I am still trucking along in my Jabez study, and today's topic is territory.
What is mine.....
When I was first married it is a lot different than it is now.
I consider my home my terrirtory.
Anyone who enters, calls, or even looks at it is a person I can influence for God.
Not only that I can use my home to do His work too.
From taking a family friend a meal,
to welcoming teenagers over to swim in the pool.
My home speaks about me and who I am in Christ.
Am I giving, welcoming, warm, and gracious.
Is the welcome mat always out?
Not only that but does my heart reflect that warm and graciousness?
Recently God placed 2 situations in my life to see how I would react to having my home open to strangers. The first time was a time of crisis for someone else and it was easy for me to do but when the 2nd call came.... I was so hesitant!
In looking ahead to this I see that God has given me so much and I fall back on the verse in Luke 12:48.
Where it says to whom much is given much is expected.
God is giving me territory and I have to decide if I am going to hold on to the handle of my door tightly, or let it stay wide open and be used by Him.
And today being Ash Wednesday I am reminded that when we approach the communion table of the Lord,
ALL ARE WELCOME.
Lord, let my Home be a place where all are welcome.
Amen
Kids
The reason I do what I do!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Out of pain
I picked up my Bible and started looking for Jabez. I had read the prayer of Jabez years ago and had been given a copy of the Bible study recently.
On my recent break I had thrown the Bible study in my "to do" bag along with several other books and movies.
On Friday morning I picked up the Bible study and got my Bible out.
First of all the verses that relate to Jabez were short and to the point. He was no great character who had chapters and chapters written about him.
It is 3 verses!!! I am awe struck! So I read it several times asking the Lord what he wanted me to hear and how he wanted me to internalize these few scriptures.
It says Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. He was named because of the pain his mother felt in childbirth.
Wow! What a stone tied around Jabez's neck.
Not just at birth, the pain that his mother felt was placed on his shoulders for his LIFE!
We all have had pain in our life. Whether it be words some one said to hurt you or physical pain you have endured, it can scar you.
In my life, I was told a story of how when I was born my father wanted a boy so bad that when he heard "It's a Girl!" his response was a very negative "I didn't hear that."
That hurt and still does if I think about it too long.
Jabez took his pain and did not let it hinder him in asking God to enlarge his territory.
Why should I let my pain hinder me?
What about those words chains me down?
All I need to know is that my Heavenly Father knew I was a girl and He had a purpose for me.
In the weeks before my fathers death in July, he said He was so thankful that I was born and that I was a girl. That I helped my mom and care for him in ways a first born son could not.
That was God at work, putting the salve on my wound so I could heal as my father died.
So He could use me to lead my father to Jesus before his death.
They say out of sorrow comes JOY.
I found that to be true in this case.
On my recent break I had thrown the Bible study in my "to do" bag along with several other books and movies.
On Friday morning I picked up the Bible study and got my Bible out.
First of all the verses that relate to Jabez were short and to the point. He was no great character who had chapters and chapters written about him.
It is 3 verses!!! I am awe struck! So I read it several times asking the Lord what he wanted me to hear and how he wanted me to internalize these few scriptures.
It says Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. He was named because of the pain his mother felt in childbirth.
Wow! What a stone tied around Jabez's neck.
Not just at birth, the pain that his mother felt was placed on his shoulders for his LIFE!
We all have had pain in our life. Whether it be words some one said to hurt you or physical pain you have endured, it can scar you.
In my life, I was told a story of how when I was born my father wanted a boy so bad that when he heard "It's a Girl!" his response was a very negative "I didn't hear that."
That hurt and still does if I think about it too long.
Jabez took his pain and did not let it hinder him in asking God to enlarge his territory.
Why should I let my pain hinder me?
What about those words chains me down?
All I need to know is that my Heavenly Father knew I was a girl and He had a purpose for me.
In the weeks before my fathers death in July, he said He was so thankful that I was born and that I was a girl. That I helped my mom and care for him in ways a first born son could not.
That was God at work, putting the salve on my wound so I could heal as my father died.
So He could use me to lead my father to Jesus before his death.
They say out of sorrow comes JOY.
I found that to be true in this case.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
taking a break from life....
It does not happen very often but I am on break.
My daughter made an honor band at UNI and I am with her for the weekend.
As she has been at classes day and night learning the material,
I am just being.
Yes it is awkward and weird not to be cooking and cleaning for my crew and countless others.
It is weird to say I want to go______ and do _____ because I want to.
Not because someone else needs me too.
I have had 2 days to study God's word, read books, and watch movies.
I am loving the hot tub and think it might be a wise investment in the future..
It has been a nice break, but in all honesty I miss all the things I normally do.
I see this break as a time for God to refresh me and show me how I am doing.
I am getting a chance to step back and look at my job and do a review of sorts on myself.
I see areas for improvement and areas I am doing much better in than I was a year ago.
As my life is ever changing so is my job description. God gave me my review at just the right time. I am going into my 24th year of marriage and 17th year of parenting.
I have learned so much and am so Thankful that God has been so gracious to me. I can see how the potter is shaping the clay. With the love and water He uses I can be shaped just how he needs me to be.
Tomorrow I will be back to the rat race but right now I am soaking it all in!
God is GOOD!
My daughter made an honor band at UNI and I am with her for the weekend.
As she has been at classes day and night learning the material,
I am just being.
Yes it is awkward and weird not to be cooking and cleaning for my crew and countless others.
It is weird to say I want to go______ and do _____ because I want to.
Not because someone else needs me too.
I have had 2 days to study God's word, read books, and watch movies.
I am loving the hot tub and think it might be a wise investment in the future..
It has been a nice break, but in all honesty I miss all the things I normally do.
I see this break as a time for God to refresh me and show me how I am doing.
I am getting a chance to step back and look at my job and do a review of sorts on myself.
I see areas for improvement and areas I am doing much better in than I was a year ago.
As my life is ever changing so is my job description. God gave me my review at just the right time. I am going into my 24th year of marriage and 17th year of parenting.
I have learned so much and am so Thankful that God has been so gracious to me. I can see how the potter is shaping the clay. With the love and water He uses I can be shaped just how he needs me to be.
Tomorrow I will be back to the rat race but right now I am soaking it all in!
God is GOOD!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Lincoln.....Honesty from Hollywood?
We went on a double date on Saturday with my daughter and her boyfriend and saw the movie Lincoln.
I am a HUGE civil war buff and love this time period so as soon as it started I was captivated.
I love the bad wall paper, the over the top bustles on dresses, and even the ink blotter that was so accurate for the times.
But believe it or not the movie had some family and marital elements that I was surprised that Steven Spielberg put in.
It was real and honest in this sense. The way Lincolns relationships between his wife and sons was so real it brought me to tears.
It showed conflict and strife and love and endearment to a wife who had been so grief stricken and mad over the death of her son. But through it all Lincoln showed his continual love and acceptance in her no matter her state of mind. Only in losing a child can you feel what she felt. He on the other hand admitted he handled his grief another way. For Hollywood to show that marriage is a strong bond through good and bad and that there is a give and take and something that only death could separate was inspiring to me. Most that has been written about Mary Todd Lincoln has been negative but I think they showed her as a true helpmate to her husband and him as a faithful husband even in tough times.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTfHDCiE8PE
The other thing that blew me away was the honesty of how Lincoln favored his children. It was written about in Genesis how Rebekah and Issac favored Jacob & Esau. But this is one area that I thought Hollywood would gloss over in his life.
In all this I found the movie to show the real man Lincoln was. The real life family and political struggles he had weighed on him daily. He was the man God had set apart for a specific time in history. Looking at where Lincoln started and his education I see God can use anyone if they are willing to be a humble vessel for Him.
I am a HUGE civil war buff and love this time period so as soon as it started I was captivated.
I love the bad wall paper, the over the top bustles on dresses, and even the ink blotter that was so accurate for the times.
But believe it or not the movie had some family and marital elements that I was surprised that Steven Spielberg put in.
It was real and honest in this sense. The way Lincolns relationships between his wife and sons was so real it brought me to tears.
It showed conflict and strife and love and endearment to a wife who had been so grief stricken and mad over the death of her son. But through it all Lincoln showed his continual love and acceptance in her no matter her state of mind. Only in losing a child can you feel what she felt. He on the other hand admitted he handled his grief another way. For Hollywood to show that marriage is a strong bond through good and bad and that there is a give and take and something that only death could separate was inspiring to me. Most that has been written about Mary Todd Lincoln has been negative but I think they showed her as a true helpmate to her husband and him as a faithful husband even in tough times.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTfHDCiE8PE
The other thing that blew me away was the honesty of how Lincoln favored his children. It was written about in Genesis how Rebekah and Issac favored Jacob & Esau. But this is one area that I thought Hollywood would gloss over in his life.
In all this I found the movie to show the real man Lincoln was. The real life family and political struggles he had weighed on him daily. He was the man God had set apart for a specific time in history. Looking at where Lincoln started and his education I see God can use anyone if they are willing to be a humble vessel for Him.
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