A Simple Morning Prayer

Heavenly Father...  Thank You for this day.  Thank You for the sun -even when it is hidden behind clouds.  Thank You for the air we breathe and for the fresh new day that You have given me.  Lord, it is only by and through You that I can face this day and all that it will hold.  The good and the hard are both from or allowed by You.  All of it for a reason.  Please... help me to embrace them both. 

Lord, fill my home with Your Holy Spirit.  Let myself, my children and my husband be touched by You and Your presence.  Fill our home so that we cant help but be touched by You.  May we be changed by You and filled with a desire to be more like You -moment by moment. 

May You be glorified in my life today.  Not because I deserve Your grace or Mercy but so that others will know You and want to know You more. 

Lord, live in Me.  Be my Strength. Be my Comforter.  Be my Everything -just as You have promised.

Amen.

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Devotions for a Deeper Life A Daily Devotional

My Utmost for His Highest

Sterling Silver 16mm Cross and Praying Woman Heart Locket

The Winnans MP3: Praying Women (Gods Leading Ladies Album Version)

Holy Bible Story

A resource I found and wanted to share...

http://www.holybiblestory.com/

From their site:  "We provide Holy Bibles, Bible story books, religious DVD's, and other religious materials. Bibles and other religious materials are great for whatever church ministry and as gifts suitable for any occassion."

They have a resource directory and lots of childrens items as well as a nice selection of Bibles in several translations.  (Though it appears some are still being added.) 

Take a minute a browse through their site.  (Make sure you check out the DVD's they have listed!)

♥

A Contentious Woman

"It is better to live in a corner of the roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman."  Proverbs 25:24

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A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. Prov T-shirt Large White

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Contentious.  Thats a word that sounds bad even if you dont know the meaning.  In fact, I knew it was bad and had never bothered to look up the meaning before today.  And I just knew I was never that kind of a woman!

Well, here is the definition of "contentious":
1 : likely to cause contention (cause a fight or arguement)
2 : exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes
synonyms: belligerent
 
Oh... Thats what it means??  Hmmm.  Well, thats ok.  I still am not that way. 
 
I dont start fights for sure.  And I try to avoid any type of confrontation if at all possible.  In fact, I will avoid a situation or person entirely if it means that I can avoid conflict.  Nope.  I dont like to fight or stir up the waters at all.  
 
But is that all it means?  
 
What about the times we have interrupted someone in order to correct a minor point in the dicussion?  ("No, Mary, that skirt was beige not tan.")  Thats quarrelsome.  Then we allow that minor point to become an arguement back and forth.  ("It was tan." "No beige!")  Even if it didnt continue, it will surely make a relationship "wearisome". 
 
Sometimes the part that we exhibit is a "perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes".  Perverse can be replaced with "cranky", "corrupt" or "perverted".
Wearisome is pretty easy -tiresome.  Making someone weary. 
 
Do you have a friend that is always late?  Always calls at the wrong time?  Does your husband always leave his clothes in a heap right beside the hamper?  Do your children always leave toothpaste all over the sink? 
 
How do you react to those situations?  Is your tendancy one of disputing or arguing?  Are you characterized by an attitude of crankiness that is quick to dispute and quarrel? 
 
A woman searching after Gods created purpose for her life will not be a "contentious woman".  Instead she will live at peace with all those around her.  And those who live with her -her husband and children- will know better than most the true condition of her heart. 

So if you see my husband or children packing their bags and moving into the corner of the roof, give me a tap on the shoulder and remind me not to be contentious, ok?

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"Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace ; and the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Cor 13:11
 
"But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another."  1 Thes 5:12-13
 
 
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First Giveaway Announced!

Ok, so the actual announcement and details of my first-ever giveaway has taken longer than I had anticipated.  Two reasons, really.  First being that I have never done one and have been trying to figure out the best way to have people enter.  The second is that the item I want to offer has been available on cassette tape only and many people dont have cassette tape players anymore (I didnt until I got one just for this!).  I had to figure out a way to convert it to digital in case my winner doesnt have a tape player.  Now that all that is in order, I am ready to announce:

I am offering "The Incredible Longings of a Woman" audio set!  You will be able to choose your format:  Audio cassette set (pictured) or as audio file on CD.  The set includes 4 tapes: 1. To Be A Beautiful Bride; 2. To Have A Home; 3. To Bear Children; and 4. To Live Happily Ever After

This teaching set by Audrey Broggi has blessed me many times.  Though I have probably listened to it 3 or 4 times now, each time I hear something "different" -or at the very least, "new" to my heart.  I know it will be a wonderful blessing and source of encouragement and conviction to any woman. 

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment here with a link to your blog or website and then write an entry on your site linking to mine and letting other women know about this giveaway!  (If you prefer not to comment publicly, you can still created a link on your site and then just use the "email me" option to the right and send me a message with your link instead.)

I will stop taking entries next Wednesday, March 31st and will announce the winner on Friday, April 2nd!  

*I will be holding a monthly giveaway so keep checking back!*

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Hear, Speak, Anger

"This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."  James 1:19-20

I used to talk a lot.  Too much, really.  I was raised in a busy home with 5 (4 girls to boot) children and there was never a shortage of conversation -or people thinking they had to be heard.  (Same as most homes, I would imagine!) 

Then there's my anxiety.  If I am nervous or anxious, I tend to chatter.  If I am trying to explain something and I just cant get it out right, I keep talking until I am finally able to get my point across correctly.  The more nervous I am, the faster and longer I talk!  Well, I do have to say I am not that way now nearly as much as I used to be.  (What can I say, I'm a work in progress.) 

Slowly but surely I am learning the beauty of being quiet.  Of just listening.  It is amazing what you will hear if you just stop talking. 

This quality was modeled before me in a few key women that God placed in my life a few years ago.  They are the ones I try to immitate when I am not sure how to handle a situation.  Their quiet and gentle spirits always come to mind.  I have tried to picture one of them yelling at their children or being in a rage with their husband and I just cant.  They taught me what it looks like to be "quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger" -and for that I will forever be grateful. 

Anger in and of itself has never been something I struggled with -until lately.  My personality has always been phlegmatic so things that upset me were "water off a ducks back" until they became so hard that my melancholy came out.  Chalk it up to post partum hormones or just the hormones of an aging woman but anger is suddenly an issue for me. 

Where this verse hit me is that a person who gives in to anger can never achieve the righteousness of God. 

Verse 21 goes on to say, "Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls"  and later in Verse 26: "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless."

Anger always leads to spouting off our mouths and saying things we aught not say.  Especially if you remember that our sinful thoughts are as if we said them. 

So if we can be quiet and slow to speak, we will also be slow(er) to anger.  If we can master our tongue and open our ears, we will be that much closer to achieving the righteousness of God! 

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A Give-Away

I am gearing up for my first-ever give-away and I am so excited about it!  I wanted to offer something special that has meant a lot to me and helped me grow a lot in discovering Gods created purpose for women.  It is my hope and prayer that the person chosen will be blessed as well -I know God has just the right person in mind already! 

So... be watching this week for details and how to enter!!

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