Actively seek God by praying together and for each other daily. Dedicate a specific time to pray together, away from the kids and the distractions of daily living.
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Treat her like you would treat any other church members. Don't lay expectations on her to lead a group or be super involved in certain areas that you may think is "typical". Please do NOT compare her to your previous Pastor's Wife. She, just like YOU, is a work in progress. She, just like you, is uniquely created by God to serve in ways she has been gifted, and according to her season of life. Give her space to figure this out. Once she figures it out, and she will, cheer her on like crazy, and encourage her, like you would want to be encouraged! Absolutely no extra pressure.
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Does your garden need some weeding? We have this promise in I John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Through the power of our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, we can have the victory that God wants us to have. And then we will honor our Saviour with fruit that reflects His character!
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“In circumstances as dark as these... It becomes us as men and Christians to reflect that while every prudent measure should be taken to wart off impending judgements.”
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I began to realize that in life it can become easy to turn on “cruise control” and go through life doing our routines without thought of purpose. Dishes need washed, papers stack up, laundry piles need sorted, groceries need bought, family needs cared for, Sunday School lessons need studied, etc…
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We give and take when it is convenient for us as well as beneficial. We forget about expecting nothing in return. We forget about simply doing. Giving and receiving must be for me and only me.
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Women in the Bible can offer us deep meaning and teach us! These women can teach us so much about-facing brokenness and hopelessness with courage even TODAY! They probably do not show up in VBS songs, or many Sunday School lessons. These women even today can teach us to live courageously, through difficult or even dangerous situations!
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Patience…. My least favorite word of all time. So many “well meaning” people have tried to be an “encouragement” to me over the years by saying things like, “God will bring you just the right man, you just have to be patient” or “God will show you what He wants for your future, you just have to be patient”.
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In the hustle and bustle of life today, it's easy to get caught up in whirlwinds of tasks and responsibilities that constantly demand attention. We find ourselves running from one thing to another, sometimes barely taking a moment to transition properly. However, amidst the chaos and busyness that can easily overtake our lives, there is a timeless truth that our Lord Jesus shared with us, speaking directly from His loving heart: "Come apart and rest a little while."
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There was an old saying about trusting all one’s goods to one ship. It was replaced with the phrase “Don't put all your eggs in one basket,” which is a proverb or idiom first recorded in 1710, that means you should not risk everything or depend entirely on a single thing or course of action. It advises against investing all your resources, time, or efforts in a single venture, as it leaves you vulnerable to failure or loss. If you gather all your eggs in a single basket, there is a potential danger of dropping the basket and losing everything you have worked diligently to obtain. In contrast, the proverb advises considering different options and distributing your eggs across multiple baskets, so you don’t find yourself in a desperate situation if one of your endeavors fails.
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Webster’s dictionary defines special as the following:
special
1: distinguished by some unusual quality
2: held in particular esteem
3: readily distinguishable from others of the same category : being other than the usual
4: designed for a particular purpose or occasion
Those definitions sound like a description of a Christian. Read again.
Their, Joy, their contentment was the key that unloosed their chains. HE WAS ENOUGH FOR THEM! He was everything they needed. There wasn’t a material possession that they lacked because their contentment was in the ONE who delighted in them!
I desperately needed a flesh and blood friend; a person with skin on. I knew I had my wonderful Heavenly father, and I decided to never leave Him nor forsake Him nor blame Him no matter how bad my life seemed to me. But God also gives us a need for humans. During the whole ugly, crushing, debilitating process; I needed a friend. I was so very confused, devastated, and broken: I needed a friend!
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It feels strange, even at my age and, might I say a bit fearful to realize those godly prayer warriors are no longer lifting our names up to the throne of heaven. We were so blessed .
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There is nothing better for refreshing my soul, uplifting my hurting heart, or encouraging my spirit than being in God’s amazing creation! God definitely meets me at these special moments. Because of this, on the anniversary of my husband’s home going, I always plan an outdoor adventure. Along with that, I send up a balloon with a tract attached to it. My husband was a passionate soulwinner and it is a way to honor this important part of his life.
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I heard a sermon illustration about a bee. It was said that if you put a bee in the bottom of a glass jar, the bee will never fly out. Why? Because the bee never looks up to realize that the way out is right above him. I think that all too often, I am the same way. When I face problems, I tend to look around for answers, but forget to look up for His answer. I am so thankful that my Father is a “very present” help. (Psalm 46:1) He’s right there---every step of the way---even when I don’t realize it. He promises me in His Word that He will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5-6). The key is that I lift up my eyes. I need to turn my eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face! When I do, the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. When days are dreary…look up! When the long nights are weary….look up! Jesus cares! When the sun is shining….
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“I thought we were friends.” / “I thought you loved me.”
The hurt behind those words can overshadow years of life, love, and memories. All the good times fade away when a friendship is betrayed.
Investment, down the drain. Trust destroyed. Love questioned.
Have you been there? / Are you currently there?
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Now don’t get me wrong, I do get depressed; I do struggle at times with frustration; I do wonder why things can’t be easier or why does everything have to be tough sometimes, but I try very hard not to live there. In fact over the last few years, I’ve had many conversations with God about certain things in my life that seem “unfair!” And God has been working on me in this area very much in the last couple of years. One of my very favorite Bible characters is Joseph.
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Have you ever had a season of life, or a circumstance where you felt like God just wasn’t around? Or maybe you faced a problem that was too big and you felt like you were all alone? Or maybe sin was so dark and present in your life or in the life of a loved one and you struggled to see the hand of God anywhere? If you haven’t ever felt that way, I’m so happy for you. I, on the other hand, have felt all of those things. Was God absent from my life? No way. He was right there, probably closer than I could have ever imagined. But in that darkness, I couldn’t see Him. I want to share with you what I learned in those times.
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As the wife of an evangelist, most evenings I find myself sitting in a church service somewhere in this wonderful country of ours. I often tease that the Lord let me marry my husband because He knew that I needed to be in church every night! Because we’re in church so often, I’ll tell you a preacher’s wife’s secret; sometimes my mind wanders. (Insert gasp here!) It was one such evening, that the thing that caused my mind to wander was a word--fervent! I’m not even sure why I gave the word a second glance, but later that night, I grabbed my concordance app to see how many times the word was mentioned in Scripture. The answer is seven. Seven times the word fervent is mentioned in God’s Word--fervent in spirit, fervent mind, fervent prayer, fervent heat, fervent charity. It’s such a descriptive word, it just evoked a mental picture to me, so I looked up the dictionary definition.
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