Random Good Things

Happy Saturday morning, everyone! Just wanted to share some things that have come across my path lately...

23 Things that Love Is - by Paul Tripp so you know it will be great...good reminder especially around Valentine's Day

Desiring God Vine Conference - I've only listened to a couple of these so far, but they have been really good. I know they're officially for pastors, but they're such a great reminder for all of us as we desire to stay in The Vine.

Here are a couple of quotes I wrote down from it:

Grace is not opposed to human activity, it is opposed to human merit. --Horton
We are justified never without works, but never for works. --Horton
Pursuing joy is only equivalent to pursuing intimacy with Christ. --Piper, I think
Union with Christ is the stream in which we experience superior pleasures to sin. --Piper
We measure people by the point they've reached, not by what they overcame to get there. --Owen
There have been lots more great quotes, but I didn't write more down...

Personality Test sites - Dave and I did a number of these last night - fun and interesting
The Big Five - this one is fun because you can also score someone else at the same time
Jung Typology Test - this one was good because it gives a description of your type of person at the end if you select the Self Awareness and Personal Growth button once you've completed it
iPersonic - this one is the quickest, but often hard to choose between the two options

Our most recent sermon series...Viral Church - I don't think the title really explains about what the subject matter was. It was about God's primary goal and how we fit into it...Pastor Josh preached one of my favorite sermons of his during it...

Some Free Time

This past week has been wonderfully slow and quiet...ahhhhhh...now I feel ready to get back into life. :) I am always amazed, however, that the less commitments I have, the less actually gets done...a little stress is good for productivity. Besides watching tons of Olympics the past couple days, we've enjoyed some down time doing what the kiddos love best...building Legos and having a spa (besides school and stuff, of course!). These kinds of things always remind me of an article by the Pearls written years ago...

I have loved many things in my life that had no personal meaning to me. All because I loved what they loved…because I loved them.

I hear it all the time. I have experienced it. You have too—loving what they love, because you love them. Have you ever seen an adult attending the funeral of a rabbit? Did the adult so love the pet rabbit that he just had to work through his grief in a process of closure? No, the average father would rather have eaten the rabbit (before it got sick), but when his little girl came to love the rabbit, Daddy loved what his sweetheart loved. He had no grief for the dead “hairball,” but he felt the loss his daughter felt, and so could grieve with her. Love is loving what they love.

I have loved many things in my life that had no personal meaning to me. I have loved scribbled drawings, ugly paintings, lopsided newly sown dresses, burnt cake, flat bread, sour pudding, oversalted cookies, days at the park, trampolines, picnics, hikes, vacations where you slept on the ground, canoe trips in dull, slow moving streams, cheap ice-cream and corn dogs, and on and on. I have laughed at jokes that were funny because the child got the punch line first. I have praised poems that had no meter, and listened to music recitals that made the dog leave home for three days—all because I loved what they loved…because I loved them.

I have listened to my wife talk about things that she read in a magazine article I had already passed up, unknown to her, because I didn’t care…until she cared. Over the years, my wife has gone out to the shop to view my latest invention, something I know she considered a waste of time, but her eyes showed her delight with my delight and she loved what I loved, even though it was a passing vanity. Things pass away. They won’t matter tomorrow or in eternity, but she matters, I matter, and my children matter, now and in eternity. So we love. We love each other. We love what the others love. In fellowship with each other, we love far more than we would ever have loved pursuing our own narrow interests. Life has been more varied and far more interesting for having loved.

Love gives inflated value to things, to places, to moments, to memories. With love attached, the ordinary becomes special, royal, even holy. The greatest pleasure is often found in simple things done together.

Love turns failure into compassion, discouragement into a renewed vision, stupid blunders into wisdom, and sin into redemption. Love covers a multitude of sins. The world can take our possessions, our occupation, our health, and eventually our breath, but it cannot touch our love. Once love is planted in the heart of another, it has eternal life. The treasures of the world will perish, but love given to another, especially to our children, is treasure laid up in heaven.

You keep love by giving it away. The more you give, the more you receive. Love is never fair. It is always lopsided. Love is most beautiful when you plant it in barren soil and see it multiply until it is returned a hundred fold. It must be given when it has not been earned, shared when it is rebuffed, and must persevere when there is no earthly reason—then you can say you have loved.

.......If your child is going to be your best friend when he or she is grown, you must love what they love: when they are three, and when they are thirteen. It is what makes the world go round and makes children come back around and call their parents blessed.

(the Pearls have amazing insight into humanity, and I have gleaned much from their ministry, but do read with discernment as I don't agree with all they write)

So, spouse...parent...friend...how well are you doing at loving what others love in your life?

Hannah's turn first

then mine...

don't they look lovely?

 going back through and pulling out all the Legos needed to rebuild his Star Wars sets

pretty cool, huh?

(just in case you're wondering...yes, the kids did stay in their jammies all day one day)

Wisdom vs. Knowledge

Just some quotes that have hit my radar lately...especially relevant based on Challies' observation that we have become a nation obsessed with information/knowledge...and also a nation that is losing the value of true wisdom.

Information is not wisdom. --Challies (I've been listening to his audio book...the trailer is actually really funny...just watched it now)

I want you to know there’s a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is not bad, but knowledge is not enough. Knowledge is knowing the truth, wisdom is knowing what to do with it. Knowledge is theoretical; wisdom is practical. Knowledge fills your mind; wisdom guides your life. Knowledge is truthful; wisdom is useful. Knowledge provides information, wisdom provides transformation. Knowledge tells you what to believe, and wisdom tells you how to behave. You can have knowledge without wisdom, but you can’t have wisdom without knowledge. That’s why wisdom has very little to do with your IQ. --Driscoll

an early morning visitor the other day :)

Word for the Year

Sorry it's been so quiet around here lately...been a busy couple weeks enjoying visits from my sis and her girls and my aunt as well as just regular life. :) Any of you who have enjoyed Ann Voskamp's ministry have probably heard about the Word for the Year concept (based on this book). Although I've always thought it sounded like a good idea, I've never done it until Holly encouraged the young ladies bible study to choose a word. So, word searching I went...it's actually a very interesting exercise as it helps you give a focus point to life and causes you to evaluate the main thing you want to strive for. I came up with a whole bunch of good words...intentional, cultivate, supernatural (Hannah thought that one meant I was trying to be a superhero or something :) ), compassion, and a few more I can't think of right now. But, when I woke up the morning of the study, one word stuck in my mind that encapsulated all the other words...love. If I have love, then I will be intentional, I will work at cultivating my walk with God and others, I will live supernaturally because I love God's ways more than my own, I will be compassionate because I will be thinking of others, etc. Now, the challenge is the daily choice of living it. :)

We began a new devotional book with the kiddos last week and the first section was on love...here are some good quotes I've appreciated from it:

It is not by accident that the first fruit of the Spirit is love. In a sense, love encompasses the eight fruit that follow. Joy is love's cheerfulness; peace is love's confidence; patience is love's composure; gentleness is love's consideration; goodness is love's character; faith is love's trustworthiness; meekness is love's strength; and self-control is love's discipline.

Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully.

We love the gifts that God gives us. Let's love the Giver. The wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.

Christian love is like the moon--it has no light of its own. It is a reflection of the Sun of righteousness.

The mystery of love is that the more you give, the more remains in your heart.

Love forgets itself.

The girls drawing and sketching out word ideas

Such an amazing group of girls! Love having them in Hannah's life

I thought it was pretty convenient that the plate I made in Dec
had my word for the year on it :)

By the way...if you're wondering about Hannah's word...she chose joyful. :)

Importance of Conversation

I'm generally not one who is terribly chatty (although I can seem to be that way with some people!). Most of the time I undervalue taking time to talk about things...to let conversation free flow. I'd much rather be accomplishing something...crossing stuff off my list. :) This summer, however, a friend and I were just enjoying a cup of coffee together, taking time to talk about some things that had been weighing on me. She mostly listened as I talked on and on...but then she gave some insights and helpful comments that in many ways set me on a different trajectory, a healthier one, than I had been going before. 

A few weeks later we were reading in one of our history read-alouds, Secret of the Andes, and I came across this quote:

The Old One pointed skyward. It was midday. Cusi had talked away the hours of the morning. "But you did not waste them, Cusi. Their coming was a spring thaw in a mountain river. The ice in your heart has melted. The flood of your feelings has washed clean your life-way of its deadwood of misunderstanding." 

I really liked it because it explained quite poetically how sometimes God does use conversation with others to melt away  "ice" that has built up inside. The importance of community, of learning and growing alongside others, is so important. I'm so thankful for the many people who are a blessing in my life. God has also been challenging me to be willing to slow down (sometimes!) and enjoy the moments of conversation with others even when my to-do list can seem so long and so pressing. Sometimes it may mean more to be a listening ear than to bring a meal or do some service...that's definitely a tough one for me... 

Another hike from this past summer, Eightmile Lake - lovely hike of medium length
 

 

 

 

 

Married to a Sinner

Tonight we started Tripp's book, What Did You Expect? in our GC group. So, this will be the third time I'll be reading it. Guess God thinks I need what this book says... :) Here's one of many great excerpts found in the first chapter:

You both bring something into your marriage that is destructive to what a marriage needs and must do. That thing is called sin...If you minimize the heart struggle that both of you have carried into your marriage, here's what will happen: you will tend to turn moments of ministry into moments of anger. When your ears hear and your eyes see the sin, weakness, or failure of your husband or wife, it is never an accident; it is always grace. God loves your spouse, and he is committed to transforming him or her by his grace, and he has chosen you to be one of his regular tools of change. So, he will cause you to see, hear, and experience your spouse's need for change so that you can be an agent of his rescue.

pics from Sauer Mtn

 

 

 

 

Sing to the Lord

1 Chron 16:23-34

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the people!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be held in awe above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.
Ascribe to the Lord, O clans of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth;
yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!"
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult , and everything in it!
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for jay
before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

some lovely flowers from our hike up Sauer Mtn last week...
 

 

 

 

 

 

More Josh Humor

This afternoon as we were eating lunch Josh made this comment on the heels of our discussion about not judging how others parent when you don't even have kids. “I don’t know if I want a child…I don’t even know if I’m going to get married. I’m going to wait till Hannah gets married and when she does, I’ll see if she thinks it’s easy. Then I’ll decide.”

I don't know if I should think that is brilliant or concerning. :)

This is what our living room has looked like most of this past week

the kids are recreating Josh's lego sets that have gotten destroyed in the past

 

 

 

 

Who I Am in Christ

I came across this file the other day that had been used during my mentoring with Setting Captives Free. It's a great resource to take some time and think, pray, and praise God about. One area I am weak in is being assured of my position through Christ...I am much more prone to being hard on myself for not living up to my personal expectations rather than resting in Christ's finished work on my behalf. So the last couple days I've been taking some time to dwell on these scriptures. These things are also true of you if you have surrendered your life to Christ. They are particularly meaningful if you place your name in the blanks. (You can actually cut and paste this into a Word document then find and replace to include your name ...find 5 underscores "_____" and replace with your name...If it doesn't work write a comment with your email, and I'll do it for you. :) )

Who I am in Christ

 _____ Is Valuable
John 1:12 _____ is God's daughter.
But _____ received Him, and to _____ He gave the right to become God's daughter, because _____ believes in His name.

John 15:5 _____ is a part of the true vine, and a channel of Christ's life.
I am the vine. _____ is a branch. If _____ remains in Me, and I in her, she will bear much fruit, for apart from Me, _____ can do nothing.

John 15:15 _____ is a friend of Christ.
No longer do I call _____ a servant, for a servant doesn't know what her lord does. But I have called _____ a friend, for everything that I heard from My Father, I have made known to _____

Rom. 8:17 _____ is a joint heir with Christ, she shares Christ's inheritance with Him.
And if a daughter, then an heir; an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ; if indeed _____ suffers with Him, that _____ may also be glorified with Him.

I Cor. 3:9 _____ is God's co-worker.
For _____ is one of God's fellow workers. _____ is God's field, God's building.

I Cor. 3:16 _____ is God's temple.
Don't you know that _____ is a temple of God, and that God's Spirit lives in her

Eph. 1:5-6 _____ has been adopted by God as His daughter.
Having predestined _____ for adoption as a daughter through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His desire, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He freely bestowed favor on _____ in the Beloved.

Eph. 1:11 _____ has an inheritance in Christ.
In Him also _____ was assigned an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His will.

Eph. 2:5-6 _____ has been made alive with Christ and she is seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
Even when _____ was dead in her trespasses, God made her alive together with Christ (by grace _____ has been saved), and raised _____ up with Him and made _____ to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Eph. 2:10 _____ is God's workmanship, His handiwork.
For _____ is His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that _____ should walk in them.

Col. 1:27 Christ Himself is in _____
To whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in _____ the hope of glory.

Col. 3:3 _____’s life is hidden with Christ in God.
For _____ died, and her life is hidden with Christ in God.

_____ Is Loved
John 3:15-16 _____ has eternal life in Christ.
_____ believing in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved _____, that He gave His one and only Son, that _____ believing in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:18 _____ is not judged by God, because she is in Christ.
If _____ believes in Him, she is not judged. But if _____ doesn't believe, she has been judged already, because she has not believed in the name of the only born Son of God.

John 15:9 _____ remains in Christ's love.
Even as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved _____. _____ must remain in My love. If _____ keeps My commandments, she will remain in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and remain in His love.

Rom. 8:14-15 _____ is a daughter of God.
For if _____ is led by the Spirit of God, she is a daughter of God. For _____ didn't receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but _____ received the Spirit of adoption, by whom she cries, "Abba! Father!"

Rom. 8:35-37,39 _____ cannot be separated from the love of God.
Who shall separate _____ from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, "For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter." For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate _____ from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, _____’s  Lord.

Eph. 3:12 _____ may approach God with boldness and confidence.
In whom _____ has boldness and confident access through her faith in Him.

Col. 1:13-14 _____ has been rescued from the domain of Satan's rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ.
The Father delivered _____ out of the power of darkness, and translated her into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

Heb. 4:16 _____ may come boldly before the throne of grace through Jesus Christ to receive mercy.
Let _____ therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that she may receive mercy, and may find grace in time of need.

_____ Is Victorious
John 8:31-32 _____ has been set free.
If _____ remains in My word, then she is truly My disciple. _____ will know the truth, and the truth will make her free.

Rom. 6:1-4 _____ died with Christ and she died to the power of sin's rule over her life.
What shall we say then? Shall _____ continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! If _____ died to sin, how could she live in it any longer? Or don't you know that when _____ was baptized into Christ Jesus, she was baptized into His death? _____ was buried with Him through baptism to death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so _____ also might walk in newness of life.

Rom. 8:37 _____ is more than a conqueror in Christ.
No, in all these things, _____ is more than a conqueror through Him who loved her.

II Cor. 2:14 _____ is led triumphantly by Christ.
But thanks be to God, who always leads _____ in triumph in Christ, and reveals through _____ the sweet aroma of His knowledge in every place.

Gal. 2:20 _____ was crucified with Christ.
_____ has been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer _____ who lives, but Christ living in her. That life which _____ now lives in the flesh, she lives by faith in the Son of God, who loved _____ and gave Himself up for her.

Phil. 4:13 _____ can do all things through Christ.
_____ can do all things through Christ, who strengthens her.

II Tim. 1:7 _____ has been given a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.
For God didn't give _____ a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-discipline.

I John 5:4-5 _____ has overcome the world.
For _____ is born of God and overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: _____’s faith. _____ overcomes the world because she believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

_____ Is Complete
I Cor. 6:17 _____ is joined with Christ, and she is one spirit with Him.
But if _____ is joined to the Lord, she is one spirit with the Lord.

II Cor. 5:17 _____ is a new creation.
Therefore if _____ is in Christ, she is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

II Cor. 5:21 _____ is the righteousness of God in Christ.
For Him who knew no sin He made to be sin on _____’s behalf; so that in Him _____ might become the righteousness of God.

Eph. 1:3 _____ has been blessed with every spiritual blessing.
Blessed be the God and Father of _____’s Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed _____ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Phil. 2:5-7 _____ has Christ's mind.
Have this in your mind, _____, which also was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, didn't consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

Col. 2:6-7 _____ is firmly rooted in Christ and she is being built up and established in Him.
As _____ received Christ Jesus, her Lord, she must walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, even as _____ was taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.

Col. 2:10 _____ has been made complete in Christ.
And in Him, _____ is made complete, who is the head of all principality and power.

_____ Is Chosen
John 15:16 _____ has been chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit.
_____ didn't choose Me, but I chose _____ and appointed her, that she should go and bear fruit, and that her fruit should remain; that whatever _____ will ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to her.

II Cor. 1:21-22_____ has been established, anointed, and sealed in Christ.
Now He who establishes _____ in Christ, and anointed _____ , is God; who also sealed _____ and gave her the down payment of the Spirit in her heart.

II Cor. 5:18-19 _____ has been reconciled to God and she is a minister of reconciliation.
But all things are of God, who reconciled _____ to Himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to _____ the ministry of reconciliation; namely, that God was in Christ reconciling _____ to Himself, not reckoning to _____ her trespasses, and having committed to _____ the word of reconciliation.

Eph. 1:4  _____ has been chosen by God to be holy.
Even as He chose _____ in Him before the foundation of the world, that _____ would be holy and without blemish before Him in love.

II Tim. 1:9 _____ has been given a holy calling.
God saved _____ and called her with a holy calling, not according to _____’s works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to _____ in Christ Jesus before times eternal.

Titus 3:5 _____ is washed and renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Not by works of righteousness, which _____ did herself, but according to His mercy, He saved _____ through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

I Peter 2:9 _____ is a member of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession.
_____ is a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that _____ may show forth the excellencies of Him who called her out of darkness into His marvelous light.

I John 2:28 _____ has boldness and is not ashamed.
Now, _____ should remain in Him, that when He appears, _____ may have boldness, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

_____ Is Forgiven
John 5:24 _____ has passed from death to life in Christ.
Most assuredly I tell you, if _____ hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, _____ has eternal life, and doesn't come into judgment, but she has passed out of death into life.

Rom. 3:24 _____ has been justified through grace.
_____ is justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 5:1 _____ has been justified, completely forgiven, made righteous, and has peace.
Being therefore justified by faith, _____ has peace with God through her Lord, Jesus Christ.

Rom. 8:1-2 _____ is forever free from condemnation.
There is therefore now no condemnation for _____ because she is in Christ Jesus, because _____ doesn't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made _____ free from the law of sin and death.

Rom. 8:31-34 _____ is free from any condemning charges against her.
What then shall we say about these things? If God is for _____ who can be against her? He who didn't spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for _____, how would He not also with Him freely give _____ all things? Who could bring a charge against _____ because she is one of God's elect? It is God who justifies _____. Who is He who condemns? It is Christ who died, and more than that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God and makes intercession for _____.

Eph. 1:7-8 _____ has been redeemed and forgiven and _____ is a recipient of His rich grace.
In Him _____ has her redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of _____’s trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward _____ in all wisdom and prudence.

Eph. 4:32 _____ has been forgiven in Christ.
And _____ is to be kind to others, tenderhearted, forgiving others, just as God also in Christ forgave _____.

Recent Quotes

Just a handful of quotes this morning that have challenged me lately.

These are ones from listening to some of Tripp's sermons...

If you understand that we are marching towards eternity, you then get what the agenda is for the here and now. (perspective, perspective, perspective...we must keep our minds fixed in the right place.)

Maybe trials are so hard because they are challenging the replacement identities we are already carrying. (this may not make tons of sense if you haven't thought about your identity in Christ (redeemed, sons, etc.) rather than the identities we often label ourselves by (good parent, hard worker, etc.), but his point is that God often uses trials to knock our identities back into their right place. It's great to be a good parent and a hard worker, but if you're having a bad day/some form of criticism comes/something unexpected happens and your identity is in those things, you crash and burn rather than remind yourself that you are redeemed, loved, and forgiven even when you mess up/people don't seem to appreciate you/you don't understand what went wrong.)

If situations can rob you of your peace or other people can rob you of peace, you're probably not resting in the God of glory. (once again, perspective...when we can look at our world as ultimately under God's control, no matter the circumstances, we can have peace...it's when our view of God isn't as glorious or as great as He really is that we become anxious.)

And, this was one found on a handwriting sheet of Hannah's:

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. --Benjamin Franklin (the more I think about this, the more true I find it to be...it is very hard to hold your tongue in certain situations.)

last of the Hawaii pics :)

 

 

 

Gifts 777 - 809

You don't live life in big moments. You live life in the utterly mundane. If God doesn't rule your
mundane, then he doesn't rule your life. The character of a life is set in 10,000 little moments, not big
moments. ----From this article by Paul Tripp

777 - on-time flights
778 - palm tree swaying in the breeze
779 - time to think/reflect
780 - sand between the toes
781 - cousin adventures
782 - fans
783 - space
784 - tide pools
785 - turtles
786 - incredible vistas
787 - the amazing variation in creation
788 - water bottles
789 - creative fountains
790 - everyone piled on the couch
791 - catching waves
792 - sand castles
793 - walking hand in hand
794 - mochi ice cream
795 - eating on the patio
796 - strawberry papaya
797 - working through struggles
798 - remembering God's great love for me
799 - waves crashing on the rocks
800 - seeing areas to improve on
801 - painted toes
802 - whales frolicking
803 - stacking rocks
804 - digital pictures
805 - pleasant waitresses
806 - healthy bodies most of the time
807 - Fanta at the beach
808 - fun hats
809 - farmer's markets

 

 

 

Praying for Your Husband

These past couple of weeks in our women's dna time, we've been talking a bit about being wives. We spent some time going through Driscoll's sermon on The Respectful Wife. Last week when we were talking, we discussed the importance of praying for our husbands. Omartian's book The Power of a Praying Wife was brought up, and I wanted to share her list of daily items to pray for our husbands. She goes through each area by spending a few pages with a description, then an example prayer, and some applicable verses. Although I've owned this book forever, I've never actually completely read it, but flipping through it again just now may encourage me to pick it up again.:)

1 - His Wife

2 - His Work

3 - His Finances

4 - His Sexuality

5 - His Affection

6 - His Temptations

7 - His Mind

8 - His Fears

9 - His Purpose

10 - His Choices

11 - His Health

12 - His Protection

13 - His Trials

14 - His Integrity

15 - His Reputation

16 - His Priorities

17 - His Relationships

18 - His Fatherhood

19 - His Past

20 - His Attitude

21 - His Marriage

22 - His Emotions

23 - His Walk

24 - His Talk

25 - His Repentance

26 - His Deliverance

27 - His Obedience

28 - His Self-Image

29 - His Faith

30 - His Future

this pic is from last year in Jan
 

here's a pic from this morning...much less snow :(