Friday, March 27, 2015
Mentoring Woman: IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!
Mentoring Woman: IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!: I am reminded this week of a great quote from the movie "Spiderman". Uncle Ben says to the young Peter Parker, "Remember wit...
IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!
I am reminded this week of a great quote from the movie "Spiderman". Uncle Ben says to the young Peter Parker, "Remember with great power, comes great responsibility." The reason I am thinking about this quote is because my husband and I are taking on a new responsibility this next week. We are grand-puppy sitting! Now to you who have pets, this is not a huge thing, but I was raised where the animals were outside, like hogs, chickens, and cattle. Here is our charge "Daisy" a Teacup Morkie. Isn't she adorable? I am sure before the end of this next week we shall become great friends but I do not take this responsibility lightly!
Even though I realize that I am much bigger and wield more power, I also know that she is the love of my three grandchildren lives, so it is my responsibility to see that their "Daisy" is cared for with the appropriate food, water, and potty breaks. They however, are not fooling me, I think the real motive for this responsibility is because my husband has wanted a dog of his own for some time. Could this be a conspiracy to slowly break me down? Hmmmm
All of this responsibility reminds me of our own Christian walk. Once we except Christ as our personal Saviour, we have power given to us through the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 says: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NIV) But also with that power, comes great responsibility! We can't just sit back, do nothing, and wait for Jesus to appear! Well, that may not be a true statement, I guess we could, but we would not be obeying scripture and miss out on all of the blessings that come with that obedience. Here are just some of our responsibilities:
1. We are responsible to study and know scripture. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15, NIV) "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." (Psalm 119:16, NIV)
2. We are responsible to tells others the good news about Christ. "How, then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15, NIV)
3. We are responsible for raising our children correctly. "Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it." (Proverbs 22:6) "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 11:18-19, NIV)
4. We are responsible for being with fellow believers who can encourage us, pray for us, admonish us, and help us to grow. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25, NIV)
5. We are responsible for our relationship to our spouse. "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay to his bones." (Proverbs 12:4, NIV) "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." (Proverbs 31:10-12, NIV)
The responsibilites listed above are just a tip of the iceberg. It can seem overwhelming at times, but when seen in the light of all that Christ as done for us, it should not become wearisome or seem like a chore. As my husband likes to say, "We don't got to....we get to!" My feelings exactly on "Watching Miss Daisy" this week. I don't got to...I get to! Smart man that husband of mine!
Even though I realize that I am much bigger and wield more power, I also know that she is the love of my three grandchildren lives, so it is my responsibility to see that their "Daisy" is cared for with the appropriate food, water, and potty breaks. They however, are not fooling me, I think the real motive for this responsibility is because my husband has wanted a dog of his own for some time. Could this be a conspiracy to slowly break me down? Hmmmm
All of this responsibility reminds me of our own Christian walk. Once we except Christ as our personal Saviour, we have power given to us through the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 says: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NIV) But also with that power, comes great responsibility! We can't just sit back, do nothing, and wait for Jesus to appear! Well, that may not be a true statement, I guess we could, but we would not be obeying scripture and miss out on all of the blessings that come with that obedience. Here are just some of our responsibilities:
1. We are responsible to study and know scripture. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15, NIV) "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." (Psalm 119:16, NIV)
2. We are responsible to tells others the good news about Christ. "How, then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15, NIV)
3. We are responsible for raising our children correctly. "Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it." (Proverbs 22:6) "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 11:18-19, NIV)
4. We are responsible for being with fellow believers who can encourage us, pray for us, admonish us, and help us to grow. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25, NIV)
5. We are responsible for our relationship to our spouse. "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay to his bones." (Proverbs 12:4, NIV) "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." (Proverbs 31:10-12, NIV)
The responsibilites listed above are just a tip of the iceberg. It can seem overwhelming at times, but when seen in the light of all that Christ as done for us, it should not become wearisome or seem like a chore. As my husband likes to say, "We don't got to....we get to!" My feelings exactly on "Watching Miss Daisy" this week. I don't got to...I get to! Smart man that husband of mine!
Friday, March 20, 2015
Mentoring Woman: Keeping A Resurrected Perspective
Mentoring Woman: Keeping A Resurrected Perspective: Do you realize that Easter is only 16 days away? How did that happen so fast? One week we are in 6 inches of snow, the next week we are th...
Keeping A Resurrected Perspective
Do you realize that Easter is only 16 days away? How did that happen so fast? One week we are in 6 inches of snow, the next week we are thinking about Easter! This week in order to get my mind focused on Easter, I began reading, "The Beloved Disciple" by Beth Moore. This book tells of the life of the Apostle John. Beth begins by recounting John standing at the foot of the cross where the scripture says: "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son, and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home." John 19:25-27, NIV
The scriptures do not tell us anything further about Mary once John takes her to his house. So this got my mind wheels spinning. Did you wonder what that strange noise was? We know that John wrote the book of Revelation on the Island of Patmos. This was the place where he was exiled and died as an old man. So it stands to reason that Mary must have died sometime before then. I mean if you were given the responsibility to care for the mother of the Lord, I am sure you would try to carry it out to the end, right? Don't you just wonder what kind of funeral Mary had? I know there was sadness, just as we all experience today at a funeral, but I would imagine it would have been certainly different because the resurrection perspective would have been much clearer. These men and women (including Christ's own mother) were eye witnesses to the resurrection of Christ! This had to be a life changing event and enabled all the disciples the boldness to preach the gospel to the world even to the point of death, because of their firsthand resurrected experience!
Now when I attend a fellow believers funeral, I have to keep reminding myself where my loved one is, and remind myself through scripture that I will indeed see them again. But the disciples saw firsthand what true resurrection looks like. Christ stood among them (John 20:19) in bodily form, He conversed with them (John 20:21), ate with them (Luke 24: 41-43, NIV) and even appeared to them behind locked doors! (John 20:26) Why wouldn't their lives be changed forever? But the question remains, why wouldn't ours be also? We serve the very same Lord they saw!
Another great eye witness account was at the stoning of Stephen. Scripture says: "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:55-56, NIV) And it goes one to say in Acts 8:1 "And Saul (soon to be Paul) was there, giving approval to his death. I just wondered, after Paul surrendered his life to Christ, he remembered the words Stephen had said giving him the courage to take all the beatings and times in jail that he experienced in his life. He had a healthy resurrected perspective to be sure as found in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
It's hard sometimes to keep this resurrection perspective isn't it? Especially when our mom or dad dies, or we lose another loved one, but we have to keep this resurrected perspective mindset when we go through those tough times.
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (I Corinthians 15:55)
The scriptures do not tell us anything further about Mary once John takes her to his house. So this got my mind wheels spinning. Did you wonder what that strange noise was? We know that John wrote the book of Revelation on the Island of Patmos. This was the place where he was exiled and died as an old man. So it stands to reason that Mary must have died sometime before then. I mean if you were given the responsibility to care for the mother of the Lord, I am sure you would try to carry it out to the end, right? Don't you just wonder what kind of funeral Mary had? I know there was sadness, just as we all experience today at a funeral, but I would imagine it would have been certainly different because the resurrection perspective would have been much clearer. These men and women (including Christ's own mother) were eye witnesses to the resurrection of Christ! This had to be a life changing event and enabled all the disciples the boldness to preach the gospel to the world even to the point of death, because of their firsthand resurrected experience!
Now when I attend a fellow believers funeral, I have to keep reminding myself where my loved one is, and remind myself through scripture that I will indeed see them again. But the disciples saw firsthand what true resurrection looks like. Christ stood among them (John 20:19) in bodily form, He conversed with them (John 20:21), ate with them (Luke 24: 41-43, NIV) and even appeared to them behind locked doors! (John 20:26) Why wouldn't their lives be changed forever? But the question remains, why wouldn't ours be also? We serve the very same Lord they saw!
Another great eye witness account was at the stoning of Stephen. Scripture says: "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:55-56, NIV) And it goes one to say in Acts 8:1 "And Saul (soon to be Paul) was there, giving approval to his death. I just wondered, after Paul surrendered his life to Christ, he remembered the words Stephen had said giving him the courage to take all the beatings and times in jail that he experienced in his life. He had a healthy resurrected perspective to be sure as found in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
It's hard sometimes to keep this resurrection perspective isn't it? Especially when our mom or dad dies, or we lose another loved one, but we have to keep this resurrected perspective mindset when we go through those tough times.
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (I Corinthians 15:55)
 |
| GOD'S TIMING |
God has each thing in our life planned with a time for things to be done,
A time to be happy, a time to mourn, and a time for souls to be won.
A time for each baby to be born, as well as, a time to die.
He also gives us a time to laugh but also a time to cry.
A time for embracing a loved one and a time for a person to speak.
But there is also a time for silence and a time for us to be weak!
A time for war and a time for peace, for we're filled with both love and hate.
And yet each time is appointed and only His wisdom knows the date.
Yes, God has our days numbered yet ever constant in His sight.
Help us Lord to keep this perspective in the realm of eternity's light.
Written by Becky Swymeler in 1975, based on Ecclesiates 3:2-8
Friday, March 13, 2015
Mentoring Woman: "SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK"
Mentoring Woman: "SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK": You know the old saying "Confession is good for the soul?" Well, I was prompted to share a not too pleasant experience I had last...
"SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK"
You know the old saying "Confession is good for the soul?" Well, I was prompted to share a not too pleasant experience I had last week. I was beginning to notice a smell permeating from the refrigerator. At first I told myself, "It is your imagination!" Funny how I love to do that! I think that perhaps if I ignore it, it will simply go away. Then it became ever stronger the next day and the next, until my husband finally said, "I think something smells in this refrigerator!"
I knew it was time to put off the inevitable and clean the beast out. I dumped all the out-of-date milk, leftovers, wiped the shelves, and did a surface clean and thought I had taken care of the problem...WRONG! The night our small group was coming over, I still knew I had not discovered the culprit. I did not want our company to think we had a dead animal decomposing somewhere in our home, so once again "I went in". There behind one of the pickle jars was some broccoli leftovers. Now, if you have never smelled bad broccoli, it has a pungent smell of its own. I handed the offensive container to my husband to take out to the trash with the instructions that unless he had a gas mask handy, he should not remove the lid! It wasn't two minutes after it was removed from the the house that the smell was gone.
Now begins my analogy. Sin is like that in our lives isn't it? We know that something is just not right but we choose to ignore it thinking perhaps it will go away, until one day there it is, a smelly stinky mess! In the Psalms, David had some of the same issues. Listen to what he says:
"Blessed is he whose transgression are forgiven whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man (or
woman) whose sin the Lord does not count against him in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept
silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was
heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin
to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and
you forgave the guilt of my sin." Psalms 32:1-5 (NIV)
Isn't that a beautiful picture of God's forgiveness and grace? I'm not sure why God put this on my heart this week, but if you find yourself suffering from bad choices and there are leftovers that you need to be rid of, God is willing to clean the mess up and let you begin again, All you have to do is ask Him!
Here is a poem I wrote last year about this whole refrigerator experience:
I knew it was time to put off the inevitable and clean the beast out. I dumped all the out-of-date milk, leftovers, wiped the shelves, and did a surface clean and thought I had taken care of the problem...WRONG! The night our small group was coming over, I still knew I had not discovered the culprit. I did not want our company to think we had a dead animal decomposing somewhere in our home, so once again "I went in". There behind one of the pickle jars was some broccoli leftovers. Now, if you have never smelled bad broccoli, it has a pungent smell of its own. I handed the offensive container to my husband to take out to the trash with the instructions that unless he had a gas mask handy, he should not remove the lid! It wasn't two minutes after it was removed from the the house that the smell was gone.
Now begins my analogy. Sin is like that in our lives isn't it? We know that something is just not right but we choose to ignore it thinking perhaps it will go away, until one day there it is, a smelly stinky mess! In the Psalms, David had some of the same issues. Listen to what he says:
"Blessed is he whose transgression are forgiven whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man (or
woman) whose sin the Lord does not count against him in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept
silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was
heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin
to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and
you forgave the guilt of my sin." Psalms 32:1-5 (NIV)
Isn't that a beautiful picture of God's forgiveness and grace? I'm not sure why God put this on my heart this week, but if you find yourself suffering from bad choices and there are leftovers that you need to be rid of, God is willing to clean the mess up and let you begin again, All you have to do is ask Him!
Here is a poem I wrote last year about this whole refrigerator experience:
Friday, March 6, 2015
Mentoring Woman: SAPPY CAN BE HAPPY!
Mentoring Woman: SAPPY CAN BE HAPPY!: Webster's Dictionary defines "sappy" as embarrassingly sentimental. Yep, that's the way I felt this week, but there are s...
SAPPY CAN BE HAPPY!
Webster's Dictionary defines "sappy" as embarrassingly sentimental. Yep, that's the way I felt this week, but there are several reasons for it! First I had two sons with birthdays. Now this always throws me back in my mind to the day they were born. I know....I know....men just don't understand this in us. But I always use the biblical example that Mary, the mother of our Lord, "pondered these things in her heart" so why shouldn't I?
Another reason I'm sappy, I got out my scrapbooks and was looking at old pictures. This always starts me down memory lane. My granddaughter was wanting to look at some of the pictures of her father, so being the good grandma that I am, I pulled them out. However, it did not end with her visit for I continued to pour over each picture. Suddenly I found myself caught up like the old woman in the movie "Titanic" who looks at the seaweed covered chandelier and is suddenly transported back in time. That is exactly how I was! I remember as a young mom, I used to chuckle when my mom and grandma did this sappiness. But now I understand perfectly. As grandma said, "All chickens come home to roost!" (I feel that analogy applies here).
Yet another reason I was sappy was because I discovered some long lost relatives. They weren't literally lost, it is just that I hadn't found them! On a Facebook Page, administered by the small town I grew up in, someone was wanting information on relatives on my mother's side. They had some names and information so I knew them to be legit. Thanks to the pictures and information my grandma kept and that mom passed on to me, I discovered they are long lost cousins! Who says nothing ever good comes from Facebook? My mom, who is now 84, is so excited to discover this for she had often wondered whatever happened to that branch of the family. I hope to bring the cousins together this Spring. Can you tell I am beaming? My grandma would be so proud of me!
I am so thankful to have these keepsakes, pictures, and records of the past, even though it does make me sappy! I think we women need to mindful that we are the guardians to pass these memories down to the next generation. It helps to look back when this crazy, fast paced world, gets us caught up in its spinning and it gives us some firm ground to stand on. It also helps us realize where we came from, the sacrifices made to get us where we are, of how God worked then and He is working now, and it helps us to count our blessings for God's faithfulness to us down through the ages.
Just some sappy thoughts on this Friday! Here is a picture of a scrapbook page to be passed down to the next generation.
Another reason I'm sappy, I got out my scrapbooks and was looking at old pictures. This always starts me down memory lane. My granddaughter was wanting to look at some of the pictures of her father, so being the good grandma that I am, I pulled them out. However, it did not end with her visit for I continued to pour over each picture. Suddenly I found myself caught up like the old woman in the movie "Titanic" who looks at the seaweed covered chandelier and is suddenly transported back in time. That is exactly how I was! I remember as a young mom, I used to chuckle when my mom and grandma did this sappiness. But now I understand perfectly. As grandma said, "All chickens come home to roost!" (I feel that analogy applies here).
Yet another reason I was sappy was because I discovered some long lost relatives. They weren't literally lost, it is just that I hadn't found them! On a Facebook Page, administered by the small town I grew up in, someone was wanting information on relatives on my mother's side. They had some names and information so I knew them to be legit. Thanks to the pictures and information my grandma kept and that mom passed on to me, I discovered they are long lost cousins! Who says nothing ever good comes from Facebook? My mom, who is now 84, is so excited to discover this for she had often wondered whatever happened to that branch of the family. I hope to bring the cousins together this Spring. Can you tell I am beaming? My grandma would be so proud of me!
I am so thankful to have these keepsakes, pictures, and records of the past, even though it does make me sappy! I think we women need to mindful that we are the guardians to pass these memories down to the next generation. It helps to look back when this crazy, fast paced world, gets us caught up in its spinning and it gives us some firm ground to stand on. It also helps us realize where we came from, the sacrifices made to get us where we are, of how God worked then and He is working now, and it helps us to count our blessings for God's faithfulness to us down through the ages.
Just some sappy thoughts on this Friday! Here is a picture of a scrapbook page to be passed down to the next generation.
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