The Power of Words

The Proverbs 31 Woman devotion (http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/) was a catalyst for a series of thoughts this morning.

If we are God's workmanship, His masterpiece, and we are to esteem (treasure, value) others above ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4), why do we as a society tend to chip away at the armor of confidence that our loved ones wear. A scripture in Ephesians (4:29) I quote quite a bit to the girls...."do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouth other than which is good or necessary to build others up." My husband and I agreed that the home needed to be the one place that the girls felt secure in a very insecure world. So we will work (we are not perfect ourselves and do tend to fall into old habits)to monitor the talk that comes out of the girls mouths, as well as ours. I have listened to many christian couples and they, too, fall into the worldly sexiest jabs. I ask you to consider the model of marriage you are representing for your children or younger couples that may be looking to you for a model. Would you want their future husbands or wives to build your son or daughter up with encouraging words or words that are designed to put them down and possible keep them down? Belittling her or him, throwing little daggers at their esteem as a child of God as your child?

Unfortunately, I have witnessed the chain of events that evolve when a spouse does not esteem their husband/wife on more than one occasion....A very dear friend's husband spent time breaking my friend down, not building her up, not accepting her for who she was. My friend came close to the edge of falling into another's arms. She wasn't even aware of what was happening until she realized that her emotional needs were being met by another man and she was a trainwreck ready to happen. Someone dear to me had to point out how I spoke to my husband early on in our marriage. I had no respect in my words or tone (I still slip up). Changing my words and my tone has changed my marriage for the better. In turn, my husband has changed his ways with me to be more loving, without me saying a word. I believe God rewards our every effort to become better imitators of Christ.

Words are very powerful, much more powerful than I think anyone of us could even begin to fathom. I want to encourage you to consider your words. We are to be in the world, not of the world.

James 3:1-12

Leap of Faith

The phrase "leap of faith" is becoming a common phrase here, I am beginning to wonder if there is anything between here and there besides a big open span of "unknown". My husband was scheduled to ride the BP MS150 from Houston to Austin this past weekend (yes, that is a bicycle ride). Both his riding partners had to back out at the last minute for various reasons the week before. This left my husband to choose to ride on his own or not. He is a man of integrity and when he wrote his letter for pledges a couple of months ago, he gave his word and commitment. Thursday night he received additional sizable pledges from friends of our friend with MS. An additional layer of conviction of integrity was laid on him...and suddenly on me! ME? Suddenly, it overcame me that I was to ride with my husband. God had laid the idea in me earlier in the week and my husband and I rationally discussed it and dismissed it. Logistics played a huge role getting to Houston and getting back from Austin and care for our girls. Not to mention the longest I rode was 20 miles. Now, the feeling to ride with him was so heavy that any way I looked at alternatives or excuses did not leave me with peace. Ok, please understand spontaneity is not of my fiber. Flying by the seat of my britches is woven in my character.

My beloved and I prayed that if this was in fact God's will for me that the logistics were now in His hands and He had to make all the pieces fall into place. That meant asking for help. (Side note, I believe that asking for help goes against the grain of our self sufficient society, therefore, negates the development of the community that the earlier church modeled and that God desires for His children, you and I.) And He did provide all the pieces. One friend drove us half way to Houston, another picked us up. My brother was going to drive us down half way from Austin and another pick us up. One friend had our girls Friday afternoon, another that night, another Saturday until my parents arrived in town to take them till we got back on Sunday.

My husband had so graciously accepted, as I, that I was to walk in obedience and trust that God would see me through 150 miles peddling my bike. The scripture that kept repeating itself to me was "My thoughts are higher than your thoughts and My ways are higher are than your ways". The simple truth was I couldn't see the bigger picture and it wasn't for me to see.

Even though my nerves started to fray, I knew there was no alternative to obedience.

Thunderstorms were headed across Texas Saturday. The MS website Thursday night stated RAIN OR SHINE. Friday night after we made our relay trek to Houston and we had carbed up, the website stated that the first leg from Houston to La Grange had been CANCELED. Whoa! My husband and I sat in disbelief for a moment or two. He broke the silence and asked what I thought. I said I was at peace to go back home. He was, too.

Looking back, I'm still not sure what God's plan was. In my mind's eye I see many possibilities:

• Practice for my lack of spontaniety.
• Time with my husband away from responsibilities of mom and home.
• Witness to our friends or others who hear this.
  
• Overcoming my anxiety of a 150 mile bike ride for a worthy cause and my friend with MS to I WILL DO IT with my husband next time.
• Or was it a test of my faithfulness? I can trust Him, but could He trust me?
  

I am completely confident that we were used for His glory, but its not for me know the how, who or the why. I was just lucky to know the where.

Hold Fast

As I spontaneously (completely against every fiber of my being) took off for a bike ride after finishing cleaning the floors (carpet and tile) that so desperately needed it, if for any reason my sanity. I rode toward the National Seashore seriously needing to work out a flesh versus spirit frustration. Ever get in a funk and you just can't identify the source? I know the truths of God's word..."the joy of the LORD is my strength" "set your mind on things above" "whatever is true, whatever it noble...think on these things", but doesn't some days just seem more challenging than others? Those truths just couldn't seem to permeate my heart. That was my mood ALL weekend. My husband should have just locked me in the back bedroom and gave me food from under the door. Unfortunately, moms just can't "check out". I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut, even though that in itself could have been misunderstood, if my husband hadn't been the wiser. So as I am riding and fighting the wind pumping at 27mph with gusts up to 39mph, I am appreciating the workout simply from the standpoint of the mental frustration I was experiencing. As I held tight my handlebars and fought the gusts that seem determined to take me down, I thought about my grasp on God and how it is tighter during the times I feel Satan trying to derail me. I don't dare lessen my grasp of my savior when I feel the pressures around lest they bowl me over.

Hold fast and keep firmly what I preached to you, unless you believed at first without effect and all for nothing. I Corinthians 15:2 AMP
....let us hold fast our confession (of faith in Him). Hebrews 4:14 AMP

Be of good courage

In the light of today's volatile economics, in light of your challenges whether it be financial, emotional, the daily grind, marital, relationships, on and on and on....
Joshua 1:5-9
"No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life...I will not leave you nor forsake you...Be strong and of good courage...Only be strong and very courageous...do according to all the law....commanded you...that you may prosper...you shall meditate in it day and night....then you will make your way prosperous, and then have good success...be strong and of good courage; do no be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go"

To blog or not

My dear friend and I have been having this email dialogue about accepting the latest techno craze or not. We are both young moms with young children, ok she's younger than I am, and young is a state of mind, right? Anyway, I don't have a cell phone. Therefore, I don't text. I haven't joined facebook and I don't twitter. Does this make me archaic? Yet, here I am blogging? What is about putting our thoughts out there in cyberspace for all to see? My friend made a viable point that once it's out there, there is no taking it back. Much like our verbal words. I find this could be a tool, if used probably. See, as it is I have to work hard to manage my time so that I manage my God-annointed, God-appointed job well (that is a wife and a mom). So my cyper-bloggin' ladies. Why do you blog?

To Shoe Mamma

Thanks for the encouragement. I am so new at this that I went to your blog and couldn't figure out how to post there to say "thank you". So should you come back, how ever you stumbled upon my blog out of all the blogs out there..thank you.
Mags

She Speaks Conference

Well, I am doing the one thing of many techno things I never imagined myself doing. Blogging...my own blog that is. I have read other blogs and thought to myself, why would I want to share so much on the internet? What happened to personal, face to face conversations? Well, I read Proverbs31 devotions daily. They have some great writers. Lysa Terkeurst is one of my favorite writers. Anyway, I read today on the website about scholarships available for this years "She Speaks Conference" ..following that to her blog, I find I have to have a blog in order to enter this scholarship contest. Go figure. Anti-techno girl improvising, adapting and overcoming.

I wanted to attend this conference last year. Being a wife, mom and at that time a ladies bible study facilitator for nearly six years, that desire just never made it to the top of the list of things to be done last year. Now, God has led me out of that of bible study facilitator to women's ministry 'facilitator'. So, now I find some additional teaching, coaching, training, is needed to move on and grow that which God has brought together. I have prayed for a mentor. A few possiblities have come and the equal desire is not evident or it's not God's timing. "She Speaks Conference" is coming this year and I began wondering ...could this be the vehicle in which God will use to infuse me with new ideas, to discover a gifting that I can't see because I am blinded by my own misbeliefs, could this possibly be a chance to unlock those dreams that I have stuffed aside not believing that those dreams could be mine?

You see the "She Speaks Conference" takes that desire of a wanna be/maybe I could be speaker, writer, and those women's ministry leaders and encourages them to perservere, encourages them to grow, equips them with a great cloud of witnesses to run the race throwing off that which hinders them to live the life that Christ came to give abundantly and to share it! Ladies walk away equipped and sure of their gifts and their abilities as a writer, speaker or women's ministry leader. I need that. I need to see the equipping that God has given me or else He wouldn't have spoken to me and formulated Heart2Heart Women's Ministry at our church. He wouldn't have pulled together this great group of ladies to fulfill the calling of ministering to the ladies of our church and reaching out to the community. I need that encouragement.

So here I go! The rest is up to God.

http://www.shespeaksconference.com/

http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/