ByGrace

Wes and I have been attending Spiritual Leadership Conference in Lancaster, CA, this week. In my absence, I'm re-posting some past entries. I hope this one will be a blessing to you, as you remember that God knows your name . . .  From April 28, 2010: I recently read the story of an elderly nurse standing behind the window of the newborn nursery where she worked. Outside the window were three young fathers nervously peering through the glass to identify their newborn babies. With the babies all wrapped up in their soft blankets, it was hard to tell which baby belonged to which father. The nurse put on her glasses and began to examine the tiny bracelet on each baby's arm, then looking at the bracelet on each father's arm, carefully matching each baby's name to its father's name. As she positively identified each baby, she opened the door and gave each father his baby and watched his face light up with delight. As she turned away to her o...

Wes and I are attending Spiritual Leadership Conference in Lancaster, CA, this week, so I'm reposting some blog entries that are favorites of mine. This one concerns helping our children turn out well. This is an ongoing discussion for most of us parents, and I had someone just a couple of weeks ago ask how we raised our children to ensure they would do well. As you'll see in this post, there are no guarantees, but I hope this brings you some encouragement as you raise your children! And if they're already grown, these are some good things to remember. From July 24, 2008: In our Thursday night Bible studies, we've been going through the book of Genesis. We've seen the best and the worst among the people God called His own. One of our men mentioned tonight that he is really enjoying this study because it makes the Bible characters that we always thought of as saints (figuratively speaking) become human to us. Which they were. Tonight we studied chapter 3...

I've noticed that the pages on my blog that get the most hits (views) are the ones dealing with modest dress. While I'm pretty sure that all of us believe in dressing modestly , we vary quite a bit on exactly what modesty is. Several years ago, I posted an entry containing five principles of modest dress from a sermon that my former pastor delivered. Since there is always interest in this subject, I wanted to repost that entry today. I hope you'll find something in it that will be a help to you . Day Dream Here are five principles for modest dress that my pastor preached in a sermon several years ago. I wrote them in the back of my Bible because they are good guidelines for anyone, no matter how you feel about the particulars of what a Christian should wear. 1. Modesty - Is this article of clothing modest? Does it cover me sufficiently? I Timothy 2:9 2. Not worldly - Is this clothing a passing fad of the world? Does it follow the current trends of the world? ...

Have you ever had a dream that you were witnessing to someone, and you turned to a familiar passage of Scripture, only to find it missing from your Bible? No matter how much you searched for it, it just wasn't there? No? Maybe I'm the only one who has had a dream like that, but maybe in real life, you've wondered where to find a certain Scripture for a specific problem, but you couldn't remember where to find it. Yes, there are concordances to look up key words, but it would be nice if you just had your own topical reference so you could look up Scripture passages that mean the most to you and the issues you face in daily life. I reviewed the book What Do I Know about My God? by Mardi Collier several weeks ago. I am convinced this is the best book I've ever read on making God and His Word real in your life. Mrs. Collier writes about getting to know God better through writing out Scripture verses that have to do with His character and attributes. Begin...

photo credit: origamidon via photopin cc Recently, as I was organizing my sewing/guest room , I found quite a bit of stuff that I knew I needed to get rid of, but the agonizing thing for me was that I had paid so much for all of it. I just couldn't throw it away, but I didn't want to try to sell it all either. Then I remembered this verse in Proverbs: Proverbs 11:24,25 "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." It's one of the paradoxes of Scripture - give and it shall be given you; he that watereth shall be watered also himself; whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. These verses are an encouragement to more readily let things go. Donate them to a thrift store or give them to someone who needs or wants them. Be generous; be liberal. You'll find being a blessing d...

Photo by srsphoto Proverbs 11:17 "The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh." We've flown quite often in the past 10 years or so, especially since we moved to Canada and our children have gone away to college. It's the fastest way to get where I want to be! We all sit on the plane as we wait to back away from the gate, listening (or not!) to the flight attendants' instructions concerning emergencies. One thing they always mention is, in case of loss of oxygen in the plane, to put on your own oxygen mask first, and then help any children around you with theirs. If you're not breathing, there's not much chance you'll be able to help anyone else! And so it is with our everyday lives. If we're not taking care of ourselves, we can't take care of our families and minister to those around us. I do happen to believe that many people seek to take care of their own needs first, including many ...

The Seamstress or, Young Woman Working Have you ever picked up a new interest and in your zeal for your new hobby spent hours of time learning about it? I remember learning to play the piano. We didn't have a piano when I started taking lessons, but my teacher told my parents I would find a way to learn if I were truly interested in it. And I did! I began lessons in September, determined to learn, and my parents bought me a restored player piano with the player mechanism removed for Christmas that year. I've continued to play to this day, and the piano is still a passion of mine. Proverbs 18:1 has always intrigued me, but I never could quite grasp its meaning. As I was reading this verse one morning, I looked up and saw a commentary on Proverbs belonging to my husband, so I grabbed it and looked up that verse to see what the author, Charles Bridges, had to say about it. Here's the verse: Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and ...

I found a book recently that caught my attention, The Country Life Book of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother . I've always had an interest in Britain's royal family, and I've especially admired the Queen Mother (who is now deceased) because of her charm, warmth, and dignity, so this book sparked my interest right away. As I was reading about her early life, the author was relating information about the Queen Mother's own mother, pictured on the right in 1923, who was apparently quite an amazing woman. She used to tell her children, "Life is for living and working at. If you find anything or anybody a bore, the fault is in yourself." What a lesson to us in these days! The Queen Mother was born in 1900, 113 years ago, yet her mother's words are still applicable today. If I find life boring, or the people around me boring, it's not their fault; it is mine! Are you bored today? Get up and live! Work at finding interesting things to do....

'Sunrise' by Sean MacEntee "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" Titus 2:13 I read this poem this morning in my devotions, and it resonated in my heart. Are you looking for the return of Jesus? Just a-wearying for you, Jesus, Lord, beloved and true; Wishing for you, wondering when You'll be coming back again, Under all I say and do, Just a-wearying for you. Some glad day, all watching past, You will come for me at last; Then I'll see you, hear your voice, Be with you, with you rejoice; How the sweet hope thrills me through, Sets me a-wearying for you. Excerpted from Streams in the Desert March 27

I can’t swim. I’d love to know how, but there’s one problem: I don’t like water in my face! My husband thinks it’s funny, but I really do panic when I get water in my face.  A couple of people have tried to help me learn to swim. One was my sister, Robyn. When we were teenagers, she tried to “teach” me to swim by taking me to the deep end of the pool - promising to hold on to me - only to let me go in the middle of the pool. I sank like a rock. I lived, but I did not learn to swim. The other person was my husband. He took a little different approach. He stayed right with me, with his arms under me, making sure I didn’t sink, gradually removing his arms till I could float by myself. He never once left me alone, and although I still didn’t learn to swim, I didn’t almost drown, either. What made the difference in the two people and their methods of helping me? Their level of caring. Yes, Robyn cared for me (she didn’t really want me to drown!), but my husband cared so...

Love is in the Air by JPott Last week, for Valentine's Day, I wrote out a lesson I'd given the ladies at our church concerning Love or Respect in relation to our husbands or fathers. As I looked through the lessons I gave that month, I felt impressed to give you the second lesson in that series: He Won't Know It If You Don't Show It! Don't you just love it when your husband whispers in your ear, "I love you!"? Or, if you're single, your dad tells you he loves you and he's proud of you? I'm sure they love to hear us say we love them, too, but more than that, they love to know that we respect them. Now, it's not quite so romantic to look into your man's eyes and coo, "I respect you so much!" So how do we show our men that we respect them? Prioritize your husband ; put him first (Ephesians 5:31). As you plan your day, take into account things he might need, and ask if there's something you can do for him. As you ...

  I want to tell you about a book that has been a huge help to me: What Do I Know about My God? by Mardi Collier, the wife of Ken Collier, director of The Wilds Christian Camp . This was recommended to me by my blog friend, Mrs. T, of Across My Kitchen Table . Let me tell you, the principle laid out in this book will change your life. Literally. Thank you so much , Mrs. T, for recommending this book to me! Mrs. Collier wrote this book to outline a simple program she'd been using for many years to help her know God better. This system involves keeping a notebook of verses describing God and His relationship with us. Each time you read a verse with information about God, you start a new category. For example, the first page I made My God is Merciful ( Psalm 51:1; Psalm 40:11; Psalm 145:9; Romans 9: 15, 16; II Corinthians 1:3; Lamentations 3:22 - these are a few verses I found when I looked up verses with the words mercy or mercies in them), and I have filled that page with vers...

I wanted to get back into posting Wednesday in the Word last week, but I also wanted to try to get a little ahead on posting so I don't feel so pushed to get blog posts out. So I waited and set it to post this week. What's one more week when it's been so long already, right?! This is the final installment of a short series I wrote on resting in the Lord. I was asked to give this devotion at the Pastors' Wives Retreat I attend each June. The first two installments are Be Content: Rest in His Provision and Be Confident: Rest in His Promises . I hope you'll go back to them and refresh your memory, or read them for the first time if you haven't already. I'm Comfortable Here by Mel B Be Comfortable: Rest in His Presence Every time we see Mary of Bethany in Scripture, she is in the presence of Jesus, and she is comfortable there. How do I know she was comfortable? By the things she did in His presence. At that time and in that culture, women were no...

:: chilly morning :: :: warm coffee :: :: open Bible :: :: modern technology :: :: full notebook :: :: word study :: :: tender mercies :: :: peace :: "let thy tender mercies come unto me, that i may live; for thy law is my delight." psalm 119:77

Read Part 1 of this series here . In the second part of this series on resting in the Lord, I want to encourage you to be confident and rest in the Lord's promises . Resting Pigeon by Glenn Euloth In our study of Mary, every time we see her she ends up at the Lord's feet, hearing His Word. As a result, she had a collection of His promises, just as we do today in the Bible. In Luke 10:39, Mary is listening to Jesus speak His Word. In John 11: 23, 25, and 26, Jesus speaks His Word to Martha, who in turn runs back home to tell Mary that Jesus is there and is calling for her, perhaps to hear His promises too. She stands at her brother's grave and confidently waits to see Jesus' promise of resurrection fulfilled (while Martha protests that her brother would stink by now!) And in John 12:7, Jesus says that Mary had anointed His feet in preparation for His burial: she knew and believed His promise that He would die. Because Mary was confident in Jesus' promise...

Back in June, I attended a Pastors' Wives Retreat ( the same one as last year ). Much to my surprise, my husband got an email several weeks before the retreat, asking if I'd be willing to bring one of the evening lessons during the week. The topic was Rest In the Lord , and I was more than a little scared to speak on that topic, because I have a tendency NOT to rest, but to fret and worry. Sometimes God has a sense of humor, yes?! One of the Scripture passages given me was the one about Mary and Martha. You know the one, where Martha is running around getting all the things ready for Jesus and his disciples to eat with the family, and she looks out and sees Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus . . . when there's work to be done! (Luke 10:38-42) I began to study about Mary, who is actually one of my favorite Bible characters ( Ruth is my all-time favorite ), and one afternoon the outline came together for my lesson from three Scripture references to Mary. I thought I'd ...