Nothing but Dust Perfect Dust

As I sit here a million thoughts are running through my mind.  The are mainly over the devotions I have been reading this week.  I am rereading the devotional Who Can Find A Virtuos Woman?  31 Days for Women By Dr and Mrs. Jim Brown.  Day 2 talked about looking at the pattern and of course had us read Proverbs 31:10-31.  Proverbs 31 has always been my life's goal, but sadly I fall way short.  I was soon to find out an amazing truth the next day.  A truth that I had overlooked these 13 years of marriage.  I am Dust, simple, but true.  God is glorified in my imperfections II Chronicals 16:9 states that God wants to show Himself "strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him."  This means if we as wives, mothers, grandmothers are doing our best and our intentions are to please our husbands and obey.  Then God does and will show Himself through us.  Can you imagine us who are but dust loved, bought, & gloriously saved by God.  God, who has no boundaries.  God who had no beginning and certainly has no end.  This God loved us so much He sent His only begotten Son for us.

To Tell the Truth Is It Really That Hard!!??

I wish to start out by saying that I am NOT angry with my husband or the dear, wonderful friend who pick up and brought home my wonderful new stove.  Accidents happen and after all in the whole realm of things a stove is not something to lose friends or husbands over.  Really folks when I get home to heaven I will not care about some dumb stove.  Also I love my husband and these dear friends more than they will every know this side of heaven. 

NOW THE COMPANY from which we bought the stove VERY UPSET WITH.  You see I felt how they packaged the stove was less than adiquate.  Call me silly, but I was sure that they would pack the box with strophome or bubble wrap, but oh no they only had two little pieces of cardboard in the corners.  Now if this company would have simply said no we cannot help you I would have been disappointed and not shopped at that store again.  This store, however did not end the conversation there, they proceeded to tell me if I would have just said that I opened the box and found the stove in the condition that I had found it in they would have replaced the whole stove.  That is when I informed them that, that would be a lie.  So you will help me if I lied to you, but when I tell you the truth my reward from you is a slap in the face.  What message are we really sending people?  STOP REWARDING LIARS AND START LOOKING FOR HONEST PEOPLE.  Government Officials take note. 

The Clean Allergy

There is one thing you all must now be told. Husbands and Children are allergic to anything CLEAN.  A mother can clean all day and the minute she turns around the allergy attack happens.  First your children may start it out small a simple forget to put something away and then your husband comes home from a hard day at work and throws his stuff down.  There is no know cure for such a thing. However some studies have shown that getting your little ones to help with there messes can curb some of the allergy

BUT BE WARNED they may turn on themselves and dirty what they themselves have just cleaned.

A Time of Looking Back

Tonight my mind is wondering back to the past.  As I set here I still feel some of the wounds from past scraps.  You know the ones I am talking about where you think life is over you have failed and there is no turning back.  Where in that brief moment of your marriage the word DIVORCE has dared come into your vocabulary placed there so neatly by yourself, your spouse, a relative, or even some well meaning christian friend.  Now before I go any further I want to make it clear I have learned that there are times when separation or even divorce is necessary for the safety of that spouse or his/her children.  However that is not a license to go out and get remarried.  Oh no my friend when you made those vows, you remember the ones no one can seem to remember "For better or for worse, In sickness and in wealth, Till death we do part."  well there is more to the vow "Love, Honor, and Obey."  The Lord expects you to honor those vows yes even when you are separated.  Ecclesiastes 5:4 says "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?  For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God."   Anyway I said all that to say in looking back I am so glad that I did not walk away.  While I was never abused by my husband nor has he ever abused our children, we still had problems as in every marriage.  I look back at them now and see them for what they really were, the testing and growing of a marriage that God was trying to transform and grow  this young christian.  It was a time when God took alot of things away from me that I wanted so badly.  Teaching was my passion and though I taught my children it was not enough or so I thought.  It was a time when I thought I had to do something to help myself get saved.  Well God took everything away all the teaching in church the positions I thought were mine.  I was trying to lead my home in the way it should go.  Well needless to say GOD brought me to my knees finally and showed me I KIMBERLY MAE OLINGER WAS WRONG.  Wrong in so many ways.  I realize now the lessons God has brought me through I can look back now these last two years of our marriage and I can finally see growth and more love than one should have for any man.  I can honestly look at my husband and say I trust him.  Will my husband fail?  Absolutely.  Will he make the wrong decisions?   I know he will.  Am I still to obey this fallen creature?  Yep and I am finding the song so true.  "Trust and Obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to Trust and Obey"  I am trusting God and praying for this man He has so graciously gave me.  I will obey, because in the end my husband will give the account.  I will give an account on if I obeyed and prayed.

The Romans Road to Heaven

 

1st you must come to the realization that you are a sinner in need of a Savior
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"

2nd there are consequences for being a sinner
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of ...God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"

3rd there is a remedy for the consequences. We don't have to go to hell.
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"

4th and finally there is but one and only one thing you must do to be saved
Romans 10:9,10,&13 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever sall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"

McKameys "One Day I Will"

Remember turn off the music box on the side bar and tune in to this awesome song!

One Small Step Forward, One Giant Step Back

Here I am and the Lord has once again put on my heart to type.  You know He must know me really well cause I am not a bit tired.  Anyway when I last wrote I had a mess with some cookies and I thought I had really learned that it is better to laugh at yourself then to let my children see me angry over some dumb, burnt cookies.  Well guess what, Sunday morning guess who comes to visit the Olinger household.  Yep you guessed it that Old Pain in my backside Satan and a going on teenager.  I blew my cool over something somewhat important (confused yet).  Well not to embarus this going on teenager, but it was something daddy and mom failed to teach, because after all we are human too.  Tonight I began to think about all this and a thought came to mind and heart.  How many times do we stand back after we have learned something and think WOW, I have REALLY LEARNED THIS only to find out that our Heavenly Daddy is there holding us up from behind and smiling at us cause we gained that much needed convidence.  Then we go into that two year old mood (admit it we are all children at heart at least in God's eyes) and we say "I dode it meself" and then ~ SPLAT ~  Well don't get discouraged eventually we'll get there, but I have a feeling that it will be when we get to go home.