Meeting All My Needs and Desires

It has been many years since I have learned the life-changing truth that my husband cannot meet all of my needs...The need for happiness, security, purpose, value, peace, and contentment. I have learned and continue to experience, "My God shall supply all (my) needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 4:19) He is the perfect Lover of my soul. Relieving my husband of this role, which employed an endeavor impossible to actualize, changed my marriage. I could then begin to ENJOY my husband, not focusing on his short comings in meeting my needs. Really, if every woman could "get" this, I think that our culture would be elevated! How many marriages are stressed because the wife unconsciously or not manipulates her husband to get him to meet her needs and ends up angry and frustrated.

However, after reading and pondering Day 21 in The Love Dare, I became aware of present desires that I have for my husband to fulfill. I want more- more depth of love in our relationship, more intimacy, more comraderie. Are these desires wrong or misplaced? In this case, no, I do not think so. I did not endeavor to take the "Dare" because my marriage was bad or falling apart. Rather, I wanted more! to have the ultimate marriage experience on this earth and I would do my utmost to make that happen! I felt a push to strive to have an exceptional marriage as a testimony of God's handiwork and for my pleasure and satisfaction! But what about just having a "good marriage" to a "good man"? What is wrong with that? Is that not enough? My husband is thoughtful, loving, a great provider, friend, and a wonderful father. I sense the Holy Spirit leading me to gain a new perspective. One that confidently knows that all of my needs are met through Christ Jesus, and enjoys my marriage completely at this moment, accepts my husband at this moment.

Will I stop praying that our hearts would continue to bond and experience the depth, breadth, and height of the love of God? No. But my intent is to pray and live from the postition that we are "joint heirs of the grace of life". (1Peter 3:7) If today is as good as my marriage ever gets, I will be most blessed. And I do have a great marriage now!

How about you ? What is your perspective today?

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Hide God's Word in Your Heart

Hide God's Word in your heart- store it up for the future.

"Let the word spoken by Christ the Messiah have its home in your hearts and minds and dwell in you in all its richness as you teach and admonish and train one another..."

-Colossians 3:16a, Amplified

As I grow older and my walk with the Lord deepens, I am more and more convinced that He wants His word to become a part of us.  His word is all that shall stand.  His word is our anchor in this ocean wave-tossing life.  His word is an expression of Himself in His Son Jesus (John 1:1,14)  Scripture is His annointed word to us.

In a recent post I encouraged you to eat daily of His word till it becomes part of your muscles and marrow.  And it does; His word becomes entwined in your heart and soul.  His Word abides in us (1John 2:14)  His Word becomes a part of us that is ready to instruct, exhort, and encourage when the opportunity requests it. (2Timothy 4:2)

I have also been thinking that one of the best ways to incorporate His word (notice the word "incorporate" literally means "to put into the body") is to go beyond reading it.  But to read it, pray over it, meditate on its meaning and the One who speaks it, and to MEMORIZE IT.  Jesus tells us, "Remember the word that I said unto you." (John 15:20a)

So I am bringing accountability to myself as I write, that I will begin the discipline of memorizing a verse a week. (I know some fabulous ladies who are memorizing entire books; a verse or two a week is enough to feed me for now.)

If you want to endeavor in this challenge with me, keep the prize before you- His Holy Spirit brings to your remembrance His word in you.  You will be a healing salve to the hurting soul and a balm to her who needs a word of encouragement in due season.  The effective words will be on the tip of your tongue when disciplining your children and the Spirit will bear witness in them that what you are saying is true.  When battles with the enemy cannot be avoided you will fight him with our weapon of defense and offense- His word. (Ephesians 6:17)

Are you ready? 

Linking today with WomenLivingWell and RaisingHomemakers.

Eat of God's Bread Daily

The exhortaion for today, the spiritual application of yesterday's practical one is to eat of God's Bread- daily.  Eat of it till the Word becomes a part of you, till it makes up the fibers of your sinew and muscles of your heart.

"Man shall not live by bread alone

but by every word that comes from the Father in heaven." 

-Matthew 4:4

Surround yourself with it.

Memorize it.

In a practical sense place index cards above your kitchen sink and bathroom mirror.  Have your bible handy by your favorite chair.  Read the Word together after dinner while everyone surrounds the table.

And dear blogger-reader- read it for yourself.  Do not depend on receiving your daily spiritual manna from what you read on blogs.  Grab the Book and read it to yourself.

Meditate on it.  Pray the Holy Spirit to reveal new, fresh revelation of it.

Jesus said that we are kept alive by its daily consumption.  Are you full or hungry?

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Make Room for Unexpected Happenings

Is your life so jammed that you have no room for unexpected happenings?

Yesterday you were exhorted to clean out your cupboards and pantry.  Throw away the spoiled, organize the food stuff still waiting to be eaten, and plan for its use.

Purposeful living is just like that too.  Periodically we need to throw away those things that jam up the flow of good, simple living.  Maybe it is your schedule that is jammed.   Maybe it is unrealistic expectations.   Maybe it is your attitude.

Today I want you to be aware of having margin in your life.  Do you remember the lined notebook paper that you used in school?  There was a red line at the left side and a blue one at the right that showed you where to begin and end your writing sentences so that you would have margin around your paper.  We need that same margin in our lives.  Think of a bumper zone where that little bit of cushion prevents bang-ups.

Now I know that with school beginning most of our lives at this time of year get so busy we feel in a whirl wind.  School lessons, chauferring, piano lessons, soccer games.  Some of us have needy toddlers and babies, constant dirty dishes, doctor's appointments, and a multitude of other activities beckoning our presence. 

Try- just try- to schedule if you can some time when you and your family does not have anything to do.  You will be most pleasantly surprised how that time will get filled up, and it certainly will.  Maybe with a spontaneous stroll with your husband or child that you do not usually get one on one time with.


I also need to remind myself about my expectations.  Having expectations so high for myself and others does not allow room for mess-ups and even failures.  We are all human and bound to disappoint one another many times this side of heaven.  Allow some room for falls to be done gracefully so that they (or you) can get back up.  Nothing stifles and smothers like judgement.
 
And lastly for today allow some room in your attitude that there is always more to learn and more wisdom to be gained.  No one likes a know-it-all.  Keep the humble attitude that there is always more room to grow.  Like Paul who professed, "Not that I have already obtained...or been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus as took old of me....I press on....all of us who are mature should take such a view of things."  -Philippians 3:12-15 (in part) NIV
 
Dear sister make room in your life for unexpected happenings and see what good things await you.
 
 
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Catch the Little Foxes

What clutter is is your life? stealing away precious time?  Causing havoc because of disorganiziation?

What little foxes come in and steal your peace and joy?  worry? fear? discontent?

Yesterday's homemaking tip was to sort through your food storage containers.  It does not take much brain but it does take encouragement as a catalyst sometimes because chores like that never seem to get done until they MUST be dealt with.

But isn't life itself like that?  Are not our hearts like that?  We have little stressors in our lives that we allow to eat away at our peace bite by bite and we do nothing about it.  We have small issues in our hearts that put just a little fog on an otherwise sunny demeanor.

I am not speaking of the things that are out of our control, like the rain preventing a planned picnic or the missing hot dogs that you bought yesterday for today's lunch and now they are gone.  With inspection you discover that your teen age son had a hot dog binge at midnight.  Well, maybe THAT one could have been in your control with better  "tell-me-when-you-plan-on-eating-the-hot-dogs" parental discipline.  Most everything is really out of our control.  However, most of what we allow into our schedules and hearts is within our realm of supervision and submission.

It is the little things that grow into big things that we are exhorted to guard and get rid of.

"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." -Song of Solomon 2:15

And it is the little things that trip us up is it not? 

You are too tired to host the bible study at your house, but you are the one who invited everyone.

Your friend just bought the pair of pumps that you have been wanting and could not afford.

Your niece just got a scolarship to Yale while you are struggling to get your teen to remember multiplication.

Your kids are driving you to Google "trips to Mars" but you are the one who wanted so many- kids that is.  (Or so my husband has reminded me.)

These are some temporary causes of irritation- if we let it.  The longer I live the more I am realizing that PERSPECTIVE is everything.  EVERYTHING.  Perspective can take my mind and heart to a place of anger or depression before I know how it got there.   But perspective can also be the weapon that kills those little foxes eating all of my good grapes.  Perspective can be the salt that preserves my fruit.

I only have space to address few issues that spoil your fruit.  I have brought up scheduling and the HEART which is a huge area all unto itself.  But simply, as for scheduling- manage it.  Do what you have to do, plan for what you want to do (some of the time), and allow space to fill in your schedule when life's "didn't expect that" times arrive.

As for your heart.  Well, we have been given the entire bible to instruct us on what to do about it.  Guard your heart and keep your perspective His.  That is enough water and sunshine to keep the fruit growing.  And have no mercy on the little foxes.  They grow up and when they do they eat more.  And they meet other foxes and have baby foxes and then you are dealing with a whole lot of them.

What little foxes will you be hunting down today?

Linking today with other hunters from



by John Rae 1918 

Shouts of GRACE

For two months now I have been writing journal posts that I have been referring to as "beads on a necklace".  Each bead has been my heart being molded by the Holy Spirit.  If you like read the first bead read here.  I think it is fitting to write about the clasp that holds all these beads together to form a beautiful necklace.  It is GRACE.

Grace- the wonderful, amazing, awe-inspiring phenomenon that will take me an eternity to understand the depths of.

The Greek definition is the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life- CHARIS.  Isn't that beautiful?   Doesn't charis sum up the gospel succintly?  The Father has drawn us, Spirit to spirit working on our hearts and we are able to know God-intimately.  Our whole is made new and we take this grace into us, our days and His goodness is reflected in our lives.

In thinking about the past three months that is what I am left to think of when heart aches are healed, sorrows are relieved, anger is vanquished- GRACE.  He influences, He IS the influence upon my heart and my perspective changes to His.  And in Him I have nothing to fear- nothing to fear.  Oh, how good is that?

His grace are threads weaving in, through, around, between our lives making them into a beautiful relfection of His loving kindness towards us.

Read these scriptures s-lo-w-l-y.  Bask in them.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you fresh revelation.

"...therefore the Lord earnestly waits- expecting, looking and longing- to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you." -Isaiah 30:18 Amplified. 

The Lord LONGS to be gracious to you!

Two months ago I was so down, I was not sure of when I would get up again.  But even with trials and tests, battles, effects of sin, circumstance, and chance He remains gracious.

 And I am sure of this for me and for you..."that He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ right up to the time of His return, developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you (and me)." -Philippians 1:6 Amplified

At that time He will put the very last stone of our lives into place- the cap stone- with shouts of "Grace! Grace!' to it.  Zechariah 4:7  For all will see by the reflection in our lives that His divine influence has been upon our hearts.

So as I conclude this chapter of my life having strung beads and a centerpiece together I fasten the clasp and shout, "Grace! Grace to it!"
  


I am walking with Him toady and living well because of His grace.  Visit others who are doing the same.http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Trust and be Green

I took my son to place that I thought as a parent I would never have to do.  I LEFT him there as I had to do for his good.  Rather he left himself there.  But I was his chauffeur and as a mother I felt the pangs of the reality this represented and the pangs of knowing what he would have to go through.

Returning to the car tears stained my cheeks and how I wished that I had taken my sun glasses with me.  When I was confined to the safety of my car heart groanings erupted that only a mother can know.  Moans from my heart depths that make me wonder if the Spirit groans like that for us when He is interceding for us.  No, scripture says that those groanings cannot be uttered, but because I have heard these groanings uttered only a few times by myself or from another mother in anguish I was thinking they are so analogous to be similar.  Expressions of sound erupting from a mouth that cannot form words.

"Oh, Lord," I moaned.  Then I began to form prayer words out of my emotions.

Clearly and poignantly the Spirit of God stated, "TRUST Me."

Uuuuummmm, I did not know that was coming- "OK".

That was all but that was enough.  I do not know His plan.  I do not know if things will turn out the way I desire.  I do not know the course of events that will transpire or their timing.  I just knew in that moment (and now) that the Spirit of the One who weaves all things for my good and has my son's eternal interests in His heart told me to "trust Him".


It was a definitive command. 

That was two days ago and since my hours have had prayers full of confidence for my son.  Not confidence in my prayers but confidence in the One who answers them.

I just read this scripture which prompted me to share this with you in a post.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in Him.

For he will be like a tree planted by the waters

that sends out her roots by the river,

and does not see when heat comes, 

but her leaves are always green. 

She has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit."

-Jeremiah 7:17, NKV & NIV

The man (or woman) who trusts in the Lord hides in Him for refuge, she is confident in Him, is sure of Him, and is bold because of Him. She abides in the vine and because so, her roots drink deep of His everlasting supply of water.

Do you feel in a spiritual drought?  Here in central PA we have gone weeks without replenishing rain and our gardens and lawns are suffering for it.  Walking barefoot on the brown hard grass even hurts.  Nature waits for His supply of rain but dear believer we can have our thirst quenched and roots saturated as we trust Him.

A simple definitive command- "TRUST Me."  Must we know the rest to do so?



I am walking with Him today and living well with many other blessed souls.  Visit them.