Let Us Pray!

As this 4th of July comes to a close, I felt the need to blog some of my thoughts regarding our country and our freedoms. My family and I have spent the day indoors just being together. I've used a good part of the day to think about what today means for me, for my children, and for my grandchildren.

I am a patriotic red-white-and-blue-blooded American. The very sight of the flag still gives me goosebumps and tears. The men and women of our great nation who wear the uniform will always have my great respect and admiration. I am so blessed to be born in a nation that was founded on Biblical principles where freedom is mine.

Having said all that, I cannot help but think that the country I was born in is not the same country today. I hardly recognize it anymore. It seems we as a nation are getting farther and farther away from what our forefathers envisioned, what they fought for. We see daily in the news stories of legislation that our "leaders" are pushing that is taking away the freedoms that we have taken for granted. More and more, our nation is turning into a modern day Sodom as homosexuality is becoming commonplace and if you do not support gay marriage, then you are intolerant and unloving. Unborn babies, yes, I said babies, are being murdered daily all across this great land, and we are debating as to whether they feel the pain of abortion and if so, at what gestational age. Sin is not being called sin. Christians are not stepping up and taking a stand. I am downright afraid for our country if we continue down this path. God is not pleased with our nation as a whole. I believe we are only beginning to see God's judgment on us.

I am praying for a revival in our land. I am praying for that revival to start right here with me. I am praying for God to work in the lives of Christians across this nation. I am praying that we can get back to sharing Christ with the lost. He is the only answer to what ails us. If you are reading this and you are Christian, won't you join me in prayer for a revival like we have never seen? Will you stand up for what's right when it seems the rest of the world is against you? If you do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, I would beg you to get that settled before it is eternally too late.

In closing, I have a verse that has been on my heart for quite some time along these lines. II Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Let us pray.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

I can be so stubborn sometimes as my husband would be the first to point out. After 15, yes, 15 years of marriage, I finally realized a valuable truth about loving my husband. Are you ready for this? Here goes!

I am commanded to love my husband.

 

Sounds simple, right? Wrong! God wants me to love this man that He has given to me whether I believe he deserves my love or not. So often in my marriage, I have been guilty of holding back because I don't feel loved or secure or valued. Love between a husband and his wife is supposed to mirror the love God has for us. More often than not, it is distorted and ugly, not at all what the Lord desires for us. To make matters worse, this is what we are demonstrating for our children, to place conditions on love.

 

Where would I be if God loved me that way? I would be dying in my sins to be forever separated from Him for all of eternity. The Lord and everyone around me knows that is what I deserve, not the lavish love He bestows on me moment by moment. So, why do I find it so hard to love my husband the way that God loves me?

 

It boils down to how I love God. I am commanded to love God with all of my heart, soul, and mind. If I am loving God the way that I should, I will be able to love my husband no matter what. (Afterall, he is God's gift to me). What does that love look like? It is caring for him when he is sick as well or better than I care for our children when they are sick. It is giving him an impromptu massage. It is dropping whatever I am doing when he walks in the house at the end of a long day just to give him a kiss and tell him how much I love and appreciate him. It is praying for him like my life depends on it. It is forgiving me before he asks for my forgiveness. It is admitting when I am wrong and not telling him when he is. It is reverencing him in front of our children and the rest of the world. It is allowing him to lead as the Lord leads him. It is listening to him. It is making time for him when I have not gotten to everything on my to do list. It is putting him before myself and our children. You get the picture! It is so much more but that is a start.

 

I am going to fail as I often do but at least I see that loving John will come much easier if I love him the way Christ loves me. Unconditionally!

 

I hope this helps other wives to love their husbands better. Titus 2:4 says, "That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children." Let us learn to love our husbands better so that they can be the men of God that He wants them to be.



What are these trials for, anyway?

Since surrendering to the ministry almost two years ago, John and I have faced numerous tests and trials along the way. I have often had to ask, "What am I supposed to be learning from this experience?" Everything from illness to financial difficulties to losing loved ones and everything in between. We may never know why we face trying times in our lives but I am always aware that God is still God and nothing can take Him by surprise. My desire is that He will receive glory and my praise in the good times and the bad.

Most recently, I failed miserably at handling a trial well. Quite honestly, I was on the verge of going into a deep depression and I probably would have if I had not been in the Word and praying. It seems all three of my children (or at least two of them) have whooping cough. They have all been vaccinated and we took the necessary precautions. Nevertheless, we find them coughing so hard that they have trouble catching their breath and sometimes even vomit. I was told originally that the cough was due to severe allergies and that given time, it would pass. We carried on as usual going to church, the grocery store, and friends' houses. We even sent our oldest to camp for the first time ever. So, as you can imagine, I have felt an enormous weight of guilt. I just know that I most certainly will not be nominated for Mom of the Year. Afterall, not only have my kids been suffering but they have potentially infected others.

So, what have I learned from this? I have learned that my faith is too easily shaken. I have learned that Satan will use anything to get me to believe his lies. I have learned that I am double minded. I have learned that circumstances are beyond my control. I have learned that people are often way more understanding and compassionate than I give them credit for. I have learned that I have so much more to learn in my lifetime.

I have been reading the book of James in my daily quiet times. Let me just tell you that if you have never studied it, James can be a tough pill to swallow! Thankfully, my Heavenly Father knew just what I needed during this storm of whooping cough. I needed to look into the mirror of His Word and see that I was not walking with Him as I should. If I had been, I would not have begun to believe the lies of the devil who was ready to devour me.  James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." If I love Him with all of my heart, soul, and mind, He will help me to endure whatever may come my way. I will come through the fire better than when I went in.

Can I encourage and pray for you in whatever trial you may be facing? The Lord wants to make His children "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." You can rest in knowing that whatever is weighing you down is not bigger than our God. He wants your best. So learn from Him and allow Him to work in your life.