by tascha
I am currently reading through Proverbs with the purpose of Journaling.
It is a book full of applicable sayings that are {mostly} simple to illustrate. Is that cheating? 🙂
I made this decision last Friday, thus, beginning on Proverbs 3.
Also, I do not do much studying on Sundays… perhaps that is slacking of me, but that’s the way it is for now.
On to some verses that stood out last Friday.
” [13] Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
[15] She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
[33] The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.”
Godly wisdom, as we learn throughout this entire book {and all of Scripture}, is something that comes only from God. There is no age limit and there are no experiences that can create true Godly wisdom.
So when we get the understanding and find the wisdom that only comes from ready, studying, meditating and truly learning and applying God’s Word, we will find happiness.
On Wednesday evenings at church, we are studying the book of Leviticus… and learning that HOLINESS is what brings HAPPINESS. This is basically what this means.
In our flesh, we all desire riches and all manner of wealth; but only when we seek God and study His Word and learn His Heart can we find actual peace and lasting happiness.
Surely, this world offers a fleeting fun, happy feeling, for a season [Hebrews 11:25]. But it is just that… for a season, fleeting, a feeling. It is not deep and abiding and everlasting.
Also, as a wife and mother, I desire a blessed habitation. As one who is home most of every day with my children, I desire a HAPPY habitation to. 🙂
And I have found, through days of striving to study and apply Scripture and then days of sorely lacking, that these principals HOLD TRUE
– every – single – time!
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by tascha |
And a free download at the end…
In my last post, I alluded to a relationship between Psalm 15 and the book of James…
Verse 1 of Psalm 15 asks a very interesting question: Lord, who shall abide in they tabernacle…?
We begin to see the answer with verse 2: He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
I like to break sentences apart and examine individual phrases (did I ever mention I was an English major in college?) as well as define words to their most basic meaning in order to understand.
So this verse tells me that if I am to dwell in God’s Holy Hill (His tabernacle, now ME)…
I must:
walk uprightly
to walk means to go the way of, a manner of life, traverse.
uprightly means whole & entire, sound or perfect, in accord {agreement} with truth and fact, with integrity, wholesome and innocent.
work righteousness
work means to make or commit or do.
righteousness is justness of law; what is right; proper weights & measures [balance]; ethically right.
speak truth in my heart
truth is the state of being true, something accurate based on reality {in this instance, I would suggest that Scripture is our only truth… feelings and emotions will lead us astray every time. We must line up with Scripture}
in my heart… my own heart. I must not try to deceive myself. I must be so in-tune with Scripture that I recognize a lie, whether I try to tell it to myself or another is trying to sway me.
Is my manner of life whole and full of integrity?
Do I walk in agreement with the Truth of Scripture?
Do my works commit justice of law? Are they ethical?
Are my deeds properly weighted or balanced?
Is my mind and heart so saturated with hearing and learning and mediating on truths from Scripture that I recognize a lie when the deceiver brings one to me?
These are all weighty questions I am asking myself… and I am trying not to deceive my own heart.
Because, as Jeremiah writes in chapter 17: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
…and when I do NOT do these things… my Spirit {God’s Spirit IN me} is troubled and there is no peace in God’s Tabernacle!
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by tascha
The name Sarai, given as Abram’s wife in Genesis, is often referred to as meaning
“my princess.”
But upon further study and digging into the full meaning and its root -outside of the Hebrew, as it is not a Hebrew name-
it seems that Sarai meant “ruler, an official, a commander, etc.”
I can see why some might declare Sarai to simply be another name meaning “princess.” They look and sound similar. A princess is a ruler, of sorts.
But I heard of at least one commentary that identified this name as meaning “a domineering woman.” I found a study online as well as a commentary in my online Bible that indicate the same.
I tend to go with God changing her name for a reason…
and Sarah means “princess or noblewoman.”
How true is the first description of so many women!
To be brutally honest, any woman not completely controlled by God’s Holy Spirit becomes a domineering woman, whether she will admit to it or not.
There are plenty of times I thought I was doing OK “on my own” and have looked back… to realize just how “not OK” I really was. {and I am sure there are more than I can actually remember!}
These times of trying to be Godly in my own strength are futile.
Anything done in my own strength is futile.
And this, my friends, is the crux of the matter… the heart of my problem every day.
This woman was the same physical person after her name change as before. She had the same flesh and blood, the same needs.
What changed in her life was God.
God made a covenant, the promise of a son.
God made her to be Sarah.
She was a controlling wife who became a princess!
being crowned
She could do nothing to merit God’s favor.
Yet He gave it.
He made the covenant.
Only God can take my “Sarai”
and make me “Sarah”
I am a living Sarai… often trying to be Sarah on my own.
{You can read of Sarai/Sarah in Genesis chapters 12-49.}
by tascha |
Just last evening I found out about a challenge called 31 days of writing on one topic. I thought: I should do that! It might get me back in the groove of posting more frequently… but, everyday? Can I do that? I mean, if I could, would I not already be?
But I have been contemplating recently that I really need/want to get back to why I started this blog: sharing how God is working in my own heart about being the woman God has created me to be!
So maybe… maybe it’s the jump-start I need! I never planned to blog every.single.day. But that doesn’t mean I can’t every once in a while.
I have had several different ideas of what/how to do devotional thoughts every day for a certain period of days, except I don’t blog on Sundays and rarely on Saturday-but I can get in a Saturday groove… and schedule for Sundays.
So I have decided to do a 31 days of be still and KNOW… because when I’m listening, God touches me each and every day-right where I am in my ordinary life. My goal is to have something posted just after lunch each day.
by tascha
Do you know when your children just really need some extra rest?
The fussiness, crankiness, general irritability–that just screams at you, “Please put me in my bed and let my body rest!”
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| yep, that’s a pouty face… |
Some days, my spirit is like that. The children’s fussiness grates on my nerves; the mess that accompanies 6 people in a small space… clothing, toys, school papers, mis-matched socks, lost cups [found days later], remnants of “teachable moments” {let’s see how well you can put your own clothing away. hehe}, etc.; and then they all want to eat-3 times a day… all work together to make my soul weary. And yet, I am not to be weary in well-doing.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galatians 6:7-9.
And I realize that…I am trying to do good… in my own strength {again}.
{I am reaping weakness… because I am sowing in my own strength}
Come unto me…and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me… ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Matthew 11:28,29
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by tascha |
One of the passages I read this morning was in Luke 6… where the Lord Jesus says:
Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? …why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? … Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. [select from verses 39-42]
Usually I hear this passage preached or spoken of as a reason for “not judging” your brother… And I like this quote I have seen recently: “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.” which implies that we all sin, because we do!… but there ARE appropriate times and places to give judgment.
And I don’t think I’m going where you think I’m going… { 🙂 }.
I am turning the tables on myself here.
Often, I find myself disciplining my children… for acting: just-like-me!
Not – how I acted when I was a child {that’s another post!}, but how I acted… – yesterday.
I see the mote in my brother’s [child’s] eye but NOT in my own, until it has driven me crazy… in my child’s life!
Recently, and again this morning, I have purposed to asking God to help me see the beam/mote/problem in my own life before the same thing in my children causes me frustrations.
Because- while I can punish them for doing wrong and teach them about what is appropriate and kind, etc. {as I should!} -until I actually acknowledge [that’s the hardest part] and change these situations in my own life, all the teaching and disciplining and punishing will be counter-productive!
And then the Lord gives grace and wisdom for me to deal with the same in my children’s lives. {It is always a lesson in patience.}
{Being a mother is one of the
most rewarding things I have ever done,
but it is also quite humbling! 🙂 }
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by tascha |
I read recently where someone was saying that [one of] the problems with the church is that she is not teaching us about how to “work.” One commenter dubbed it the “doctrine of vocation.”
Here is a quote which nearly sums the article:
“Christianity is given (sold?) to us, in the main, as a life of evangelism, morality and church activities. [yet] Our lives are made up of finely drawn details. Each day is full of countless ones. We do all these ‘little’ things at home, at work, and in the marketplace and they just don’t get a lot of sermon time.” [you can read its entirety here]
{And I believe this man is honestly speaking from a sincere heart. This is no attack on him or his thoughts. I do not even know him!}
This got me to thinking… and wondering:
Are we supposed to learn how to “act Christian” at work?
Is there a different way to express our faith in the workplace as opposed to in church on Sunday?
…and that made me be still… to listen and know.
It is almost cliche among Christians {especially those who are faithful to church and church activities} to say: Let Christ have preeminence…
{this is the first verse that popped in my head after reading the blog post: Colossians 1:18, And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence}
It seems to be often preached: Put Jesus first… and you will have peace, you will know joy, life will have meaning, etc.
Often, both phrases are used interchangeably.
But they are not the same.
And I am not actually supposed to put Jesus first.
I am to put Him only.
Preeminence implies that nothing else can compare.
There is no list for Him to be “first” on because He IS “the list.”
In the beginning of my Christian journey, He was the “first one” that I reached for/called out to in certain situations… but because He is always enough, then I ended up realizing that He is the only anything that I need in any situation. We’re all learning.
The problem, as I find in the Bible, is not that the church does not meet this supposed need of teaching us how to live in our different compartments: church, work, play, with friends, with family, in a store, in a restaurant, at a church function as opposed to a work function, with church friends as opposed to unsaved colleagues,etc.
The problem is that: WE LIVE IN COMPARTMENTS.
If I could just realize {and convey through example and testimony} that Christ is to simply be my life… I would see how He permeates [fills] every aspect
… without special training or doctrines.
Further reading in that same passage reveals:
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;….by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him… whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Colossians 1:18-20. {He is the fulness of all things… in heaven or on earth.} [emphasis mine]
and further still…
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled… through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:If ye continue in the faith … and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, …even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known …the glory of this mystery… which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, … whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.Colossians 1:21-29 [selected, emphasis mine]
If I remember correctly, Paul, though a traveling missionary… worked. He had a “vocation” outside of being a minister of the Gospel. And yet, when speaking of Christ, Paul never mentions anything apart from Jesus is the fulness… of… well, of life.
Jesus is the fulness of life–all life.
He is not just the fulness of going to church or of witnessing or of having family devotions.
If the Spirit whispers within me to speak to a perfect stranger about the Gospel, Jesus is being the fulness “in the store.” If I realize that I have not given a true effort in a particular area of my secular job, then I know that I have not allowed Jesus to be the fulness in my “vocation.”
When I rest in His strength and find joy in His contentment, He becomes the fulness of any area/compartment I may have in my life.
Thus, Jesus becomes my life; and I do not need to blame my church for not teaching me how to live in my compartments.
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by tascha |
For nearly 2 weeks I have posted each day of things the Lord has shown me either from personal Bible reading to in the simple day-to-day of being at home with my children.
Today, I have read several familiar passages {as was in my scheduled reading} and 1 of my usual “daily devotionals” and there has not been one particular thought or lesson that has made itself shareable. Several previous posts have been brought to mind though. {:) -ever learning:
~ [being a more faithful witness of His Love] ~ [personal responsibility] ~ [how I can have strength] ~ [seeing my own faults in my children’s needs] ~ [learning to live as His child from my own children] ~ to name a few}
Often the Lord shows me things that simply are not meant for me to share with the world, because my desire for this blog is to not be divisive. I do realize there are some who do not agree with 100% of what I share, but my prayer is that nothing I write can be taken and turned on the Lord to say: Look, she claims to be following Jesus and yet she is constantly having other Christians criticize or rebuke her for this or that. That makes my testimony of no effect for God’s glory.
Some things the Lord shows me personally are quite controversial, such as with dress standards or music our family will listen to or even how I plan to vote…I have personal, God-directed, husband-approving {yes, that is important to me!}, philosophies and opinions about all of those areas.
And there are blogs out there where the blogger’s simple desire to to share everything… and that’s fine!
But that is not my blog’s purpose. I strive to only speak of how God is changing my own heart.
Some posts I hesitate to publish because I am uncertain of the reaction, and I must be sensitive to my family’s place of influence in our church. I do not want to come across as pointing a finger at anyone. The “followers” number often fluctuates and I wonder… was it something I wrote or did they just really not understand what this blog was about when they first started following? [I don’t actually write to grow a “following,” but I do notice those things.] Most of my posts are first read by my husband. A few posts have been read by close, Godly friends before I hit “publish.”
One verse in my reading today that perhaps prompted these thoughts was in Proverbs 13:10- Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well-advised there is wisdom.
While I wish to speak only truth, and I strive to do it in love, I also wish to do so with a visible humility so as to avoid contention due to my personage.
My heart’s desire is to not come across as someone who gushes that she has found all the answers because even though the principles I do find and share come from Scripture, I will never have ALL the answers [and neither will you 🙂 ].
And aside from
salvation, there is much of our life as Christians that is simply to be governed by the two great commands Jesus shared in Matthew. I wrote a little about that on
{day 1}. But I do praise the Lord that I know where to FIND the answer to anything I need.I suppose that is it for today. I was
still... the Lord showed me things I have already written about that need more attention in my own life.
And He reminded me of my need to be peaceable and show humility in all things I write.
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