Lasting Lessons..
Ah. The beauty of stumbling upon a quote like this...
"To love God... is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by One who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and His wise appointement."
~Elisabeth Elliot
and this:
"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largset notions of what He is up to."
~Elisabeth Elliot.
Relating right. These little lessons have been appearing to me over and over over the past month of March... in the most simplistic of forms. You see, my marmee has been working 7am-7pm Thursday through Monday. And my dad has been working those nights. It's been quite... interesting, shall we say. It's not the same as it used to be.. but it's only for the month. And He has been faithful... ah, so faithful. And here is what He has spoken to me in those moments of prayer scattered all through the day:
1) Listen- lots.
When tension starts, it is so easy (for me, at least) to forget to think about the other person's side of the argument of why the dog business wasn't cleaned up by them. 1 Corinthians 16:14 is a verse so short, but so applicable to this. Simply, "do everything in love." First, most, and well... well. We listen out of love, we may not like what they're saying, but yes, we love the person. To honor G-d by listening to the other person... to listen to Him...
Listening helps me to tangibly express my love and concern.
It's so hard to say what I mean.
2) Say Little.
{Proverbs 10:19}. Say little, later, rather than sooner. Anger is one letter short of danger. Speak later, less, and with care. My objective in my home now, and in my future home is peace and reconcilliation, it is not always being "right." Anger is often provoked in me out of a sense of justice- and that's good, except when the justice I would like to see comes to bring division. Less is often more. And speaking little, with love...
Thinking through the other persons words, then answer with love.
1) Listen- lots.
When tension starts, it is so easy (for me, at least) to forget to think about the other person's side of the argument of why the dog business wasn't cleaned up by them. 1 Corinthians 16:14 is a verse so short, but so applicable to this. Simply, "do everything in love." First, most, and well... well. We listen out of love, we may not like what they're saying, but yes, we love the person. To honor G-d by listening to the other person... to listen to Him...
Listening helps me to tangibly express my love and concern.
It's so hard to say what I mean.
2) Say Little.
{Proverbs 10:19}. Say little, later, rather than sooner. Anger is one letter short of danger. Speak later, less, and with care. My objective in my home now, and in my future home is peace and reconcilliation, it is not always being "right." Anger is often provoked in me out of a sense of justice- and that's good, except when the justice I would like to see comes to bring division. Less is often more. And speaking little, with love...
Thinking through the other persons words, then answer with love.
3) Keep Calm {and Carry On}
Scripture centeres us in our difficult times. It keeps us in check.
I need to figure out how to relate to the opposite person. Ephesians 4:29 has been on my heart lately,
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Scripture centeres us in our difficult times. It keeps us in check.
I need to figure out how to relate to the opposite person. Ephesians 4:29 has been on my heart lately,
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
4) Pause and Pray.
Proverbs 15:18- we can become peace-makers in our own little worlds...showing Christ's love.
And pausing throughout the day, first thing in the morning,
"Abba, give me Your supernatural love and forgiveness."
I never want to respond in a stressful situation until I have prayed.
A goal was to pray more than I speak. And though it has not come to pass yet, by His grace, I am getting better.
Proverbs 15:18- we can become peace-makers in our own little worlds...showing Christ's love.
And pausing throughout the day, first thing in the morning,
"Abba, give me Your supernatural love and forgiveness."
I never want to respond in a stressful situation until I have prayed.
A goal was to pray more than I speak. And though it has not come to pass yet, by His grace, I am getting better.
I have participated in ballkids the past two weeks, and I cannot tell you of a day that went by when I was not by myself for a few moments. While the bustle and noise went on around me, I was at peace in my own little mind. Some might not think this is good for the concentration aspect, but I even prayed while I was on court fetching balls, and I was strengthened.
5) Giving Thanks in All Circumstances.
I decided I'd be thankful all throughout the month of March... even if I wasn't necessarily "thankful" for it... I wanted to make a point of saying, "thank You," anyways.
After dropping those throughout the day...
you would never believe how much my perspective changed!
Even saying, "thank You," can make you feel thankful.
I decided I'd be thankful all throughout the month of March... even if I wasn't necessarily "thankful" for it... I wanted to make a point of saying, "thank You," anyways.
After dropping those throughout the day...
you would never believe how much my perspective changed!
Even saying, "thank You," can make you feel thankful.
"Abba, thank You for the clock that stopped... the broccoli that burned... the blister on my thumb..."
What if I didn't have a clock to stop? What if we were malnutritioned and didn't have the priviledge of eating fresh vegetables? And as far as the blister on my thumb? Well, it came from helping my parents. What better way to get a blister? :)
What if I didn't have a clock to stop? What if we were malnutritioned and didn't have the priviledge of eating fresh vegetables? And as far as the blister on my thumb? Well, it came from helping my parents. What better way to get a blister? :)
6) Sing a New Song of Praise
How wonderful our G-d is... I have found that there is much less tension in my heart and in our home when I wake up and put the Christian radio on, or a Hillsong worship CD, or any music that is praising G-d. It's so beautiful!
Also, all throughout my life, G-d has faithfully wakened me with a "song in my heart" each and every morning. No matter what I might hear the rest of the day, that song continues with me. A few from this last week are:
"There is joy in the L-rd,
there is love in His Spirit,
there is hope in the knowledge of Him...
There's a fountain that flows
like a river from Heaven,
abounding in love to my soul..."
7) Watch..
Romans 12:21- it doesn't mean to be a doormat... rather, to be slow. It takes all my will-power to be lovingly pro-active instead of reactive; "under-control" has been an attitude that He has been shaping and molding in me for years. Yes- I have a temper. Believe it or not, almost no-one believes me when I apologize for my short words. "You were upset?!" There is still years of work. I want to get to the point where, when someone harms me {or my spirit}, that I immediately lay it at the foot of the Cross... and forgive and forget. To say nothing but encouragement. True, sometimes a righteous anger is appropriate, but, just so long as the Holy Spirit is alive in our hearts. If I remain angry, I open the door to sin. However, if I act as a door-mat {and I have been treated as such before; which is not a pleasant feeling}, and no one understands how I feel about the subject, I am to bring it to them in love, and approach them in the right manner/timing, etc. This is a touchy time: I am just scratching the surface of learning when to approach someone.
And to remember...
Jesus was treated unjustly. A part that always makes me sob in Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place is the part where Corrie and Betsey realize... they took His clothes, too.
"Oh, Corrie," whispers Betsey, "and I never thanked Him..."
How to wrap up this post...
Hmmm. G-d is a G-d of new tomorrows. May we honor and glorify His Name in all that we say and do... soli Deo gloria.
Article and Photography Copyright of Sierra Brewer and Fresh Joys Photography, 2012. If you would like to use, please email hishandmaiden.theblog@gmail.com for express permission. Thank you.