Your Husband

I read this testimony on Lar's Rambling from the Cove blog. 
Lars recounts a letter Elisabeth Elliot had saved in her files. 

“I am writing because in the beginning of our marriage, my salvation changed me but very much strained our marriage. Your words and teaching were used by God to make all the difference in accepting, loving and submitting to my husband. I will say that without your words of wisdom and straight-from-the-hip counsel, I would have crumbled. God strengthen my heart and led me obediently in His will. 

What I would like to share with you is that after I was saved God had put into my heart the desire to pray for a man to come into my husband’s life that could love him and live the Gospel before him. Godly men would come and go, my husband was a tough-as-nails kind of guy, a police officer and his childhood was rough. 

There were times when our marriage seemed to be held together by a thread, a thread of grace. I often wondered how we stayed together. We loved each other but like oil and water, light and dark, we were different. God continued to provide the grace to persevere and love my husband as my head and honor him. After 33 years, that desire to pray for a man never lessened. 

When we found out that Charlie had cancer, my son Charlie Jr. came to his dad and shared the Gospel and he was saved. My son had always loved his dad even when they often had conflicts and strong disagreements while growing up. But over the years I watched my son love his Dad for the Gospel sake, even siding against himself for his dad.

 I came to realize that I had been raising the man God had given me the desire to pray for. How amazing. Indeed, God’s time for my husband’s salvation was to be 4 months before he died and I can say that God had transformed all the years of suffering to be like Christ’s and joy and glory were set before him.”

INSPIRING. 

What if that mom had been divisive?  What if, rather then respecting her husband she belittled him or talked badly about him? What if she taught her son to do the same? 

We don't know what we are building today. We have to walk in obedience and faith and by His grace, He will do it. 

Let us, by God's grace, only say what is good and helpful. Let us be a joyful tool in the hand of the Lord. 

Today

Ketchup and the Frying Pan

Life has a way of building up and making things ugly.

This frying pan is like my heart. 

When Jesus came into my dead heart He brought light and beauty. 

The copper bottom of this pan, when new, was bright and pretty. 

But years of neglect built up and it become dirty and dingy. 

In my heart, sometimes I let sin build up until it is covered by something ugly and needs to be cleaned. 

That's when I do the very best thing!

I let Jesus write His name on my heart. 

It's His presence that brings the cleaning. 

I know this is just a pan and not really my heart, 

but because He is ever present 

I can still find sweet Jesus 

even in the commonest places, 

like the dirty frying pan. 

Doing what He does best. Cleaning. 

Do you know what I smeared all over that ole dirty, dingy copper pan? 

Ketchup. 

Blood red ketchup. 

When the God of the universe spreads 

His red blood over my 

sin that's when the cleaning begins 

and His light can start to shine through.

You can see His name! 

I love it. 

JESUS  

So let the blood of Jesus spread all over your heart. 

Let His presence be the first in your mind. 

Then the name of Jesus will shine through your life for all the world to see. 

Merry Christmas

Don enjoyed his month of May Christmas date. 

Kayaking in the rain. 

We had a wonderful time. 

 

Back in the truck, warm and dry. 

Finding Grace

I'm really liking the straight forward teaching in the book Sacred Marriage. 

"I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus"

"We can be thankful for our fellow sinners {friends, family, spouse} when we spend more time looking for evidences of God's Grace than we do in finding fault"  

 If my spouse is more aware of where they fall short in my eyes 

Instead of how I am witnessing evidences of God's grace in their journey in this life

then I am a legalistic spouse, 

akin to a Pharisee

{Sacred Marriage}

Different Colors

Marriages are an interesting institution. 

Two different people, coming together to make one marriage. 

I noticed in my marriage sometimes we feel closer and other times it seems like we are 
on different planets. 

How can that be? 

I think it might have to do with moods. 

Sometimes our moods compliment each other but sometimes they clash. 

When our moods come together 

we can get a lovely color. 

Thats when we feel close and happy. 

Sometimes the moods or color mix isn't all that pleasing. That's the day we feel separate from each other and maybe even a little at odds. 

One mood isn't right or wrong just like one color isn't right or wrong it's just the way the moods or colors landed.

Moods come and go and like the spin of a color wheel before you know it there is a new set of colors, a new set of moods. 

On the good days we can just enjoy the harmony and on the bad days, when the moods clash, we can just be patient and wait. 

Tomorrow is another day. 

“The times we find ourselves having to wait on others may be the perfect opportunities to train ourselves to wait on the Lord.” ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-patience-20-scripture-quotes/#ixzz2SliadkJX

Sacred Marriage

This month's book club selection is Sacred Marriage, written by Gary Thomas. 

I think I might like this author. He is straight forward and his point is right there for the reader to see. 

What if God designed marriage to make us holy more then to make us happy?"

He says that the very concept of romantic love which is so celebrated in our culture, was virtually unknown to the ancients. 

Ha! Interesting. 

What if?