Friday, September 30, 2016

Just Because You're Right...Doesn't Mean You're not Destroying

Wow!  This article by Matthew Jacobson was such good reminder!  And this principle doesn't just apply to married couples, but really to any kind of relationship whether with a spouse, a sibling, a friend, etc.  Is it really worth it to be "right"?
~Breanna


http://matthewljacobson.com/just-youre-right-doesnt-mean-youre-not-destroying-marriage/

We love being “right” don’t we? In the midst of an intense discussion (argument!) about something, we feel the surge of adrenaline when besting the other person. Who doesn’t love winning?
Hey, the facts were on my side. 
Aren’t they always?
And then, there’s marriage – where the consequences of how that argument went down and our “rightness”  have an immediate (negative) impact on just about everything.
Do you truly care about the truth of what you were discussing with your husband or wife . . . or is it really about winning – about being the victor, again? Are you sure pressing your advantage wasn’t more about pride than what was best for your relationship? You don’t have to guess. In Proverbs 13:10 says, contention comes from pride.
You’re not experiencing contention with your spouse because ‘truth’ is on the line. It’s happening because you are both prideful.
Being right and being prideful are often two ends of the same stick we use to bludgeon our way to winning. The “truth” can be very deceiving as we convince ourselves it’s the most vital element in any argument. But, it’s important to be correct, isn’t it? Yes, it is. But when it comes to disagreements in marriage, there is something that trumps truth and arguing your spouse into the corner.
That’s right, sometimes emphasizing how right we are is far less important than how much we value our spouse. Beating him/her with the club of correctness won’t get the job done. It will, however, get a job done. It will beat us apart from one another.
Is that what you want? Being right . . . and alone . . . separated emotionally (and often physically) from the person you pledged your life to?
In most arguments in marriage, truth isn’t the trump card we often think it is. When there’s a disagreement, it’s not a zero-sum game where someone is completely right and the other person is all wrong. How we see the same circumstances is based on perspective, personality and many other subjective factors. And in every disagreement in marriage, there are two sets of those.
And then, there’s maturity – where age and experience have shown you the many times you were so cock-sure you were right but turned out to be wrong. Humility is Maturity’s best friend. Maturity in marriage begins to take root when we realize that our own personal understanding is not the final arbiter of all that is true and correct.
Do you wan’t to grow in maturity and keep from damaging your marriage by always communicating how right you are and how wrong your spouse is? You can choose humility, right now.
How about the next time you “get into it” with your spouse, instead of digging in, you start by saying,
I may be wrong about this but, this is what I’m seeing . . . 
. . . and choose to have a discussion instead of an argument? Because you may be wrong and you may be seeing incorrectly. Pride distorts our perception and destroys every relationship it infects. Unyielding certainty in disagreements about subjective matters will put distance between you and the heart of your spouse, leaving no place for humility and no chance for maturity.
And, who wants that for their marriage?

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

A service of work and a service of waiting



 When I read this portion from Streams in the Dessert the other day and then again this morning, I was so blessed and encouraged by it.  We often think that to be in the service of the Lord is to be doing something, especially something great for God.  But we forget, or maybe are not even aware of the fact, that God at times will call us to serve Him by waiting on Him, by being still before Him, by simply drawing near to Him, doing exactly what He puts before us for that day and nothing more, no matter how insignificant it may seem to us.  If He asks us to do it, then no matter how seemingly small and insignificant the duty, the duty is still ours to be done in joyful and surrendered obedience to the service and glory of the Lord.  God does not see big things and little things.  Every act of obedience is the same in His eyes and they all bring Him glory, even when He commands us to simply wait upon Him.  It often seems that in those times of waiting, silence, and stillness, we often hear the voice of the Lord the clearest and are enabled to draw the nearer to Him in those times as we learn to trust and wait upon Him and to hear His voice better.  Perhaps some of our readers are experiencing a time of waiting in their lives.  I hope this will be an encouragement to some of you.
~Breanna

After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithyma: but the Spirit suffered them not (Acts 16:7).
What a strange prohibition! These men were going into Bithynia just to do Christ's work, and the door is shut against them by Christ's own Spirit.
I, too, have experienced this in certain moments. I have sometimes found myself interrupted in what seemed to me a career of usefulness. Opposition came and forced me to go back, or sickness came and compelled me to retire into a desert apart.
It was hard at such times to leave my work undone when I believed that work to be the service of the Spirit. But I came to remember that the Spirit has not only a service of work, but a service of waiting. I came to see that in the Kingdom of Christ there are not only times for action, but times in which to forbear acting. I came to learn that the desert place apart is often the most useful spot in the varied life of man--more rich in harvest than the seasons in which the corn and wine abounded. I have been taught to thank the blessed Spirit that many a darling Bithynia had to be left unvisited by me.
And so, Thou Divine Spirit, would I still be led by Thee. Still there come to me disappointed prospects of usefulness. Today the door seems to open into life and work for Thee; tomorrow it closes before me just as I am about to enter. Teach me to see another door in the very inaction of the hour. Help me to find in the very prohibition thus to serve Thee, a new opening into Thy service. Inspire me with the knowledge that a man may at times be called to do his duty by doing nothing, to work by keeping still, to serve by waiting. When I remember the power of the "still small voice," I shall not murmur that sometimes the Spirit suffers me not to go.
--George Matheson

"When I cannot understand my Father's leading,
And it seems to be but hard and cruel fate,
I Still I hear that gentle whisper ever
pleading,God is working, God is faithful, ONLY WAIT."

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Welcoming Fall

So happy to see the first day of fall!  Fall is such a peaceful, refreshing, encouraging time.  I am very much looking forward to seeing how the Lord continues to work His perfect, beautiful plan in this season!  He is at work everywhere in everything!
~Brittany

Monday, September 19, 2016

Sweet, Sweet, Sweet

For several weeks the children at church have been working at memorizing the books of the Bible. Mommies have worked with them at home, we have played games and worked on them as a group at church on Sunday afternoons.  I thought it would be fun to take a video of these sweetie pies singing the Books of the Bible.  Enjoy and be inspired!

Special note of Encouragement for moms

Special women are a treasure to have in your life.  A dear friend and sister in the Lord shared something that her precious mother-in-law shared with her and I was so blessed by it that I asked her permission to share it with our readers.  Thank you Mrs. Deborah Smith!  May your words of truth and encouragement be a blessing to many more ladies!


Encouragements for Mom's with their Boys

Oh, I nearly felt I had found a pot of gold this afternoon.  :-)  I hope these articles will be an encouragement to other mom's that have been blessed with sons.


Sons . . . what a blessing they are.  Just this afternoon, when my husband came home for lunch,  he and Titus start sword fighting; we all were just sitting around smiling and laughing, I thought 'I love having sons, they add so much fun to a family'.  We only have three sons and they are 10 years apart but I am SO thankful for them.  Now I must admit that there are times that I have really struggled with different aspects of raising sons and being a wife too.  Pink and blue are truly different but, a wonderful different.  Well that is once we ladies begin to understand and appreciate the differences.  :-)  Dr. Emerson Eggrich in his book and video series called Love and Respect  says it is not wrong just different.  The more years that go by and the more I grow the more I love the differences and so appreciate them.  I still have a whole bunch more to learn about boys but I am SO thankful for my three and for my precious husband who is so patient and faithful in loving me and helping me grow.
I love you Seth, Tayte, Titus and Benjamin!  
You are treasures in my life!

Hope the articles are a blessing to you as they have been to me.  They are all from Lisa Jacobson's site club31women.com
http://club31women.com/boys-are-awesome-and-best-way-to-love-them/
http://club31women.com/15-things-to-love-about-being-a-mom-of-boys/
http://club31women.com/rite-of-passage-moms-boys/
http://club31women.com/how-can-a-mom-show-love-to-her-son/
http://club31women.com/how-to-instill-vision-in-your-son/
http://club31women.com/how-to-raise-a-good-son-in-a-decaying-culture/
http://club31women.com/12-lessons-want-son-learn-turns-12/
http://club31women.com/21-questions-son-really-needs-ask/
http://club31women.com/a-dozen-ways-to-reach-your-sons-heart/
http://club31women.com/raising-our-sons-to-seek-after-god/
http://club31women.com/mom-raise-boy-strong-godly-man/

Blessings!  ~Karen

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Littles Make the Great


LITTLES MAKE THE GREAT
Little rills make wider streamlets;
Streamlets swell the river's flow;
Rivers join the ocean billows,
Onward, onward, as they go.

Life is made of smallest fragments,
Shade and sunshine, work and play:
So may we, with greatest profit,
Learn a little every day.

Tiny seeds make boundless harvests;
Drops of rain compose the showers;
Seconds make the flying minutes,
And the minutes make the hours.

Let us hasten, then, and catch them
As they pass us on the way;
And with honest, true endeavor,
Learn a little every day.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Are we reaping what we sow?


Steve Maxwell sends out encouraging thoughts for dads each week(we moms get to read them too) :-).  Here is this weeks.  I thought it was very thought provoking.  Do you??  His wife, Terri also has encouraging articles specifically for moms too.  To read or sign up to get either or both click here:  http://articles.titus2.com/ 


WHO WOULD HAVE IMAGINED?


Who would have thought the current laws of the land possible?
Who would have thought the current laws would be so selectively enforced?
Who would have thought a mother could legally kill her unborn baby?
Who would have thought we would have the current presidential candidates?
Who would have imagined the current impact of the “church” on our nation?
Who would have imagined so many professing families in so much trouble?
Who would have thought that so many professing families would not be in the Word daily (personally and as a family) nor obediently following the Spirit?
Hmm, thinking of it, it really does make sense, doesn’t it? “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
Steve

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Don't Give Up

This is simply fantastic!  Hope this sweet song, that has many memories for our family, is an encouragement to you!

Thursday, September 1, 2016

How to Enjoy Perfect Peace No Matter Your Circumstances

Another fantastic Real Life with Lisa video!  What a timely blessing this was in our family!  I hope it will be to some of you also.  All too often life gets chaotic and full of busyness and just anything and everything that feels like anything but peace.  But Mrs. Jacobson reminds us that we can ALWAYS have peace and that it's not really about what's going on AROUND us at all, but it's what's going on INSIDE of us that makes whether we have peace or not.  I hope you'll be blessed!
Just a note, Lisa Jacobson from club31women.com, is posting a weekly on Wednesday video series called Real Life with LisaThis is the third video she's done.  We've greatly enjoyed each one already. 
~Breanna