how many times a week do you eat?

My cousin Tammy hosted a "Mom 2 Mom" carnival last week, looking for ideas for how to encourage our children's relationship with Christ. I've been computer-less for about a week and I missed the carnival, but I've had this post ready and sitting in draft for several weeks already. Despite the lateness, this seemed a good time to post it.

I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot of helpful advice, but this is a subject that's come into much sharper focus in my life of late and interestingly, it was a post of hers from a while back that kind of sparked it. Here's how I've come to think of it and what we've done about it in our home.

How many times a week do you eat?

Most of us would answer, let's see, 3x7=21, add "a few" snacks... so, approximately 73 times a week!!

Now...

How often do you feast on God's Word?

Tammy posted this really great quote from her daughter's devotional book* that illustrates the importance of devotions in such a way that it becomes difficult to forget.

What would the people in your church look like if they snacked on meager food morsels during the week and ate only one good meal on the weekend? You know the answer, don't you? You'd find yourself surrounded by emaciated, gaunt people in desperate need of nutrition.

And how would these undernourished believers fare against a demonic adversary? Can you imagine how this army would look? You'd see threadbare skeletons with hollow cheeks and sunken eye-sockets, lined up like phantoms. Weakened by famine, that shriveled militia could barely stand at attention; each would struggle to find the strength to keep his or her bony frame upright.

Could this "army" conquer an opposing force?

No way. No earthly general would send them out to fight.

Well, then, how about the army of the Lord? What of those who gather on Sunday mornings? Are they spiritually nourished to fight the battles ahead? Considering what most members of God's army subsist on—an occasional tidy snack from a devotional book and perhaps an average-sized meal on Sundays to satiate conscience—you'd have to conclude that God's fighting force has some serious training to do.

Did you know that more than 80 percent of those who call themselves Christians read their Bibles only once a week? And that's usually on Sundays, at church. They come to church to get their spiritual fill, and then snack on devotional tidbits for the rest of the week (if even that).

I wish for just one day God would change the way our eyes work, so we would see ourselves spiritually. We'd see most [North] American churches filled with skeletal, hollow-eyed saints, looking as if a gust of wind would blow them away like tumbleweeds.

Which is why, when some new trend floods [the continent] and pushes our nation further away from God, further away from our spiritual roots, the church is unable to withstand the tide. We simply don't have the strength.

So what's the solution?

The American Journal of Medicine recently published a highly revealing conclusion: The health of twenty-first-century America will no longer be determined by what people can get doctors to do for them but by what doctors can get people to do for themselves.

Do you see how this prescription applies equally to the church? If we eat only once a week, it's no wonder the church is weak and struggling. But daily fresh bread can change all of that. Regularly dining on fresh bread makes for a stalwart, strong, developed army — the only kind of force that will always make a difference in this world.

I want to begin equipping the army in my home. Several weeks ago, I mentioned I'd bought The One Year Bible For Children, and when it arrived, the girls and I started having devotions together at breakfast or bedtime. Let me just say, I LOVE this book!!

I love that the stories are short ~ rarely more than one page. I love the discussions that have been born from the questions that are provided at the end of each story. And I love that my girls love it, too. They're even excited about reviewing the story again later in the day to remind ourselves about what we learned in the morning! I love that they're so THIRSTY and just soaking it up like li'l sponges!

I'm looking forward to purchasing this book soon, too ~ Big Truths for Young Hearts ~ to begin teaching my girls some serious theology. And learning some myself!! As part of my goal to develop a strong Christian apologetic, I may as well make sure they do right away, too.

So far, it has been a rewarding experience and I trust that as they grow and mature, not only in physical stature but spiritually as well, the rewards will become even more visible as they develop into strong, sure, godly young women.










*Find the entire quote here: LifeJournal.cc FAQs

True Woman Makeover: week 7

** My apologies! I've actually been without a computer since last Thursday morning, which is why posts have been appearing, but I don't seem to be around! This post was done last week, but I forgot to embed the Blurbs code. I'm here now and will be visiting each of you in the next day or so. I trust you all found each other even without the linky code!! **

Welcome to Week 7 of the True Woman online Bible study!!!

Did you listen to or read through lessons 19, 20, and 21? What did you think? This weeks marks the end of another 10-part segment of this makeover and the beginning of a new one. Ladies, I am so enjoying this study!! Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the content and the changes I need to begin making, but something about the way Nancy Leigh DeMoss presents the material really makes me want to try. She's so encouraging and inspiring!!

I really like some of the things Nancy's guest, Holly Elliff, says in Lesson 19:

"There are always going to be baby Christians and middle-aged Christians and older Christians, and we are never going to all look alike. If we do, it's a cult. If everybody's wearing the same thing, it's not going to be a New Testament church.

And so we're always, if we're a growing Body, we're always going to have beliefs at different levels of maturity. So we need to teach our kids to allow for that even in the youth group, which is tough, because there are kids that have different standards, but to allow for those differences, not changing their own beliefs but being thankful to the Lord for what they've already been taught."

I think it's important to remember that WE need to understand and accept this before we try to convince our kids!! We need to allow for the standards of other people. Even two women going through this study together will still have differing opinions about what's modest in dress, in entertainment, in speech, etc.

I catch myself now already passing judgment on people in my church whom I think should know better than to wear THAT or say something like THIS, but I need to remember they maybe haven't thought about the impact of their words or the distraction their clothing is causing. They maybe don't have the benefit of having heard this message. OR, they may simply have a different idea of modesty and self-control than I do. My only concern should be my OWN heart attitudes, my OWN actions, and modelling upright, joyful, godly living CONSISTENTLY to my daughters.

I like that Nancy closed off this makeover segment with listener/reader responses. I was touched by the honesty and openness of the one man who expressed appreciation for a ministry that was, in effect, helping him guard his heart against impure thoughts by teaching women about modesty.

And I especially identified with the women who wrote in saying they'd never thought about modesty as relating to anything but the way they dressed and that they'd never before heard (or, at least, not listened to!) a message like this in all their life. I said the very same thing to my friend Alicia, who's also going through this study together with me. Why haven't we heard this message before??!!

I guess largely because it maybe isn't something that can be preached from the pulpit because it's only geared for the female population of the church. And coming from a male pastor, it might not be very well received either!! But I tell ya, ladies, this message needs to get out. We need to LIVE this message! I'm so thankful to have come across this study.

And then suddenly we shift gears in Lesson 21 where we begin a series on the importance of having sound doctrine as a bit of background for the famous Titus 2 passage about God's Beautiful Design for Women. And oh, this lesson is exactly what SO many people need to hear these days.

I'm so looking forward to the last 10-lesson series because the pursuit of sound doctrine is exactly what I've developed a passion for recently. Especially having just finished reading Chuck Colson's The Body: Being Light in Darkness, where the author says, "Sure, studying how to best articulate a Christian apologetic takes time, but didn't the apostle Peter command ALL of us to always be ready to give a defense of our faith? It is inexcusable for mature disciples to allow themselves to be intimidated."(you can read my review of the book here)

It is INEXCUSABLE for Believers to not have a strong Christian apologetic ~ the sound, doctrinal foundation that Nancy's talking about here ~ so that not only will WE know what we believe, but others will SEE what we believe, AND we will be able to see through all the false doctrine floating around out there. And there is a lot of it ~ sadly, even coming from the evangelical church.

I've been hearing and reading a lot about The Emergent Church recently, and it shocks and saddens me. It shocks me because church leaders are so bent on fitting in and appealing to our post-modern, post-Christian culture, that they are going so far as to say things like Jesus is NOT the only way to heaven, that humankind is all predestined for heaven, that hell doesn't literally exist, and that "right living" is what's important, not firm belief in the gospel and doctrine of Jesus Christ.

What saddens me is how so many people ~ like myself ~ are often not NOTICING these messages in the books and articles we read by our supposed "leaders of the faith." Many times the message is in what ISN'T said even more than what is. The exclusion of certain Biblical truths goes completely unnoticed when mixed in with a whole bunch of stuff that isn't actually wrong. I thank God there are people out there with more wisdom and discernment than I have, but I'm praying for more of both every day, with every new article or book I read.

I love how Nancy reiterates what Paul tells Titus when the latter was also struggling with wanting to be relevant in his time, just like the church is today:

"His answer is qualitatively different than much of what is being written and said today along these lines. Paul says to Titus, “As for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

Stick to the basics. Keep doing what you’re supposed to be doing all along. Don’t get distracted by all these novelties, all these new ways of doing things.

That’s not to say that change is necessarily inherently wrong, that we can’t change some of the styles. It’s not to say these things are never right. But it’s not the essence of the issue about how to get the gospel into our world.

Paul says what you do is preach to the believers the sound doctrine which will impact and change their lives; and then in their homes, their workplaces, their communities, they will live lives that are in accordance with sound doctrine. And that will make the gospel believable to those unbelievers around them."

I think the church today has lost sight of how we're supposed to be spreading the word. It ISN'T the pastor's job. It ISN'T the Christian Education or Mission Boards' job. It ISN'T the church's job (as an organization)... It is The Church's job as a Body of Believers.

The pastor's job is to feed and care for the flock. The church organization and it's programs are not primarily supposed to be drawing people in ~ they're supposed to be making and educating disciples. The disciples, in turn, as they leave the church building, are the ones responsible for standing out in their communities, their workplaces, their schools, and their various other spheres of influence, attracting people by their "dynamic, transformational faith."

So why is having and believing sound doctrine important? Because doctrine, Nancy says, is ALWAYS connected to duty. It is the determining factor in how we live. If the practical application of our faith to our daily lives is not firmly anchored in sound doctrine, where does the basis for how we're supposed to live come from? There simply is no basis. We're "set adrift on a sea of shifting moral values" if we don’t have a sound doctrinal foundation. We need both the foundation AND the application.

Without foundation, we have nothing to apply. And without application (which is, I know, the problematic groove I've been stuck in all my life), all the sound doctrine in the world is never going to make a difference in our world.

Oooo, I'm just SO excited to hear more in this series!!! Sorry, I may have gone off on a bit of a tangent there, but this has increasingly been impressed on my heart over the last several months, and getting that message out and lighting the flame in others has become a passion for both myself and my husband.

Oh God, thank you for sharing with us, through Nancy and Revive Our Hearts, what you want from us as women in The Body of Believers. Thank you for opening our eyes to the reality that modesty is, first and foremost, a heart attitude ~ it isn't just about how we dress. Lord, help us to consisently model modesty for our children and for other Believers, and to do it joyfully.

Please be with us now as we enter the last segment of our makeover journey, as we begin to look at your perfect design for women. Continue to convict and inspire us and give us the desire to allow you to transform us from the inside out. Give us wisdom and discernment as we thirst for more insights ~ both in where we search and in sifting through what we find. We know there is so much out there now contributing to the "doctrinal fog" that Nancy mentioned. Help us to cautiously move forward, keeping the Light of your Word as our guide.

In your name, amen.

So what were your thoughts? Write your own blog post and then paste the direct link to that post here in the Our Blurbs box and be sure to visit and encourage the others who've joined in. Remember, we're all sitting out on my lovely front porch together!! (today you've all made the drive out to my beach house...) Oh, that reminds me, more iced tea anyone?

Click here to see our guest list and add your link.

See you next Tuesday, ladies! Thanks so much for coming!

kitten caboodle

The day before we left for the city, this is how pregnant Tigger was:

That's my husband's hand that can't quite cover her belly. This picture makes me laugh because her head looks so bizarre and tiny. She's not really a small cat, but WOW was she huge as an expectant cat!!

When we got back from the city 5 days later, she was skinny again, so we knew she'd had her kittens, but it took us a couple of days to locate them ~ in between two sets of doors in our old pig barn. We could see them but even The Bushman's arms weren't long enough to reach them.

We left them in their inaccessible-to-humans spot until Tuesday, and then The Bushman decided to move them somewhere where they could grow up accustomed to being handled by our girls.

Off to hunt some kittens!

The hoe was to slide under each kitten a hoist it up over the inner half-door if we couldn't pry the overgrown back door of the barn open. We could, so it wasn't needed after all!

The box o'kitties.

So now they're in the big old dog kennel in the shed attached to the garage. Tigger may end up moving them again ~ cats like to move their kittens at least once for no apparent reason, it seems ~ but hopefully, she won't feel the need to hide them again.

This is Tigger's first litter and there are seven ~ our biggest litter here to date ~ and of the seven, there's one basically black one, but the others all look exactly like their mother.

So. Anybody need a cat?



Hosted by Cecily & MamaGeek

True Woman Makeover: week 6

Welcome to Week 6 of the True Woman online Bible study!!!

Did you listen to or read through lessons 16, 17, and 18? What did you think?

In these three lessons, Nancy Leigh DeMoss is continuing to focus on modesty and, more specifically, modelling it CONSISTENTLY to our children. All three lessons hit hard.

Modesty, as previously established, is first and foremost a heart issue, which means it's going to be evident in how we talk, but it also has an impact on the practical matters of the way we live, the way we dress, the way we conduct ourselves. One of the greatest needs among women today is to learn how to dress in a way that reflects a modest heart.

I think this lesson bothered me the most. Because it's true: If our daughters are learning their view of modesty or their view of what’s proper, what’s acceptable, from the culture around them, they will never learn to be modest, because there is nothing modest in this culture. Our current culture is teaching girls to not just be aggressive, but downright brazen and forward, to display themselves and their bodies in ways that are designed to get sexual attention, to be the center of attraction.

So how do we cultivate a heart for modesty in our children? And now this is where the hard part comes in because it's OUR example, what WE communicate ~ in words, actions AND attitudes. It is vitally important that we LIVE OUT the importance and the meaning and the joy of living for the glory of God. Our kids need to know we think that’s the joyful way to live.
And that's totally the crux of it. Nancy says she believes the biggest reasons so many kids who grow up in Christian circles end up abandoning faith "is that they did not see that their parents’ faith had joy in it." This absolutely crushed me. When I think of how often my interaction with my girls is me being sarcastic and unimpressed with them, or telling them off for something.... I have to wonder how much credence they really give to our daily devotional time.

And when it comes to entertainment? Oh, ladies, this one is a struggle for me. My own personal TV watching has been trimmed down to probably an average of only about an hour per day, and only after the girls are in bed in the evening, but when it comes to the girls, I just don't really know how to handle it.

I'm completely in agreement with Nancy ~ that just because it's a cute cartoon like The Little Mermaid doesn't mean it's teaching our kids good things. (certainly not modesty, with that little purple seashell top! And has anyone else ever noticed that Ariel gets married when she's only 15-16 years old?)

But this is my problem: WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE? There is almost NOTHING in current TV or movies that is really "good" by Biblical standards, so do we disallow everything? I guess I'm simply not willing to go that route. (I grew up without a TV, but have had one now almost my entire adult life and I definitely prefer having one.) I'm also not willing to only allow Christian programming in our home, or constantly be "discussing" each and every TV show or movie the girls watch. (Hmm, I see I've revealed a lot about myself here!! I am simply not willing to give up TV and movies ~ and clearly, I'm dependent on the TV's ability to occupy my children.)

But seriously, how do you ladies approach this? When it comes to TV, what shows do you allow and which ones don't you? What are your criteria? Up until relatively recently, all we really had was boring, generic, educational Knowledge Network or CBC's kids programming, but now we've got all the Disney and TeleToon channels as well, and of course, the girls were interested in catching up with the shows they'd heard their friends talking about, like Kim Possible, The Replacements, Fillmore, and various others.

I'm really not sure how I feel about some of the stuff they like. Those ones, exactly, I do allow them to watch, but certain other "save the world" types I don't, simply because there is always weapons and fighting. (Hard to believe Bugs Bunny was nixed because it was deemed "too violent.") One or two shows with a bit of that is already MORE than enough. I just don't think they need to see that. Or stuff like seances and evil spirit-hunting.

I guess this really shows how "of the world" I want to be, doesn't it? Of the world "with just enough of The Word to keep me out of trouble," as guest Kay Arthur put it on ROH back on April 13 ~ the broadcast that ended my debate about giving up General Hospital forever after sacrificing it for the Lenten season.

I really do want to model modesty and moderation for my girls. I want to live joyously the way God wants me to live, but I really struggle with knowing exactly what that means. But if I translate that to mean we need to start dressing in dresses that cover our throats and our ankles, and we need to get rid of our TV, how many more "rules" will follow? No dancing? No sports? No public education? It's not supposed to be about following a checklist.

Yet I hate the thought of my daughters growing up believing that being a godly woman just means they need to read their Bibles and be able to say, "I've invited Jesus to live in my heart," with no further life application of Biblical principles. Where is the balance?

ARGH, I feel like all this lesson did was raise more questions!!!

Y'all, this study is pointing out SO many weaknesses and failures in my style of parenting, in my attitudes, in my actions... and I'm just gonna say it: some days when I listen to these studies, I just feel so beaten down. So guilty. So beyond the point of return. I know those are lies, but I think I've never really fully realized the SCOPE of this responsibility of motherhood. "Train[ing] a child in the way he should go" involves infinitely more than just feeding and clothing my girls and making sure they catch the school bus!

Like Nancy says, "One of the most important principles that you’ll find repeated over and over and over again, in the Old Testament in particular, is the importance of parents teaching their children the ways of God."

Which is a HUGE responsibility, and like I just mentioned, when I think about the SCOPE of this responsibility, I almost instantly feel overwhelmed and lose the desire to bother trying. But the alternative isn't really acceptable either. We can’t expect that the world is going to teach them how to think in a way that is right. That is OUR JOB.

Not only to live the example, but to actually sit down and seek teachable moments in which to instruct our kids. And if we aren't setting the example as a foundation, we will be ineffective teachers. I like how Nancy stresses that we can't start with a list and that we rather need to start with the principles of God’s Word:

• The principle of ownership: Your body is not your own; it belongs to God once you’re a child of God.
• The principle of Lordship: Jesus is Lord over all.
• The principle of citizenship: If you’re a child of God, you belong to a different kingdom; you don’t belong to this world.
• The principle of stewardship: God has entrusted some things to you, like a body. He’s entrusted beauty to you, and you have to use that in ways that are pleasing to the Lord.

If our hearts' desire is to please the Lord and to make choices that are based on the Word of God, and if, by our example and teaching, our children's hearts desire the same, then we will have really trained our children not just to live by a list of rules while they’re within our eyesight, but to really have developed a heart for God. We need to strive towards raising children who don’t just conform to a list of rules, but who really will be difference-makers in their culture and in their generation because it won’t be our faith, our religion, or our standards anymore ~ it’ll be their choice, their standards, their faith, and their heart's desire to please the Lord.

Oh Lord, I pray that you would give me and these other wonderful ladies wisdom and discernment to know how to live the kind of life that will make Jesus attractive to our children. That our children will see living a godly life isn't just a list of do's and don'ts, but a joyful out-pouring of love, gratitude, and devotion to you.

I pray that you’d show each of us issues or areas of our lives where what we’re saying and what we’re doing are two different things, and that we may be honest and humble enough to agree with you, to repent, and to let you change us so that our lives can reflect the beauty and the wonder and the goodness of your will.

I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

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True Woman Tuesday

1. Susanne	3. Tammy
2. Pamela	4. Nancy

Well, ladies, I don't know if I've helped at all this week! It seems this study is just bringing out more and more questions!! What were your thoughts about this week's study? Anything strike a particular chord ~ or nerve?! Do any of you wrestle with doubts and concers about entertainment? Write your own blog post and then paste the direct link to that post here in the Our Blurbs box and be sure to visit and encourage the others who've joined in. Remember, we're all sitting out on my lovely (imaginary!) front porch together!! Oh, that reminds me, more iced tea anyone?

See you next Tuesday, ladies! Thanks so much for coming!

my week in the city roughly summed up in a handful of pictures

And then suddenly, like we'd just woken up from a beautiful dream, we were home again.

Hosted by Cecily & MamaGeek

True Woman Makeover: week 5

Welcome to Week 5 of the True Woman online Bible study!!!

Can you believe we're halfway through?! To me, it sure doesn't seem like five weeks already!!

This week we're looking at a VERY small section of the Bible ~ just a sentence, actually! ~ and it's amazing how much information is contained in so few words!! All three lessons (13, 14, and 15) deal with the issue of modesty and propriety, both rather foreign and ill-conceived terms in our current culture.

These are heart attitudes that are to characterize a woman's approach to her appearance and her demeanor.

I think the part that caught my eye in particular in Lesson 13 was the idea of being modest in speech. I'm not shy, but I guess the better word for me is socially awkward. Not necessarily the way we normally think of that term, though ~ I'm just not good at small-talk. I'm not gifted like my husband is at engaging others in conversation, especially those people I don't know well. My husband can have a great time even when surrounded by complete strangers because he's good at starting a conversation and asking the right questions, showing interest in other people's lives, and keeping the conversation going that way. Me, in situations like that? I'm bored out of my mind. He's good at finding common interests. I'm not. But I've never bothered to cultivate that ability either.

I'm great at answering everyone's questions, and expanding on my experiences, thoughts, and theories, but I'm not very good at ASKING questions and LISTENING to someone else's answers. That's not modesty. According to lesson 13, that's actually a form of vanity.

The other area of modesty in speech that hit me hard when Nancy asked, "Let me ask you as moms in your homes, do you come across as controlling, as bossy, as domineering?" Dang it, woman, could just one of these lesson NOT point out my failures??!!

This too, is not modest. I've always been fairly certain that it's my JOB to be bossy and in control because I'm a parent. I'm responsible for teaching my girls, I'm responsible for policing their quarrels, I'm responsible for refereeing their disputes and correcting their mistakes. But now I'm beginning to wonder if I've been basing my whole parenting approach on the wrong foundation! Actually, I've wondered this for a while because I see in my oldest daughter exactly what I'm doing wrong. I'm pretty sure it happens several times a day that I tell her off for harshly correcting her sister, all the while knowing she gets that approach from me. Boy, I tell ya, that stings.

And wow, no kidding that's a terrifying article Nancy kicks Lesson 14 off with! Twenty years or so ago when I was still in high school (YIKES!), girls were at least still shy about "making the first move." It seems that level of modesty and propriety is gone completely now. What a backwards and perverse culture we live in ~ that we call it "progress" when men are intimidated by women.

"The ones who want to do it God's way will always be a remnant," Nancy says. "The right way will always be the narrow way. But it's so important that we, as women, represent the heart and the spirit and the gospel of Christ by the way that our lives are different than the norm, different than the culture, whenever the culture is contrary to the Word of God."

I don't know about you, but are you finding with each passing lesson, that there's more and more things we need to keep in mind with respect to how our actions, attitudes, and appearance may or may not affect other people??!!

I listened again to lessons 14 and 15 while I walked yesterday afternoon and after I was finished, I had to admit to God that I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the ideas I've been hearing and the lessons I've been learning in this study. How on earth are we supposed to function if we're constantly trying to determine how we'll affect others before we make each and every seemingly inconsequential decision?! I can see that becoming crippling if we take the "Mt. Sinai approach" rather than the "Mt. Calvary" approach, like Nancy discussed in lesson 10 last week. We simply CANNOT do this on our own steam!! It's completely impossible.

And while following all these "rules" seems like a very stifling way to live, I like how Nancy ends Lesson 14 with the statement, "the greatest freedom in life comes when we're under the control of the Holy Spirit."

There's a wonderful G.K. Chesterton quote in a book I'm reading right now that paints a beautiful picture of this concept:

"We might fancy some children playing on the flat grassy top of some tall island in the sea. So long as there was a wall round the cliff's edge, they could fling themselves into every frantic game and make the place the noisiest of nurseries. But the walls were knocked down, leaving the naked peril of the precipice. They did not fall over; but when their friends returned to them they were all huddled in terror in the centre of the island; and their song had ceased." (Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 165; taken from DeYoung and Kluck, Why We're Not Emergent, 128)

Walls, parameters, guidelines, SELF-DISCIPLINE ~ are good because they keep us safe and free within them.

I think Lesson 15 hit me harder than the other two, even though they had points that stuck out as well. And I think I finally have clarity on the struggle I mentioned last week in regards to dressing casually at church but formally for other occasions, like a wedding.

If the point of what the Apostle Paul is saying here is that we are not to draw attention to ourselves or distract others in the way we dress or "adorn" ourselves, then wearing a bridesmaid dress to church amongst a congregation where most women hardly ever wear dresses of any kind, would be wrong ~ because I'd stick out like a sore thumb!! It seems there are appropriate places for different styles of clothing and decoration, and it's our responsibility to dress appropriately in whatever setting we happen to frequent. It was good to finally be able to put this discussion to rest ~ I've struggled with it since I was a teen!!!

But the portion that really hit me square between the eyes was the John Wesley quote Nancy mentions. The gist of it is this: "If you spend one cent more than what God wants you to spend on your clothes, remember that you are stealing from money God might have wanted you to give to the poor.” Oooo, touched a nerve AGAIN!!

Now, I don't spend a lot of money on clothing. As a rule, I shop at second hand stores and manage to clothe myself relatively well (in MY opinion, anyway!!), shoes included, for less than $400 a year on average. I know I don't overspend on clothing by most standards.

But... I know there are months when we have UNDER-tithed. Months when I HAVE bought things either I or my girls or my household didn't really NEED, while the church offering bag was neglected week after week. We have been on an extremely tight, cash-only budget since last Christmas and we just don't spend a lot of money on things that aren't necessities, but unfortunately, tithing is still something we struggle with making a priority.

Oh God, week after week we're seeing here how we just can't measure up to your standards of godliness and perfection. It's just like we heard about last week ~ you gave The Law so that the people of Israel would know they were imperfect sinners and now too, through this study, you remind us ladies of how short we fall in our idea of what's holy, what's godly, what's righteous in your sight. You remind us how we just can't live without YOU.

Please forgive us for focusing once again on ourselves ~ on how we can't achieve, and yet how we struggle to put forth our pathetic attempts on our own anyway. Forgive us for not realizing or admitting we can only accomplish these things through the power of your Holy Spirit. Please forgive us, too, for getting discouraged when we fail rather than fixing our eyes once again on you and trying once again to let your power work in and through us.

Give us this week renewed minds and hearts and clearer vision. Help us desire closer contact with you at all times throughout our week, our day, that we will be more likely to have your will in mind when we face seemingly unimportant decisions that will undoubtedly affect others in big or small ways.

In your name, Amen.

So what did you think? I think this is probably my longest post in this series so far!! Which is interesting, since after listening to all the lessons more than once, I felt the first two didn't really speak to me much!! What were the highlights for you? Something strike a nerve or convict you? Feel free to share it with us as we sit on my airy imaginary front porch, sipping tea in the morning sunlight. Write your own post and link it directly in the Mr. Linky widget so we can hear your thoughts on this week's lessons. (Sorry, I had to remove all Mr. Linky widgets ~ will use different link source for next week.)

See you next Tuesday, ladies! Thanks so much for coming!

The Body: Being Light in Darkness

I think this is a must-read for anyone who's attended church all their life.

Really, anyone who's attending a church should read it. For the new Believer, it might be a bit heavy (heck, it wasn't exactly light reading for me, either ~ there's a reason it took me 5 months to get all the way through!), but for those who've spoken Christianese for several years, I think you should read it.

And especially those firmly entrenched in the doctrinal beliefs of their particular denominations. Not that that's a bad thing, but read on...

As Colson points out ~ and as I think many Believers probably know ~ the church is in an identity crisis. We've been "sucked into the radical individualism of secular culture and the soothing sermons of a feel-good gospel. Many have sold out to a consumer-oriented 'McChurch' mentality. Flitting from congregation to congregation looking for the right menu to meet their personal needs, they want nothing to do with coporate commitment. They miss the basic truth of the gospel ~ that there is no true Christianity apart from the church." (from the dust jacket; emphasis mine)

The book begins ~ and is interspersed with ~ chapters chronicling stories from actual churches, not only breaking up the heavier theological discussions, but also giving us a good look at what churches from various countries and denominations have accomplished in their desire to BE The Body. In my mind, none are more gripping than the one detailing how Christians in eastern Europe are ultimately credited with the fall of Communism. Absolutely incredible. I was completely unaware of the story behind the story.

Other than some of the true stories, I think what stuck out most to me about this book are two fairly small sections, one right in the beginning, and one around the middle. The first is really just a statement in the section that expands on the dust jacket portion I mentioned above:

[Many Christians] concentrate on personal obedience to Christ as if all that matters is 'Jesus and me,' but in so doing miss the point altogether. For Christianity is not a solitary belief system. Any genuine resurgence of Christianity, as history demonstrates, depends on a reawakening and renewal of that which is the essence of the faith ~ that is, the people of God, the new society, the body of Christ, which is made manifest in the world ~ the church.

(emphasis mine)

I think this assessment is dead on, and from that statement, I was hooked. (Even though it still took me another five months to wade through Colson's supportive arguments!!)

The second section that really hit me deals with churches coming together to BE The Body, regardless of denomination. Colson stresses churches ~ regardless of the reasons they're divided ~ need to work together and focus on the reasons they're the same.

Initially, I disagreed. Because, you see, I'm one of these people who've always believed that most other churches and denominations aren't doing it quite right. I'm one of those people who's refused to attend our community's annual joint church service (which involves the 5 churches in the area ~ ours {Mennonite}, Lutheran, Anglican, Catholic, and United) because I'm "guarding myself" against syncretism.

Of course, we SHOULD guard ourselves against that, but what I never stopped to consider in my "holy" defence, is how The Church (speaking now of the Church Universal ~ the Body of Christ) is viewed by those in our community who don't have a background in church attendance and who don't understand why there are so many different churches. It's really no wonder the task of choosing the "right" one to attend is too daunting for most to bother attempting.

And like Colson points out, it really isn't any wonder then that Christianity is floundering while Islam grows at an incredible rate.

"Because of Islam's monolithic structure," Colson writes, "its officials can ~ and do ~ carefully plan evangelization campaigns from coutry to country. Christians, on the other hand, rush off in a hundred different directions, arguing over which methods to use, and end up giving a truncated message.
Not since the barbarian hordes overran Europe has the influence of Christianity been weaker. We hear all about church growth in various parts of America or Christinity exploding in African countries, but look at the cold, hard facts. Look at what we really are up against.

There are approximately 1.7 billion members of various Christian churches: 900 million Roman Catholics, 300 million Orthodox, approximately 300 million mainline Protestants, and perhaps 200 million conservatives, Baptists, Pentecostals, and assorted evangelical sects. And the heart of the church ~ those with serious, alive faith? No one knows the number for sure, but they are spread throughout myriad denominations and traditions, scattered in various corners of the globe, widely separated by theology and tradition, and in some cases not even speaking to one another.

Compare that with one billion well-organized, relatively well-disciplined Muslims." (again, emphasis mine)

It's no wonder we have so little influence on our world. We're too caught up in pointing out and maintaining our differences.

Colson says whenever he speaks on the need to be knowledgeable, to have a strong defense of our faith, he's approached by people who say they wish they could make better arguments for Christianity and for the Resurrection, but they just don't have the time to study the issues thoroughly enough.

"Sure, studying how to best articulate a Christian apologetic takes time," he says. "But didn't the apostle Peter command ALL of us to always be ready to give a defense of our faith? It is inexcusable for mature disciples to allow themselves to be intimidated."

Did you catch that? INEXCUSABLE.

Do YOU have a strong Christian apologetic? I certainly don't. I haven't taken the time to study enough. But you can bet I'm working on it now! This book was a great start.

True Woman Makeover: week 4

Welcome to Week 4 of the True Woman online Bible study!!!

Did you listen to or read through lessons 10, 11, and 12? What did you think? How many times have you read through Proverbs 31 in the last week?

I love how Nancy wrapped up this look at the Proverbs 31 woman. She's right ~ so often, the first thing we do when we see this picture is to reject it because it goes so terribly against the tide in our culture and even our churches. Or we decide to go it alone. She calls this the Mt. Sinai approach:

We strive, and we struggle, and we try to perform; and that’s really a picture of going to Mount Sinai. Do you remember what happened at Mount Sinai in the book of Exodus? That’s where God gave the Law. God said, “You’re not going to be able to keep it.” But the people said, “No, we’ll keep the Law.” [Exodus 24:3] Do you know what the rest of the Old Testament is about? It’s just proving that they couldn’t keep the Law—that God was right.

The purpose of the Law is so that we will come to see ourselves as failures. The old-fashioned word for that is sinners . . . so that we can be pointed to Christ who alone can fulfill the Law.

The correct response, of course, to the Proverbs 31 woman, is the Mount Calvary approach ~ the place where we get God’s grace. The place where we humble ourselves and admit, “God, I simply cannot be this woman on my own, but I know the life I live, I live not on my own, but by the your power because you live in me. [Gal. 2:20] Please be in me what I can never be apart from You.”

This woman CAN be overwhelming, but remember, this isn't necessarily a daily checklist of her duties! Yikes, can you imagine?! No, this is an overall description. It’s quite a list, but what you’re seeing is the investment of a lifetime.

We read all of these things she does and think, “That woman didn’t have any life of her own! I can't live that kind of sacrificial life.” But of course, Jesus said, “If you hold onto your life, you’ll lose it.” [John 12:25] The Proverbs 31 woman understands the paradox of the ways of Christ. If you lay down your life, you’ll get it back. You have to be willing to give it up in order to really have it. Oh, that we could fully understand and embrace that paradox, too!!

So many women today, and so many times in our lives, we hold on to our rights: my time, my privacy, my peace of mind, my space. Does this sound as much like you as it does me?! Did you know "ME TIME" is actually quite unbiblical? (Read though Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and you'll find out!) It's the complete opposite of this woman and certainly of Jesus' life as well.

This woman is selfless, but like Nancy says, as we read this passage, there’s no indication that she’s a miserable woman. I loved that revelation and I don't know that I ever thought about it before. She’s well clothed, she’s well fed, she has a husband who’s wild about her ~ he brags about her to his friends ~ she’s got kids who bless her. Who could want more than that?!

We may never get words of approval in this life. As miserable a future as that sounds like to our selfish ears, if we’re living out this life by the power of the Holy Spirit, one day we WILL hear those words of approval in the gate, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” [Matthew 25:23]

I love the H. A. Ironside quote that concludes this lesson: “At that moment who will regret the days of toil and nights of watching? Who then would exchange the saint’s path and portion with all its responsibilities as well as privileges, for a place of ease and careless enjoyment of a few fleeting hours on earth? Not one. Living in view of that sacred hour when all our works will be inspected by Him who has won our deepest affections, may we purposely and earnestly cling to Christ. May we hold fast to His faithful Word, not denying His name, while we wait here for His return.”

Oooo, good point, Mr. Ironside!!! Oh, how I need to concentrate more on heavenly rewards than on earthly praise!

And that's how we ended our look at the Proverbs 31 woman ~ the "Counter-Cultural Woman" series. I don't know about you, but I'll kinda miss her!!

Lesson 11 kicks off the series called "The Attractive Christian Woman" with 1 Timothy 2:9-10 as the text, and right off the bat, we're addressing how important, once again, our outward appearance is ~ not just our clothing, but our attitudes and behaviours, too ~ as an indication of our beliefs.

I like the background and context Nancy gives for this passage; that it's Paul's instruction to Pastor Timothy of Ephesus about how people should dress and behave when they meet together for corporate worship. Paul says when God's people come together, it's really important that we understand that there are some distinct SEPERATE instructions for men and for women. We were created differently, and we have different roles and different functions in the Body of Christ. And once again, like in the home, if we neglect to be the women we are supposed to be in the church and if men fail to be the men they are supposed to be in the church, the cause of Christ will be hurt, and we will shame the name of Christ.

Interestingly, the first thing Paul addresses is a woman's attire. He says that the way these women dress is a reflection of their heart and their character. If they have right attitudes, that will produce a right appearance.

How many times have you heard someone argue, "The way I dress doesn't matter. God knows my heart and I can worship just as well in jeans as in a dress."? Heck, I've said that!! But here we discover that the way we dress does matter because it is a reflection of our hearts, whether we like it or not. How many of you dress up in a big way for a wedding, but dress much more casually for church? (she says as she raises her own hand!)

Nancy says if we claim to worship God, if we claim to be Christians, then our appearance, our attitudes, the way we treat other people, the way we treat our husband and children (especially when we're frustrated or upset), our attitudes at work and at church, our actions ~ they need to support our claim to be a child of God. Doesn't God deserve AT LEAST the same reverence as a bride and groom? I really struggle with this one, but I've never thought about it before that modesty and clothing issues are first and foremost heart issues. If I have an orderly, decent, well-arranged, and appropriate heart, my outward appearance will show that. Eeeesh, I wonder what my clothing has been saying to people!!

Another thing I've never really thought of is the aspect of not making things tougher on the men of the church than they already are.

We have talked in the past on Revive Our Hearts about how women in the church can be a real source of seduction and temptation to men. I've heard this expressed so many times in different ways from men who say, "Look, it's one thing to go out in the world; you expect women to be immodestly dressed there. But to come to church and to have to wrestle with your thought life as a man . . .!"

Have YOU thought about the problems men who aren't your husband might have with their thoughts because of the way you're dressed?! I sure haven't. And if I ever have, I never thought about it that it's my responsibility as a woman of the church ~ a Christian woman ~ to assist in guarding their thought-life. (Boy, with each passing lesson, we're discovering more and more responsibilities!! I'm not sure I like that!!!) I preferred to think men's thoughts were their own problem. We see here that we need to accept some responsibility for their thoughts here, too.

I remember one time, years ago, I was at a church youth retreat at a lakeside Bible camp and one attractive, shapely young woman had chosen to bring along her skimpy bikini for the weekend. I remember being incredibly embarrassed for her when our youth pastor took her aside and quietly told her she needed to cover up because her swimsuit would most assuredly breed lustful thoughts among the young men in attendance.

Now, I'd thought too that her swimsuit was inappropriate for the setting, but to have the youth pastor call attention to it ~ he was quiet and discreet, but still in plain view of everyone ~ would have been downright mortifying. But he was right. And she didn't get very good tan that weekend, because she wore a T-shirt overtop for the rest of the retreat.

Can you imagine the courage that will have taken for the youth pastor though? To basically admit that men have this kind of problem? I admire him for that. For humbling himself and dealing with a sensitive issue; for standing up for the young men of the group and desiring to remove a stumbling block.

And over and over in the years since then (and it's definitely more than 20!), I've been thankful that wasn't me. But now I wonder if maybe someone should have said something like that to me from time to time. I'm not a skanky dresser, by most accounts, but I do have some dress tops that showcase my "bosoms" a bit.

The Bible indicates that if we have well-ordered hearts, if we are adorned with respectable, well-ordered apparel, that we will reflect a well-ordered heart.

I want to have a mind and heart that are well-ordered, don't you?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for showing us so much more about this famed Proverbs 31 woman than we'd ever thought of before. Thank you for showing us and reminding us that EVERYTHING about us needs to be a testament to your strength, your presence, your love, in us. Help us to remember that in all situations and give us the desire to practise self-discipline and servanthood.

Dear God, as we begin to study a new passage ~ a passage on women in the church ~ help us to once again not be overwhelmed by our responsibilities, but to seek simply to serve you. To be the women you would want us to be, using your Holy Word as our guide.

Thank you for each and every one of these women joining me on this journey. The closer we look at these passages, the more in common I realize we all have and I pray that another common strain would be our perseverance, our desire to become more like you every day. Give each of us renewed and well-ordered hearts and minds this week.

In your name, I pray.
Amen.

So what were your thoughts about this week's study? Anything strike a particular chord ~ or nerve?! Write your own blog post and then paste the direct link to that post here in the Mr. Linky and be sure to visit and encourage the others who've joined in. Remember, we're all sitting out on my lovely (imaginary!) front porch together!! Oh, that reminds me, more iced tea anyone?

If you're just discovering this study now, but would like to join in, leave me a comment, making sure your email address is available, and I can promptly send you the first several lessons so that even if you only sign up today for the True Woman Makeover, you'll have lessons #13, 14, and 15 to join the discussion next week.

See you next Tuesday, ladies! Thanks so much for coming!



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happy independence day, neighbours!!

happy birthday, land o' mine!

Below are two pictures I took at the rodeo last year. I figure nothin' says

"C A N A D A"

like they do!!