something negative to address them with make sure you start out with two positives, then the negative after, this will soften the impact of the negative. Try to leave the past in the past, and work on a new gentle future.
Love you all, praying for you this week and hope you will pray for me as well! Don't forget to go over to the Facebook page and put your thoughts in the discussion forum. If you haven't commented on last weeks challenge do that as well I'd love to know how you did!! Be on the look out this week, for more chances to win an extra entry into the end of the month drawing for next Wednesday!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Challenge #3 Day 1 and Dr. Phill!
So I believe this might be a tough one for some of us this week so I'm going to do everything I can to encourage you and help you get through this week.
I'm not a Dr. Phill watcher AT ALL, however today I happened to turn it on and the subject of the show was "YOUR #1 COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR SPOUSE." So with the challenge this week I couldnt help but be curious.
There were several couples on the show two in particular that really stuck out to me. There was a nagging spouse in both couples and both times it was the husband in my opinion. I sat there thinking "WOW, I could never live with a husband that nagged me to death about these things!" I was getting irritated just watching the show! So If I was that irritated, I can't imagine how irritated my husband gets when I do it to him over silly things!
The first couple had only been married for three months and their biggest problem was the wife bought two large drinks from Starbucks every day, and her husband thought it was a waste of money. She was so addicted to this Starbucks drink, she would call her husband at work and tell him she would bring his lunch to him so they can save money, then on the way stop and get a drink from the Starbucks around the corner!
The second couple is the couple from the Reality series "Living with Ed" I've never seen this show before but from what I saw I'm sure it is definately entertaining! I wanted to share with you a clip I found from the show. It was very humerous, however at the same time keeping our challenge in mind, I could also see the disrespect, nagging, talking badly to each other. In this clip I'm about to show you, Ed's wife Rachelle is suppose to be cleaning off the solar panels on the top of the roof. To Ed's surprise she had other plans! Check it out!
What do you think about this situation? Do you see yourself or your spouse in this video? If so how? If not how are you thankful for that?
The first 4 people to reply in the discussion forum on facebook will get 3 extra entries into the End of the month drawing!
I'm not a Dr. Phill watcher AT ALL, however today I happened to turn it on and the subject of the show was "YOUR #1 COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR SPOUSE." So with the challenge this week I couldnt help but be curious.
There were several couples on the show two in particular that really stuck out to me. There was a nagging spouse in both couples and both times it was the husband in my opinion. I sat there thinking "WOW, I could never live with a husband that nagged me to death about these things!" I was getting irritated just watching the show! So If I was that irritated, I can't imagine how irritated my husband gets when I do it to him over silly things!
The first couple had only been married for three months and their biggest problem was the wife bought two large drinks from Starbucks every day, and her husband thought it was a waste of money. She was so addicted to this Starbucks drink, she would call her husband at work and tell him she would bring his lunch to him so they can save money, then on the way stop and get a drink from the Starbucks around the corner!
The second couple is the couple from the Reality series "Living with Ed" I've never seen this show before but from what I saw I'm sure it is definately entertaining! I wanted to share with you a clip I found from the show. It was very humerous, however at the same time keeping our challenge in mind, I could also see the disrespect, nagging, talking badly to each other. In this clip I'm about to show you, Ed's wife Rachelle is suppose to be cleaning off the solar panels on the top of the roof. To Ed's surprise she had other plans! Check it out!
What do you think about this situation? Do you see yourself or your spouse in this video? If so how? If not how are you thankful for that?
The first 4 people to reply in the discussion forum on facebook will get 3 extra entries into the End of the month drawing!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Challenge #3: June 16-June 22, 2010
Proverbs 31:12 "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
So last week was a little intense for me! Even though I felt as I posted I didn't have much to work on last week because I've been working on not being demanding and aggressive in that area for a while, God really showed me that even though I might be good at asking nicely for my husband to pass the salt or grab me a diaper, didn't mean I've fully mastered not being aggressive and demanding in other areas. And this week God totally ripped me apart in that area. Who knew that such a small thing could make such a HUGE difference!
So far the last few weeks we've worked on, Not talking badly about our husbands to others, and not being demanding and aggressive. This week, is going to be tough!! We are going to work on not "NAGGING and COMPLAINING!!
I am totally guilty of being the "nagging wife" at times. There are a few issues that I have with my husband that I tend to revert to nagging. One in particular I've prayed over for 5 entire years and still have to pray daily that I will let God take care of it instead of nagging my husband to do what I expect.
I really have an amazing husband, one who never complains when he comes home from a long day at work to a messy house and has to pick up dinner on the way home. One who is willing to go to the grocery store for me so I don't have to go myself. He is always ready and willing to accept my short comings and faults because he knows that I do the best that I can during the day, why can't I do that for him? Why can't I go through one week without saying "honey, I asked you to do this, you said you would and you haven't!"
Again here we are back to those little things again. Little things that add up and become something huge!! Out of curiosity, I looked up the word "NAGGING" in the bible and found this Judges 16:16 "With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death."
Nagging doesn't just cause aggravation to our husbands, or irritation. We can complain and nag about things so often and be so negative about things that it will wear on our husbands and maybe not cause them physical death, but mental and spiritual. Having someone constantly nag you with things can eventually wear away at you and cause a spiritual death, resulting in them not wanting to be intimate with you,or spend time with you, but feeling like they need to pull away from you in order to revive themselves.
Nagging and complaining can be very harmful to our husbands! Another verse I came across is Proverbs 24:15 "A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day" This made me think about something they do in the military. I've heard of where they have a constant drip of water on someone's head for a long period of time and they end up going crazy! I'm sure none of us ever have had the intention of making our husbands crazy or even being the cause of a spiritual death for them, so lets take up this challenge and really work hard on it this week!
A few weeks ago, I saw that our trash in our bathroom was overflowing into the floor. My girls like to get up in the mornings and take off their pull-ups and throw their pee filled diapers in there, so after time it becomes a nasty, overflowing, stinky mess! I remember standing in the bathroom thinking, "GOSH I wish he would take out the trash without me asking him once in a while!" So...I resisted the urge to say something, prayed and asked God to handle it, and later that evening I went in there to use the bathroom and all the trash was gone!! It saved me from being the nagging wife, and him from being angry and irritated at me for trying to tell him what to do, and everyone was happy!!
So instead of "nagging and complaining" this week to our husbands, get out that prayer journal and WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!! Write your nags and complaints in there, give them to God not your husband and watch what God does with them!! Remember he is better at handling our husband than we are! Also, if there is something that you need him to do...make a "Honey do" list for him and put it on the fridge, but also make one for yourself so that he isn't singled out. This will help with having to repeat yourself over and over, and will keep you from turning into a "nagging wife."
Make sure you praise your husband not just once this week, but once a day this week for something he has done for you! Lets increase the positive and decrease the negative.
Prayers for you this week, I know this is going to be a tough one for some of us. It seems for me the more I dive into this challenge the more challenging it becomes and the more satan has been at work in our marriage. But we can "overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony" Rev 12:11. Hide this verse in your heart this week during the battle.
Don't forget to head over to the "discussion" tab this week and let us know how your doing! If you haven't done it for last week, do that too! And also remember to invite your friends to come join us, and help to grow this ministry, you never know whose marriage you could help just by inviting them to join us!
Prayers, and HUGS!!
So last week was a little intense for me! Even though I felt as I posted I didn't have much to work on last week because I've been working on not being demanding and aggressive in that area for a while, God really showed me that even though I might be good at asking nicely for my husband to pass the salt or grab me a diaper, didn't mean I've fully mastered not being aggressive and demanding in other areas. And this week God totally ripped me apart in that area. Who knew that such a small thing could make such a HUGE difference!
So far the last few weeks we've worked on, Not talking badly about our husbands to others, and not being demanding and aggressive. This week, is going to be tough!! We are going to work on not "NAGGING and COMPLAINING!!
I am totally guilty of being the "nagging wife" at times. There are a few issues that I have with my husband that I tend to revert to nagging. One in particular I've prayed over for 5 entire years and still have to pray daily that I will let God take care of it instead of nagging my husband to do what I expect.
I really have an amazing husband, one who never complains when he comes home from a long day at work to a messy house and has to pick up dinner on the way home. One who is willing to go to the grocery store for me so I don't have to go myself. He is always ready and willing to accept my short comings and faults because he knows that I do the best that I can during the day, why can't I do that for him? Why can't I go through one week without saying "honey, I asked you to do this, you said you would and you haven't!"
Again here we are back to those little things again. Little things that add up and become something huge!! Out of curiosity, I looked up the word "NAGGING" in the bible and found this Judges 16:16 "With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death."
Nagging doesn't just cause aggravation to our husbands, or irritation. We can complain and nag about things so often and be so negative about things that it will wear on our husbands and maybe not cause them physical death, but mental and spiritual. Having someone constantly nag you with things can eventually wear away at you and cause a spiritual death, resulting in them not wanting to be intimate with you,or spend time with you, but feeling like they need to pull away from you in order to revive themselves.
Nagging and complaining can be very harmful to our husbands! Another verse I came across is Proverbs 24:15 "A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day" This made me think about something they do in the military. I've heard of where they have a constant drip of water on someone's head for a long period of time and they end up going crazy! I'm sure none of us ever have had the intention of making our husbands crazy or even being the cause of a spiritual death for them, so lets take up this challenge and really work hard on it this week!
A few weeks ago, I saw that our trash in our bathroom was overflowing into the floor. My girls like to get up in the mornings and take off their pull-ups and throw their pee filled diapers in there, so after time it becomes a nasty, overflowing, stinky mess! I remember standing in the bathroom thinking, "GOSH I wish he would take out the trash without me asking him once in a while!" So...I resisted the urge to say something, prayed and asked God to handle it, and later that evening I went in there to use the bathroom and all the trash was gone!! It saved me from being the nagging wife, and him from being angry and irritated at me for trying to tell him what to do, and everyone was happy!!
So instead of "nagging and complaining" this week to our husbands, get out that prayer journal and WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!! Write your nags and complaints in there, give them to God not your husband and watch what God does with them!! Remember he is better at handling our husband than we are! Also, if there is something that you need him to do...make a "Honey do" list for him and put it on the fridge, but also make one for yourself so that he isn't singled out. This will help with having to repeat yourself over and over, and will keep you from turning into a "nagging wife."
Make sure you praise your husband not just once this week, but once a day this week for something he has done for you! Lets increase the positive and decrease the negative.
Prayers for you this week, I know this is going to be a tough one for some of us. It seems for me the more I dive into this challenge the more challenging it becomes and the more satan has been at work in our marriage. But we can "overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony" Rev 12:11. Hide this verse in your heart this week during the battle.
Don't forget to head over to the "discussion" tab this week and let us know how your doing! If you haven't done it for last week, do that too! And also remember to invite your friends to come join us, and help to grow this ministry, you never know whose marriage you could help just by inviting them to join us!
Prayers, and HUGS!!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Challenge #2: June 9th-June 15, 2010
So, we are going to continue this whole month with the same verse, but different challenges and ways of implementing these things into our daily lives. So just as a reminder, our verse for this month is still Proverbs 31:12 "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
When my husband and I first got married, we went through our pre-marriage counseling. We took a test that asked us each a bunch of questions, like: "How many kids do you want? What would happen if the wife made more money than the husband?" We had a lot of the same answers, but some different. For example, his answer for "how many kids do you want" was 2. My answer was 8. My answer has changed since then, and since I had my first child, however so has his, since we now are about to have baby number 4.
We did have one issue we didn't see eye to eye on at first. It was mostly because I again, I thought it was something stupid, and small, that didn't make a lot of difference. Well, maybe it didn't to me but over time, again, these small things add up! We listened to a tape about respecting your husband. At first I was a little upset that we did that because what about respecting your wife?! And I also felt at the time a bit ganged up on. HOWEVER- it did teach me a lot, and helped out our marriage quite a bit!
The tape talked about how you should never DEMAND things from your husband. Now when I think about a "DEMAND", I think about bossing him around, being moody and telling him what to do. But this was talking about something different. This was talking about the small things; the little things that add up and cause something HUGE!
How many times have you been sitting at the table and said, "Babe, pass me the salt!" When have you been changing a diaper and said "Hon, go get me the wipes!" Or, sitting on the toilet and yelled "HONEY GET ME SOME TOILET PAPER!" I did that ALL THE TIME!! To me it was a simple request, but to him it was a demand! Why was it a demand? Because I wasn't actually asking him to do it, I was telling him! Over time, for men, these little tiny things add up and it starts to make them feel like they have no control. It's like, you have taken their rightful place as head of the household, and it starts to make them feel belittled and overpowered, and this is harmful to our husbands.
We want to ultimately be respectful to them, not demanding or aggressive with our requests. Lovingly ask for things, not demand them. When you take those little demands that add up negatively, and turn them into a loving request like, "Sweetie, could you please pass the salt?" "Babe, would you mind grabbing me the wipes?" or "HONEY, PLEASE WOULD YOU MIND BRINGING ME SOME TOILET PAPER?" Your requests become little things that add up to be positive, and cause your husband to adore you and start to even give you more respect than he did before.
So our challenge for this week is to be Respectful of our husbands, not demanding or aggressive towards them with our behavior. I want you to take note of every time you say, "HONEY GO DO THIS... or COULD YOU THAT", as a demand and not a loving request. If you have to, in mid-sentence after you have said it, correct yourself by saying, "oh I'm sorry I mean would you mind...." Then watch your husbands reaction. Also make sure to praise your husband in private this week, and let him know how much you love him and appreciate all these things he does for you.
Praying for you ladies this week!! Can't wait to hear your progress!!
Please make sure to share the FB link with other friends, so you can be entered into the end of the month drawing for a free prize ( prize to be announced soon). And find your way into the discussion tab on the facebook page to share what you think about the challenge, and how you are doing this week!
Love you and praying for you all as you start the new Challenge!!
When my husband and I first got married, we went through our pre-marriage counseling. We took a test that asked us each a bunch of questions, like: "How many kids do you want? What would happen if the wife made more money than the husband?" We had a lot of the same answers, but some different. For example, his answer for "how many kids do you want" was 2. My answer was 8. My answer has changed since then, and since I had my first child, however so has his, since we now are about to have baby number 4.
We did have one issue we didn't see eye to eye on at first. It was mostly because I again, I thought it was something stupid, and small, that didn't make a lot of difference. Well, maybe it didn't to me but over time, again, these small things add up! We listened to a tape about respecting your husband. At first I was a little upset that we did that because what about respecting your wife?! And I also felt at the time a bit ganged up on. HOWEVER- it did teach me a lot, and helped out our marriage quite a bit!
The tape talked about how you should never DEMAND things from your husband. Now when I think about a "DEMAND", I think about bossing him around, being moody and telling him what to do. But this was talking about something different. This was talking about the small things; the little things that add up and cause something HUGE!
How many times have you been sitting at the table and said, "Babe, pass me the salt!" When have you been changing a diaper and said "Hon, go get me the wipes!" Or, sitting on the toilet and yelled "HONEY GET ME SOME TOILET PAPER!" I did that ALL THE TIME!! To me it was a simple request, but to him it was a demand! Why was it a demand? Because I wasn't actually asking him to do it, I was telling him! Over time, for men, these little tiny things add up and it starts to make them feel like they have no control. It's like, you have taken their rightful place as head of the household, and it starts to make them feel belittled and overpowered, and this is harmful to our husbands.
We want to ultimately be respectful to them, not demanding or aggressive with our requests. Lovingly ask for things, not demand them. When you take those little demands that add up negatively, and turn them into a loving request like, "Sweetie, could you please pass the salt?" "Babe, would you mind grabbing me the wipes?" or "HONEY, PLEASE WOULD YOU MIND BRINGING ME SOME TOILET PAPER?" Your requests become little things that add up to be positive, and cause your husband to adore you and start to even give you more respect than he did before.
So our challenge for this week is to be Respectful of our husbands, not demanding or aggressive towards them with our behavior. I want you to take note of every time you say, "HONEY GO DO THIS... or COULD YOU THAT", as a demand and not a loving request. If you have to, in mid-sentence after you have said it, correct yourself by saying, "oh I'm sorry I mean would you mind...." Then watch your husbands reaction. Also make sure to praise your husband in private this week, and let him know how much you love him and appreciate all these things he does for you.
Praying for you ladies this week!! Can't wait to hear your progress!!
Please make sure to share the FB link with other friends, so you can be entered into the end of the month drawing for a free prize ( prize to be announced soon). And find your way into the discussion tab on the facebook page to share what you think about the challenge, and how you are doing this week!
Love you and praying for you all as you start the new Challenge!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
At the end of Day 5
So here we are at the end of Day 5, I hope you are all still going strong!! So far, being able to hear and see what God has done in your lives has encouraged me so much!!
It's so awesome to have such amazing women to share this journey with.
So I hope so far you all are enjoying the challenge and I pray that everyone of you has seen something good come from it so far this week, and if you haven't yet you will before Day 7. From what people have been saying it seems like most of the week for everyone has been like falling into the valley and climbing back out. Seems like most people have had an uneventful start and then in the middle of the week was hit with a dilemma that caused them to be frustrated. But the dilemma isn't what is important it is that each of you have climbed up out of that valley and are standing on solid ground again! And I am SO proud of all of you for picking yourselves up and continuing on with your challenge even though, it would have been so much easier to just throw it out the window!
We have two days left on this challenge and then we will move onto the next challenge but same verse. Stay strong and in prayer and God is going to reward you tremendously for the commitment and changes you are trying to make for Him. It will be hard but totally worth it in the end!
Love all of you and praying for each of you daily!
It's so awesome to have such amazing women to share this journey with.
So I hope so far you all are enjoying the challenge and I pray that everyone of you has seen something good come from it so far this week, and if you haven't yet you will before Day 7. From what people have been saying it seems like most of the week for everyone has been like falling into the valley and climbing back out. Seems like most people have had an uneventful start and then in the middle of the week was hit with a dilemma that caused them to be frustrated. But the dilemma isn't what is important it is that each of you have climbed up out of that valley and are standing on solid ground again! And I am SO proud of all of you for picking yourselves up and continuing on with your challenge even though, it would have been so much easier to just throw it out the window!
We have two days left on this challenge and then we will move onto the next challenge but same verse. Stay strong and in prayer and God is going to reward you tremendously for the commitment and changes you are trying to make for Him. It will be hard but totally worth it in the end!
Love all of you and praying for each of you daily!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Challenge Day 2
Today for me was easier than yesterday! Maybe it was cause I wasn't home all day and didn't have any temptations to complain, or maybe it was I didn't really have much to complain about today. Either way I could totally tell a huge difference today and could even see God working on me and my husband at the same time!
After my blog last night and confession of my slip up, I did go back and pray over it and ask God to change things before I talked to my husband about the cereal mess. Then this morning when I got up I walked into the living room and noticed there was no cereal under my toes!! He was even so excited about the fact that he did this for me he asked me if I noticed before I even did and I was very grateful!
The rest of my day with my husband today was spent with him being very loving towards me. It was such a hot day today and when we got to the car after a hour long soccer practice with our daughter, he started the car asked me to get in and he loaded all three kids, chairs, diaper bags, cups, and stroller so I did not have to be out in the heat!
It is just amazing to me how such a small thing and such a small prayer can make such a HUGE difference in both him and me!
I hope everyone is experiencing God working in their lives through this challenge as I have already over these last two days! I pray that God will continue to work our hearts and minds and mold us into the wives he wants us to be this week.
Please make sure you head over to the discussion tab on the facebook page and let us know how your week is going.
Looking forward to more transformation this week!! Keep at it Ladies your doing great!!
After my blog last night and confession of my slip up, I did go back and pray over it and ask God to change things before I talked to my husband about the cereal mess. Then this morning when I got up I walked into the living room and noticed there was no cereal under my toes!! He was even so excited about the fact that he did this for me he asked me if I noticed before I even did and I was very grateful!
The rest of my day with my husband today was spent with him being very loving towards me. It was such a hot day today and when we got to the car after a hour long soccer practice with our daughter, he started the car asked me to get in and he loaded all three kids, chairs, diaper bags, cups, and stroller so I did not have to be out in the heat!
It is just amazing to me how such a small thing and such a small prayer can make such a HUGE difference in both him and me!
I hope everyone is experiencing God working in their lives through this challenge as I have already over these last two days! I pray that God will continue to work our hearts and minds and mold us into the wives he wants us to be this week.
Please make sure you head over to the discussion tab on the facebook page and let us know how your week is going.
Looking forward to more transformation this week!! Keep at it Ladies your doing great!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Challenge Day 1
So today was day 1 and I am curious to know how everyone does today! I hope you feel comfortable enough to share what you struggled with today or what you've felt you did better with today. Feel free to head over to the Facebook page under the discussion tab and let us know. Also you never know how your input and experiences through this challenge will help someone else.
For me today was a little more challenging than I thought it would be. When I posted the challenge last night I thought "this won't be hard, I don't really complain much about my husband to other people! How much can I complain about him in one week!" Boy was I wrong! I should have known that anytime you do anything for God or try and change anything about yourself for the Lord, Satan tries his best to stop it or make it harder!!
I actually caught myself today while talking to a good friend complaining about my husband and how he let our girls eat their cereal in the living room this morning and they had it crunched up everywhere!! What my friend didn't know is that even though that was the case, my husband got up early this morning with all three kids, fed them all breakfast and milk, and let me sleep in!! Any other day besides today I would have never caught that little tiny complaint to my friend, cause was it really that bad, did it really do that much damage? I'll never know, however my job is to prevent that damage even if I think that it will be limited.
What SHOULD I have done? Wrote it down in my prayer log that he will feed them breakfast in the kitchen from now on so it's less work for me later on, and after I prayed over it, talked to him about it. Now remember for every negative you should give him 2 positives! So something like "Honey, thank you so much for getting up early with the girls (1) and I love that you feed them breakfast and let me sleep that is so awesome of you(2) But is there any way tomorrow you could make them sit at the table with their breakfast because it causes me a lot of clean up later in the day?" By doing the two positives first, you are not tearing him down and causing him to feel unappreciated, but you are praising him and letting him know how much you love that he is helping and doing things for you before you make your request known. Not to mention if you take it before the Lord first, he will have favor on you when you do approach your husband and he will be ready to receive and hear your request with an open heart.
So lets hope tomorrow is even better than today and I look forward to hearing how your day went today!!
Love you all and praying for you daily!
For me today was a little more challenging than I thought it would be. When I posted the challenge last night I thought "this won't be hard, I don't really complain much about my husband to other people! How much can I complain about him in one week!" Boy was I wrong! I should have known that anytime you do anything for God or try and change anything about yourself for the Lord, Satan tries his best to stop it or make it harder!!
I actually caught myself today while talking to a good friend complaining about my husband and how he let our girls eat their cereal in the living room this morning and they had it crunched up everywhere!! What my friend didn't know is that even though that was the case, my husband got up early this morning with all three kids, fed them all breakfast and milk, and let me sleep in!! Any other day besides today I would have never caught that little tiny complaint to my friend, cause was it really that bad, did it really do that much damage? I'll never know, however my job is to prevent that damage even if I think that it will be limited.
What SHOULD I have done? Wrote it down in my prayer log that he will feed them breakfast in the kitchen from now on so it's less work for me later on, and after I prayed over it, talked to him about it. Now remember for every negative you should give him 2 positives! So something like "Honey, thank you so much for getting up early with the girls (1) and I love that you feed them breakfast and let me sleep that is so awesome of you(2) But is there any way tomorrow you could make them sit at the table with their breakfast because it causes me a lot of clean up later in the day?" By doing the two positives first, you are not tearing him down and causing him to feel unappreciated, but you are praising him and letting him know how much you love that he is helping and doing things for you before you make your request known. Not to mention if you take it before the Lord first, he will have favor on you when you do approach your husband and he will be ready to receive and hear your request with an open heart.
So lets hope tomorrow is even better than today and I look forward to hearing how your day went today!!
Love you all and praying for you daily!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Challenge #1 June 2, 2010-June 8, 2010
Proverbs 31:12: "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
This is week 1 of our "Proverbs 31 Wife Challenge" and for the next 30 days we will be concentrating on bringing good, not harm to our husbands. When you first read this verse it can catch you off guard a bit if you don't really think about it. My first thought was something like "why would I ever try to bring him harm!" or "he should know that I only want good for him."
As the closest woman/person in our husbands lives we have the power to hurt him and bring him harm more than anyone else. We also have a choice of using that power for good, not harm. Most of the time, we harm our husbands by our actions and words, or by belittling him and we don't even realize it until it's too late. This can result in loosing his trust, or respect and sometimes even quality time.
How is it you ask, that we can harm our husbands? By allowing our words to tearing him down, throwing the past in his face, never speaking an encouraging word, not being thoughtful of him, not allowing him to take his rightful place in the household, speaking badly of him to others or being demanding, nagging or aggressive at times are just some examples. Sometimes we just don't think before we speak and things that we don't even realize are hurtful to him come out.
If you took a single needle and poked yourself in the arm with it, yes it hurts, but is tolerable and forgettable. However put 1000 needles all together and jam them into your back or arm and the pain is even greater, and probably by that point intolerable, and completely unforgettable!
Men have a tenancy to keep things inside at times just to keep the peace. They will just take it and not address the way you've talked to them or your hurtful words. Even though it is just a bunch of little tiny pin pricks that they have been quiet about, once those few pin pricks turn into a bunch, it becomes unbearable to them. I don't know about you but I don't want my husband to think of his time with me as unbearable.
So for this week we are going to work how you speak about your husband to others. Do you complain about him? About the things he does, or does not do or wish he did or did not do? Or, do you speak highly of him and how blessed you are to have him in your life, and how amazing he is and build him up to others?
Remember that love covers all things (1Peter4:8) it does not destroy and uncover. A way to show love and respect to our husband and protect him from harm, is to keep him covered and not expose his flaws to the world. Instead pray about the problems! This week, create a prayer list for your husband of things that bother you and pray through them anytime you feel the need to complain or talk to someone about it. Go to the Lord first, and then Praise your husband before all people. Also make sure he hears, or sees you doing this at least one time this week!
I'll be posting a discussion board on the facebook page for you all to discuss your progress this week, and what was hard for you what was easy. Please feel free to even to give examples of ways you have in the past torn your husband down or spoke about him badly to others, and also ways you have changed that. It's important for us to share with each other so we can be held accountable for our actions and it will be really awesome to go back a year from now and read what you wrote and how different things are for you then compared to now!
Also don't forget to post a link to the "Proverbs 31 wife challenge" on your facebook page to encourage other people to join in with us. Send me a message of the people who you referred and for each person who joins, you and them, will be entered into the drawing at the end of the month for a special prize!! Even though we have already started it's never too late for someone new to join in!!
God bless!! Love you all and praying that God will transform us this week!!
As the closest woman/person in our husbands lives we have the power to hurt him and bring him harm more than anyone else. We also have a choice of using that power for good, not harm. Most of the time, we harm our husbands by our actions and words, or by belittling him and we don't even realize it until it's too late. This can result in loosing his trust, or respect and sometimes even quality time.
How is it you ask, that we can harm our husbands? By allowing our words to tearing him down, throwing the past in his face, never speaking an encouraging word, not being thoughtful of him, not allowing him to take his rightful place in the household, speaking badly of him to others or being demanding, nagging or aggressive at times are just some examples. Sometimes we just don't think before we speak and things that we don't even realize are hurtful to him come out.
If you took a single needle and poked yourself in the arm with it, yes it hurts, but is tolerable and forgettable. However put 1000 needles all together and jam them into your back or arm and the pain is even greater, and probably by that point intolerable, and completely unforgettable!
Men have a tenancy to keep things inside at times just to keep the peace. They will just take it and not address the way you've talked to them or your hurtful words. Even though it is just a bunch of little tiny pin pricks that they have been quiet about, once those few pin pricks turn into a bunch, it becomes unbearable to them. I don't know about you but I don't want my husband to think of his time with me as unbearable.
So for this week we are going to work how you speak about your husband to others. Do you complain about him? About the things he does, or does not do or wish he did or did not do? Or, do you speak highly of him and how blessed you are to have him in your life, and how amazing he is and build him up to others?
Remember that love covers all things (1Peter4:8) it does not destroy and uncover. A way to show love and respect to our husband and protect him from harm, is to keep him covered and not expose his flaws to the world. Instead pray about the problems! This week, create a prayer list for your husband of things that bother you and pray through them anytime you feel the need to complain or talk to someone about it. Go to the Lord first, and then Praise your husband before all people. Also make sure he hears, or sees you doing this at least one time this week!
I'll be posting a discussion board on the facebook page for you all to discuss your progress this week, and what was hard for you what was easy. Please feel free to even to give examples of ways you have in the past torn your husband down or spoke about him badly to others, and also ways you have changed that. It's important for us to share with each other so we can be held accountable for our actions and it will be really awesome to go back a year from now and read what you wrote and how different things are for you then compared to now!
Also don't forget to post a link to the "Proverbs 31 wife challenge" on your facebook page to encourage other people to join in with us. Send me a message of the people who you referred and for each person who joins, you and them, will be entered into the drawing at the end of the month for a special prize!! Even though we have already started it's never too late for someone new to join in!!
God bless!! Love you all and praying that God will transform us this week!!
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