Journey to a Gracious Woman

Photo by me

I can hardly identify a general way of expressing how the Lover of my soul has drawn me into His Word. Every time is so unique and carries it’s own fashion.

There has been a time when he revealed a new truth to me, which counterd a false truth being taught, and He gave me such a hunger to know His Truth above all, I did not rest until I drank in as much as my eyes would allow.

God has put a deep desire in me just to know Him more, and there is no better way to acquaint myself with Him then to read His Story.

I never thought much on how I’m drawn to the Bible, but there is certainly a drawing.  There is a burden to release the secrets of my Maker. It enraptures me into a place I cannot fathom in this life. It’s the never ending story…the story that draws me in and combines humanity with divinity; the impossible with a miracle.

But how often I have slighted opening the book until a later time…a time that never came. I’ve learned when He draws me in, I need stop in that moment and listen to what He has to say. To open The Book and allow His words to soak into my being until a droplet of Him is again left within me.

Please take the time to visit Ann @ Holy Experience for Walk With Him Wednesdays. You won’t regret it.

(Forgive my tardiness. My son had surgery today so it has been quite busy. But I wanted to get in on this great series.)

Copyright by Christin

For more Word-Filled Wednesday, visit 160AcreWoods.

I am at such peace right now. I know, FINALLY! Really, though, I think I have finally fallen into step with the rhythm God has for me at this moment. It’s not that there have been major trials…just trying to figure out where in the world God’s will I’m supposed to be is challenge enough. But, since stepping into the place He has for me, my spirit has been quieted. It is no longer screaming for a place to belong or a place to rest. It is no longer searching for it’s home here or there. It is resting…right here…right at home.

My rhythm is created in God, my Maker; my role as help meet; being a mother in every aspect, including teacher; capturing the beauty of God through picture and verse; writing the depths of God’s heart for me, and for children to understand in the form of a devotional. My heart has never felt more full than it does now. Truly, it is bursting with fulfillment in the body of Christ.

Training my children in the ways of God will be my greatest victory in the Lord. He has more than equipped me for the journey and has given me the ability to pierce the enemy.

The tools He has equipped me with are:

The Bible–

a weapon that is sharper than a two-edged sword, which pierces the soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12)

Prayer–

God said all I need to do is ask and He will give. I do not ask for riches or power – but for wisdom, discernment, and whatever other tools I need to train my children. (Mark 11:24; Philippians 4:6; James 1:5)

The Body of Christ–

We are called to encourage one another and help each other. This is a wonderful tool to help keep me moving forward (Hebrews 10:25)

Materials–

he has provided all the materials I need for homeschooling and all the equipment I could possibly use. He has provided above and beyond!

I need not look anywhere but right to God for whatever I need. Doing so has kept my focus right in the center, where it should be.

It is a peaceful, rainy day here in my parts. I am resting in what God has been doing in me over these past couple of weeks. So much transformation going I may not recognize who I am in the future! That’s a good thing–as long as there is more of Jesus living in me, and less of me.

I’ve really enjoyed the challenges of Oswald Chambers through his popular devotional: My Utmost for His Highest. I’ve been liberally using the highlighter to point out areas that I need help in. I’ve learned that I must allow Jesus to manifest in me before calling Him Teacher.

I’ve learned that a perfectly clean house is not attianable, nor is it realistic in my world (or near any mother’s world). I’ve worked and reworked ways to get and keep my house clean and in order and I can finally say I’m at that point. The problem with that is, nothing else is getting my attention. It’s cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Sure, the house looks great, but settling down long enough to enjoy it simply doesn’t exist!

I read an awesome devotion from a new devotional I ordered from Amazon this week. Devotions for Homeschool Moms, by Jackie Wellwood. The one I read was on beautifying the home. Mrs. Wellwood  gently reminded me that being at home with children is going to result in a lived in home, and that’s OK. It’s more important to train children and teach them biblical truths then to constantly be cleaning. Yes, orderliness and cleanliness are important, but not so perfectly that the children go unattended or left to themselves.

Something she said was,

I make messes myself. They happen when I’m being productive.

If multiple children are being productive in your home, then you might as well expect some pretty big messes.

Wow. I never thought of it that way before! She also speaks on training them to clean up after themselves rather then doing it herself because it’s more important to train then to have a perfectly clean house. It’s simply not possible to do both successfully. It’s OK to have a “lived in” house!

Now, back to that balance!

So those are some nuggets I learned this week. I’m trying to really chew on what I have before moving on to some new things. Reflection is a beautiful thing; a wonderful tool!

Good morning Company Girls! This week has been a laid back one. I have been doing much planning for the upcoming home school year, and much praying about the direction of our family. I finally am feeling at peace and learning to not look to the right or left by comparing myself to other moms, and finally listening and waiting on what God wants to speak to me.

Monday we had an in home visit from a greyhound adoption company. We are in the process of adopting a retired greyhound, so I have been prepping my house accordingly and my husband has been prepping our yard. The anticipation is growing!

Today I am going to work on just keeping the house tidied and do some baking in the kitchen. You know, it’s sooo much cheaper to make your own food! It’s amazing the difference. Not only is it cheaper, but much healthier as well. My husband loves it when I save him money!

I’ve also been really enjoying playing around with my photography. It is a very on-the-side-hobby, but one I really enjoy doing. On Wednesdays I participate in Word-Filled Wednesday hosted by 160 Acre Woods and Extravagant Grace.  You can visit some of my work here, here, and here.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to this week. I admit, I have not done any of the small things this week. I would like to try harder next week.
Have a blessed weekend ladies!

To join in or read more coffee chit chat, visit Home Sanctuary!

It is no secret that men and women are different (or is it?!). God created us, men and women, with diverse roles in His creation. He chose our place because we are in no position to tell God otherwise. I find it incredibly designed that God made wives to respect their husbands and made husbands to love their wives (Ephesians 5:33), because those are the elements we each need to thrive. He knows this! Husbands need respect from their wives as greatly as wives need love from their husbands. For husbands, respect is love and love is respect.

To read more, visit me at Heart(h) Management today!

I tend to get so focused on things in this world that just don’t matter. I took this picture, added the scripture and printed it out for my living room as a reminder. I want to stay focused on the eternal things.

Visit Amydeane at 160AcreWoods for more WFW.

My consumption of the Word is rather sporadic, changes periodically.

It’s not that I don’t read verses, whether they are on the internet or from a devotional book or from some other random place. But a mere verse here and there is not what I would call an adequate diet. It certainly won’t help me understand the heart of God.

But, to give a glimpse into the now, here is what I’ve been doing. Raw honesty.

Most days I read from My Utmost from His Highest by Oswald Chambers and am challenged in my thinking every time. He offers a single verse at the top of each page/devotion. Frequently, but not daily, I read from a daily Bible reading plan, put out by One Year Bible Blog. Sometimes the read can be too much, sometimes not enough. Often, I find myself lost if I don’t have a plan of where to read. I don’t know why. I don’t know why I can’t just pick up the Word and decide to read a book without a plan.

It seems my consumption of the Word changes. There are seasons where I read a lot and seasons where it’s not as much. I am looking forward to what Ann has to say about digging into the Word and praying for a challenge to my spirit.

When I read, I highlight one or two verses from a passage that really speak to me. Sometimes I write one of them down on a card for remembrance or memorization. Since learning to journal more, I write more down in my journal as well. The verses I read, verse(s) that speak to me as well as notes that come to mind.

Just this week I have learned something about Bible reading and that is this: it’s not about me. It’s not about seeing how much of it is relevant to me or only reading the parts I believe relate to me. It’s about reaching the depths of God’s heart and learning who He is. It is about Him using His Word to, not only speak to me, but transform me. But I cannot go into reading the Bible everyday with the mentality of: “what can I get out of this?”, but instead, “what can I put into it?”.

Visit Holy Experience to read more.

Being proactive to teach our children excellent character qualities is a must. In my opinion, it’s just not enough to wait for that “teachable moment”, but instead to instill good character traits in our children before a potential problem arises. This doesn’t mean our children will never face adversaries. But they will be better equipped to handle the situation, resulting in making a right choice.

I found a wonderful chart through the Duggar Family site on character qualities that I will use as a guide to teach my own children.

Marcia Somerville said,

Character formation is both the foundation for learning and the ultimate purpose for learning.

If I don’t tend to shaping the people my children will become, all the learning we do will be in vain. Everything must be centered on Christ and what He calls us to work toward. This is my first order of business as a mother. Not merely to work in excellent character qualities, but to instill pieces of Christ within them.

Today I have decluttered and rearranged our living room to accomodate our new dog. We are going to be adopting a greyhound here in the weeks to come. Tomorrow we have an in home visit. So I needed to clear a space in the living room for his bed and a place in the kitchen for his (or her) dog dishes.

The living room is cleaned out (for the most part, just need to do the desk). But I have taken a lot of things downstairs to store, so either later today or tomorrow, I will be organizing the downstairs for better utilization.

My home is definitately singing!!

To join in or read more, visit Nan @ Moms the Word!