"Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. ", Jeremiah 6:16. (amp)~~~~~"A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman ~ who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls." Proverbs 31:10 ~~~~~~ Tina's Priceless Treasures is a group of Ladies who get together every Tuesday, we get a chance to sit down, sip a cup of tea, relax and reflect on God. It's a time of "TBF". "Tea, Bible study and Fellowship." Our goal is to encourage each other in our callings: 1) As women of God, 2) As wives to our husbands and 3) As mothers to our children 4) As grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts and 5) As women in our community.~~~ We are women helping other women embrace their current situations and circumstances, by equipping them with the truth of God's Word! ~ A place where women who have the same passion to be women who live to please God and to raise their children in the Word of God. ~ A vision of a family that is different from this world. ~ Women who want to remain pure before the Lord, in speech, deed and dress. ~ We want a standard for our family and our cities. ~ Women who want to learn from one another.**************** ~ Thanks to all of you who are sharing from your heart to all of us. I hope that I can be as much of an inspiration as you have been to me.
Introducing my new site. This site will have everything that pertains to my ministry: "The Father’s Heart." Also, all newsletters that will be starting in September will be archived here as well.
They will be available on PDF so stay tuned. I will be posting anything on this site that has to do with intimacy and the Father’s heart. Please check it out, here is the address:
http://seasonsofamothersheart.typepad.com/extravagant_love/
Week 1/Day 6
"Weekly Checkup"
Read Proverbs 31:10-11
Practical ~
Day 6 is review and catch up day on any unfinished items. Check to confirm that you have completed the following one time tasks.
I created and have begun using a Personal Notebook.
I am using my Personal Notebook daily.
Week 1/Day 5
"Choose to Focus on the Positive"
Read: Proverbs 31:10-11, Philippians 4:4-9
Guided Prayer: "dear Lord, I rejoice in You! Let the joy nd rest I find in knowing you be manifested in my life as a gentle and quiet spirit….Today, I choose to be anxious about anything. Instead, I’m presenting it all to you and trusting you to work all things together for my good.
Holy Spirit, teach me how to recognize and remain in the peace of God, even when my circumstances are anything but peaceful. I know that peace guards my heart, my mind, and my health too…..I;m fixing my thoughts on what is right in my life: everything that’s true, noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Since this sums up you Jesus, perfectly, all I have to do is fix my eyes on You. Thanks for making it so simple. Amen."
Donna Partow
Personal ~ The Proverbs 31 woman was noble and dignified. But there is nothing less dignified nor noble that a grumbling and complaining woman. Capable women do not complain. They stand up and take action. They look at the situation and see what they can do. Through faith they believe they can do all things through Christ.
"I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]."
Philippians 4:13
The best gift we can give to ourselves as well as those around us, especially our children and spouse, is to remain positive and optimistic.
Studies have shown that our physical health and emotional well-being are directly tied to our mental state. It has also been proven that joy and laughter are our bodies best healers.
"A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 17:22
A study that was done at Harvard found that people in their late midlife with optimistic attitudes and viewpoints were 50% more likely to live another 30 years than those who were always negative.
Wow, 30 years longer.
Basically the choice is ours we can either choose to see the glass half empty and be sad and bitter or see the glass half full and be happy. I choose to see my glass running over. So I am JOYFUL!! I have found that how we see our world has a dramatic outlook on us as well.
We can either look out into the world and see nothing but negative, crime, hate, and evil or we can choose to see the God in others as well as creation. This doesn’t suggest that we do not pay attention to what is happening in the world, but rather we choose to see it and do something about it, to make a difference. We see what is happening spiritually with our spiritual eyes.
A huge step in becoming the woman God would have us to be ~ dignified, noble and virtuous ~ is learning to discipline our minds to focus on what’s right rather than what’s wrong.
Donna has asked of us during the next 90 days ~ to turn our attention to the positive by reprogramming our minds with the truth of God’s Word.
"Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]."
Romans 12:2
We must remember that the mind is the battlefield and will either help or hinder our goal of becoming the woman God has destined us to become. By renewing our minds to the word of God, our thoughts become our ally rather than our enemy.
That is the reason she says that the daily Affirmations are so vital in this program. We must not just write them down once, but read them aloud over and over again to ourselves until they begin to transform us from the inside out.
As we think new thoughts our attitudes and mindsets will begin to change. You will even notice people reacting different towards you. As well as how you react to others!
Affirmation: "I choose to focus on the positive, especially the truth of God’s Word: therefore my life is filled with positive outcomes."
Practical ~ begin reciting your affirmations daily. Each morning, you can rewrite the day’s affirmation on post it notes and post it everywhere you will see it, on index cards and carry them with you everywhere you go.
Notebook: Write the daily Affirmation ona sheet of paper labeled AFFIRMATIONS in the TAG section of your Personal Notebookand begin noting any that are especially meaningful to you. You can even make up your own. Donna says she had a friend who spen 1 hour a day to this spiritual practice and credits it with completely changing her life.
Turn to your affirmation page anytime you have a few spare minutes to redeem the time by renewing your mind to the Word.
Week 1/Day 4 Friday
"Be a Woman Worthy of Confidence"
Read: Psalm 31:10-11, 10-12
"Dear Heavenly Husband, my deepest desire is to become a wife of noble character for you. I know the real test of my character is who I am when no one is watching but you.It is not what I do to impress others or to please myself that counts. What matters most is the choices that I make simply because I want to honor you. I want YOU to be able to have full confidence in me…..I do not want to have sloppy living….I want to bring you good, and not evil, all the days of my life. Thank you for loving me. Empower me to live a life of grateful service in response. Amen."
Donna Partow
Personal ~
The Proverbs 31 husband had full confidence in her because she brought him good and not harm all the days of her life. Can your husband say this about you? What about your spiritual Husband? Can Jesus say that you have brought him good and not evil? Are you the kind of bride that He has full confidence in? Have you ever thought about applying Proverbs 31: 10-31 to your relationship with Jesus. The bible says we are His bride and He is our groom.
This may have you asking yourself, "How does one bring Jesus harm?" Well, I know that when we are out in public and we are choosing not to represent Christ in godliness we are bring harm to his name. It is quite humorous because many "Christians" will set a good example for their spouses when they are in front of their spouses boss, as to keep him in good standing at a job. But they will go to their own jobs and act a plum nut and claim they are "Christians," yet give the Lord ~ their spiritual husband a bad name.
We are committed first to Christ and then to our earthly husbands. When we keep in mind that our lives go as planned when we trust in Him and give Him our all and all. His word says,
"The steps of a righteous man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step]. "
Psalms 37:23
If we live delighting in the Lord and in His word, then our ways will change and the Lord will direct our steps according to His will for us.
Another way we bring harm to both our earthly and spiritual husband is by driving them to jealousy, by pursuing other "exclusive" relationships. The very first commandment reveals how important this one was to God. All through out the Old Testament we see that God’s anger burned against Israel for their continuing adultery ~ meaning they pursued other relationships and priorities more than Him.
Jesus even went on to mention this in the New Testament.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Matthew 6:33
God wants to be first in our lives, when we don;t give him first place we begin to put him in second, third, and sometimes last place. Same with our husbands! Do we put him in last place in all the things we do daily? Do we have a relationship that makes him feel that they are more important than him? Ladies, we need to be very careful of this and not to cause our husbands to become bitter towards us.
Now, how do we bring them both good? A good wife is one who chooses to do the right thing even when her husband isn’t looking. She remains faithful to him, she is diligent no matter what circumstance she is in. She does not talk ill of him and she chooses to not put him down. This I am learning. When I contrast my husband with the Lord, this becomes easier.
You see marriage is to be a reflection of Christ and the church. When Jesus doesn’t do things quite as we would have them done, do we go around bad mouthing him to everyone? No we say He knows best. Well, I am learning that as a wife when my husband chooses to do something that I disagree with or is even contrary to the word of God, I must support him as his wife, but I bring it before God in prayer. I do not get on the phone and tell ever girlfriend and gossip queen about my husband and slash him all over the phone.
Now, I do not do this, run to every friend and gossip about my husband. I do have one friend that I confide in that I bounce my feelings off of. I know that she will be completely honest with me if I am in the wrong. She is also there to encourage me to satnd with him or in the situation and trust God. I am learning though to silence my self when it comes to my disagreements with my husband and take them before the Lord. Sometimes I may not understand his motives, but I do know that God can change his heart and I must trust God to do so. But in those times when I need to "vent" she is always there to stir me back home.
So Ladies, examine yourselves, your life. Is there anything that you are doing in your private life that is bringing shame to either husband? Your spouse or Christ? Let me put it this way, if your secret sin could be found out and shown to the whole world would it harm your reputation, your family, friends, or your church members? If so, you are harming God in the eyes of the "great cloud of witnesses." (Hebrews 12:1) Resolve with the Lords help to deal with the practices in your life that are not edifying your spirit.
When dealing with difficult areas, Donna suggest having atleast one accountability partner, with whom we can be completely open about our struggles, someone who will loves us enough to tell us when we are heading in the wrong direction.
Now is the time as you are working on becoming the woman that God wants you to be, to deal with those issues in your life that are not pleasing to the Lord. Be very determined that nothing will prevent, nor stand in your way from being the spouse that your earthly and spirtual husband, can say is worthy of their confidence.
Affirmation: I bring God good, not harm, all the days of my life.
Practical ~ Donna has asked us to identify any areasin our lives that might hold us back from becoming the woman God is calling us to be.Know your weaknesses and be honest with ourselves, and determine to deal with them decisively. Find an accountability partner and. or support group to help you.
Notebook ~ In the TAG section of your Personal Notebook, label a blank piece of paper, POWER TOOLS. Here you can list Scripture verses, practical tips, and resources to strengthen yourself in weak areas that you are dealing with. Also note the person that you feel you can trust and depend on that will help you in these areas. Maybe it is a close friend, your spouse, your pastor, or someone who has been there and has overcome the same issues.
Well, Precious Women of God, we are almost through the week. Day 5 tomorrow, see you back here for more of God’s word.
"Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass."
Psalm 37:5 amp
Nestled in two places of my home, one in my hanging pot on the front of my porch and then one above my back door, are the nest of two mourning doves. Actually 4 in all. Many times I look up and see both the male and female sitting near their babes, guarding and watching over them with such care.
Mourning Doves are very calm birds, even at the site of predators, but if you ever happen to see a cardinal with it’s nest of little ones and you have a lootle fiest mama.
Ever watchful, the adult birds vigorously defend the nest against all sorts of predators. Until those little baby birds are hatched and are able to come to maturity enough to survive on their own. Until then the adult birds are committed until the very end.
"How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
Psalm 36:7 amp
Did you ever stop to think that just like those birds, God is committed to you and I. Even more so than the mourning dove or the cardinal is to their little babes. When we are heartbroken and very vulnerable, God is there to sustain us. He is there to defend, heal and love us back to recovery. His goal is to heal us back to restoration so we can once again fly high and strong on the currents of this world, in our very own lives.
When we stop and place all our hope and trust into the one who is the most faithful in our lives we will never be disappointed. No matter what we have done in our lives or the struggles we are facing He is faithful to redeem us back to wholeness.
"If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. "
1 John 1:9
God is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know we have to remember that God is more concerned about us coming to Him and asking for forgiveness and reconciling us back to Him than pointing His finger down at us saying you wreched little sinners you will never obey.
I tell my children always keep an open heart before the Lord, never go to bad at night without telling the Lord you are sorry for anything you have done that has made him sad. I also teach them this with one another. In our home asking for forgiveness is highly taught and the child offended is never allowed to say, "That’s okay." in response to them saying their sorry. Why? you might ask.
When we go to God and ask Him to forgive us, He doesn’t say that it was okay, sinning is never okay and hurting someone for selfish gain is not okay either. We want our children to see that when someone ask for forgiveness they have to search deep and say to themselves do I forgive them? Can I let this go forever? We are teaching them to model forgiveness God’s way when they are adults. So I do this by making them aware that they were hurt and they have a choice to truly let it go so as not to harbor it and let bitterness build. Which as we get older we as adults have a great way of doing.
So let us remember ourselves that once we ask for forgiveness leave it with Jesus and do not choose to put it back on yourself, HE HAS FORGIVEN YOU. At the same time, do not pick that sin up again and begin to make Him sad. True repentance brings change and a walk in the other direction. If you find that you are doing the same thing over and over again, get before the Lord and cry out for Him to lead you to brokeness and take this sin aways from you, for as the word has said, "He is faithful and just to do so, and to cleanse you as well."
Women Standing On the Word ~ Pure in Heart