Worship Him

"Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him."

Lamentations 3:21-25, NLT

Psalm Saturday

Time to join my friend Collette again over at Jesus Loves Mums for Psalm Saturday.
Join us this week as we share how something in the Psalms spoke to us.....

Isn't it odd how we tend to beat ourselves up because this 'Christian life' doesn't come easy to us? I mean, we accepted Jesus as our Savior and then spend so much time stressing because we fell back into a sin that we thought we'd defeated.

We get upset when we miss that opportunity, that is now hindsight, to speak to someone about Jesus.

Yet in Psalm 119:30 we read,

"I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by Your regulations." NLT

Yes, salvation is immediate, but all this other stuff.....it's a choice. Sometimes daily, sometimes second by second. "I have chosen to be faithful...." It doesn't read, 'I am faithful'.

"I have determined to live by Your regulations"...not, 'Living by Your regulations is so easy'.

When I determine in my mind to do something, I am focused, not looking to the right or the left, nose to the grindstone till I see it to the end. For me, if I have to get determined to do something, it's probably something that is difficult and needs 100% of my attention.

But isn't that what being a Christian is all about?

If we don't stay focused on Christ, then we are going to fall back into the sin that so easily tempts us. If our vision strays to the right or the left, then we begin to not see sin for what it truly is...we lose our concentration.

Our walk with Christ is a daily effort, a daily choice and it is through that choice to be faithful and determination that will draw us into that closer walk that we all desire. It won't necessarily make it easier, but it sure will make the journey more enjoyable!

Studying...Created to be His Help Meet

We are studying the book by Debi Pearl, Created to be His Help Meet. Through our study of this book, we are going to learn what it means to be a help meet and actually living the role that God created us as women to fill. I've read this book once before and applied many of the things that Mrs. Pearl spoke of, and it has transformed an already good marriage into nothing short of awesome!! I encourage you to purchase this book and follow along or at the very least, check out the Pearl's website at http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/
Any text taken directly from Mrs. Pearl's book will be highlighted in blue.

I realize that in studying Created to be His Help Meet at the rate of one chapter per week, we will be doing this study for approximately 24 weeks. We could go at this at a much faster rate, but I believe that if we truly want to change and fill our God given rolls as help meet to our husbands, then we need to take things slower and put into practice what we are learning. I hope you agree and stay the course with me as we become better help meets together.

Part 1: The Help Meet

Chapter 12: By Divine Appointment

Mrs. Pearl begins this chapter by quoting 1 Corinthians 11:3,

" But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." NLT

She reminds us that the only place we will ever find true fulfillment is as a help meet to our husbands. We have to remind ourselves, maybe often, that it's not our place to correct our husbands...he will answer to God someday for his choices just as we will. For those who don't know the blessing of a saved husband, Mrs. Pearl says this, "It takes faith in God to trust Him when all you seem to see is one carnal man leading you--to 'God only knows where'. "

We have to remember as wives that the submission to our husbands is not the most important thing. The most important thing is being faithful to what God says in His Word. Obedience to GOD is the most important thing we can do.

Mrs. Pearl points out that man's fall into sin was because of the vulnerability of woman. We have to agree with that. Yes, I know, I'm sure Eve didn't sit on Adam and shove that fruit down his throat, but she did partake first. Why do you think satan addressed Eve and not Adam? I believe it's because, like it or not ladies, we are the weaker sex, in many ways.

Before the fall, God created woman to be the help meet. The help meet to a sinless man.....after the fall though, God didn't change His mind about the man being the authority, but the consequence of sin made it so that woman now had to be in submission to a man with a sin nature.

She also addresses the Scripture that states,

"Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says. If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings."
1Corinthians 14:34, NLT

Now, this is a can of worms, I know. I realize that there are awesome women of God who are teaching all over the world. I have been blessed by many. However, personally, I cannot sit beside my husband or any other man for that matter under a woman pastor. My personal belief is that the man is to lead in all areas. I do not give "my two cents" at church or any other place for that matter. I talk to my husband in private, give him my concerns and should he deem them worthy to be brought to the attention of others, he'll do so...if not, it's laid to rest and that's the end of it. I trust him to value my opinion and weigh what I'm saying or what I think honestly. I also trust God to convict him if he 'blows me off'.

Please understand that being in this total submission, we are not backing up. Like Mrs. Pearl, if you knew me personally, you would see that I'm not a quiet, calm person. I'm very opinionated and I want to be heard and acknowledged when I open my mouth. If I disagree with something, I'm willing to let you know it.....loudly. However, my love and respect of God won't allow me to be that way with my husband on purpose. When I do let go and "do it my way", conviction is swift.. and I'm very thankful for that!

Our challenge for this week is just that, a week long challenge:

Monday: Write three new things that you will add to your life that will cause you to become more precious to your husband.

Tuesday: List three things that you can do that will be a help to him.

Wednesday: Write down three things you can do that will be an encouragement to him.

Thursday: Jot down three things about your appearance that you can change, which he is sure to like.

Friday: List three tings that you can do to your house that will please him.

Saturday: Write three things you can do (for example, intimate time together) that will make him feel like his is THE MAN.

Sunday: Plan three ways you can respond to him in front of others that will show a heart of respect and honor toward him.

Please don't just make this list, DO it each day. You will be amazed at the wonderful man you find you are living with, within one short week.

Let me know how it works for you!!!!!


Next week: The Great Mystery

Join Me at the Well!!!

Hey everybody!!! Just wanted to pass along that I'm over at the Well today!!

How about dropping by, saying hi and seeing how important it is to Know Your Man!!!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday and time to join up with Sonya over at Truth 4 the Journey for Thankful Thursday. It's a time we set aside to list five things that we are truly thankful for.

It is such a blessing to be able to share what I am thankful for and rejoice with you in how God has blessed you as well.

Click here to join us in sharing the faithfulness of God!!!

Here are my thankfuls for this week......

1) I am thankful for a full week of sunshine!!! It has been so nice to wake up to the beautiful brightness of the sun AND I've gotten to hang my laundry on the line!!!

2) I am thankful for our heating system. Along with this beautiful sunshine and clear days has came the chillier weather!

3) I am thankful for the season that is upon us. I love this time of year!!! I love everything about it and my memories truly begin to flood my soul. It seems like almost everything can trigger a warm fuzzy!

4) I am thankful that God is blessing my guys with a rain free weekend. This weekend is their annual father/son camping trip and we were really concerned that with all the rain we'd been having, they might have a wet weekend. But as always..God is faithful!!

5) I am thankful for the time that I'll get to spend just me and DD while my guys are away. She's becoming an adult and I know that these moments are becoming more and more precious.

"Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise His holy name."
Psalm 30:4, NLT

Family Favorites

Today's Family Favorite is not only super easy to make, but a huge hit with my entire family!!!

This has probably been requested more times than anything I have ever made. It also makes a wonderful addition to those homemade goodie platters that you share at Christmas.

I try very hard to only make this around the holidays or very special occasions because I don't want anyone getting burned out on it...and it's great to have that really special something that everyone looks forward to.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Pecan Bark

1 cup unsalted butter, NO substitutes
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
24 graham cracker squares

Preheat over to 350º. Line a 10x15 inch cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil. (I use the wrapper from the butter). Place graham crackers on the cookie sheet in one layer. (It should fit exactly 24). Sprinkle pecans evenly over the top and set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and stir until the mixture boils. Boil for 1 minute. Pour mixture evenly over graham crackers and pecans. (I sometimes use a spatula to spread it evenly). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place the hot cookie sheet in the freezer. Remove after 1 hour and break the bark into pieces. You do not have to keep this candy refrigerated.