If you lend a guy $10,000, what are you going to want from him?
You'd want him to pay it back, right?
Would you lend it to him if he wouldn't commit to that?
_________________________________________
This is how I feel about dating. So many people date just to date. Sorry, I'm just not into that. If I give you my trust, I want a commitment that your not going to break my heart. Is that too much to ask, really?
My whole life I've been preparing to be a good wife; I want a good husband. So, I'm not going to compromise. I'm going to stand firm and hold to the promise that God gave me long ago. I'm going to do what I know is right.
This is a conscious choice I made a long, long time ago. You won't really want to do this if your parents pressure you into it, or it's like a rule to you. This has to become your own, a passion and you have to come to the realization that God has the very best for you & He will fulfill His promise. (I know this sounds weird, but my parents are on the look-out for me! They know my heart's choice about this and they are behind me on it. So, I have 2 extra sets of eyes looking and praying for me and my future. Actually, because of this I can rest easy. In the last year or so they have come to me with prospective people they see potential in. They're like "How about so-and-so? I thought you guys had a connection. He's a great man of God and so kind." I'm sorry, but that is just awesome. The awkwardness is all on them now!) If you ever want to chat about this, let me know.
If you don't believe your wife is precious, you won't cherish her.
If you don't believe love is best when it's pure and new, you won't wait patiently for it.
What you believe effects the way you behave.
What do you believe?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Running on Empty
I have a disorder. I have the “I want to see how far I can drive AFTER my low fuel light comes on” disorder. Anyone else with me? I’ve gotten to the point now where I keep track of my mileage after the light, trying to beat my own record for mileage driven after the low fuel light illuminates. I have actually prayed out loud before ” God, you turned water into wine, you multiplied fish and bread, you can multiply the gas in my tank so I can get to the gas station.” And then God said, “I’ve multiplied the gas stations you’ve been driving past for the last two days, you’re on your own!”
I have a spiritual disorder: I have been known to see how long I can live when I’m running on empty. When I’m running on empty in my spiritual life I have come to recognize the low fuel light. When I’m running on empty:
-God’s voice is harder to hear
-I feel promptings from the Holy Spirit less
-I am more irritable
-I am more selfish
-I don’t serve people with a heart of gratitude
-I do ministry out of obligation and not out of the overflow of my heart
The danger for many of us is that we don’t recognize when the spiritual “low fuel” light comes on, or we do and we just ignore it. I can get so good at ignoring it that I actually convince people that I have a full tank, when I'm really running on fumes.
I feel like I am running on empty this week. So… I’m not going to ignore it, I’m not going to “try to get through this week, then I can spend some time refueling.” I’m going to take little steps each day to replenish my heart so that I can live out the mission God has given me as a daughter, worker, friend and woman of God.
Do you try to run on empty? What are some signs in your life that you are running on empty?
I have a spiritual disorder: I have been known to see how long I can live when I’m running on empty. When I’m running on empty in my spiritual life I have come to recognize the low fuel light. When I’m running on empty:
-God’s voice is harder to hear
-I feel promptings from the Holy Spirit less
-I am more irritable
-I am more selfish
-I don’t serve people with a heart of gratitude
-I do ministry out of obligation and not out of the overflow of my heart
The danger for many of us is that we don’t recognize when the spiritual “low fuel” light comes on, or we do and we just ignore it. I can get so good at ignoring it that I actually convince people that I have a full tank, when I'm really running on fumes.
I feel like I am running on empty this week. So… I’m not going to ignore it, I’m not going to “try to get through this week, then I can spend some time refueling.” I’m going to take little steps each day to replenish my heart so that I can live out the mission God has given me as a daughter, worker, friend and woman of God.
Do you try to run on empty? What are some signs in your life that you are running on empty?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Love With Grace
Bringing criticism, judgment, and self-righteousness into relationships is all too easy. Saying "Why didn't you..." "You should have..." or "I told you so" requires no effort. But being gracious is what we need, and that's what Christ calls us to be. We're human. We're going to disappoint one another. We're not always going to meet each other's needs.
"Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8 (NAS)
How has Christ shown you grace, and how can His grace spill over in your relationships?
Ephesians 4:2, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (NIV)
What you can do today to show a gracious attitude toward someone else? Some ideas:
· Let it go.
· Assume the best.
· In your quiet time, think about the different ways God has covered you with grace rather than burdened you with judgment.
· Hang around friends with gracious attitudes. Let their attitudes rub off on you.
· Be careful of keeping company with people who are constantly bashing and bad-mouthing other people. Their bad attitudes are likely to affect yours.
· Don't say, "I told you so."
Now, go! Spread the love - with grace.
"Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8 (NAS)
How has Christ shown you grace, and how can His grace spill over in your relationships?
Ephesians 4:2, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (NIV)
What you can do today to show a gracious attitude toward someone else? Some ideas:
· Let it go.
· Assume the best.
· In your quiet time, think about the different ways God has covered you with grace rather than burdened you with judgment.
· Hang around friends with gracious attitudes. Let their attitudes rub off on you.
· Be careful of keeping company with people who are constantly bashing and bad-mouthing other people. Their bad attitudes are likely to affect yours.
· Don't say, "I told you so."
Now, go! Spread the love - with grace.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Oh.....Valentine's Day.
Are you a woman who doesn't look forward to Valentine's Day? Whether you are single and without a special someone in your life, or married and tired of being disappointed from unmet expectations on the "Day of Romance," you are not alone.
Surveys show that countless women feel frustrated every year and let down on February 14th primarily because of unmet expectations. Women look for expressions of love that will meet their preconceived romantic notions. And many times, even well-intentioned men can't possibly compete.
What if this year you took the man in your life off the hook? What if this year you focused not on your expectations or the disappointment that the "Day of Romance" tends to bring, but on the Author of Romance, Himself, and what He's been trying to show you day in and day out about how cherished you are in His sight? In other words, what if this year you looked to God to meet your expectations first and then let the man in your life (if you have one) do what he can and see it as an added bonus?
For instance, look at the tender words God says, in His Word, to and about His people:
• He calls you unforgettable: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15).
• He says He has always loved you and always will: "...I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).
• He calls Himself your Husband: "For your Maker is your husband - the Lord Almighty is his name - the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit…" (Isaiah 54:5-6a).
• He says His love for you is greater than anything you'll ever find on this earth: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). And then Jesus did just that -- He laid down His life for you...one He calls "friend."
• He promises He'll never leave you: "...Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5b).
• He assures you in His Word that He has chosen you as His own: "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight…" (Ephesians 1:4).
• He assures you in His Word that nothing will be able to separate you from His ever-pursuing love: "... neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).
Reading verses like that, over and over, is like re-reading portions of a love letter that resonates with our hearts. And when our emotional tank is filled - by recognizing that we are valuable, loved and pursued in the sight of an all-knowing, all-loving God - we can then receive whatever our husband or boyfriend has to offer as the "cherry on top." Or, if nothing else is offered us, we still know we are loved and we are more able and stable to deal with whatever does - or does not - come our way.
So go boldly into Valentine's Day this year, my friend, and celebrate it because of how loved and cherished you are in the eyes of the Living God. And if you have a husband or boyfriend who makes an attempt that isn't quite to your expectations, thank God for him and bless him anyway. Your "True Husband" will be watching!
Surveys show that countless women feel frustrated every year and let down on February 14th primarily because of unmet expectations. Women look for expressions of love that will meet their preconceived romantic notions. And many times, even well-intentioned men can't possibly compete.
What if this year you took the man in your life off the hook? What if this year you focused not on your expectations or the disappointment that the "Day of Romance" tends to bring, but on the Author of Romance, Himself, and what He's been trying to show you day in and day out about how cherished you are in His sight? In other words, what if this year you looked to God to meet your expectations first and then let the man in your life (if you have one) do what he can and see it as an added bonus?
For instance, look at the tender words God says, in His Word, to and about His people:
• He calls you unforgettable: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15).
• He says He has always loved you and always will: "...I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).
• He calls Himself your Husband: "For your Maker is your husband - the Lord Almighty is his name - the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit…" (Isaiah 54:5-6a).
• He says His love for you is greater than anything you'll ever find on this earth: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). And then Jesus did just that -- He laid down His life for you...one He calls "friend."
• He promises He'll never leave you: "...Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5b).
• He assures you in His Word that He has chosen you as His own: "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight…" (Ephesians 1:4).
• He assures you in His Word that nothing will be able to separate you from His ever-pursuing love: "... neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).
Reading verses like that, over and over, is like re-reading portions of a love letter that resonates with our hearts. And when our emotional tank is filled - by recognizing that we are valuable, loved and pursued in the sight of an all-knowing, all-loving God - we can then receive whatever our husband or boyfriend has to offer as the "cherry on top." Or, if nothing else is offered us, we still know we are loved and we are more able and stable to deal with whatever does - or does not - come our way.
So go boldly into Valentine's Day this year, my friend, and celebrate it because of how loved and cherished you are in the eyes of the Living God. And if you have a husband or boyfriend who makes an attempt that isn't quite to your expectations, thank God for him and bless him anyway. Your "True Husband" will be watching!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)