For more Thankful Thursdays posts, visit Iris by clicking here.

Yesterday morning as I was sitting down to do my Bible reading, I decided to not do my chronological reading.  Instead, I flipped to the Psalms to read there.  Amongst what I read that morning was the following two portions:

“God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.”

            - Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.’

-          Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)

If you make the Most High your dwelling –

even the LORD, who is my refuge –

then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 

‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

            - Psalm 91:9-16 (NIV)

Later that morning, a situation arose that brought about fear in me.  My thoughts ran wild with “what-ifs” and I felt the surge of fear go through me more than once.  Then the thought occurred to me that I needed to go back and read again what I had read earlier that morning in the Bible.  I just happened to have read the above portions in Psalms that talk about trusting God and not fearing and God’s protection.  Of course, I don’t believe it was happenstance.  I believe God knew I’d need to read those portions later in that day when that situation would arise. 

As I spoke with my dear best friend about the whole thing and as I pondered on the issue of fear and peace, it occurred to me that many times we feel we have peace as a result of things we’ve done.  We took all the necessary precautions.  We did this.  We didn’t do that.  We, we, we……We take comfort in knowing we did what we needed to do.  But is that really where our major source of comfort should come from? 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” (NASB)

Did you notice the two titles given to God in this passage?  The Father of mercies and God of all comfort.  You see, instead of finding our comfort in the things we do, we need to find our comfort in God.  Instead of taking comfort in knowing WE did this or that - we need to take comfort in knowing that God is in total control and we can trust Him with EVERYTHING that concerns us.  Now, that's not to say that there may be things we need to do in a given situation.  However, our main source of comfort and peace needs to be God not us.  We can go to God and pour out our fears and concerns and know that He is in control of it all and has our best interests at heart.  I Peter 4:6-7 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (NIV)  When we present our requests to God, with thanksgiving, His peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  This is a promise.  We can claim this promise.  In addition, we can also tell the spirit of fear to leave.  James 4:7 tells us to “Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  (NIV)  When we lay our concerns at God’s feet, give them to Him, and relinquish our control, we are submitting to God.  This Scripture tells us first to submit to God.  Next we see that when we resist the devil, he has no other choice but to leave.  In addition, 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind.  This is another passage with a promise that we can claim.  We can resist the spirit of fear and command that spirit of fear to leave in Jesus’ name.  We can remind the enemy that he has no choice but to leave.   We can let the enemy know that we know that God’s Word tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear.  So that spirit of fear must go.  And we can claim the sound mind that God’s Word says we have in Christ.  I did just that yesterday.  And you know what?  I had peace and a sound mind.  Praise the Lord!

©2008 The T.A.G. Blog www.homesteadblogger.com/tagblog

"Walking consistently does not mean walking perfectly.  It means we may stumble, but we will not fall."

- From Beth Moore in Praying God's Word Day by Day

Discussion on Assignment #11

Let me begin by sharing a few quotes from our reading that stood out to me.  That author says the following:

"The problem is not that we have emotions - they are a gift from God.  The problem is that our emotions (unlike God's) are tainted by the Fall.  The challenge is to let the Spirit of God sanctify us in the realm of our emotions so that they can be expressed in godly ways." (pg. 194)

"In the midst of the roller-coaster ride our emotions sometimes take us on, we have to constantly bring our minds and thoughts back to the Truth."  (pg. 195)

"While it may be true to some degree that we can't help the way we feel, the Truth is that we don't have to let our feelings run our lives."  (pg. 197)

"The Truth is, regardless of what emotions are whirling around inside, by God's grace, we can choose to fix our minds on Him and to 'trust and obey.'"  (pg. 197)

"When we fix our minds on Christ and bring every thought into subjection to the Truth, the Holy Spirit sanctifies our emotions and grants supernatural grace, comfort, and peace"  (pg. 199)

The topic of emotions is one that all women can relate to.  We are very emotional beings.  God created man and woman and made them different.  God created us with emotions.  I felt that the author brought out very important points.  I think it's so important that we understand that feelings are feelings and the truth is the truth.  Sometimes our feelings don't coincide with the truth.  We must bow our emotions to the truth - God's Truth.  Hand those emotions over to Him and allow Him to minister to us and help us.

Our Memory Work

"'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
                           - John 8:32 (NIV)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..."
                           - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Assignment

Reading
Read chapter nine - pages 215-239.

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"A man's steps are directed by the LORD.  How then can anyone understand his own way?" 
Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)

I read this passage this morning.  It is a reminder that God is ALWAYS in control.  Even in the little things.  I am so thankful for that!

Discussion on Assignment #10

I'm sorry I haven't been around to visit and make comments.  We have not gotten internet at our home as of yet.  So being able to get online is a little more challenging right now.  We will hopefully have our internet set up at home this week.  Yay!   There are several of you that haven't been a part of our discussions the last couple of weeks.  I hope all is okay.  I hope you will be back with us in our discussions soon.

This has been an excellent chapter, yet one that is filled with debated issues.  The first issue tackled in our reading this week was that of influences on our children.  Oh how timely this is.  This is such a widely debated issue.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.  I have always been pretty particular about the kinds of influences our children are exposed to - from TV, to music, to friends and more.  And I feel this is such an important issue.  I want to highlight a few portions from our text that I think are so important.  The author points out:

"The Truth is, our task is not to rear children who can 'fit in' or merely 'survive' in this world.  The challenge of every Christian parent is to bring up children who love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength; who have a vibrant, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus; and whose lives will be bright and shining lights, penetrating the darkness around them.  Christian parents ought to be seeking to raise up not just 'good' children, but children who enthusiastically embrace the Truth, children who love righteousness and hate evil, children who will be used by God to change the world." (pg. 173)

"If we allow our children to listen to music, attend movies, read books and magazines, and hang out with friends that promote profanity, negative attitudes, illicit sex, rebellion, and violence, we should not be surprised when they adopt the world's philosophies."  (pg. 175)

"We are not to be molded by the culture, as so many believers are today but, rather, are to be so filled with the Spirit and the Word of God that our lives will penetrate and convict the culture around us.  That is the challenge facing Christian parents - to raise up a generation of young people who are not conformers but transformers."  (pg. 176)

Transformers - NOT conformers.  Powerful!  Will we, as parents, rise to the challenge of raising our children to be transformers? 

Our Memory Work

"'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
                           - John 8:32 (NIV)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..."
                           - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Assignment

Reading
Read chapter eight - pages 193-213.

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Discussion on Assignment #9

Okay ladies.  I am looking forward to reading your posts on this week's reading.  For now, I am holding off on my comments.  I want to read through your posts first before making any comments myself.  So.....I look forward to seeing your thoughts on this issue.

Our Memory Work

"'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
                           - John 8:32 (NIV)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..."
                           - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Assignment

Reading
Read the remainder of chapter seven - pages 173-191.

Questions
Please share your thoughts on the reading assignment in your post next week.

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If you'd like to participate in this book study, please read the book study information by clicking here.  After reading the information, you can join in with us each Monday. 

 “Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD’S contribution:  gold, silver, and bronze, and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.’”  Exodus 35:4-9 (NASB, Underlined emphasis mine)

When preparing to construct the tabernacle in the wilderness, God asked the Israelites to bring an offering to Him to go towards the construction of the tabernacle but He asked for those who were willing.  God wanted willingness.   And the same is true now.  Our faith is about choice.  God gives us a choice whether to follow Him or not.  He wants us to willingly choose to follow Him.  He wants us to have hearts willing to do what He asks.  His desire is not forced drudgery with bad attitudes and wrong motives.  He wants willing hearts that He can fill with joy and peace and contentment. 

As a stay-at-home wife and mom, running a household may not be fun.  Having to submit to my husband, especially when I don’t agree, is hard.  Giving of myself to serve my family can be difficult at times.  But willingness is the key.  If I am willing to do what God asks of me, even though it may be hard at times, God can help me do it.  He can fill me with peace and yes – even joy – when having to do yet another sink of dirty dishes!

In addition to a willing  heart, we need to understand in those moments of frustration that it’s not about us…it’s not about our husbands or our families and whether they appreciate what we do or not.  Sure, that’s wonderful and it’s great to see their appreciation.  It’s even okay to want to please your spouse and family.  However, if we are doing those things solely to get affirmation from them to boost our self-worth and to feel appreciated, not only are we looking in the wrong place but we’re also doing those things for the wrong reasons.  Instead, we need to be looking to God for our affirmation and self-worth.  We need to do what we are doing ultimately for Him.

Our roles as wives and mothers can give and bring God glory.  Let’s go to God with a willing heart and say “Yes, Lord, I am willing.  Guide me, strengthen me, and fill me with Your joy.”

©2008 The T.A.G. Blog www.homesteadblogger.com/tagblog

Discussion on Assignment #8

Ouch!  What a chapter!  I don't know about you but I found myself underlining a lot in this chapter and even having a couple of toes stepped on.  I was a willing listener to what I needed to hear.  And I pray I can make the needed changes.  This chapter dealt with lies women believe about marriage.  One of the huge issues tackled was that of submission.  There was so much in this chapter, that I am going to share some of the things that stood out to me and/or that I thought was really good.

"The Truth is that contentment is not found in having everything we think we want but in choosing to be satisfied with what God has already provided.  The Truth is that those who insist on having their own way often end up with unnecessary heartache, while those who wait on the Lord always get His best." (pg. 140)
Wow - how true that is!  When we continue to push our own way, God may very well let us have it OUR way.  But then He very well may also let us have the consequences that go along with OUR way.  Had we chosen God's way, we would've avoided those consequences and been better off because God's way is ALWAYS best no matter how hard it may seem.

"The Truth is that God did not make the man to be a 'helper' to the woman.  He made the woman to be a 'helper' to the man."  (pg.  142)
I have to be completely honest here.  This is one that stepped on my toes.  Not because I didn't want to hear it.  But because I know that I haven't always helped my husband as much as I could have.  In fact, there was a time when, if a person looked at my husband and I, they would see my husband being more the helper than me.  Not that it was intentional on my part.  And not that I was trying to be selfish.  I just didn't realize how much my husband was trying to suit me more than me suiting my husband.  The author is so right here.  I was created to be my husband's helper.  Whatever I can do to help him, I need to try to do (realistically speaking here).  I am trying so much more now to be more of a help to him.  I want him to be freed up to do the things he needs to do and wants to do. 

"Blessing and joy are the fruit of seeking to be a giver rather than a taker and of looking for ways to bless, serve, and minister to the needs of our families." (pg. 143)

"...In the climate of the 60s, where women were encouraged to pursue independence, careers, personal recognition, and self-satisfaction, my mother modeled a differed role - one in which a woman adapts to the heart and calling of her husband.  Rather than expecting her husband's life to revolve around her needs and interests, her lifestyle revolved around her husband's..." (pg. 144)

"Satan knows that if we could see the Truth about biblical submission - one of the most liberating principles in all of God's Word - we would joyfully embrace it.  He cannot afford to let us choose the pathway of submission, for when we do, he is stripped of his authority and rendered powerless in our lives and in the lives of those we love." (pg. 146)

"God created the woman to be a 'helper suitable' to her husband.  That means he needs her help.  He needs the input and insight she is able to bring to various situations.  It also means that once a wife has graciously and humbly expressed her heart on a matter, if her husband chooses to act contrary to her counsel, she must be willing to back off and trust God with the consequences of her husband's decision." (pg. 147)
I appreciated how she stated the above.  She was able to clearly point out that our husbands need us.  We are to be a helper that is suitable to our husbands.  Our husbands need our input.  However, once we've given that input, we must be willing to let it be and put it in God's hands.  This is especially hard when our husbands don't agree with our viewpoint.  I know for me, it is so easy to try to push my thoughts and my way of seeing something onto my husband.  I want him to agree with my viewpoint.  But let's face it - no two people always agree all the time.  And we need to not only have the freedom to disagree but to extend that freedom to our husbands as well.  Yet while we have the freedom to disagree, as wives, once we have shared our opinion, we need to leave it in God's hands and allow our husbands to fulfill their role and make the decision.  The author goes on to point out that the bottom line is that ultimately our trust must be in God.  We can trust God even when our husbands go against what we feel is best.  Here's what the author has to say about trusting God and submitting to our husbands:

"I have discovered that the fundamental issue in relation to submission really comes down to my willingness to trust God and to place myself under His authority." (pg. 149)

"Our willingness to place ourselves under God-ordained authority is the greatest evidence of how big we believe God really is." (pg. 149)

"Submission is simply a demonstration of her confidence in the sovereign power of the Lord God." (pg. 151)

"You must be willing to let him fail - believing that ultimately, your security is not in your husband but in a sovereign God who is not going to fail you." (pg. 154) 

Our Memory Work

"'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
                           - John 8:32 (NIV)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..."
                           - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Assignment

Reading
Read section one of chapter seven - pages 167-172.

Questions
We are only reading one section of our chapter this week.  I have chosen to do this because this very first section is a very sensitive subject that can bring about a LOT of feelings.  Take your time with this assignment.  I am offering the following questions for thought:

(1) What is your current view of determining the size of your family?  Is this the same view you held in the past or is it different?  Explain.

(2) Think about how you view the issue of birth control.  Does your view line up with God's view of birth control?  Give Scriptures to show God's view.

These questions are pretty personal.  You do not have to share your answers  on your blog. 

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If you'd like to participate in this book study, please read the book study information by clicking here.  After reading the information, you can join in with us each Monday. 

Hello ladies!  What a couple of weeks it has been!  Yet through all of the transitions in these last couple of weeks, we have seen God's mighty hand in it all.  I want to say thank you to Marsha at Marsha's Musing for hosting our last book discussion.  Our assignment reading dealt with priorities.  How timely this chapter has been for me.  I'm still working on my priorities.  I think priorities are one of those things we have to periodically analyze and make adjustments when needed.  Marsha gave us some questions to answer for this chapter.  You can review those questions here.

Discussion on Assignment #7

Our Memory Work

"'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
                           - John 8:32 (NIV)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..."
                           - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Assignment 8

Reading
Read Chapter Six.  Read pages 135-165.

Questions
I have decided not to give any discussion questions this week.  My time is still quite filled up with things to do and I haven't had time to put together questions for this chapter.  This chapter is lengthy.  For your posts next week, share what is on your heart at that time for Chapter Six. 

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If you'd like to participate in this book study, please read the book study information by clicking here.  After reading the information, you can join in with us each Monday. 

We will not be having our book study discussion for Lies Women Believe tomorrow since it is Memorial Day.  We will resume our study next Monday.

I also have awesome news.  We signed a lease for an apartment yesterday!!!  Woohoo - we have a place to live now.  Things moved very quickly.  We've been here just a little over one week and my hubby got a good job and we got housing!  Praise the Lord!  I give God all the credit for I know He is continuing to provide for us.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day.

Just wanted to stop in and update everyone.  We moved a week ago today to another state - no job, no housing.  If you're not familiar with our situation, we were renting a place.  Our landlord lost the property we were renting to foreclosure.  Two weekends ago we received a letter informing us (the occupants) we had 5 days to move out.  We tried to find a place to move to in the area and surrounding areas where we were living at but NOTHING was opening up for what we could afford.  In addition, my husband was having a very hard time finding good employment there as well.  He had a part-time job but we needed more.  Long story short, we decided that what we needed to do was make this move to the town my parent's live in.  My parent's have been wonderful in this situation.  This past Tuesday, my husband went to a job fair.  The next day he was called for a second interview.  He went for his second interview yesterday.  He was then called yesterday not too long after his interview for another interview.  He went for that one at 4:00p.m. and at that interview they offered him the job!  Two days after he initially applied - he got the job!  He searched almost a year for a good job where we were living and we move here and he gets a job in two days!  Praise the Lord!  And this is a good job.  It pays more than what he was making at his other job plus benefits and the ability to get in overtime.  I am so thankful! 

We also may potentially have an apartment to move into.  We should know tomorrow.  If we are able to get that apartment, we will most likely be able to move in over the weekend!  That would be so wonderful!  Once we get moved into an apartment and get settled, I hope to be able to do more regular posting on my blog once again.  I so look forward to getting settled and getting back to a routine. 

Well, our phone line and internet are fixed!  I'm tickled about that.  However, I still am going to postpone our Bible study until next Monday.  We currently rent the place we live in.  The landlord lost this property to foreclosure.  We received a notice in the mail a couple of days ago saying we have 5 days to move out.  5 DAYS!!!!!!  Needless to say, we have only a few boxes and we got those packed today.  It has also been raining a LOT recently and our driveway and yard are both mud pits!  No U-Haul will make it down our driveway.  So ladies, we need some prayer.  I know that God will provide what we need.  I particularly could use some prayer for God to help me do what needs to be done.  I found myself overwhelmed today and had to remind myself that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.  God will help us through this and I know He will provide somehow, some way.

I thank all of you right now for your prayers!  And for all the book study ladies, I hope to see you back here next Monday.  Take care!

So, were you challenged this week?  I am really looking forward to reading all of your thoughts to the question about finding balance between displaying ourselves as the royalty we are and not falling into the trap of focusing too much on physical beauty.   

Discussion on Assignment #5

Questions #5 and #6

I want to focus my discussion today on the issue of our beauty as women.  Our society is so focused on beauty.  There are so many lies thrown at us that it is hard to keep the right perspective sometimes.  Let me tell you a little about some struggles I have had with the beauty issue.  There was a time in my life (years ago) when I would hardly go out of my house without make-up on.  Somewhere along the way I had fallen for the lie that I wasn't pretty without make-up on.  As I began to really think about why I wore makeup, I realized that I felt ugly without it.  So I took a huge step and decided to not wear makeup anymore - at least for awhile anyway.  That was such a liberating step for me.  That was around 8 years ago!  And to this day, I very rarely wear makeup.  Now - I'm not saying wearing make-up is wrong.  But for me, I had to take that step of not wearing the makeup because I didn't like how I looked without it.  And I wanted to be okay with how I looked.  Scripture tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  I am beautiful to God the way I am. I don't need to make myself up with all kinds of lipsticks, eye shadows, etc. to be pretty.  (Let me say again...I'm not saying makeup is wrong. )  Every now and again, I'll put a little makeup on but now I can do that without feeling I have to wear it to be acceptable.  I have the freedom to wear it or not to wear it.  Interestingly enough, I've gotten to where I don't really like to have it on my face.  I find I don't miss leaving makeup marks on my hubby's shirt because I laid my face up against his shoulder.  I'm so glad I can kiss my hubby without getting lipstick marks on him.  I don't miss mascara smudges on my eyes because I cried.  It's been so freeing!

As to the proper balance between displaying ourselves as the royalty we are and not falling into the trap of focusing too much on physical beauty...I think the keys might be what our motives are and how we see ourselves.  If I'm trying to get all decked out because I feel unacceptable if I don't, then that would not be a right motive.  I look forward to reading your thoughts on this issue.

Our Memory Work

"'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
                           - John 8:32 (NIV)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..."
                           - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Assignment 6

Reading
Read Chapter Four.  Read pages 91-114.

Questions
I have decided not to give any discussion questions this week.  This chapter is lengthy.  For your posts next week, share what is on your heart at that time for Chapter Four. 

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If you'd like to participate in this book study, please read the book study information by clicking here.  After reading the information, you can join in with us each Monday. 

"I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory..."
Exodus 34:24a (NASB)

In Exodus 34:24, the Lord tells the Israelites that He will drive out the nations before them and enlarge their territory.  The thought occurred to me that if we will allow Him to, God will drive out those things that hold us back from our God-given promised lands.  The enemy may seem huge.  The obstacle may seem to surround us.  The roadblocks may seem too numerous.  When the twelve men were sent in to take a look at the land of Canaan, ten spies felt the people of that land were too huge - that they couldn't win against them.  (Numbers 13:26-29)  But there were two who recognized that God had the ability and the willingness to drive out that nation - to overcome that obstacle - to bring His children into the Promised Land whereby enlarging their territory.  (Numbers 13:30; 14:6-9)  But the Israelites had to be willing to allow God to do that.  Then they had to fight and step their feet down on that Promised Land and claim it.  (See the book of Joshua)

In the same way, we have to be willing to allow God to do the same for us.  He has the ability.  He has the willingness.  And indeed He has already won the battle.  Victory is His - AND OURS through Jesus Christ.  Let's do what God is calling us to do to take the promised lands He's already given us.  Then let's plant our feet solidly on our promised lands and allow God to enlarge our territories.

©2008 The T.A.G. Blog at www.homesteadblogger.com/tagblog
All rights reserved.