ByGrace

Prayer can do anything that God can do. E. M. Bounds

Five O'clock Tea Here is the devotional I gave to our ladies Saturday. This is from the ladies' luncheon I attended with my mother-in-law in Georgia last month. Making a Difference We all know someone who has made a difference in our lives in one way or another. I remember a Sunday school teacher I had in about the 5th or 6th grade. She was dating her future husband, and my dad pointed out to me that I should watch her closely, because she was a lady, and I would do well to imitate her when I was grown up. She made a difference to one little girl, without even knowing it. I had another teacher, in 7th grade, who took me under her wing and befriended me outside of class. She took me to her home and to an art museum, because at that time, my mother was very sick. She made a difference. Another friend I met when Wes was in the Air Force. Up to that time, I had been a nervous wreck any time that Wes was away from me. Sue helped me learn to care for my children better, ta...

I have gotten to know Pam, a wife living in Jerusalem, through her blog Good News From a Far Country . It's been fun to see how she lives there in Israel. Today, she posted an entry about her brother and sister-in-law who are missionaries in Malawi, Africa, about a women's meeting they had recently. This was a first for these ladies in Africa, and they responded whole-heartedly to everything about it. I sat with tears streaming down my face as I read the story and looked at the pictures. There is a push for the "empowerment of women" in Malawi, where women are largely ignored. This meeting was planned to "empower" these ladies with the truth of God's Word so they can live a life pleasing to God. I wanted to share it with you so that you can see what the Lord is doing among our sisters in the Lord in this one small part of Africa. I encourage you to go over and read this entry , and go on to visit her brother's website, Bible Baptist Church i...

Many of you probably read this blog entry on Biblical Womanhood today. I saw it and it just absolutely rang so true for me. I remember being asked a couple of times on deputation, "So what will YOUR ministry be, Susan?" I always answered that my #1 priority would be the ministry of being Wesley's wife, then Sam, Andrew, and Beth's mom. After that, I'd be doing whatever Wes needed me to do, such as teach, play piano, etc. Even if you're not in full-time ministry, you should read this article by missionary-wife Joy . I ask, along with Joy, "Where did we get the idea that to be a godly woman we must participate in all church activities, as well as lead as many of them as we possibly can? There's this idea that doing "ministry" can only take place outside the home, and that only "real" ministry can be done when the husband and kids are out of the way." The highest ministry we can have as women is to be a help meet for the...

Here's another outline from the ladies' conference I attended last month. This session was taught by Mrs. Krysten Vestal, whose husband is on staff of Grand View Baptist Church in Beavercreek, OR. She was raised in a very strongly Christian family, and she and her husband are now raising their children in the same type of family. She had some very good points about addicting ourselves to our children, and she was also very easy to follow and takes notes from! ;) I even made this one into a real outline! An addiction is what you think about in your spare time I. Desire to care for your children A. Make Christ the center of your home B. Love your children 1. Love = Time 2. Live in the moment C. Correct your children II. Desire to protect your children A. Protect them from physical harm B. Protect them from spiritual harm 1. Read the Bible 2. M...

Since it's been almost a month since I attended the ladies' conference , I thought now might be a good time to share another session with you. I'm prompt, if nothing else! ;) This session was taught by Mrs. Julie Shaver, pastor's wife of Evergreen Baptist Church in Bellingham, WA. This is the church that allowed Samuel to stay in their office building while he worked during the weeks of Christmas Break, so I've gotten to know Mrs. Shaver just a bit over the past few months. I must say that I have very great respect for her and her husband. They have 10 children; number 11 is due probably any day now. Their children are well-disciplined and polite, their home is neat and clean, and the parents are full of energy and life and fun. It's always been a joy to meet and visit with them. So I was especially pleased when I found that Mrs. Shaver was teaching one of the sessions. It just makes a lesson come to life a bit more when you know the person teaching it, ...

Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope By Don & Susie Van Ryn; Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak We watched this story on Dateline NBC tonight. It is absolutely amazing! I had actually read about it online yesterday and knew I wanted to get the book. When I realized it was on TV tonight, I was very interested in it. Two young women were involved in the same traffic accident. One survived, while the other died. The problem arose when their identities were mixed up at the scene of the accident and both families just accepted those identities for what they thought they were. For five weeks, one family believed they had lost their daughter, while the other was grateful that theirs had survived. Then the family who thought it was their daughter in that hospital bed began to notice little things that didn't make sense: the shape of her teeth or the color of her eyes were slightly different than their daughter's. This incredible story reveals ho...