God is SERIOUS about Love!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My
disciples, if you have love for one another.

I was struck in my reading today about how many instructions 1 Corintithians 13 gives on love. I mean, I know it's called the Love Chapter, but have you ever counted? Just in verses 4-8, I got this list:

Love:

• Does not brag
• Is not arrogant
• Does not act unbecomingly
• Does not seek its own
• Is not provoked
• Does not take into account a wrong suffered
• Does not rejoice in unrighteousness
• Rejoices with the truth
• Bears all things
• Believes all things
• Hopes all things
• Endures all things
• Never fails

I say that I love my husband. I say that I love my family and friends. But, am I loving them the way God would have me to love them?

I journal a lot in my quiet times. It helps me to keep my thoughts focused, and putting in to words what the Lord is teaching me helps me to really grasp the priciple. After I finish one notebook and start on another I always go back and read through what the Lord has taught me throughout that period of time in the old journal. As I was doing that this morning, I was struck with how many times the Lord laid on my heart to pray for a single christian mom I am friends with and her 18 year old son who knows the Lord but is not walking with Him right now. Part of my prayer was that I just wanted to SHAKE this young man. He KNOWS the truth; he knows our Lord. I want to force him to serve his Savior. But then (isn't it amazing how this works?!) the Lord turned my frustration into to amazed thankfulness. How grand it is that faith doesn't work that way. No one can force you to serve Jesus. He lovingly give us the free will to choose Him. How much sweeter it must be for Him when we decide to follow after Him.


I have been burdened with (in a good way!) the amount of unsaved people around me. Sometimes I forget how many there are, because I have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding me (no complaints here)! Sometimes I feel like a broken record in my prayers for my family and the unsaved friends Micah and I have a lot of contact with. But, our Lord is SO faithful! I may never see responses to my requests. But, shame on me if I ever start thinking that's why I pray for them!

I pray, Lord that You would keep me faithful in my prayers for them. That I
would never lose track of why I want them to know You. It is NOT for my
satisfaction, Lord, but for Your glory.

Yet, if I do see responses...praise the Lord! He has rewarded years of prayer time and time again.


I encourage you ladies...keep at it. He wants you to bring your concerns to Him. If there is something on your heart that you've stopped praying about, I am praying that you would pick up the burden again with new vigor.


Have a blessed day!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived; neithe fornicators, nor idolators, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nore thieves, nor the covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sactified, but
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our
God.

What an AMAZING God we serve that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8)!! I look at that list up there and think, "oh, I would never do those things!" but in my heart, I know that I am guilty of such sins. But, what an amazing knowledge we have as believers. What an amazing gift to know that we are washed. And not only washed, but sactified. And not only sactified, but justified!!




Go out and praise the Lord today!

Spacing...

I had hard returns in that last post so it'd be easier to read, and when I posted it, they didn't show up. Does anyone know how I can fix that?

Ch. 13 - The Great Mystery

I've been reading Debi Pearl's book Created to be his Help Meet a lot lately. Chapter 13's opening paragraph accurately put into words the desire of my heart these last several months.

"A wise woman understands that her husband's need to be honored is not based on
his performance, but on his nature and his God-ordained position. She learns
quickly to defer to his ideas or plans with enthusiasm. She looks for ways to
reverence him. She knows this is God's will for her life."

I know this may sound silly, and probably I should have grasped this truth many years ago, but it has just recently struck me as amazing that God's will for my life is so very clear in His Word! There's no guess work, no room for doubt. He makes it so obvious, yet I've not understood until now.



He wants me to be a help meet to my honey. He tells me that I am perfectly suited to be Micah's help meet. Some of the traits of a help meet that Debi mentions in her book that I've been pondering/trying to improve on are:


- Has a passion to be of service (first to her husband, then children, and when time affords, to others) So many times I have gotten this order backwards. It should be easy for me, not having kids, to keep this straight...but it's not! My norm is to serve others first and then serve Micah with my left over time.


- Joyful, makes love fun, is thankful and content. I have lumped these three together in my head because they all seemed linked to my attitude. How can I make love fun for my dear hubby if I am grumpy all the time? How is he going to know that his love is more than enough for me if I am constantly griping and never satisfied?


- Learns to be flexible and to appreciate her man for who he is. This has really been a
hard pill for me to swallow...every day! I like for things to be orderly, I like to be in control. And, for some reason, it is so hard for me to understand that my hubby is a sinner just as I am, yet so easy for me to expect him to forgive me because I'm not perfect!





Sorry I have been away from this blog for so long. These thoughts of marriage, and my attempts to make mine what God desires for us, has taken priority of late. God has given me such a heart for this sacred institution He has created. If I know you read my blog, you can rest assured I pray for your marriages. Micah and I have purchased a case of Debi Pearl's books, and I would be more than happy to give copies to anyone who sees a need for them (whether for themselves or other women). Let me know if you'd like one - or several! What amazing gifts God has given us - our husbands AND clearly defined purposes for our lives!


Hope all is well with you.


(Oh, and yes, I know I'm still needing to post house pictures. I do not own a digital camera, but as soon as I am able to get my hands on one, I will post them!)