Loving our Husbands...

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers... Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 John 2:16:18

Yesterday, I took a little trip with the click of a few buttons over to Sue's at Praise and Coffee to be encouraged by her Two shall become One Tuesdays. I was indeed encouraged and inspired by her words and also those of her commentors. She posted an article, Little Women, that was so inspiring to me as a wife and a mother. Take a moment to read it, it is short and worth your time. It really made me think of how my children percieve me as they daily observe me not as their mother but as the wife of their father, their hero. What am I showing them on a day to day basis, is it the love spoken of in 1 John, a love that lays it's life down for the other. Do they see my dying love for their father? Is it a sacraficial, adoring, outdoing, spontaneous, joyful, contagious love that fills our home with a sweet aroma of what Christ did for all of us? Do they see me scurrying about before the arrival of their father after a hard day of studying to make things perfect for him when he walks in? Do they see me greet him with a outpouring love and affection and a big smile? Listen... I confess that none of the above is true, I am usually to consumed in myself to be worrying about all that. It is the truth, I have not hidden it, I am selfish, it is a constant daily struggle of mine, it comes all to naturally to me and I pray that over time God will sever it from my soul and give me a more perfect love like that of His son.

I think we as mothers and homekeepers can get our priority cards all scattered about, I fear we can and do often place some ahead of others that do not belong there as God has set them out for us and I don't think we do this deliberately. Take a look at yours? Where do the cards of your calling lay? God, Husband, Children, Home and Others. Are they laying in front of you in this order? If they are not then take a moment to rearrange them in His order...

Before:

Home... God... Children... Husband... Others...

After:

God... Husband... Children... Home... Others...

I think I had myself fooled for awhile with thinking I had God above everything but really I have put my Home above him here lately. When we put them in their rightful order then can God be truly and most glorified in our lives as Daughters of the King first, wives of His servant second, Mothers of His children third, keepers of His home fourth and sister to all of His people around us. It is a simple but amazing truth that has a profound effect on our life.

Something that I was encouraged by yesterday while visiting Sue was a comment by one of her readers. I find it hard sometimes to love my husband, for many reasons, he isn't worthy, I am to tired, I am to busy and the main reason... I am just to selfish. I know we all struggle with this at times so let me leave you with this thought I captured from Sheila:

"The thing is, often times the one I'm directing the bending over backwards out of giddy love is not my husband but my Lord and I say in my heart, "Lord Jesus YOU deserve me to love this fallen man with extravagant, gracious love. I'll bend over backwards loving this man because YOU DID THAT FOR ME AND FOR HIM!"I can't look at my husband and always get filled with a desire to treat him like a boyfriend, but can always look at Jesus and be filled with a desire to give my husband all kinds of unearned favor and kindness. It just takes remembering that that's what I've been given."

Breath

"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." Martin Luther

I don't think we quite understand the vitality to the sacred privilege of prayer, it not only changes the world but it also keeps us spiritually alive, brings us closer to Him and it has the power to not change His mind to grant us our requests but our minds and hearts to be turned towards His perfect and holy will for our life and those around us. I fear that we have not grasped the reality of this: that the maker of the universe, the almighty, perfect, holy and triune God, the one who breathed life into all of existence and the one who has saved our souls from His wrath by sending His only begotton son to be crucified on a cross while we were still sinners has given us the gift, the holy and sacred privilege to approach Him in prayer. Profoundly amazing... breath.

Communion with God is...

Communion with God is . . .
the life of all your graces;
the sweetener of all providences and mercies;
the strengthener of your hearts and hands;
the soul of your comforts;
the crown of your souls.

Nothing can compare with communion with God--
to fence you against temptations,
to sweeten all afflictions, and
to make you own God, and stand for God,
and cleave to God--in the face of all troubles
and oppositions. Communion with God makes
bitter things--sweet; and massive things--light.

A man high in communion with God, is a man too big
for temptations to conquer--or troubles to subdue!
Those who have but little communion with God, are
usually as soon conquered as tempted--as soon
vanquished as assaulted.

(Thomas Brooks, "Hypocrites Detected, Anatomized,
Impeached, Arraigned and Condemned" 1650)

Home Sweet Home Management...

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 31:27

There are days that I am naturally motivated to look well to the ways of my household, not eating the bread of idleness but then there are days/weeks that I am naturally motivated to look away and devour the bread and that is where I know that I need a kind of daily guide. I really wish that I had a superviser on most days to keep me on my toes, it is good for me to have a gentle reminder each morning and through out the day of my daily plans to be sure I do the things that will bless my husband and children but above all honor the LORD. I can so easily be decieved into feasting at the table of idleness through out the day forsaking all of my joyful duties in my calling.

I have finally re-done my personal home management binder which I have titled My "Tapestry of Beauty" Binder. It's purpose is to gently guide me into my daily journey and be a constant gentle reminder through out the day mainly by it's presence and also as I find time to visit. It will be especially helpful when I am not particularly motivated to be actively the woman God finds to be beautiful as in His example in Proverbs 31. Here is a better definition of what I desire for my "Tapestry of Beauty" Binder, to be a gentle reminder of His presence and beautiful, high, holy and extremely crucial calling on my life more than just a list of to do's for each day.

Title: My "Tapestry of Beauty" Binder

Inside of cover: My Morning Routine
Tab: Prayer...in this section I have printed out the Lord's Prayer, Mary's Prayer and one of my favorite Puritan prayers along with Praying for your Husband, Praying for your Children and also some prayer journaling pages to scratch down some of my requests.

Tab: In His Word... tucked in here I have my Reading Plan that I am loosely following and I hope to add a personal memorization page to this section some time soon.

Tab: JOYful Wifehood...my Husband "Expresso" section where I have printed out the Husband Encouragement Challenge along with other printables to encourage me to honor him.

Tab: Training... here is where I will keep practical things to help me train my littles up in His righteousness. I don't have a lot in here at the moment just an article or 2 on memorization but it will grow.

Tab: Growing Minds of Wisdom... all of our homeschool schedules,plans and some encouragement will be sent here.
Tab: Home Sweet Home Management... a place to keep my daily, weekly and monthly cleaning schedules. (no pic)

Tab: Living Intentionally... my special place to keep my Living Intentionally list as well as my 101 things to do list in 1001 days, I am sure that I will add some more ideas to this section.

Last tabs: Money Management, Birthday and Christmas List and our own personal Family Yellow Pages... these are all pretty self explanatory and I don not have them complete yet. Money Management I hope to put a master grocery list along with weekly menus and monthly menus to help keep some of my sanity.

I realize how wonderful this binder can be if I recognize it daily and use it as a reminder of His presence and calling on my life, as a kind of light in those darker days. Hope you were encouraged by this post in some way and if you have a HMB I would love to hear about it and how it has been of use to you as a woman of God in your calling.

~Thankful Thursday~

It is Thursday, a blessed Thursday. I have decided to join the Thankful Thursdays hosted by Iris and am hoping to make it a habit around here. The LORD is good to me and I want my heart to flow with thanksgiving and praise. At times it is hard for me to be "thankful" in the midst of the rain however hard it is coming down, it could be just a light drizzle or a heavy downpour but in either His goodness is the rain I want to focus on and dance in.

Lord... I am grateful for...

My Husband... for his willingness to give us a sliver of his time eachday, I know that he is struggling with all of the pressures of school right now and yet finds the time to stop to be with us, and I think I have taken these little slivers for granted.

My Superman... oh his growing sense of humor and creative ways to scare momma :0)

My T-Rex... his precious child like faith that has touched me so much this week

My Butterfly...her sweet little tongue kisses, I love them and all of the little games she plays with momma right before each nap and bedtime.

Your word... I can not imagine going a day with out it's guidance, with out Your word in my life I would be completely lost. Last night brother Marq ran out to my van holding it in his hands, "Is this your bible?". I can not tell you the emptiness I felt when I realized I had almost left it and would have been with out it for a week. I have other bibles at home but it is my personal one that I use. I take it for granted, just yesterday I read Hebrews 4:12 The word of God is living and active... it is ALIVE! Your word is living and active in my life and I love the way You always speak to me through it, sometimes it is as if I can feel Your breath through the words.

It is so amazing to be alive, to sit here and reveal my heart to you and to myself and to listen to the melodies outside my window this morning while all of my precious family still sleeps. May the Lord be near us this day, guiding us by His light and giving us a thankful path to walk in.

His Faithfulness

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful
for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:11-13

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therfore I will hope in him."

Lamentations 3:22-23

We have those days that we sit on our bed late at night reflecting on the many steps of disobedience and stumblings of our faithlessness. Last night was one of those for me. This morning I am deeply comforted by the awesome God we serve, for that even when His stupid sheep (ME) wanders away, stumbles and falls over her own feet He remains steadfast in His love and GREAT is His FAITHFULNESS. My heart rejoices in His goodness this morning as I ask for forgiveness and begin a new day:

"...choose this day whom you will serve..."

"The LORD my God I will serve, and his voice I will obey."

(Joshua 24:15 and 24- written as I "heard" it this morning)

In Christ Alone

I consider this song to be one of my favorites. I couldn't find a version on Youtube or Godtube that satisfied my liking fully but this one will do, I enjoy Shannon Wexelberge's version, I personally love the power of a woman's voice in this song but it is the lyrics that are so powerful. Newsboys, I think did a beautiful job though here. Enjoy.

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious

DayUp from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Brought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

'Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Battling Loneliness

My sweet T-Rex has made me envious of his reality of Jesus. In his moments of fear or loneliness I remind him that Jesus is with him, which means quite litteraly "He is in his closet" or "under the covers", and that is enough, he needs nothing else. The presence and reality of Jesus being with him is so encouraging to me and I can not help but feel envious of his "child like faith".

This last week or so has been difficult with the end of the semester upon my husband and I am looking at a few more weeks of it. The days are demanding and I am forced to face them mostly alone. I desperately want to be a supportive independent wife for my seminary student husband. I realize that he is under a lot of pressure to finish papers upon papers, study for tests, lead study groups and teach childrens classes, be a good father, husband and friend and other things on the side and I do not want to add any more. I want to help lift, carry and encourage. But I keep finding myself alone in a dark corner of it all and struggling with the strength and courage to pick myself up and find the light. These feelings of loneliness are a complete illusion the dark corner I get backed into, is not there. I "feel", there is the culprit the deceiver of illlusionment, I "feel" that I must have some time with my husband to be fullfilled, to be satisfied. I wouldn't be lonely, sad or near depressed if I had more time with him. Here I will go back to my 3 almost 4 year old and his faith, his satisfaction in Jesus alone. He is enough. Tonight I realized that in each day these next few weeks as I face them mostly alone, I am NOT alone. Each day I will find my strength, my joy, my satisfaction from Him and Him alone. There needs to be times when we can truly be alone with Him and need nothing else and by alone I don't mean objectively alone but rather subjectively alone. In a day as a mother we are surrounded by children, by our children and sometimes neighborhood children and surrounded by things that keep us busy but with in us we can still feel alone and abandoned dispite our daily company if we find our satisfaction in someone or something other than our Saviour.

Jesus says in Matthew 28:20...

...I am with you always...

and in Hebrews 13:5...

...I will never leave you, nor forsake you...

These are truths for me, for us. We are not nor will we ever be alone and when we are decieved into the illusion of loneliness may we be very aware of his presence and be reminded of His reality.

Serve Him

Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Psalm 2:11

Pray

“Of all things, guard against neglecting God in the secret place of prayer.”

William Wilberforce

Our Precious, Our delight

"His delight is in the law of the Lord." He is not under the law as a curse and condemnation, but he is in it, and he delights to be in it as his rule of life; he delights, moreover, to meditate in it, to read it by day, and think upon it by night. He takes a text and carries it with him all day long; and in the night-watches, when sleep forsakes his eyelids, he museth upon the Word of God. In the day of his prosperity he sings psalms out of the Word of God, and in the night of his affliction he comforts himself with promises out of the same book. "The law of the Lord" is the daily bread of the true believer. And yet, in David's day, how small was the volume of inspiration, for they had scarcely anything save the first five books of Moses! How much more, then, should we prize the whole written Word which it is our privilege to have in all our houses! But, alas, what ill-treatment is given to this angel from heaven! We are not all Berean searchers of the Scriptures. How few among us can lay claim to the benediction of the text! Perhaps some of you can claim a sort of negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but let me ask you—Is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God's Word? Do you make it the man of your right hand—your best companion and hourly guide? If not, this blessing belongeth not to you.

Charles H. Spurgeon, Psalm 1

Love simply and daily

"The greatest gift is a portion of thyself." Ralph Waldo Emerson

To Live

It is such an amazing blessing to be alive. To live in the breath of time. It is to much for any heart to fully express. Today was a beautiful day and not just because the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the breeze was just right but because for another day I was granted the little things that so often pass me by... rocking my baby angel, jumping on the trampoline like a 7 year old, cooking and cleaning (imagine that), laughing at my Superman's funny remark about why he wants to be homeschooled for the rest of his life, running my fingers through his dirty blonde hair during our evening devotional, watching T-Rex rest peacefully on the couch after a LONG outlasting in the corner, leaving encouraging words for Expresso to stumble upon, quiet time to just meditate on life, on the Word, being outside soaking up time in creation and just breathing in and out, in and out. I realize how much I take this gift for granted. It passes so quickly and I just sit back and watch it go for the most part instead of jumping in it and soaking it up with this life.

Live... in life not outside of it. Arise... join those little feet pitter pattering all around you. Slip... into the conversation on the floor behind you. Leave... the rest behind that you have been calling living. Enjoy... the time given to you in the simple things of family.

Glory... Worship... Praise...

Lord, let us give ourselves selflessly to You through the use of our time with our family in our callings of being a wife, mother and homekeeper. May we know what it means to live for You and Love as Christ loved.

The way of the righteous and the wicked...

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregations of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way fo the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

A glimpse into my heart...

My baby angel riding home in her new "big" girl carseat.

Sweet kisses in the air goodbye from my charming Superman.

My boys all leaving for an overnight camping trip.

A space in time of bliss as my 2 youngest enjoy a beautiful moment in the front yard.

Oh... it is full and overflows...

Let them flow...

I have to be honest... I find it hard to turn the stubborn knob of my heart to see and experience the blessings that consume each day... and I can't say that I try that often. In the midst of racing time it is hard for me to pause and catch a glimpse of each one passing by and yet I know that they stream through each moment glissening in this space and I miss them one... by one... as they vanish far from my mind and heart. I am left only with what stands in front of me alone amidst the noise of time racing by, seperated from the daily flowing of His abundant graces.

Today as I sat at my spot I listened as I was reminded that they are there, quickly I began pulling them from their deep dwellings with in each moment of the days, whether dark or light, big or small I found them.

...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Ephesians 5:20

Always... giving thanks... so, lets turn on the faucet of our hearts and allow them to flow... to fill... to overflow... to consume...

adventurious spirits

growing minds of curiousity

digging fingers

time... given

joys found in the struggles

boys being boys even at the dinner table

daily provision from the Lord

listening to Superman lift up his little brother

witnessing surrender

curious fingers

wide eyes of excitement

my life

quiet conversations with my husband in the peace of the night

his presence in the day even though we may not see him till supper times

seeing him sacrafice study time for play time

the power of grace in my life

His presence I seek each morning, noon and night

His faithfulness to the unfaithful

for justification by faith alone and not works

my gift of faith

for Christ obedience and death on a cross

for being counted righteous in Him

the joys and pains of motherhood

moments of stillness to be alone with my thoughts

A Spot to Capture and Create

Pooh was known to have his own "thoughtful spot" where he would do his "think, think, thinking" and I have found him to be quiet a wise ol bear in his ways. Not to long ago I began reading A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh Demoss and an idea that she had attached itself to me as if it litterally jumped off the page and clung to me. Her idea like Pooh was to have a personal spot of your very own that you daily gravitate to for time in communion with the Lord. I thought what a great idea! so I began my search for the perfect spot and in my relentless search I found no companion until recently my spot found me. It slowly created itself with my help and now calls me daily to spend some time in the word, in prayer, in creativity, in inspiration and I have a dwelling time each morning to enjoy this time and then if time allows we meet again during our afternoon "rest" hour. It isn't anything special but it fullfills for me a special place to dwell...

It is here that I keep all of my journals, my bible, my pens, magazines, cards and some inspirational and encouraging books near. Taped to my desk is are two pieces of construction paper overlapped with some pretty pink dotted scrapbook paper. I decided to do this because the surface of my desk is textured and it is difficult to write on but after I did it I realized what a nice little place I had made to jot down scriptures, quotes and poems to inspire me when I visit.

Let me share something else that I have been inspired to re-cultivate in my daily life, keeping a daily journal, a place to capture my random thoughts, my convictions, my failures and victories, the glimpses of Christ in each days journey, a reminder of His graces, a place to put the constant drops of my heart down for myself and for my children. I wish I had something like this from my own mother but I left with virtually nothing but a few memories I have crounged up over the years. I have always struggled to be faithful to my capturing each day's journey until about a year ago when I fell in love with a more creative and more expressive way of journaling. I am much more drawn to scratch down my fairly simple thoughts and recaptions because I am pulled in by the chance to not only record but also create and actually bring them together in harmony.

Christ... our reality

"This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners, for by a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ's, and Christ's righteousness is not Christ's, but ours."

"I feel as if Jesus Christ died only yesterday."

Martin Luther

Oh how I wish I had the reality that Luther had, that Christ was such an extreme reality in his life. That is my desire, for Christ to be real to me, so real that I can feel His presence near me as I walk this path of life, so real that He consumes my heart with the riches of His grace. That I fall to my knees in worship daily not out of obligation but out of a heart full of gratitude and awe. I dispise that I have lived so long with the idea in mind that Christ saved me thousands of years ago and then continued to walk daily ignoring Him in my life now, as if He were dead. Oh... He is not DEAD He is very much ALIVE, He is ALIVE, and this is for us to understand as mothers, as wives as homekeepers! He is real ladies... He wasn't just a reality in the word of God He is a reality in your daily life, realize that everything you have and are able to do is only because He is real and alive. Live. Live not for yourself. Live not for your children. Live not for your husband. Live today, tomorrow and forever for Him, the living Christ, your Savior for He gave His life for you and not only that but much more took the wrath of God for your sins onto Himself and you now are counted righteous by your faith in Him. Live.