Friday, February 26, 2010

Being His Crown

Friday's Homemaker Moments will be hosted at Angie's Site this week.  Click here to read what is on her mind.  Join us with comments, MckLinky, or BlogFrog!

I will add this note: Today is my husband's 37th birthday!  I am very proud of this man.  He is kind, gentle, direct, and loving.  We have been married for 12 years and I am thankful to God because he actively chased after me.  Many women are not chased after and I was.  For that I am thankful but one it displays in him the quality of endurance!  He understood the prize he was getting in me.  Nothing WORTH having comes without WORK!  I have few pictures that I just love of this man.  So I will post them for you to see in celebration of his birthday.

Happy Birthday King
Love,
Your Queen

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Word Wednesday!

James 2:1-13 (ESV)
The Sin of Partiality

1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

I have found myself GUILTY of this sin!  Of, course not in a direct way but in the subtle way.  The kind of way that many people would agree with my position.  However, at the end of the day I need to know that in my heart there is paritiality!  Lord, help me to be who you call me to be.  Help me to love others as I desire to be loved. Breakdown the walls that I create in relationships when I am afraid of the consequences of real love towards a brother or sister.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Titus TWOsday

So, here we are on another Wonderful Titus TWOsday.  What is happening in your world?  I am currently recovering from some major work!  It was a labor of love but none the less a labor! As I sit and think of the direction for us today I am a little torn because I don't think I am an expert in this area but we are going for it anyway.  Titus 2:3..Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior!  That is our topic REVERENT BEHAVIOR! 

So I have questions today. What does reverent behavior look like?  How are you walking reverently (is that a word?)? What are your struggles with this? I will add on to this post but my computer is being very difficult.  So as soon as time avails I will seek to answer these questions myself. Let me hear from you.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Ministry Monday

click to find out more about Nehemiah Projects

This is where they began!




This is the beginning of the NEW!






This is the Group of HANDS that made it all POSSIBLE!

Saturday was the big day for Emilio and Nancy!  I have shared parts of their story for the past few weeks on the Monday Ministry post. They were moved from their previous living conditions to the new apartment in order that they may begin a new life and have their granddaughter restored to their custody!  There were a large number of people who worked together to make this happen so I will begin my long list of thanks now....

Chi Alpha Campus Ministries (UCA)
Conway Regional Rehabilitation Center
Conway Celebration Church
Due Amiche's Resturant
Faulkner County Council on Developmental Disabilities
NLC Elevation
NU:U Day Spa & Salon
The Church in Oakwood
The City of Hope Outreach
XII Ministry
Ye Ol' Daisy Flower Shop

We
Thank You
Thank You
Thank You!

As we were gathered before heading to work Phillip admonished the group with these words from the book of Isaiah 58.....Fast not by seeking your own pleasure but by sharing your bread with the hungry. Fast by covering the naked. Fast this day by serving this family with Joy and the Love of Christ! 

Again, A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!


Upcoming Events:

KING'S CLUB  Saturday February 27, 2010 @ 12:30PM Oakwood Trailer Park

Friday, February 19, 2010

Being his Crown (Friday's Homemaker Moments)

Okay there is a change of plans.  Homemakers computer has an attitude so you get to talk to me today!  Are you happy?!  Well, anyway as I began to think this morning about the direction of this weeks "Being his Crown" I stumbled across this thought: .  I thought man that is pretty interesting.  We all have flaws but how are we able to still be a lovely beautiful crown atop our husbands head with a big o' flaw? 

Here is my thoughts some of us reading right now were previously married, some had many sex partners, some were told sex was bad and once it become good in marriage you were unable to come to grips with that reality beause your were told bad bad all your life.  Some of us have body image issues, others have guarded hearts because someone has hurt us emotionally, some of us are never satisfied, some of us refuse to submit because we think our husband is stupid, or just not as smart as we are.  Some of us carry poison in the form of a tongue and take every opportunity to spread it, some of us crush the very spirit of our husband with our attitudes, some of us are unwilling to love without perfect conditions, some of us abuse others out of a wounded heart, and some are trying so hard to again the approval of that one person all the while ignoring or dealing harshly with the ones whom God has sent that do approve.

That list felt long.  Well, it is long and could actually be longer.  But ladies that is what I am talking about, the flawed crown.  How are we working through the flaws in our lives as we are "BEing his Crown"?  You are still his crown dear sister, but let's face it we are not the perfect unstained crowns of glory! 

So my answer is a daily renewing.  I love my husband with all that I am but I admit to being flawed. I protect myself because I have been hurt,  it is hard for me to allow myself to be nurtured by him because he too is imperfect.  I had to come to grips with being raped and then allowing my body to be used by dudes in order that I would recieve "love".  All of that to then find I was never loved at all!  Remember, we are talking about a beautiful lovely flawed crown.  So how do I look in the mirror and present to my husband and ultimately the world this crowned beauty?  In Christ Alone!  I am not trying to be preachy but maybe I am.  I just want to offer hope to the woman who says Vine Woman or Homemaker Chronicle you seem to have it all together, but I am flawed.  No love we are all flawed!  Here is the amazing gift that I have recieved in Christ.  

All of my flaws, I MEAN ALL, Past, Present and Future flaws/sins have been addressed by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.  The Vine Woman with the endless list of flaws is looked upon by God as a spotless, beaming light of radiance adorned atop of her husbands head!  Praise the Lord for such a wonderful gift in Christ.  The spiritual REALITY is that my crown is unstained, my daily concern is that I would walk in the natural this spiritual reality! To repeat that answer again it is a daily renewing in Christ.  I am constantly reminding myself of who God says I am because of Jesus Christ.  

Jude 1:24-25 says "Now to Him who is able to keep me from falling and present me faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. AMEN!

It is Christ who sustains my unspoted crown atop my husband's head! 

So link up and leave a comment.  How are you dealing with "The FLAW in your Crown"?  

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Women in the Word Wednesday!

Mark 8:31-38

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."



34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."


I was challenged this week to consider what I have been willing to exchange for my life.  Is it the gospel, the cross of Christ, or some created thing?  I found I placed high stakes in the preservation of my own life, some how unwilling to truly DENY MYSELF and FOLLOW CHRIST IN EVERYTHING!  In my effort to preserve my life I lose it and there is no gain.  The scripture plainly states that if I give up my life, I will gain it.  Lord help me to see that seeking gain in this world is loss. However to lose now is an eternal weight in Glory!  

Lord, count me with the angels that chant your praise both day and night for eternity!

Holy, Holy Holy is the Lord God almighty!   

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Titus Twosday! Woman to Woman Ministry

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled.
This scripture is the base for Tuesday's on my blog. There is so much to be taught. I have come to realize that we will always be a student and always be a teacher. At this point in my life, I have been blessed with a group of women that I am older than (time in marriage, age of children, and life in Christ experience) and at the same time I am the younger woman with a completely different group. This text in Titus has come alive to me in recent years, as I have searched for an older woman who is wise and willing to pour into me. I understand how hard that is for younger women to find that mentor. My heart in this is to encourage women to believe no matter your age and life experience there is someone with less and another with more. So be willing to be taught and willing to teach. When you don't think you have anything to offer you’re probably wrong! We short change ourselves and others when we withhold blessed information that pertains to the scripture above.

For the sake of clarity. Titus 2 is not the verse in the bible that we should use to make every woman like us, quite the contrary! A good teacher is able to see beyond their own ability and help another achieve their personal best. I know that sounded like some self help book. But, you do understand, Right?

Here are the topics we will examine....

1. Being reverent in behavior
2. What is the process of training?
3. Loving your husband
4. Loving your children
5. Being self controlled
6. Being pure
7. Being a worker at home
8. Being Kind
9. Being Submissive to YOUR own husband
10. How our actions and being affect the Word of God

I pray you will be blessed by this time in Titus with me. Ask questions, share your thoughts. I’d like to hear from you. This is how we follow the scriptures. My opinion is the younger women need to learn how to close their mouths, listen and learn. While older woman need to be bold and share was they have learned, experienced and understand in scripture.

I am currently working on loving my husband and children, and working at home. With my husband I am taking time to understand him and his needs. Therefore being a better wife. It is work to learn a man that you know and feel like you understand but I must keep in mind that he is changing as well. If you have not been connected with the FHM being his Crown here is a clip we were assigned homework to learn about our husbands. One of the questions was what does he need from you? My husband answered that he needed me to be more open and vulnerable. Well, that my friend is HARD! I have been hurt, hurt and more hurt. The strange this is most of my hurt did not come from him, yet he has to suffer through it. CRAZY huh! We are really seeking the Lord. But it blew me away to know that he needs me to be more vulnerable, the very thing I know I can’t do in my flesh. My flesh wants to protect against every potential enemy foreign or domestic!

The loving my children is twofold. I love enough to teach them responsibility. Again, if you are just now tuning into my blog we have CHORECHARTS! Each child has a job to do. They contribute to our home and life. They are important in our house and in ministry. I don’t want to send any of my children to marry unprepared for real life. As each one of you know real life is chores and sacrifice. So the more they get now the better they will be in the future.

Monday, February 15, 2010

It's Ministry Monday

What is going on? Well, a lot!  Psalm 82:3-4 tells us to, "Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked".  This is our work this week.  I have talked about this family we are helping by doing the Nehemiah Project/ Extreme Home Make Over, the Lord is moving in great and mighty ways.  We will see if we can assist in finding them another place to live tomorrow and basically establish them on their feet.  They need all new furniture, and basic household items.  It will be a destruction of the old and a new beginning.  The wife shared with the congregation today about a healing she recieved from the Lord.  She asked me to lay hands on her and pray for healing.  So I did, believing that it would be a pure work of God to heal her body.  She told us that three days after our prayer time she was without pain and has not felt any since.  WOW, our God is awesome!  He hears our cries and answers in our affliction. Praise the Lord!  You can read about their make over story here. If you want to donate to help this family re-establish themselves you may do so here.  Transformation day is February 20, 2010...THIS SATURDAY!  If you would like to help comment on this post and we can get you connected.
Here are a list of things this family will need.

  • Towels, bath / wash / Hand
  • Shower Curtains
  • Sheets and comforter (twin and queen)
  • Chore Chart
  • Dishes (set of 4)
  • Silverware
  • Pots and pans
  • glasses
  • curtains
  • Cleaning products
  • Towels and oven mitts for kitchen
  • Trash Cans
  • Broom and Mops
  • Vacuum Cleaner
  • Food
  • Ramp
  • Dry Erase Board

Here are some pictures of the house they are currently living in.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

An Awesome Testimony!

As I was looking around the internet for chicken and beef that are fed the proper foods...like grass for cows etc. etc.  I stumbled across this farm and this was the testamony of the owner and founder.  I normally don't like to read long articles on the internet especially if I don't know the person.  But this one captured me so much so that I had to post it and give you the connection as well.  It is long but it will bless you.


I was driving down a rural highway in north central Wisconsin that Autumn night in 1977, thoughts running wildly through my mind. "Why wasn't I dead?" I thought unbelievingly. I had fully intended to overdose on drugs and end my life just hours before. But after swallowing some one hundred assorted pills that I thought were pretty potent, I woke up surprised not only to find myself alive, but my head clear also. Didn't even catch a buzz!

As a senior in high school, I was hanging around with the wrong crowd, and heavily into the drug culture. My parents being divorced when I was young, I had tried living with both sets of parents and couldn't get along with either one. I didn't strike it off too well with girls either, so with one failed relationship after another, I had decided that death was preferable to life, thinking that somehow it would be a gateway to a better life.

But now I was confused, off balance. Overdosing on drugs seemed like the easiest most painless way of ending my life, and when I decided to finally go through with it, there was no turning back. The thought never occurred to me that I would not succeed. So there I was back in my car driving down a rural highway pondering what to do next. I remembered a junior high teacher once reading an article to our class about a guy who killed himself instantly by driving his car 55 mph into a telephone pole. That was it! It would be instantaneous; painless.

There was one problem, however. As I drove down this unfamiliar rural road somewhere north of Appleton (about 2 hours north of my home in Milwaukee), there were drainage ditches between the edge of the road and where the telephone poles were. I feared my car would never make it over the ditch.

Finally the road led through a small country town consisting of not much more than a bar and grocery store. But it was lit up with a few light poles on the gravel shoulder of the main highway. This was it. I backed the car up several hundred yards, and then floored it, racing towards one of the light poles. A glance at the speedometer read 85 mph just before impact. And then total darkness…… for maybe 10-15 seconds.

The sound of my car horn blaring woke me up…. again. Again I had failed. With nothing better to do, I decided to try and crawl out of the wreckage. The car was now upside down, but my driver-side window was missing, so I began to climb out. The people who were in the bar across the street rushed over and helped me the rest of the way out. One guy exclaimed to his buddies, "Wow! Check it out! He knocked down the light pole!" It was probably the most excitement that little town had seen in years. They called an ambulance and took me to a nearby hospital.

At the hospital they did some routine checks on me, but other than a few bruises, I had driven my car into a light pole 85 mph and walked away from it. The police were able to contact my father through my licenses plates. I was kept in the hospital overnight for observations, mostly out of concern for the drugs I had taken.

So I laid there in the hospital bed staring at the ceiling and wondering why I was alive. The thought had never occurred to me that I would not succeed in ending my life. Then it hit me. I did not have control over my own life. God did. It was not mine to take. This was not some tremendous revelation or anything like that, it was just something I had learned that day through practical experience. And it gave me comfort. I felt as if God was saying to me: "I have a purpose for your life, just wait." From that night on I never again had the desire to take my own life.

The next day confirmed my suspicions that God had been in control the whole time. First the sheriff's report from the "accident" came in. I learned that my car had gone right through the light pole shearing it out of the ground, and then continued up the road, veered off into a drainage ditch, hit a culvert that went underneath a driveway which upended the car and flipped it over three times finally coming to rest upside down. Wow! And I walked away from that! But wait, it gets better….

My dad says to me, "Let's go to the crash site on the way home." Ok I thought, why not? As we drive down the rural highway heading north out of Appleton, we come to the small town where I crashed the car. The name of the town: Freedom. We drive over to the place where the car finally came to rest: right in front of a big country church. As I look at that church and reflect on God's control over my life, my Dad says to me: "Hey, look at the name of that bar across the street." I turn around and look at it: The Crash Inn. My Dad chuckles, and I feel like I'm in the twilight zone or something.

It's time to drive back to Milwaukee, but we decide to stop at the junk yard where they hauled my car. We ask the guy where the Torino is that they brought in this morning. The guy takes us to the car. He looks at the car, looks at me, and then asks, "Were you driving that car??" I nod in affirmant. The guy shakes his head in disbelief. "You see that car over there?" he says, pointing to a large wrecked car, "It's not half as smashed up as yours, but the guy driving that car didn't make it."

We walk over to what used to be my car. Totally demolished. The engine was pushed off its block, and half of it was in the passenger side front seat. The car basically crumpled when it took out the light pole. The guy said he couldn't even tow it, because the wheels and axles were bent. He had to use a flat-bed truck and lift it up there with a crane. After hauling it to the junk yard, he had to return a second time to pick up all the pieces. But the driver seat was still in tact. It was almost as if a protective bubble had been placed around it. I left there feeling like my life was worth something to God, and that he had me on this earth for some reason.

Going back to school, my whole outlook on life changed. I now had hope, believing that God had some purpose for my life. I had been brought up in church, and had been taught the Bible and the creeds of my Protestant denomination, but my faith was very "creedal" also: it didn't have much of an impact on my day to day life. So I went back to my old friends and my partying way of life.

But my attitude in school changed. I was enrolled in a specialty program in my senior year of high school majoring in business and marketing. With my new found self confidence, I excelled in the program, especially in demonstrating sales abilities. I won some awards in some city and state wide competitions, and purposed to graduate from high school and make a lot of money in sales. After graduating from high school, I quickly got certified and began to sell accident and health insurance door-to-door. I was doing great, and even sold a policy my first day on the field. But there was something missing, and I often felt guilty having "conned" someone to buy a policy that they probably didn't need and wasn't quite what they expected it to be.

So I got a job in a factory working a graveyard shift from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. three days on and three days off. It was a good hourly rate, and a lot of my buddies from high school were working there. It was boring work, and we all "got high" to help us make it through the long shifts. But I always saw it as temporary work, until I found a good sales job that I really liked. It allowed me some financial freedom, and I was able to rent a condominium with another friend. I was also able to buy a nice sports car. Life was great in many ways, I could now party as much as I wanted. But I was still empty and unsatisfied with my life. I knew there had to be more, and I just thought that if I could get a good job with the potential to advance in a career, that I would be happy.

After about a year out of high school and having worked at the factory for several months, I decided to get back into sales. This time I got a job selling educational books. It seemed like a more "worthy" product to be selling. But something inside of me said that I would not be happy doing this either if I didn't have God's blessing. So facing discouragement again, and having no where to go but forward, because I had already tried running away from my problems, and I had already tried exiting life and God wouldn't let me, I decided to try not getting high for a few days and just read the Bible, to try and understand what God's will was for my life.

This was July of 1979, and at that point I had been getting high on drugs every day for almost 4 years straight. As I read the Bible, and I don't even remember what exactly I was reading, I became acutely aware of my sins. I had always considered myself a Christian, and a good person. Even though I got high on drugs, I was no junkie. I rationalized my behavior as being no different than the casual social drinker of alcohol. It was just that one was legal and the other wasn't. But I thought the laws were wrong, not me.

But now two major sins in my life were staring me right in the face: one was my drug usage, and the other one was planning my life without considering what God wanted me to do with my life. Without even really understanding what the word "repentance" means, I saw myself in a different light, and knew that my sins were keeping me from knowing God's will. I immediately confessed my sins to God, and told him that I was not going to make any more decisions about my life until He told me what He wanted me to do.

What happened next is truly the miracle in my life, and words cannot come close to describing the inner transformation that occurred in me that summer day in 1979. First of all, a joy and peace flooded my being, such that I had never known could even exist in this life. It was the ultimate high, and it was from the Holy Spirit. It was so wonderful, that I took all my paraphernalia that I used to smoke pot and threw it into the dumpster outside our building. What I had found was so much better than drugs, that I never had a desire to get high on drugs again.

Secondly, the words in the Bible now came alive. It was as if God was speaking directly to me through them, and indeed He was. The facts I had studied for years as a kid growing up in church now became part of a vibrant relationship with the living God, and with the Savior of the world Jesus Christ. Having never doubted the facts of Jesus life, death, and resurrection, they now came alive with fresh meaning. I read the entire New Testament in about two weeks: I just couldn't get enough of it. When I read verses like Romans 5:7-8 "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," I would just fall down and weep over the incredible love God was showing me through Christ.

I now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had saved me, not just from a suicide attempt, but He had truly saved me from my sins, and that I was now going to be with Him in eternity: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Since I had dedicated my life to God, I decided to go back to school and study the Bible. I studied the Bible for a number of years, and then served in full-time ministries in various parts of the world. But I have also learned that one does not have to be professional Christian minister to be serving God. You can serve God as a minister wherever you are in many different ways. Today my business is providing healthy food, and I seek to serve God in that task to the best of my ability. The Bible says, and science now confirms, that a "joyful heart is good medicine." The Bible has much to say about good health, and not all of it is physical. Our spiritual and emotional state has more to do with our health than our modern rationalistic society and medical system would care to admit. So if you are seeking better health, don't just look at your physical symptoms. Look to the Great Physician, and healer of your soul, and give your heart to Christ for true peace with God. Then you will discover true health and life! Everything else on this website, and any product I have to offer you, is worthless if you don't know God and His incredible love for you, and understand His will for your life. The best part is that His offer of eternal life is free for you, because he already paid the price of your sins through the blood of his Son. I have nothing here to offer you that can beat that!

Peace!
Brian Shilhavy

Founder, Tropical Traditions, Inc.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Being his Crown



Last week there was homework!  Make a comment on this site or on BlogFrog to share insight from the homework assignment!  Today's Being his Crown (FHM) will be hosted at homemaker chronicles. Click here to read what is on Angie's mind.  Don't forget to join in on the discussion at Blog Frog

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Chores and Charts PRAISE THE LORD!

Saturday the 6th of February my family and I spend the day with all the Halehole's.  We had a fabulous time and exchanged some great family ideas.  Mrs. Halehole allowed me to borrow two books (Managers of Their Homes & Managers of Their Chores by Steven and Teri Maxwell).  These books have changed my world (for the better)!  I am so thankful to God and the Maxwell's and to Mrs. Halehole for getting this information into my hands! 

I am now the proud momma of three morning chore chart packs, and a color coded kitchen chore chart.  We still have lots of charting and chores to establish, but I am very excited by what I have seen so far.

We have kept rooms squared away for days.  Dinner clean up took all of 10 minutes.  I don't think you understand what I am saying.  IT TOOK 10 Minutes to clean an entire kitchen for a family of five.  That my friends is SUCCESS!

I did not understand the importance of having my children participate in household chores until recently.  So word to the wise get these little people moving!  Not only for you but truly for them and their future spouse!


Thanks friends!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Scripture of the Day!

Isaiah 53


1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Ministry Monday

It's Monday and the week has flown by. Last week was jammed packed with ministry opportunities and task. Monday was recovery day; Tuesday I spent time with a family in Oakwood. Wednesday the kids had doctor’s appointments, Thursday, Phil met with Peace Lutheran Church and I worked to created a story board for that. Then the kids and I went to a math and science fair. And, finally on Friday there was Friday Morning coffee and taxes. But, let me tell you a little more about the family from Oakwood.


Her husband is a double amputee and the wife has suffered many injuries. They are trying to get their home in order so they can be reunited with their granddaughter. As I took a walk through the home my heart broke at all that my eyes beheld. I had never seen anything like it before. This family has been connected with the Church in Oakwood for several months. We could not ignore their hurt because of these words in Psalm 82:3-4.
"Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
This family has an income of $1600 monthly and pays $425 in rent and has a gas bill on average of $600. WHY is the bill so high? Well, because there are gaping holes in the floor, the front door, and the windows. They have to borrow money from others to get food. They don't qualify for food stamps because they make too much money, yet not enough to survive. The husband and wife don't even sleep in the same bed. He has a special bed (twin) and the wife sleeps on the couch. That couch was left there by the previous residents and is sloped in many areas. She suffers from ulcers in her abdominal area and has problems with the disk in her neck which causes very painful headaches. If that isn't enough she has also had three eye surgeries and is 70% blind. There a many with this story. The story of, one thing after another. But, these people are right in our midst. What can be done in light of the word that has been resting on my heart?
 
Here is our current direction. We are partnering with Chi Alpha a college ministry of University Central Arkansas (Conway) to serve this family. Chi Alpha does what is called "Not So Extreme Home Makeovers" were they gather about 40-75 students to help serve a family. The City of Hope Outreach has what is called "The Nehemiah Project" based from the book of Nehemiah. We want to help rebuild this area of Conway. Many people have ignored this area, and we are crying out on their behalf. So we are putting together our resources and skill to help change this situation. Not only that but we are working with this family toward empowerment and responsibility.
I have to add this in as a HUGE side note. We talked to them about moving into a trailer that was a whole lot better and a little less then what they are paying now. Her response was, “But we don’t want to leave the church”. I was floored at that statement. She went on to explain that this was the only church they felt at home in. She mentioned how much they are loved and cared for, when they needed hope Phil would show up at their front door.
It is hard to change behaviors without instruction. People need people who will be willing to take time out of their "busy" lives and lovingly train and instruct in everyday basics. We can't assume that everyone has been taught from the same values and skill sets. When a person is struggling and is searching then we need to be there.

 
The next stage is getting people who will help with the basic how to. For instance, how to wash laundry, prepare and clean after dinner, on and on. What need is basically a schedule and training to accomplish the things set before them. I am working on a schedule myself. This is the helpful guide I am using and will help this family with. Anyway, that was a lot and will continue to be a lot as we take the gospel into the lives of men and women.

 
The message of the gospel not only affects your relationship with Christ, but it will affect your love for others, how you live and where you are willing to live. As the gospel is made more and more alive in your heart you will be willing to dig deeper and deeper in the mess of your own life and the lives of others.

 

 

 
UPCOMING EVENTS
  • King's Club in Oakwood Saturday February 13, 2010 @ 1:00PM
  • Sunday Worship in Oakwood Sunday February 14, 2010 @ 1:00PM
  • Community Meeting in Oakwood Friday 19, 2010 @ 4:00PM
  • Nehemiah Project/ Not So Extreme Home Make Over in Oakwood Saturday February 20,2010 @ 10:00AM

 
Please be praying about each one of these events and activities. It is our prayer and goal that Christ Name be made known through the PROCLAIMED WORD and the WORD LIVED OUT!

 

 

 

Friday, February 5, 2010

Being His Crown (Friday's Homemaker Moments)



The topic...Learning YOUR husband, so he can wear HIS CROWN (YOU) well!


It's Friday and I am holdin' it down for the "Being his Crown" FHM this week! I am thrilled to share this particular topic with you ladies. In my 12 years of marriage to Phil, I have realized that the type of woman my husband needs is very specific. It has taken years and years to fully understand (did I say fully? I meant gain a little understanding of) his needs as a man, husband, father, friend and co-laborer in the gospel of Christ.

In times past I struggled with comparing myself to others (especially Christian women). You know how we (Christian women) try to act like everything is perfect in our world because of Jesus all the while hurting and in need of one or two sisters to just say, "I hear you, I understand or you can make it through." Okay I feel like I am digressing!

My point is you are your husband's crown not mine. So the things that I do should be specific to my husbands needs. Have you ever done this?

Talked to a friend and they said, "I wake up at 5:00am have a quiet time with the Lord for one hour. After that I make a full breakfast for my husband and kids. Then as my husband leaves for work the kids and I stand at the door waving as he pulls out of the driveway because that is what he likes. It makes him feel important and significant." So, after this conversation you go home and wake up the next morning at 5:00am and attempt to recreate this woman’s morning. But the response from your husband is much different. Your husband does not like big breakfasts. As a result he overlooks your meal, gives quick kisses to everyone, hops in his car and drives off looking back at the whole family like you have all LOST your mind. Then you walk away feeling like the biggest unloved, unwanted LOSER!

Has that ever happened to you? Well, I have experienced something along those lines. I can recall thinking those are good things I should do them. I thought my husband would really respond favorably to this, only to find that he is in no way interested. This type of comparing hurts marriage. We need to take time to understand our own husband. I don't need to understand your man you don't need to understand mine. There is nothing wrong with the exchange of ideas and practical things, but at the end of the day we need to see what it is that pleases our OWN husband.

Our goal with FHM Being His Crown is that you would embrace the crown that you are for your husband. However, you can't fully do that if you don't know what kind of jewels he likes to wear. Remember, you are already a crown for your husband, but today we are going to decorate that crown just the way your man likes it.

You have an assignment....
Ask your husband these 10 questions.

1. What type of support do you need from me? Example does he need you to compliment, build his esteem, speak out more often, or brutal honestly.

2. What small or big thing could you do to make his day?

3. How often does he really want to have sex? You have to ask this question. I know most of you think his answer will be everyday all the time. However you many be surprised at the real answer.

4. How does he feel about the food you cook? It is too healthy for him, not healthy enough, is there something he would like to have every now and then?

5. Is the house clean enough? Does it matter to him if there are dishes in the sink overnight?

6. How about your appearance? Would he like you to wear makeup, high heels, flats, more or less jewelry?

7. Does he feel like you respect him, in public and private?

8. Does he feel like you trust him?

9. What is his favorite outfit of yours?

10. Does he need you to be more or less open and vulnerable?


What are your thoughts on this topic? Comment or share on your space using the MckLinky below. Or visit us in the Blog Frog Forum under Homemaker Chronicles.







 

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Scripture of the Day!

Okay so this scripture popped off the page this morning as I read it.  What does it do for you? Pay close attention to the highlighted verse.

Hebrews 12:3-11

Do Not Grow Weary

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives."
7It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Ministry Monday

This is Ministry Monday! I like these little catchy phrases. My goal is to share a portion of my heart and give updates on what is happening in ministry with "The Church in Oakwood" and "The City of Hope Outreach".

I will begin with this scripture.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of GOD. Hebrews 12:1-2
Yesterday was a day of endurance. For those of you who don't know we gather for worship outside under the sun and trees in the center of a run down trailer park. Most of the time it is a blast! However, we had experienced snow and below freezing temperature. So the gathering was at best going to be very cold! The sun came out and shined just bright enough to melt the snow on the trees ever so slightly. Slowly and continually melted snow dripped on many heads throughout our gathering time. This to some degree was funny but not 100%. Much of the reason we gather in this location is to build community, love the outcast and be a visible picture of the body of Christ (rich, middle, poor, black, brown, yellow, white, college education, no diploma etc.). The weather was bad and as a result only one of the regular people aside from my family was there. I thought for a minute why are we here? We could have meet inside my house or someone else's for that matter. And then it hit me. Christ is asking me to "run with endurance the race that is set before me, looking to Jesus". Now there were plenty of people there, however only one who was living in the community.

Then I remembered the witness. There was young man taking out his trash. He happens to deal in creative finances if you know what that means. Anyway, he watched us set up chairs, in prep for fellowship and worship. One of the other residents was blasting his music right were we meet. He came to me and said I will turn it down in a few minutes so as not to disturb the church meeting. Side note this was a man who yelled that he couldn’t stand me and did not want his wife to be brainwashed!

All of that opened one more memory...Gary! He said, "I don't understand why you guys just keep coming back? There is nothing and nobody here, except a bunch of drunks, hoes and dealers! Why do you come?” If I were to see only my comfort many of these people would never understand the love of Christ! We keep coming because Christ kept coming to us! He still does! If I were to stop going before God said, I would never understand how to partake in this joy that is spoken of in Hebrews. So, I seek to endure what is hard and unexplainable for the human heart that in looking to Jesus I may be like my Father.

Be encouraged in your walk with the Lord. Run your race with endurance looking to Christ and receive His Joy!

UPDATES:

Community Assessments

We will be going house to house beginning February 2-5 @ 1p-5p taking a survey of residents and needs (physical, emotional, & spiritual)

Valentine Boxes

This Saturday February 6th @ 1p we are helping the children of Marguerite Vann Elementary School put together valentine's boxes for school!

King's Club

Begins February 13th @ 1pm (will continue every other week). King's Club is a one hour Saturday activity for the children. It will help us to establish and develop relationships with the children and their families in Oakwood. If you would like to help with any of the activities listed above please see the website and sign up.

Not So Extreme Home Make Over

February 20th in Oakwood at 9am. We are helping a family be reunited with their granddaughter by bringing their home up to code. The City of Hope Outreach and Chi Alpha partner again to display the Love of Jesus Christ!

If you would like to get involved with any of these activities click on the title and it will direct you to the website and you can sign up.