My husband is....

I bet you are wondering what I am going to say about my husband. Well today I would tell you that I am married to my Prince Charming but if you ask on another day I might give a different response. The article I have linked to is called "My Husband is an Overbearing Jerk and..." It was good reminder about what marriage is all about and how God uses our marriage to make us more like Him. Hope you enjoy.
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Wisdom from a Friend

This week started off full of stress for me. We moved this last weekend. I was tired. Our family wasn't relating well and I wasn't dealing with it well. Partly I was discouraged thinking that all the things we had worked on the past year were for nought. Monday morning God sent me a friend who was willing to listen and give perspective. Here is what I learned from her. First of all, be real. Be who you are. I felt like I could be real with her and to me that was a gift. I hope I can be that to others. Lesson number two was that just because you hit a rough spot doesn't mean all your progress is in vain. And she was right. You can let a bump put you off the road completely or you can hold on tight to God and what you know is true and grow from it. It reminds me of Philippians 1:6 where Paul tells us that He who began a good work in you will complete it. The communication skills we had learned were still there. And that evening our family did use them to work through our issue.

I was also reminded that we as followers of Christ are in a spiritual war for our families and how am I fighting for my family. Am I taking my thoughts captive. Is what I am feeling true? Am I tired? Am I giving the other person the benefit of the doubt? Am I praying for my family? Is my love covering a multitude of sins? Am I bringing peace to my family?

I am thankful for God's grace and love for me and my family. I am thankful for friends who are there to listen. I am thankful for a family who forgives and works things out. I am thankful for a God who never gives up on me.

Fun Finds on the Web

With my honey gone, I decided to sit down and finally explore some of the blogs and websites I have been writing down that look interesting. I found two that I will be going back to. The first is a book review website. I love to read but sometimes have trouble sifting through all the books out there. I look forward to trying out a few of Lori's suggestion. The second is a blog that was recommended by The Stay At Home Missionary and is called Purely His. Here is the link for her series on a Peaceful Home. Her words were good reminders of where my priorities should be and how my words can set the tone on how peaceful my home really is.

Thoughts on Roman 10:1-4

Okay much of what I want to say today is similar to yesterday's post. I often think though that God keeps giving us the same or similar message so that we will get it. Once again Paul's heart is going out to his Jewish brothers and sisters. "Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved." Like Paul, I want the longing of my heart and my prayer to God to be for the people of Central Asia to be saved. Paul goes on to tell the readers of this letter that the Jews had great enthusiasm for God but it was a misdirected zeal. In Central Asia, it is much the same way. Many devout Muslims have great enthusiasm for Allah but their zeal is misdirected. "They don't understand God's way of making people right with himself." Hopefully the light of believers here in Central Asia will shine brightly and prayers will be answered resulting in the salvation of many.

Here is a quote from the Bible Study I am doing by Donna Jeffries.
" Satan would love nothing more than for us to give up praying for the arrogant, stubborn, and/or rebellious soul. How easy it is to become indifferent , assuming that a certain individual must not be elected. It is not our responsibility to determine who has or has not been elected to salvation. But we are responsible to proclaim the gospel and pray for those who are lost. So we must ask ourselves, in what way have we lost our fervor to persistently plead for the salvation of those who seem hopelessly lost?

A few months ago I had the opportunity to be with two women who have a heart for some women in a nearby village. Many of the women in the village have lost their husbands and desperately need work. They also need a Savior. The two women have helped set up a women's center that provides sewing and embroidery work for the women. Every week the two women go and minister to these women. They bring gifts and work and most of all each week they bring a bible story. One of the women told me that they realized the fruit of their ministry may be 5 to 10 years from now. Her prayer is for sooner but they are determined to stay the course that God has for them. It was a great testimony to me of being faithful even when no results are evident. They are not determining if a person will be saved or not but are proclaiming the gospel and praying for those who are lost.

Dear God, You want all men and women to be saved. May our heart long for your salvation in those we meet each day. May Your Spirit be at work in Central Asia and may many come to accept your Son Jesus. May we be faithful to our task as those two women are. Draw the women of the village to you and make yourself known. In Your Son's Name, Amen

Thoughts from Romans 9

How far would you be willing to go to see someone saved? What would you sacrifice? In Romans 9:1-3, Paul says that he would be forever cursed-cut off from Christ if it would save his Jewish brothers and sisters. In Psalm 119: 36, the Psalmist has "rivers of tears" coming from his eyes because of his people's disobedience. God gave His Son Jesus so I and others who believe could be saved.

I have been asking myself these questions. Do I have a heart for the lost? What am I sacrificing so that others will be saved? I am not sure I am on Paul's level or even close to it but I am praying that God will give me a heart for those who are without them. My sacrifices are small compared to what others have done. But I am able to sacrifice some of my time to pray for those of my family and friends that don't know Christ? I can pray for eyes open to opportunities to share my faith and then take the opportunity to do so when I see it. I can take the time to be inconvenienced if need be so that I can be a light in some one's life. For me, it is also a reminder that unless I can communicate in this new language, I will not be able to communicate fully His story. This makes for good motivation to keep going when things get hard or stressful and to keep trying no matter what. Maybe these things will be small steps in the right direction.

Thoughts from Romans 8

The last month I have been going through a study on Romans and have enjoyed the things I have been learning. Enjoyed may not be the word. I have needed to learn a few things from Romans. Romans 8:5 says "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Spirit think about things that please the Spirit." This verse made me think about what I actually think about. Am I thinking about things that please the Spirit or am I letting my emotions control what I am thinking? Am I taking every thought captive? How can I change my thinking? I can't but God's spirit can if only I ask. The next verse that hit me was vs 12. " You have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do." Great reminder. Sometimes when I feel like I don't have control of what I do or say, I am believing a lie. Vs 13 instructs that "By the power of the Spirit I am to put to death the deeds of my sinful nature." So when I want to respond negatively to my family, I need to remember this advice. When I am having a pity party for myself, I need to remember this advice. I need to choose to let the Spirit work through me each and every day. I wish I could say it was easy, I can't.

The chapter then ends with two promises to which we can cling. The first is that nothing can separate us from God's love (vs38). The second is that overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us (39). When things are hard, I can remember these promises. When God seems far away, I can remember these promises. Most of all when I feel defeated, I can remember these promises and look up to the author and perfecter of my faith.