Have you ever been touched by a particular verse of scripture? Matthew 23:37 has always been that one for me.
Matthew 23:37 (KJV) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
I remember the first time I heard that scripture when it felt as though my heart would break. It was in Little Rock, Arkansas on a Sunday morning service when Bro. Don Lutrick was preaching. I don't think it was what he said about it or how he said it but I was filled with emotion.
Perhaps the picture of Jesus reaching out in love to a group of people that had rejected Him over and over brought it. Maybe His cry, as a mother hen that by instinct protects her own chicks in danger struck me. I don't have an explanation but I know it can be applied to me.
I have heard God's word all my life. I have understood it from childhood. And yet, I withdraw from His love and sink into depression because I don't see things happening as I would have liked.
I need to run to Him this morning and get my focus corrected again. He beckons to me to run to Him and I must!
I am going to do something that I try never to do! My husband's life verse was: Philippians 4:8 "Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things." He tried very hard to abide by that but his melancholy personality found it very hard to stick with it. It was easy for me to be carefree and optimistic because he was doing enough worrying for both of us.
Now that I have no one to worry for me, I find myself rethinking so many things. I do know that God is in control! I do know from where my strength comes! BUT sometimes I sink to such a low and I give in to self-pity and despair! I am ashamed of that. It really shows my lack of faith. It is one thing to talk about faith but true faith should be backed up with a life of trust and not depression.
I am missing Mike so much! I miss his companionship, his love, his yardwork, his art, his music! Right now I think so much about how much he could have helped out in the music program at church now. Bro. Satterfield would have loved Mike. He is so spontaneous and Mike could have jumped right in there and played whatever he wanted in whatever key he needed!! He could have put his special touch to the quartet and been so proud of Ryan's being a part of it. I miss being able to sing a song, completely free of stress, knowing that Mike knew the right chord to make the best harmonies and that he could cover for me if needed. I have come to the place that I realize how much I NEED him in that area.
Another thing I miss is his support and help in discernment. I have always accepted things at face value! I hate ever having to question motives and actions. I WANT to believe the best about everyone!!! I WANT to follow a leader!!!! I want there to be just one person in this world that I can relax about and know that he is right and I can believe everything he says. At this age, I am beginning to understand that person does not exist!!!! Everything must be analyzed and weighed against scripture. That is hard work!!!
I will still read everyone's blogs here, but I'm just not going to post anymore over here. I've been posting a lot to my main blog, so if you want to catch up on us, just head over there.
It has been so long since I posted. I have gotten led astray by Facebook!:(
I am back into my counseling course and have finished the first section. While waiting for the next section, I have been rereading some of my textbooks. Please allow me to expound upon the marriage textbook.
The Bible teaches that marriage was instituted by God and for His purposes. If a marriage is to be glorifying to God and thus satisfying to both parties involved, it must be based on biblical principles.
There are a few references to the marriage relationship in the New Testament and I give you those references for your own study. They are: Ephesians 5: 23-33, I Peter 3. The description of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is also a helpful reference.
It is crucial to understand that God is the author of the marriage relationship and that when our marriages reflect His preferences, we are blessed. The bible teaches that the relationship between a husband and a wife is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. If that is kept in mind, many of the expectations of the world will be seen for what they truly are.
Here is a direct quotation from my counseling book, to help state a concise goal:
“The basic aims in marriage counseling are
- To secure a commitment from both parties to Christ and to His Word as the standard for all that is done and said, which will
- Foster and establish companionship between them, understood to be the essence of marriage, leading to
- Unity in intimacy, which exhibits
- Growth, and which
- Exemplifies the relationship between Christ and His church.”
Notice that this makes the foundation sure and eliminates all the fluff. No matter what we want from our marriage, there is a way to have a blessed marriage and it is within the confines of what God expects. Satan desires to confuse the issue.
The passages in Ephesians and I Peter clearly state the requirements for both husband and wife. Wives are to be submissive to their own husbands. Submission includes the acts of respect and obedience. A wife is to respect the authority of her husband and submit to his leadership. “And since a husband’s authority is conferred to him by God, it is God whom wives respect when they respect their husbands, and it is God whom they disrespect when they don’t.”(“Solving Marriage Problems” by Jay E. Adams)
Husbands have the requirements of loving leadership and gentleness within the marriage.
I quote another passage from the above-mentioned book: “Nowhere in the New Testament is the wife commanded to “love your husband.” But in the space of the few verses in Ephesians 5, four times the husband is commanded to love his wife. Love clearly is the task of the husband and not the wife. The husband is to initiate love, to maintain love, and to see that love grows in the marriage. That is his responsibility.”
With these firm definitions in hand, we can determine where our marriages may be failing. If, as a wife, you are not fulfilling your part of God’s command in the area of submissive respect and obedience, you must confess that sin and bring your life into line with God’s command.
As a husband, if you are not taking the lead in loving your wife with gentleness, then you are at fault and need to make your confessions and correct your situation.
What's your favorite thing about springtime?
Temps are finally coming up more often, birds singing (we have some making a lot of noise while building their nest in our tree), and flowers... whenever they come, haven't seen any of those yet.
What's your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Considering my favorite things to cook are dessert... cocoa powder and sugar are my favorite ingredients.
My husband is more of the meal chef. His favorite ingredient... garlic, fresh garlic.
I got all five kids in a picture with me. :-)
I'm taking a photo a day to send to Jeremy while he is gone and here is the one that I sent to him yesterday.
Today is the first day of the Season of Lent. Are you giving anything up for the next 40 days?
Well, I'm giving Jeremy up for the next 7 days. He's flying out to the main Google offices in Mountain View, CA today and returning next Thursday. I'm going to miss him. :-(
As for lent, I've never participated in this part of it. Maybe some other year. I keep saying that I'll give up my chocolate or Dr Pepper during this time some year, but so far I haven't gone through with it.
The kids' 4-H group did China for the regional International Festival yesterday. They all worked really hard to make sure they had learned a lot and did lots of different crafts of things from China. They made tom-tom drums, Chinese lanterns, firework sparklers (not real ones, of course), cherry blossom trees, terra-cotta soldiers, a clay dragon, a buddha, a replica of the Great Wall of China, and they all collaberated on making a big parade dragon. Some of the crafts were done by all of the kids and some were just done by a few or individuals. James made the little clay dragon. Amie helped a lot with the paper mache on the big dragon and along with Christine and another girl, painting the poster we used. AnnaBeth helped me make some Chinese sweet rolls on Saturday to take because all the groups had to have a type of bread.
Anyway, it was a ton of fun just making all of that... so now, on to yesterday.
During the presentation to the judges, Amie was one of three kids who explained about why we chose China and the different crafts we did. She and Christine both helped do the public presentation, but neither had speaking parts in it. James was also in the public presentation... under the big dragon. He was the third (and last) kid in the dragon. He loved it. We enjoyed going around and looking at the other groups tables and seeing what they had. Most of them had store bought stuff on their tables (the only store bought thing on our table was a betta fish, also called "The Chinese Fighting Fish"). Anyway, the kids enjoyed asking questions of the other groups and learning about different countries. At the end, the guy presenting the awards starting listing who all had gotten blue ribbons or green participation ribbons and we kept asking, "Did you hear our group?" Nope, it wasn't in there. Then he announced the runners up. By this time, we were so excited. The winners were announced... HOMEGROWN CLOVERS!! Woohoo! Anyway, we are heading to the state International Festival in August down in Springfield, IL. Noelle and AnnaBeth might be visiting friends or family during this time as they weren't quite as interested in participating in the actual festival and got a little bored.
