Prayer Journaling

Preparing to Speak to your King

Esther had a big matter to speak to her husband about.  This was truly a matter of life and death, a whole nation as well as her own life was in jeopardy.  She was unsure how to approach this situation, unsure what to say or do.  Esther then did one of the smartest, nobelist things toward her husband and for her nation.  She sought God in the matter.  She told her maidens to seek God.  She instructed her nation to seek God on this behalf.

Let's bring that into today's context.  How many times do we have a bad day whether at work or home dealing with little ones or TEENS.  Someone has upset us or something bad has happened.  We of course want to share it with our best friend, our husband, ut in our excitement or frustration we lay it on them as they walk in the door.  (Guilty as charged.)  Sometimes taking a breath before they are due to be home and simply seeking the Lord for the proper spirit works wonders.  The new can wait till everyone says their hellos and calm down.  Many times once I have shared things with the Lord I find the matter is taken care of or my spirit is right now and can share it plainly and simply without myself getting in the way of the message I need to tell him.  It also allows me to know when the time is right to speak with my husband.  Praying before you speak to anyone husband, child, parent, or friend is always a wise thing to do.  Realize we will give an account for all our words.  Matthew 12:36 "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."

A Time to Remember

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from when cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." 
~ Palms 121:1&2 ~

"The memory of the just is blessed...." 
~Proverbs 10:7A ~

"A nation that forgets its past has no future."  ~Winston Churchill~

Memorial Day 2015

Scripture Memory System

Our homeschool has been using this method of memorizing verses for the past few months and we have over 20 some verses down.  I am impressed with the ease of this system and love how well the children are doing with their memorizing skills.  Below are pictures of our box and then a video on how to make your own. 

^{Psalms 119:11} "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

Queen, How are your presenting yourself before your king?

Today in Titus 2 Talk I have posed a question to you.  How are you presenting yourself before your king?  Esther 5:1 " Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house..."  Esther prepared yourself before she went to see her king.  She wanted to win his favour, the favour of her husband.  Are you trying to win the favor of your husband. 
After a hard day of being out in the world our husbands need to come home to the beauty of the bride he married.  We need to prepare our selves physically for our husbands, like we did when we were  trying to win him.  Put on nice clothes, do your hair and make-up for him and smell pretty for him.  When we would go out on a date with him we would never let him see us in old sweatpants, old ratty t-shirt, hair and make-up undone.  No, we made an effort to look our best.  What changed?  Just because we said I do nothing changed he is now our husband and we should, if anything work on it more.  We need to now keep his heart, now that we have won it.  Proverbs 31:11 says "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil."  Whether we want to admit it or not there are other women out in that world who are out for our man.  There are temptations out there that are wanting to draw him away from us and lure him into spoil.  These strange woman use flattery and praise as their weapons of alure.  Proverbs 5:3 "For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:"  Dear christian wife it would do you well to read about the strange woman in proverbs and learn as Esther did the way to present yourself before your husband so that he will have no need for spoil.  So ladies just because our office is now home we need to make an effort to look attractive for our husbands and learn to build him up instead of tearing him down.  Make him feel that he is still the king in your eyes as Sarah said Abraham calling him lord.

Titus 2 Talk

P.S. ~ Some of you ladies may no longer have a husband then what?  In Proverbs 31:1 "The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him."  The person who is speaking is the mother of king Lemuel, who is teaching her son what to look for in a wife.  Our sons and daughters need you to be the example.  They too need to be taught the lesson of Esther. 

Roofers After a Long First Day

   
           The look on his face.....priceless

 

Wow wonder if he's married....Oh silly me HE'S ALL MINE.

 Roofer's Apprentice and a mighty fine one so I hear.

 

An Amazing Lesson Taught & Caught

I have been reading to the children lately this wonderful book, that I read when I was their age.  Hind's Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard, in this book, which is an allegory tells of Much Afraid's journey to the "high places" where our Shepherd is leading her and teaching how to live in the "high places".  We came to a part where the Shepherd asked an interesting question to Much Afraid, "Much Afraid, supposing I really did deceive you?  What then?"  Of course up to this point the journey she had been on had led her away from the high places into valleys, deserts, precipces and they were finally closer to the high places then ever before. Not to mention the enemies that were trying to deter her from going with the Shepherd.  But she said "My Lord - if you can deceive me, you may.  It can make no difference.  I must love you as long as I continue to exist.  I cannot live without loving you."  Shortly after that they continue on the journey and they come to where it looks like they have to make the journey all over again...so she thinks ....so it looks and the Shepherds question comes to mind and she for the first time in the story actually thinks of turning back.  It is in this very moment she screams out to the Shepherd, " Shepherd!  Shepherd! Help me! Where are you? Don't leave me?  the next instant He is their holding her and she is sobbing You may do anything, you may ask anything .....the next thing struck me hard to my very soul.  Much Afraid is crying out O my Lord, don't let ME LEAVE YOU.  Entreat me not to leave thee nor to return from following after thee." All the other hopes and dreams  that the Shepherd had said she could and would have in the high places were nothing except for her love for Him.  She learned she wanted only the Master and nothing more and nothing less.  "Prone to wonder Lord I feel it prone to leave the God I love"  

In this lesson I learned, that though trails and valleys, precipces and loss look daunting and time worry some.  My Lord will never leave me NOR should I have want to leave Him.  His promises are true and He is not a man that He should lie.

Resting at my Shepherd's feet.

Journeying Through Life

 

I have decided to start writing about some of the lessons that I have learned in my going on 18 years of marriage.  Yes, I know that there are several more qualified to blog on this and yes I am still learning.  That is basically what life is about a journey of learning.  I will start by saying that when I was first married I was living a lie.  I was to everyone who saw me a God fearing, born again child of God.  I did everything from sing specials and work with kids and lead others to the saving knowledge of Christ.  I walked it, I talked it but, in my heart I knew the truth I was lost.  If I would have died then I would have been one of those crying "Lord, Lord did I not do all this in your name"  I felt that salvation was not as easy as everyone made it out to be I had to do something.  The Lord finally reached my wicked, evil heart.  It took a combination of several things, but to sum it all up I looked in God's mirror of the fruit of the spirit and I then could no longer fool myself.  I WAS LOST and there is only ONE WAY TO HEAVEN.  I gave my whole heart to Him and Kimberly did NOTHING to deserve it or earn it.  So I was now a saved wife and mother of two.  In all this I found I had been one of those wives that torn down her house and did nothing to build it up.  I had become a nagging, argumentative, incontinent, hateful wife and mother.  

As journey's go I have recently been watching preaching DVDs on submission and anger by S.M. Davis.  I am thinking to myself where were these back when I was a new wife and mother.  When I watched the first one on anger the devil comes to my mind and say well you already ruined your kids, they are too old for you to now turn them around.  Why you have teens (16 & 17)!  This is a big lie straight from the mouth of Satan!  While yes I messed up and raised them in anger I have asked for forgiveness and now am pleading mercy on this case and God can and will make beauty and glory come from this.  All I must do is retrain myself and my children and let God work within my life and my children's life.  Have I seen fruit?  Yes!  OH YES!  Do I see some falling?  Yes!  Does that mean to give up?  NO

Titus 2 Talk

Tree Change Dolls I The Feed

Memories

I was doing some much needed Christmas decorating and getting ready for our Thanksgiving with the Olinger family.  The next day my house would be alive with clattering dishes, children, and the noise of family chatter.  I was excited and a little nervous nothing really new for me.  One phone call life changed,  with no more then a blink of an eye life changed that day.  Through this now valley time that I found myself in memories started folding my heart and mind.   I began thinking of memories of a time past, a time when my own teens were yet babies.  One such memory was when my father was having open heart surgery and Dwight and Linda took and cared for my then infant and toddler as their own.  I could not have asked for more caring people to watch and care for them.  I remember the time when we all lived on the same street my mother-in-love and sister-in-love on one end of the street and them on the other end.  The times me and my children and my cousins children I was babysitting for would take walks and chance to say hi how are ya doing.  I remember how Dwight would take Jacob on walks around the house and to the gardens.  He was always patient, kind and loving uncle, brother-in-love and friend.  I remember my niece recently talking about her memories of her mother.  Our memories are the most precious things that can be handed down to us.  It is within our memories that our loved ones live on.  They live within the laughter and yes sometimes our tears.  As long as we remember them and remember their love for us and ours for them they are never really gone.  As I now can see Dwight in heaven the verse  comes to mind Hebrews12:1 "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"  He is now one of those witnesses that are waiting for our race down here to be done.A final thought, I remember not to long ago my husband was in the card isle with our kids looking for a birthday card for another family member.  I walk down the isle only to find my husband laughing so hard at a card he was literal crying, and our children watching laughing at him.  As long as I live I shall never forget his laughing nor the card he was laughing at.  It is a memory that I shall cherish as long as I live.  I guess I write all this to say cherish each day and each good memories.  The bad ones aren't worth our time and effort remembering.