God knows me. He knows me better than I know myself. He knows what I need before I know what I need. So this blog is pretty simple.
In order to anticipate your wants and needs a man has to take the time to know you. Not just as a woman but as his woman. He knows what would make you happy and what would please you. He knows when you’ve had a rough week and he runs the tub with your favorite bubble bath and orders a pizza and waits for you to come home to relax. He knows that you’ve always wanted to go Napa for a few days and walk around the wineries and vineyards and he takes you there to explore. See, he knows you.
More than that, it makes him happy to see you happy. As my husband says often, “If the queen is happy the land is happy.” He understands me, even when I am acting crazy or am stressed about things he doesn’t stress about. He may not understand why I act the way I do but he does whatever he can to help me pull it together and get back to living our life. He takes the time to listen to my needs and he takes the time to minister to me. He prays for me everyday and looks for ways to make my life easier. I don’t have to nag him; he does it because he loves me.
God knows me. God understands me. Make sure your man does.
In our Children’s sunday school classes, the focus has always been kingdom living. We wanted the children to be able to lay hands on one another and pray, even in the playground. We wanted the children to know memory verses that they could call upon in times of trouble. We wanted them to know that how they acted at school reflected on Jesus. We wanted them to know that even though they were little, they could still pray great big prayers. Recently, I filled in in the Pre-K and Kindergarten class as their teacher was going to be out. When I asked the question, “I want to pray for my mommy and daddy and ask Jesus to ____________” One little girl who is 5 years old said, “let the heavy burdens fall off their shoulders and have peace.” Super surprised I said, “What’s heavy burdens?” “Stuff that makes you scared or mad or not want to come to church.” When I asked one little girl who is 4 “I want to pray for myself and ask Jesus to___________” She answered, “Help to remember to put my plate and cup in the sink, clean up my toys and be nice to my baby brother.” You have no idea how much that blessed me. When we ask the children for prayer requests we get hands raised quickly, “There’s this bully at school” “There’s this test coming up” “My mom yells at my dad to come to church” “My dad drinks too much with his friends” “My friend is sick and missed two days of school” “My brother keeps hitting me” They notice! They love! They understand Jesus will hear them and that nothing is too small or too big.
It’s often the grown-ups who get in the way. Recently an issue popped up. Our kids didn’t know the books of bible. The scramble ensued. Oh no! The kids don’t know the books of the bible. I bought the music they would need to sing and memorize but I didn’t see the point. I kept my mouth shut and went with the plan. Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know that it lasted about two seconds. I asked a question not to sow discord but to make them think. Bibles have tabs and they have a table of contents, do we really need to know the books of the bible? Is it not more important and to our benefit to know scripture and what lies within those books? Is it not more important to know how to pray for someone or how to pray for ourselves? Is not more important to know that we belong to a kingdom in which no weapon formed against us shall prosper? Oh, it will try to knock us down but we have some promises to call upon. What does knowing the books of the bible do for you in the daily activity of your life? To me, knowing where the book of Ephesians falls in the bible is not important. What’s important is we all understand and know in our hearts and can say in our own words the premise of Ephesians 6:10-18. Just a thought.
To read more about how these kinds of things happened even in the days of Jesus read a good friend of this blog’s site, Jonnysoundsketch2. Click here.
Marina, a young mother had some valid issues to address in her comments and I wanted to bring them forward as we discuss solutions.
Marina:When I was little, I was sucked into feminist deceit thinking that women should be just as successful as men and we need to rise up and prove that women are actually superior in many areas. I now see that I don’t need to prove anything to anyone!! I know who I am and whose I am. My career focus has been dramatically changed. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying women shouldn’t work or be successful, God wants to partner with us in our desires so that He can use us wherever we are. The thing is, I have realized the source of many of my desires has come from this prideful, feminist propoganda. This has so touched my heart that I am actually considering what I can do to spend more time at home raising my child and children to come!
According to Tony Robbins, a 40 year study on 1.3 million women show that women are more unhappy today than ever before. So what is the reason for it? I believe we’ve hit on it over the last few days.
You see, when you look at how we were created and when we were created our unhappiness makes sense. In Genesis, the woman, in physical body form, didn’t come on the scene until everything was in place and ordered by God. Her body was formed out of man after he developed a need for her. She was created to be his helpmeet. She was emotion and love and sacrifice and willful and strong and opinionated. She also carries the seed and multiplies into human form, so she is hated by Satan. When you remove her from all that she was created to be, she is lost to her original design.
She finds herself today out of order. She finds herself today, both mother and father, both working and sustaining. Her apron strings long to have children tied to them but her demands are many. She’s painted herself into a corner and yet pride and obligation keep her from her true destiny. Her number one need is security but she finds herself in a world where the only security she has lies in her own abilities.
The biggest thing corporate America will tell her is that she will risk her career by taking a time-out for her family. That statistic is, that in fact, she will make less money and have less ladder climbing ability over her overall career than a women who stuck it out. Hey, facts are facts.
Ask yourself, should you make your lifelong decisions based on financial gain? Are there some things that are more important than money? It would seem that the 1.3 million women who participated in the study that Tony Robbins talks about, will tell you that there’s got to be more to life than what we’ve been given over the last 40 years.
I tell this story all the time but it bears repeating. When my son Anthony was 5 and my daughter Casey was months old, my neighbor came home with a new car. A working mom, her kids in daycare, they were going to Greece that summer for a 10 day vacation. I was beyond jealous. We shared a car and weren’t going on vacation. I determined that day to get a job because I was missing out on the good life. After I put Casey down for a nap and fed Anthony, I was rocking him to sleep. He would nuzzle my neck and play with my hair while he yawned and talked. That day he said, “Mommy, you always smell so comfortable.” It stabbed my heart. Who would rock him to sleep, who would smell comfortable to him? No one but me.
My mom was a working mom. She got to hear about our first word and first step, she regrets she missed her time with us. I was a stay-at-home mom, I could tell you a million stories. The only thing that I regret is that my kids grew up. It was the most fulfilling, happy time of my life. I have a career now and I’m happy with that. Women: you can have it all. I promise you, I am proof of that. I have to now tell you the bad news. You can’t have it all at once! Make wise choices.
Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good reputation is better than a fat bank account. Your death date tells more than your birth date. 2 You learn more at a funeral than at a feast – After all, that’s where we’ll end up. We might discover something from it. 3 Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face but it scours the heart. 4 Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving. Fools waste their lives in fun and games. 5 You’ll get more from the rebuke of a sage Than from the song and dance of fools. 6 The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs Under the cooking pot. And like smoke.
7 Brutality stupefies even the wise And destroys the strongest heart. 8 Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out. 9 Don’t be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head. 10 Don’t always be asking, “Where are the good old days?” Wise folks don’t ask questions like that.
11 Wisdom is better when it’s paired with money, Especially if you get both while you’re still living. 12 Double protection: wisdom and wealth! Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner. 13 Take a good look at God’s work. Who could simplify and reduce Creation’s curves and angles To a plain straight line? 14 On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days So that we won’t take anything for granted. Stay in Touch with Both Sides 15 I’ve seen it all in my brief and pointless life – here a good person cut down in the middle of doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil. 16 So don’t knock yourself out being good, and don’t go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won’t get anything out of it. 17 But don’t press your luck by being bad, either. And don’t be reckless. Why die needlessly? 18 It’s best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it. 19 Wisdom puts more strength in one wise person Than ten strong men give to a city. 20 There’s not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless. 21 Don’t eavesdrop on the conversation of others. What if the gossip’s about you and you’d rather not hear it? 22 You’ve done that a few times, haven’t you – said things Behind someone’s back you wouldn’t say to his face?
23 I tested everything in my search for wisdom. I set out to be wise, but it was beyond me, 24 far beyond me, and deep – oh so deep! Does anyone ever find it? 25 I concentrated with all my might, studying and exploring and seeking wisdom – the meaning of life. I also wanted to identify evil and stupidity, foolishness and craziness. 26 One discovery: A woman can be a bitter pill to swallow, full of seductive scheming and grasping. The lucky escape her; the undiscerning get caught. 27 At least this is my experience – what I, the Quester, have pieced together as I’ve tried to make sense of life. 28 But the wisdom I’ve looked for I haven’t found. I didn’t find one man or woman in a thousand worth my while. 29 Yet I did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things.
God purposes every single thing in our life for good. It’s hard to believe that those horrible things in our lives were for our good but I believe they were. They stretch us and move us out of our comfort zone and our lives aren’t the same yet in some ways better if we allow them to be.
God comes to our aid, and kisses our cuts and bruises, he just doesn’t just pick us up, he walks us through. There is an obvious love that the Lord has for us that shows in the way he handles things for us.
The man that you choose to marry should want to help you right the wrongs in your life. He should want even the heavy and hard stuff to work out in your favor. He should begin with the end in mind. Life isn’t just some roll of the dice thing. Yes there are spontaneous things but for the most part it should be planned. He should not however be willing to do the work for you. The man that is looking to do the work for you is looking for the ego gratification of rescuing a damsel in distress. The minute the damsel is no longer in distress he gets stressed because he’s out of a job. So he goes looking for another damsel.
Expect a man who has planning and that vision. If it’s not there, your life will be a rollercoaster of good and bad with no way to gauge what will happen next. A woman needs to feel secure in her life. We look for that as our number one need. It’s easy to fall into a trap of a man who fixes it all but remember, the bible doesn’t say God fixes it all, it says he perfects it all. We fix our own messes, he helps heal and get us to learn our lesson. He turns the negative into a positive. He never berates us in the process. He never says ‘I told you so’.
We went off for a two day break. We call these Leadership Advances because we get refreshed and renewed. We get away from the noise and the tyranny of the urgent and get to what’s important, listening to that still small voice and taking an assessment of where we’ve been and where we’re going. So as we drove through the mountains, our destination was on the horizon.
We arrived, and immediately did a drive-by of our favorite spot. We were happy to be free for a couple of days. Thank you God for a some rest. The next morning we got up bright and early, had a good breakfast and went to set up camp!
We settled in for the day. Neither of us really saying a word. We really needed to be quiet. Let the Advance begin!
We stayed until the sun began to set and it started to get a little cold. As leaders though we are never quite alone. There are always those who need ministry and today was no exception. They came to sit at our feet.
My husband, the pastor, never misses an opportunity to preach the word. So he gathered them around and began.
The looks on their faces were priceless!
We went home that evening happy and refreshed and ready to do it again the next day.
As Brooke Fraser ministered to me through my Ipod with her song, Indelible, the view was incredible, the sun was shining and God was whispering. I had been sensing a connection that was unlike one I had experienced before and I was glad that I was not disappointed. How magnificent You created the earth to look, Lord. Who could not have faith in You when they see Your wonders?
Our friends were back and we relaxed in the beauty of the wonders He has created.
We stayed until the sun began to go down once again. We are headed home now as you read this. Refreshed, renewed, anointed and invigorated. Praise God for His blessings!
Today I want to direct you to a really good friend of mine and fellow Pastor’s wife blog. Her name is Dr. Gayla Holley and she is the President of Moms Against Hunger. As you will read her prayer list she has some exciting things that we can get involved in. There are people that can use our help and if we all just pitch in a little, it will go along way. To the right of my home page you’ll see a donate button. Please donate to this worthy cause. There are people who are quietly working for the betterment of others and Dr. Gayla is one of them. Click here to view her blog.
Proverbs 12:1 If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it – how shortsighted to refuse correction!
2 A good person basks in the delight of God, and he wants nothing to do with devious schemers.
3 You can’t find firm footing in a swamp, but life rooted in God stands firm.
4 A hearty wife invigorates her husband, but a frigid woman is cancer in the bones.
5 The thinking of principled people makes for justice; the plots of degenerates corrupt.
6 The words of the wicked kill; the speech of the upright saves.
7 Wicked people fall to pieces – there’s nothing to them; the homes of good people hold together.
8 A person who talks sense is honored; airheads are held in contempt.
9 Better to be ordinary and work for a living than act important and starve in the process.
10 Good people are good to their animals; the “good-hearted” bad people kick and abuse them.
11 The one who stays on the job has food on the table; the witless chase whims and fancies.
12 What the wicked construct finally falls into ruin, while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life. Wise People Take Advice
13 The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble; the conversation of good people keeps them out of it.
14 Well-spoken words bring satisfaction; well-done work has its own reward.
15 Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.
16 Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults.
17 Truthful witness by a good person clears the air, but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit.
18 Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise.
19 Truth lasts; lies are here today, gone tomorrow.
20 Evil scheming distorts the schemer; peace-planning brings joy to the planner.
21 No evil can overwhelm a good person, but the wicked have their hands full of it.
22 God can’t stomach liars; he loves the company of those who keep their word.
23 Prudent people don’t flaunt their knowledge; talkative fools broadcast their silliness.
24 The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work.
25 Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up.
26 A good person survives misfortune, but a wicked life invites disaster.
27 A lazy life is an empty life, but “early to rise” gets the job done.
28 Good men and women travel right into life; sin’s detours take you straight to hell. “The Message”
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God loves me. He counted each strand of hair on my head and that’s love because I have a thick head of hair. He knew me before I was in my mother’s womb and he chose me to be his before the foundation of the earth. He moved heaven and earth and he sent his son Jesus in human form legally to buy me back when I was sold in a garden. It cost Jesus his life and the pain and suffering he went through during his life was bad enough, rejected by people and called names and lied on and yet it was not the worst part. They tortured him in the worst way and then hung him on a cross to die a brutal death. While those who professed to love God stood by and mocked him and yelled out. He did all of that for me. So truly there is nothing he wouldn’t do for me.
When choosing a man, you need to choose one that is for you and not against you. A man that knows that when you bear his children your bond to that child will be so strong that you will want to stay home and raise them and that he will be willing to get a second job to support you during that time. He will want to protect you and keep a roof over your head and he will never expect you to carry the weight of the family alone. Your man is looking for a partner. The man you chose is a man who has found his passion in life and he isn’t looking around to see if there is a better-looking woman standing around. He loves you. He isn’t comparing you to anyone. He is willing to get you a glass of water in the middle of the night when you wake up with a migraine. He loves you both with a passionate love that one has for their lover and an enduring love that one has for their best friend. He doesn’t mock your ideas or dreams and he wants and expects the best of everything for you. You are his woman and he is your man and together you build a life worthy of each other. He is committed to the long run.
I listened to Dr. Laura one day as a woman called in. She said that she had just had her breast removed because of stage two cancer. She said she desired her husband but was afraid of sexual intimacy because she didn’t want him to see her like that. Her voice was pained and it touched my heart. She continued and said her husband said he loved HER and not her breast and would do anything for her but she was having a hard time believing that.
Dr. Laura softly said something so profound. She said, that the caller had to believe her husband’s love for her and that as he caressed her body with his hand that she had to know that as his hand caressed over where her breast used to be, that he would gladly give his hand to make her whole again.
That’s a godly man. That’s the kind of man you want.
Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Today was my first day off in over a month. Even when my husband called a day for a date a couple of weeks ago, we had to spend half the day in meetings and work, and then a couple of errands for church, so it really boiled down to a meal and we ended up skipping the movie because we were too tired.
I knew I was running on empty and we as followers of Christ know that Jesus went off to pray on a regular basis. I knew I was way overdue for some time to get away. I tend to begin to feel very caged in by circumstances and the things that happen in the course of ministry tend to get amplified when I am not rested. So I called a Sand Seminar (thanks Linda for the idea). I told my husband I was going and asked him to go with me if he could.
I went to bed that night with anticipation of going away for a day without work. I thanked God for making a way today. I also repented for the part that I play in all of this. I woke up singing and happy, which is totally unusual for me because I am a grumpy person in the morning. I believe my song was specific:
You are unfailing God, Your love’s unending
And Your word is eternal, Firm in the heavens it stands
My husband cancelled an appointment and we went to Monterey Bay for the day. On the way we stopped at Costco to get some fruit and a new book to take with us to our usual spot on the beach. I couldn’t get this song out of my head. I just was in a mode of worship!
There is this chocolate that I love. It’s called Amber Lyn and it’s not sold anywhere, I normally get mine online. It’s a great quality chocolate that is sugar free and gluten free. I have one square of chocolate each night before I go to bed. I do this because Amber Lyn chocolates cause me have sweet dreams! I have been out of chocolate for a month now and each night before I went to bed, I’d say, “I’ve got to order some chocolates in”. I was normally just too exhausted to do so and when I woke up each morning I wouldn’t even think about it. So guess who was at Costco with a special display? YES! YES they were! Amber Lyn’s display was right there! Not only did I get a my usual chocolate bars, I tried some new flavors and they gave me a few for free for being a loyal customer! They were $7.00 off the case price and I saved shipping as well! What are the chances? I mean really, I believe this was a divine ordered God day!
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
He really does love you! He really does want you to have a great day. He really does want to have this relationship with you where he just flat out comes first in your life, because you flat out come first in HIS! I hope you really do believe it! Trust God, pray to him, believe that he has your best interest at heart and then watch as you have an Amber Lyn day like I did!
Unfailing God
by Desperation Band
Unfailing God
Though my eyes may fail me, I will follow after You
Though Your promise seems forsaken
I’ll remember the world’s in Your hands
And You’ll find me singing
You are unfailing God, Your love’s unending
And Your word is eternal, Firm in the heavens it stands (repeat)
Though sorrow’s my condition
And pain holds back no blow
Though this be my darkest hour
Your lamp is leading me home
And You’ll find me singing
Eyes can’t see but I feel You near
I know you’re working through my tears
I trust You Lord, I trust You for You never walk away
Unfailing God, Unfailing God, Your love is unending,Lord
Pastor Susan 