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I have been studying the book of Acts lately, and I have been struck by the emphasis on the growth of the early church and how it labored together resulting in a flourishing movement of Christ throughout Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. How was this taking place? How were they living out the gospel in their lives?

Acts 2:41-46
“So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…[they] had all things in common…sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by dad continuing with one mind in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.”

Five things that I highlighted above stood out to me that I was mediating upon this passage. How can we walk in the example of the early Christians?

1. Devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching

The early Christians listened diligently and heeded the teaching of the Scriptures. They were eager to grow in their understanding of the truth. They applied their hearts to it, seeking to apply its truth into their own lives. They did not limit the hearing of the Word to one day a week, but the church was flourishing because they daily were dwelling in the Word and hearing it. How can we apply this today within our own homes as wives and mothers?

- Daily devotions
The feeding and nourishing of our souls is of first importance as we plan each day. Being a wife and mother can be a weighty and challenging task. Skipping out on your devotions because of your lengthy list of “to-do’s” for the day is not the answer. Sitting with Mary at the feet of Jesus is the key to be renewed in our minds and be strengthened to fulfill the duties of the day. Martha was distracted and busy with other things, although they were important, they can come after sitting at Jesus’ feet. Whether it be for 5 minutes or 30 minutes…the fact that you take that purposeful time to spend in the Word, the smoother and more effective you will be throughout your day. Fill up your tank daily!

Resource: I have found this Bible reading plan an excellent resource for just encouraging you to read for 5 minutes, 1 chapter a day and get through the whole New Testament in a year. Check it out here. This does not of course have to limit you…but if you are lacking in this discipline, it might help give you a little plan to get started.

-Listen to sermons
I have found it so beneficial to listen to a sermon a day while I do my kitchen cleanup, dinner preparations, housecleaning, etc. Now it doesn’t always fit in so easily, but that is my goal. I have subscribed to a few different sermon podcasts through i-tunes, such as sermons from Covenant Life Church, Desiring God, Mars Hill Church. Each week they come out with a new sermon that uploads to my podcast section. I can either download these to my i-pod (which is currently under the weather ;( ) , or I just listen from my computer. I love it! It is so edifying to my soul. It’s like I am daily filling myself with the apostles’ teaching, just in a more contemporary manner.

Points 2-5 to come…

I have been dwelling frequently on the topic of contentment. Why is this such a great struggle for women? Young, old, single, married, we all battle this feeling of desiring something more.

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”
Proverbs 21:9

What does it mean to be quarrelsome? Contentious, argumentative, nagging spirit…What is the root? I was talking with my husband about this and his response was that the root cause of this contentious spirit is lack of contentment. A woman can so easily walk down this path when she lacks contentment. It all begins as she looses her thankfulness for the blessings that have been bestowed upon her. Instead of focusing on the blessings, she focuses on the negatives, her circumstances, the shortcomings of her husband or family, etc. One little thing upon the next, until finally her husband cannot stand dwelling with her. Instead of nagging her husband it would be so much more profitable to take it to the Lord in prayer. That way she leaves it in the Lord’s hands. Men can so easily loose their confidence with a nagging woman.

We must exchange the spirit of contention with the spirit of thankfulness.

The first thing that Paul always seems to focus on at the beginning of his epistles is thanking God for the church, for the believers and their faith. 1 Thessalonians for example says:

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; contantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ…” (1:2-3).

Even though throughout the remainder of the book he is dealing with problems in the church, his first and foremost focus is on thanking God for the work that He is doing in their lives. He focuses on the positive! He always saw past the circumstances in view of God’s mercy at the cross, as he continues in verses 4-5:

“knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction…”

There is always something to be thankful for! The other evening I was struggling greatly with some issues my little girl was having and my husband asked me, “what are you thankful for?” It was hard at first to switch gears but the sooner I did it and began making my list, the more joyful and happy I became. The heart of discouragement was replaced with joyful delight in the mercies of my Savior.

In light of this I decided to post on my bulletin board (see my previous post on this topic), “what am I thankful for today?” That way each and every day I can be reminded of the bountiful blessings that Christ has bestowed upon me.

Pursuing thankfulness instead of discontentment for the glory of God!

The Lord has really been inspiring me lately to post not only the Scripture around my home, but also reminders to pray and labor on behalf of those who are on the mission field. This has been so effective in reminding me of the importance of storing up the truth in my heart in addition to praying for others. Having a little one on my hands makes this challenging, but if I take advantage of the times when my mind can easily wonder away…those times would include changing a diaper and cleaning those dishes. That is why I have taken hold of these locations in my home and posted the truth where I can meditate upon.

Above shows a picture of my bulletin board that I have hung above my changing table. It includes index cards with verses to memorize, pictures of friends on the field that need prayer. I also added some worship songs with the lyrics so that I could sing songs to my baby. I have the hardest time remembering the words, so I thought this might help solve that problem. My prayer is that she would grow to treasure worshiping the Savior.

Here are a few close ups:
Lastly, here is a picture of above my kitchen sink. I have a few verses and a monthly prayer bulletin I receive for the Persecuted Church. This has been amazingly helpful in using my time wisely!

“Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
~1 Peter 1:3

Isn’t that an awesome truth? God has supplied us with everything we need! Sanctification, or growth in Christ-likeness is completely a gift and enabled fully by Him. He supplies every aspect, every purifying agent, to work out likeness in us! Every trial, every heartache is a vessel in His hands. It has a purpose. He supplies it, we must walk in it. We are still responsible to be obedient as He prunes and purifies us. Each step must be done in faith, examining ourselves to see if we are walking in the truth and uprightly before Him.

We grow in sanctification as we pursue knowing God! Life and godliness come about through the true knowledge of Him! This is how it is achieved: the more our hearts and minds are tuned in on pursuing true knowledge of Him, the more our life will line up with His.

How does this happen? Study Jesus! Study his life, his ways, his sayings, his character! Read and re-read the gospels on a continual basis. Never stop reading about Him! Combine reading a gospel chapter with another chapter in the Bible each day.

Secondly, always depend on the Father for the ability to pursue sanctification and the knowledge of Him. It cannot be done on our own ability.

Lastly, walk in faith and trust that He will reveal Himself to you! We must be faithful to pursue Him…

Praising God for the amazing privilege of knowing Him!

Proverbs 31:13
“She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight.”

1. Productive -Do I love work? Am I productive in the use of my hands and my time? First, this woman is focused on serving her husband (as highlighted in the previous two verses, see posting), as that is her first goal and priority, followed by her family and home. After her husband, she turns her gaze towards serving behind the scenes to make her home run smoothly.

She is eagerly looking for ways to put her hands to good use. She is not sitting around feeling overwhelmed. She brushes those thoughts aside and is doing everything unto the Lord. This is my challenge…we think about the dishes, the laundry, the housecleaning…so much to do, so little time. This verse encourages me to not dwell on these things…it is a waste of time. Just get to it! Do a little here and a little there.

2. Makes a plan -She desires that her home might be an embassy for the Kingdom. Planning her time is the key! She takes time (15 min or so) at the beginning of each day to plan her day so she might not waste a moment. Things will change, there is no doubt about that, flexibility is essential, but planning will make the day flow much more smoothly.

Overall, our focus must be upon the Lord! How can I please the Lord today and be faithful in the role He has called me to?

Revisited February 13, 2008 

“The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.”
Proverbs 31:11-12

1. Responsible & Trustworthy - He can trust a task into her hand and know she will complete it to the best of her abilities. What responsibilities has my husband or father trusted into my hands? Am I being faithful in these? Learning to serve your father is the best preparation for serving your husband in the future. She asks him, “how can I serve or help you today? Is there anything I can do to take a burden or load off your shoulders?” If you don’t know the areas of responsibility you have, ask him, “what areas of our household/lives do you want me to manage?”

2. Submissive - She seeks to follow his leadership by running events and her comings and goings by him for his approval first. This may be invitations received, household decisions, managing spending, etc. She is quick to seek his counsel and advice. In likewise manner, the Proverbs 31 daughter is seeking the direction and counsel of her father. She does not act outside of his oversight.

3. Guards her husband’s heart. She guards his time, energy, sexuality and needs. She seeks to make his time most profitable. Am I or the children distracting him from his work or study time? She satisfies his needs which gives her the greatest joy and fulfillment. What are his goals? How can I guard his time in order that he might work to accomplish them?

4. The man comes first! She is not easily distracted by things that take her focus away from serving her husband/father. Am I too wrapped up on the phone, or on the computer that I am not efficiently serving my husband? Am I easily distracted from the task at hand that he has entrusted to me?He will go far in life with a trustworthy woman by his side. He can so easily become stagnant if his woman is not near to encourage and strengthen him in his role as provider and protector.

Lastly, it is interesting to note that in the order of Proverbs 31 it begins by addressing her responsibility to her husband. He comes first! Before all household duties, he is to be first in her order of priorities! That is, our relationship with the Lord is foremost, followed by our husbands. Is my husband my first priority after the Lord in my life?

Updated…February 13, 2008

Yesterday was one of the hardest days of of raising my little Karis thus far in her short existence. She decided she did not want to take any of her naps on her regular schedule but rather be fussy and want to be held all day long. Which also makes bed time more challenging because she is extremely over-tired. I lost my patience. I was so frustrated. I could get nothing done or accomplished due to her ceaseless cries for attention.

Oh Lord, have mercy on me…a poor wretched sinner! This was one of those times when the Lord revealed to me that I can plan all I want to have a productive day, and come to find out He has other plans. My baby needed my focus for the day…she needed my love and compassion for the pain she may be experiencing with teething and all, but my focus was so much so on thinking she was getting in the way of all that I wanted to accomplish.

I was crying out to the Lord in my discouragement and two passages of Scripture were brought to my attention by the Holy Spirit.

“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.” (Psalm 42:5)

I memorized this verse awhile back and it always seems to come to my remembrance at such times. I ask this question directly to my soul, building up my soul verbally. Hope in God! Remember his lovingkindness that has been bestowed upon you. How has He shown His love and care to me in the past? Where had I put my hope now? It was in my own self. In my abilities and hope of accomplishments for the day. Speak the truth to yourself at these times when discouragement plagues your heart and mind. Do not put your trust in yourself or anything of this world. Hope in God!

The other was a passage from 1 Peter that is sung in a song we sing at church. “Through the trials of life You’re working to prove our faith as gold.” (1 Peter 1:6-7) Don’t let the enemy attack your soul into thinking that God is not involved in this trial or struggle. He is intrinsically involved in every aspect of your life. He is always working through every trial to prove your faith. To make it more precious than gold which perishes. It is for the purpose of strengthening our faith and hope in God. To turn our focus from ourselves and onto the great Savior who sacrificed all to bear the sins of the world. The greatest sacrifice possible.

The song continues…“in Your love we’re persevering for one day soon we’ll know. You’ll explode through the clouds, as Your shout cracks the sky. Dead in Christ shall arise as you call home your bride. And though we’ve not seen your face, this greatest glory awaits! Till then by the power of God, through faith we are saved, we are saved!”

Lastly, take hope and encouragement in this passage. Make it your heart’s pray and cry:

“My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all time, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
~Psalm 62:5-8