My Purpose on Earth

This morning as I was reading my Bible, I read across the scripture John 4, where Jesus had been ministering to the woman at the well. When he was finished, his disciples told Him to eat. But, Jesus says, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish His work." In the next verse He explains what is on His heart..."look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." As I was contemplating this, I was reminded of the message that Pastor Baker gave Sunday about how important our perception of our purpose in this life is. We are to be a revelation of Jesus Christ on this earth. His purpose should be our purpose. If His heart, purpose, and what gives Him more satisfaction than food itself, is to see lost and hurting people ministered to and offered salvation, then this should be our passion, our purpose also. Is our purpose on this earth daily, to do the will of the Father and finish His work in this world? As I thought about how to do this in a practical sense, I went back to what Jesus was doing. He went to the well to rest, because He was tired from His journey. When the Samaritan woman came to the well, He asked her for a drink. This very simple act, led to an opportunity to minister to this woman's spiritual need. " In my daily life, Lord, help me to be sensitive to the needs of those around me and to offer them living water. Help me to place myself in places deliberately, where there are opportunities to minister to people the love of Jesus and be an example of You in this earth. Help me to do the will of Him who sent me, and finish His work."

John 4:34, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

Passionate About My Role As Wife

A few evenings ago, my husband and I were watching some talent show on TV. One comment that you often heard the contestants make as they were interviewed was how passionate they are about their music and how wonderful it is to be able to be doing something that they love and are passionate about. As I listened to these comments, I began to wonder, "What am I passionate about? I wish I could truly spend my time, energy, and even make money, doing something I am passionate about." As an empty nest mom, often it seems like we are teenagers again, trying to figure out what we really want to do with the rest of our lives. The part of our lives that we poured so much of our passion, time, and energy into is now over and it is so easy to feel lost and like we are floundering around trying to find our niche. We do a lot of things trying to fill our time and be useful, but as hard as we try we don't always feel fulfilled and passionate about our obligations. As I was considering these young peoples comments, yearning and praying for a passion of my own, I was reminded that the most important role that I have right now is that of being a wife. My passion should be directed at being the best wife that I can possibly be to my husband. Instead of searching elsewhere for fulfillment, and enjoyment, become consumed with the man in your life. Read, study, pray, about how to be the best wife you can be to him, and put these things into practice. Pray earnestly for him and for your relationship with him and how to personally make it better. Become excited and consumed with this adventure of being the best wife you can be.

Reaching Beyond Our Four Walls

As homemakers, sometimes it can be very easy to become consumed with "our" family, "our" house, "our" selves and forget to reach out to others. Once upon a time I copied this note down from somewhere and it has been a great reminder to me to not be so self centered. I thought I'd share it with you:
"Never let one day pass when you have not reached out an arm of love to someone out side your home (and in) with a note, a letter, a visit, help in some way."

My Rant for Today:

Why do they have to take perfectly good movies and put cuss words in them? I thought surely it would be safe to watch "Julie & Julia", but I couldn't even finish that! I very, very seldom ever sit down to watch a movie anyway, and then just when I start getting really interested in it, I have to shut it off. It's just not worth letting things slide for my own enjoyment, at the risk of offending the Holy Spirit who lives inside of me. I value His presence way too much, way above my own pleasure.

Oh well, who has time to watch a movie anyway?

A Heritage of Hospitality

Hospitality (according to Webster) is the act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward, or with kind and generous liberality.

A stranger (according to Webster) is a foreigner of another country; one of another town, city, state, ... ; one unknown; one unacquainted; a guest; a visitor.

Guests - a person who spends some time at another persons home at a party, dinner, or just visiting.

In Romans 12 Paul is talking about how we are to live out the righteousness of God, the practical application of it in our lives. Verse 13 says that we are to be given to hospitality. I am very grateful to have grown up in a home where this was demonstrated. It was nothing unusual to have guests at our table and staying overnight, and not just people that we knew. Very often, my mom invited, whoever the visitors at church were, over to our house to eat after church. I remember one Sunday a family showed up (is that proper English) at the church with all of their belongings in and on their car. They had just arrived in town from California with no place to live yet. Of course they came home with us until they found a place to stay. I'm sure I could not count the number of people who have stayed with us and ate with us, people from many different countries, states, and backgrounds. Such a rich heritage.

Not only have I been impacted by the hospitality shown growing up, but also by the hospitality shown to me and my family. When we moved away from home, we learned how meaningful it is to be invited into someone elses home and family. When you are new to a church or living away from family, and someone invites you into their home, it right away makes you feel welcome and more a part of that church. I often remember the story that I read in Guidepost about a young lady who had just moved to a new town. She visited a church that Sunday and after the service a lady invited her to her home for lunch. The lady brought out a pan of cornbread and a drink. They sat and talked and ate. The young lady kept thinking that the second course would be brought out, but it never was. But actually, she so enjoyed her visit and the kindness that was shown to her, a lonely stranger, that she really didn't care that this was all they had for lunch. She was so touched by this older woman's kindness and hospitality. I often think of this story when I feel like I don't have anything special enough to offer guests. One of the families from our church in Kansas who often opened up their home to the whole church, did not have the fanciest house, and it was not always spotless (6 kids), but no one cared, we just appreciated and enjoyed their hospitality. People really don't care what your house looks like (thank goodness) or how fancy the meal is, they just want to be shown that you love and care about them. I believe this element of godliness is so important in our lives and in the church.

1 Peter 4:9 "Use hospitality one to another without grudging."

Hebrews13:2 "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

Do good to those who hate me?!!

Luke 6:27, "But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, "

Let's take a look at this passage truthfully. One morning as I opened my Bible at random, I read across this scripture. When I read it I thought, "I am not doing this!" Honestly, who does this, at least on a regular basis? Now, I love my family. And, I go to a lot of trouble to make sure that they know it that I love and care for them. I cook special meals for them, take them out to eat, buy them gifts, spend time with them listening and talking, etc. The same thing is true of my friends. But, when is the last time I showed love like this for someone I didn't like at all? An enemy at that (I mean, actually initiated it, not just being nice so you won't feel guilty). Do you know of someone who really hates you? Have you gone out of your way lately to do something really good for them? I must admit, that's probably been the last thing on my mind. Avoiding them is something I'm much better at.
Actually, when I think about it, I can't really think of anyone off hand who I could really consider a personal enemy or who really hates me. But, when I think about it from a spiritual standpoint, what about people who hate God? People who are enemies of the cross? As Christians, aren't these people our enemies also? How are we literally loving them? Are we doing good to them? Are we demonstrating Christ's love? I'm convinced that it has to be more than just a kind word in passing. We need to demonstrate the kind of love that leaves no doubt in their mind that we have the love of God abiding in us. The doing good to them kind of love like we show our friends and family, who love us back. "Lord, help me! I can't do this on my own. My flesh doesn't even want to."

Learning Can Be Messy

Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Confession: I have a problem with giving up too soon on my learning ventures when they don't turn out so good from the beginning. I could learn a lesson from this baby. He is very persistent in feeding his self. And, I'm pretty sure we won't have to be washing him from head to toe after every meal for the rest of his life.

Lesson to self: Don't be afraid to learn something new. And keep trying, and trying and trying!

Put Yourself First

Doesn't the title of this post sound like such a worldly way of thinking? Does it go against the grain of everything you believe? Me too, but, there are times to put yourself first. What are some instances in which we should put our self first?
1. Our spiritual lives-I've been reading the book "The Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman" a practical guide to Spiritual Beauty by Anne Ortlund. Today the exercise at the end of the chapter was to write down all the things you do with your time, and in prayer, give each area to God to do with as He wants, and also, to write down all the bad circumstances in your life and thank Him for each one(1 Thess. 5:18), and turn each one over to Him asking Him to heal your thought life concerning your worry, resentment, control, etc. over each one. As I did this and was praying, I thought about how important this was that I was praying these prayers for myself. Before I try to help anyone else or pray for anyone else, it's important that my own heart is right. I need to make sure my own ways please the Lord before I start trying to help someone else,otherwise, I just end up stressed, resentful, and wondering if this is the way the christian life is really supposed to be.Sometimes, especially as moms, we spend so much time trying to teach our children to live right, and praying for them, that we neglect our own personal prayer, study, learning time, which should be foundational. "The more of us is invisible, hidden from the world in quiet, in study, in planning, and in prayer, the more effective our visible life will be" (Catherine Marshall, Adventures in Prayer). How can we be effective in leading even our own families to the Lord, if we haven't first, prepared ourselves, and laid our own hearts open before God.
#2 Our health-My mom told me recently, "If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will." This is true. And, how can we take care of our families if we ourselves are weak and sick. Besides, our example speaks louder than anything to our kids.
#3 Our appearance-I don't know about you, but, my natural tendency has always been to get up and start getting everything else rolling before I take too much thought to what I look like. But, ladies, time to make ourselves look at least worth looking at, needs to come pretty high on our list of priorities in the mornings. Who wants to wake up to a mom that looks like she would love to be in bed herself? And, when your husband goes off to work, he doesn't need to go from someone who is not very appealing to look at and whose breath is repulsive, to a place where the women are pleasing to look at, smell nice, and carry on pleasant, lively conversations. He is human.
Putting ourselves first is not always a selfish thing. It can actually give us the peace, joy, and strength that we need, to then give ourselves to others.

A Godly Mothers Influence

II Timothy 1:5 "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also."

As I was reading my Bible this morning, I read this verse and was struck with what a huge influence we mothers have on our children. We have such a huge responsibility to pass on our faith to our children. And that is done by first having a genuine faith in God ourselves. In this verse first the grandmother Lois is said to have an unfeigned (genuine) faith. She then passed the faith on to her daughter Eunice, and they both passed it on to Timothy (Timothy's father was a Gentile). And Timothy became a mighty man of God. I believe the key here is that these womens faith in God was real. As mothers our children need to see that we have an unwavering relationship with God. That no matter what, we are going to serve Him. That He is supreme in our lives. A friend and I were talking today about how so many woman use their husbands lack of dedication to God as an excuse for their own lack of dedication. This can not be the case. We must stay true to our faith for our childrens sake and also because we will each give account to God for ourselves one day. And, know that God is faithful!

Submit or Obey (cont.)

Thank you ladies for some really good, thought provoking comments on this topic. Everyone please go to the comment section of the previous post on this subject (Submit or Obey our Husbands? April 29) and read these comments.

My thoughts: I believe they both require obedience, but submitting involves placing ourselves in that position of surrendering to our husbands authority. Where a child is born under our authority and must obey us, as wives we must surrender to the authority of our husbands. Our husbands should not have to demand our submission, it should come from a heart of love and wanting to please him and God.
I'll be honest, it took me a really long time to learn this. But Gods way is always best. There was a time that I wanted to be the boss in our home. My husband has not always served God and so I didn't trust his decisions, especially when it came to the children (actually, even if He was serving God, I don't know if I would have been any more trusting or submissive). They always came to me for questions and permission to do things. I pretty much did what I wanted most of the time. The more I learned about submission, I realized how wrong I was. I also realized I was carrying a load of responsibility that God never intended for me to carry. Women feel like they are placing themselves in bondage by submitting to their husbands, but the opposite is true. I could not believe how freeing it was to give the responsibility that I had been carrying to my husband where it belonged and place myself rightfully under his leadership. I remember the first time I sent my child to their father to ask permission for something (although I was really wanting to answer it myself and I was dreading his answer). It was something I really felt he should decide. When he gave his answer I was shocked! It was exactly what I would have wanted. It seems trusting and submitting to God and trusting and submitting to our husbands go hand in hand. When he realizes the whole family is his responsibility and under his authority, I believe he will take his position under God more seriously.

True Beauty

No botox, but she was beautiful...
Yesterday, I went to the nursing home to play the piano and sing for the first time in a really long time. I used to go more often when the kids were home. We would go pretty regular to sing and visit. Lately, every time I have been to visit, there is this one man who kept asking me when I was going to come and play the piano. I don't know why I've waited so long, but yesterday I finally went. And, as it always goes, I go to bless them and I leave feeling blessed. The man who asked me to come could not sing, but he would nod his head, tap his foot and look at me and smile every once in a while. He let everyone know he's the reason I came. As I looked around there were some really big smiles, some were singing, and some you weren't sure if they were really aware of what was going on or not. I looked at these and wondered if these old songs were at least awakening some good memory from their past. One man was suggesting a lot of old songs that brought back some really good memories from my past. This man with all the songs was sitting next to his wife, who had the sweetest smile and disposition. He told me several times, with a very proud look on his face, that this was his wife. He made it a point to get up, come to me and tell me he wanted me to meet his wife. I told him that we had already introduced ourselves and that I thought he had a very beautiful wife. He beamed. True beauty truly does come from the inside. This woman was obviously enjoying singing and talking about her Lord. I don't think this woman had a bit of makeup on, her hair was not especially well done, and no plastic surgery to remove all of her wrinkles. But, this woman was truly beautiful.
Prov. 31:30 "Favor is deceitful,and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

"What Are You Going to do Today, Mom?"

Often, when I'm talking to my son on the phone, he'll ask me this question. Most of the time I tell him the "same old same ole, clean house, do paperwork, cook, run errands". It doesn't sound very exciting or really even important(even though it is!), but the day usually doesn't end up "same old same ole". One day last week I took a friend who is without a car to a doctors appointment. Later that day my sister came in from out of state. Her kids stayed all night with me and the next day while their mom took care of some business. Later that day a friend called needing me to pick his kids up from daycare and keep them because his wife was in labor. I kept them all night and most of the next day. Sunday evening he was preaching at church, so I stayed with her and the new baby. This family is new to America, has no family here, and are still adjusting to being here. This morning a couple of other ladies and myself went over to their apartment to help in any way we could, clean, hang curtains, fold clothes, organize, do laundry, and feed them. I am remaking a curtain to fit a window for them. I was thankful that my schedule was not overloaded or that I was not working, so that I was available to help with these needs. I find that while being faithful in what He has called usto do, which sometimes may not seem all that important (even though I do love what I do), He opens doors to let His love be seen through us.
When is my house ever going to be perfect? I thought when the kids left home I would have time to totally clean and organize every corner of my house.

1 Timothy 2:9,10 "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."

Modesty

I have really enjoyed reading the posts and looking at your pictures during this focus on modesty week. Titus 2:2-5 tells us to teach the young women good. What better way to teach than by example. Bill Gothard (Institute in Basic Life Principles) teaches that what a parent does in moderation, the child will do in excess. We must be careful not to let little things slide. For example, if we let a little cleavage show, our daughters may decide to let a lot show. As adults, or parents, we must constantly be on guard and keep the standard high. When I purchase an item of clothing, I spend some time in the dressing room (or at home) in front of the mirror making sure it's modest.

I bend over, making sure the neck is not gapping or showing off anything.

I sit down, facing the mirror, making sure you can not see up my skirt.

I make sure it's not too tight, showing off too many curves or pantylines (stepping forward a little helps to see this) or bralines.

I raise my arms making sure the top is not coming up showing anything or nothing can be seen through the arm holes.

Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."