Archive | faith & womanhood RSS feed for this section

“Each morning that greets me is full of hope,
not because I am successful at what I am doing,
or because the people near me appreciate me,
or because circumstances are easy,
but because God is and He is my Father.
To look at the morning in any other way
is to believe a lie.

To live in hope is to live in truth;
To live in truth is to bring Him glory;
to bring Him glory in my daily living
is the highest form of worship.”

                                       ~Paul David Tripp

Where do you tend to look for your daily hope? Do you tend to put your hope in circumstances, people, your appearance, your possessions, or in the One True Hope that will never fail you?

Welcome to chapter 1 of The True Woman by Susan Hunt, the first week of our online book study. Each week we will include a brief recap of the chapter, followed by one or two discussion questions. We would love to hear how God is impacting you through this study! Even if you are not joining us in reading the book, you are more than welcome to join in on the discussion!

Continue Reading →

I was very humbled pondering upon this quote. Thanks June for passing it on!

“Pure Christian humility is silent about the sins of others, or speaks of them with grief and pity. The spiritually proud person finds fault with other saints for their lack of progress in grace, while the humble Christian sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts.

One under the influence of spiritual pride is more apt to instruct others than to ask questions. Such a person naturally puts on the airs of a master. The eminently humble Christian thinks he needs help from everybody, whereas the spiritually proud person thinks everybody needs his help. Christian humilty entreats and beseeches, spiritual pride commands and warns with authority.”

~Jonathon Edwards

Continue Reading →

Week to week….Sunday to Sunday…friends and family will ask, how was your week? They may also ask: what did you do this past week? How often do you actually remember what took place this past week? I really have to think about it. Recently I have been struck by the fact that I have been living week by week without much thought to my doings…why else could I not remember? Doesn’t this reveal a lack of purposefulness? Yes, I try my best to plan my day, but in the long run, am I really thinking about how I as a wife and mother can invest purposefully in the lives of my family and others around me this week.

Continue Reading →

While reading, Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger than You by Paul David Tripp, recently, I have been pondering the value and importance of examining ourselves and taking greater thought to whether we are living each day for our own desires (our little kingdom), or whether we are investing purposefully in the True Kingdom of God.

Tripp says, “We were never meant to be self-focused kings ruling minuscule little kingdoms with a population of one. Sure, it’s right for you to care about your health, your job, your house, your family…Yet it is a functional human tragedy to live only for those things…you were created to be an ‘above and more’ being. You were made to be transcendent.”

Continue Reading →

Varying emotions, fluctuating feelings, battling discouragement or feeling overwhelmed – these all describe me during that lovely time of the month, and it hit me in full force this week. The battle to stay on top of these emotions is a consistent struggle. The enemy is constantly striving to cause us to blame these sinful outbursts upon these changes (whether it be PMS, post-pardum, etc.) and lose sight of the greater purpose of pushing us to greater dependence upon God.

So how do we deal with these in a Biblical manner?

I have been so edified by the series that Girltalk has been hosting lately on these issues, titled PMS Prep. I encourage you to check it out.

Continue Reading →

1 Sam 16:7 “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

Sometimes the appearance of my loaf of bread just doesn’t turn out as expected (as witnessed this week). Thankfully, God values my inward character over my outward appearance or talents! There is no need for me to compare myself with others, but rather to examine myself daily to see if I am in the truth.

Secondly, no matter how many times I have made this bread recipe, it never seems to be as perfect as I would like. Lesson learned…we can never match up to God’s standard of righteousness on our own strength. All our efforts to please the Lord are as filthy rags in His sight. Through humble dependence upon the Lord for salvation and sanctification, we can accomplish much! Press on sisters to know the Lord, and don’t think too highly upon the outward appearance, but work on that inward character and virtue of your heart!

Psa 44:6 “For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.”

I wrote this note to someone very near and dear to my heart this morning who is struggling with depression, and wanted to share it with you, in hopes that it might edify us all.

Dear Friend,

I wanted to share with you a verse that has greatly encouraged my soul when I have gone through bouts of depression, lacking joy and purposefulness. Sometimes I just wake up in the morning and feel this overwhelming weight of discouragement. I don’t want to get up and face the challenges of the day. Or when challenges come my way with fussy babies, disasters in the kitchen, financial worries, etc. No matter what they be, this verse has been a source of great encouragement to my soul.

Ps. 42:5
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”

Continue Reading →

“To a certain extent, woman is the conservator of her nation’s welfare. Her virtue, if firm and uncorrupted will stand sentinel over that empire.”

-Female Piety, John Angell James (1800′s)

“No free communities ever existed without morals, and…morals are the work of woman. Consequently, whatever affects the condition of women, their habits and their opinions, has great political importance in my eyes.”

-Democracy in America (1831)

If you have not yet realized the power of your influence not only in your sphere of influence (whether home, church, community) but also for the overall good of the nation, now is the time to take it seriously. No matter your age, whether young or old, single or married. Our nation is in dire need of its godly women who fear the Lord to step forward and make an impact for good!

These are probing questions I am asking my own soul today..

“An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above rubies.” Prov. 31:10

In whatever role God has called you to fill, are you pursuing excellence? Am I pursing excellence in my role as wife and mother?

1. Read & Seek - Am I striving to grow in knowledge and wisdom for the tasks I will face? Am I reading and gleaning from other wise women who have gone before me or who the Lord has placed around me? How am I doing in reading books that will edify and strengthen my calling? How am I doing in seeking out wisdom and counsel from Titus 2 women?

2. Dependence upon the Savior – Am I leaning fully upon the Savior to be successful in my purpose? How can I hope to bring glory to God and be faithful if my eyes are not fixed upon Him and fully dependent upon Him? Am I being faithful and consistent in my devotions -keeping Him first in my life?

3. Faithfulness in the Little Things – Excellence comes from being faithful in the little things. In the world’s eyes, motherhood is a despised occupation. These little things are not worth our time, energy and devotion. Our eyes should be focused on pursuing a career and making our presence known to the world. In God’s eyes it is truly valuable and worth far above rubies. Am I being faithful to meet the need when it arises? To wipe a runny nose, to serve some coffee to a needy husband, to clean that messy diaper…every little thing counts for eternity.

Unfortunately, this kind of woman, is extremely difficult to find so much more so in our day and age. Can we strive in this high and holy calling to be faithful and pursue excellence to the glory of God?

Proverbs 31 Revisited…originally published Oct 2007

Let us bless and encourage one another in the Lord! Check out Hebrews 13:3 Thursday!