ByGrace

Pink Peonies Blessed is she whose daily tasks are of love, for her willing hands and happy heart transform duty into joyous service to all her family and God. Blessed is she who opens the door to welcome both stranger and friends, for gracious hospitality is a test of brotherly love. Blessed is she who mends stockings and toys and broken hearts, for her understanding is a balm to her husband and children. Blessed is she whom children love, for the love of a child is of greater value than fortune or fame. Blessed is she who dusts away doubt and fear and sweeps away the cobwebs of confusion, for her faith will triumph over all adversity. Blessed is she who serves laughter and smiles with every meal, for her cheerfulness is an aid to mental and physical digestion. Blessed is she who introduces Jesus Christ to her children, for godly sons and daughters shall be her reward. Blessed is she who preserves the sacredness of the Christian home, for hers is a divine tr...

The Seamstress or, Young Woman Working Pro 14:23 In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury (poverty). I love to read about organization, time management, and homemaking . . . but when it comes to actually doing things - organizing, using my time wisely, making my house a home - well, I'm not quite as good at doing it as I am at reading about it. We can sit and read about a subject all day, but until we get up and do something, there's no profit from it. In all labour there is profit; even if we don't do it perfectly, there is still profit in doing something !

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...

  Make Your Choice by orangejack "Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance ." C. S. Lewis "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15,16

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 ...

  Another Summer Fades Into Fall by Echo9er I'm back! I think. I've missed blogging so much! Several times a week I've thought, "That would make a good blog post," or, "I should tell my blog readers about that!" But I just didn't make the time to return to blogging. I've found a time that I think would be good for writing, so I'm going to see how it works out over the next month or so and see if we can't get this ball rolling again. As I begin blogging again, I'm wondering if there's something you'd like to see on my blog. I started it seven years ago as more of an online diary, but the face of blogging has changed during that time to become more focused. My thoughts are to take this blog in the direction of a help to Christian women, with devotionals and/or Bible studies, book reviews and recommendations - things that would help Christian women grow in their faith as I learn and grow (I haven't arrived, by any m...

Photo by More Good Foundation * Today my personal Bible reading was the book of Ruth. I love that book! Ruth, the person, is one of my favorite Bible characters , and the book itself is one of my favorite books. The reason I love it so much is because it not only illustrates Christ's willingness to redeem us, His Bride, but also because Ruth had so many character qualities for which we should strive as Christian women. For our devotional today, I want to share with you some of the many character qualities I find in Ruth. Just a reminder: you can mouse over the Scripture references and a box with the text of the verse will pop up, so you can read the verses right here and not have to go and look them up! Ruth was loyal. Ruth 1:14-16 Her mother-in-law, Naomi, tried to persuade Ruth to return to her own people and gods, but Ruth insisted on staying with Naomi. I like to think that Ruth had found a better life with Naomi's family than she had experienced as a girl gro...