Chapter 3

A couple of thoughts from Feminine Appeal, Chapter 3, titled "The Blessings of Loving My Children."

"Moms, you may be up to your earlobes with babies, and dirty diapers. Or you may be spending half your life in the car, driving your children to and from numerous activities. In whatever stage of motherhood you find yourself, may I remind you of something? It won't last very long. In Psalm 90 Moses depicted the reality of the brevity of life. He compared our lives to a watch in the night, a dream, grass that flourishes and then fades - all brief and fleeting images. Then he prayed this way: 'So teach us to number our days.' (v. 12). Have you numbered your days lately? If we pause to count the remaining days we have with our children, we will realize how few there are. This awareness will help to safeguard us from neglecting a tender love."

She goes on to say later in the chapter:

"So if today you missed opportunities to show a tender love, or if you neglected to pray for your children, or if you were impatient with them, and even if you lost your smile and feel like a completely failure as a mother - take heart! God's grace is sufficient for you. Look to the cross where Christ died. There He purchased forgiveness for our sins and power to grow in godliness. Not one of us is equal to this task of mothering, but He will help us in our weakness."

I was really convicted by this chapter. I so often give my kids an impatient answer or a sigh of exasperation. What kind of example does that set for them? And when I think about how little time I have with them in the scheme of life, I realize how much I need to redeem the time and spend that quality time loving my family. :)

Chapter Two - Feminine Appeal

Some of you asked me to post some more of the book I've been reading called Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney. This week I read chapter two, which is about loving our husbands. This book is definitely written for married women, or those seeking marriage. Very practical and convicting advice given here! Here's an excerpt from chapter two:

"Like a pebble tossed into a pool of water, awareness of our sinfulness generates a marvelous ripple effect in our marriage. Here's how it works: The more we understand the sin in our hearts, the more we appreciate the patience and mercy of God; and this, in turn, produces an attitude of humility and mercy toward our husbands."

"Our gracious God delights to honor our obedience. As we seek to prize, cherish and enjoy our husbands, He will freely fill our hearts with love and affection for them. this will happen regardless of your circumstances. God's grace provides all that we need to love our husbands. In fact, God lavishes us with grace!"

Encouraging words! I can easily say that I love my husband, but am I honoring God by unselfishly loving him? God loves us with such patience and forebearance...do we show that same love to our husbands...our children...anyone? Or do we more often think only of ourselves? I know I was convicted by her words...but encouraged at the same time.

More next week from chapter three...

Why does time go by so fast?

Is the summer really almost over? As our first day of school looms alarmingly close (next Monday!), I keep wondering "where did all of the time go?" It was filled with lots of fun stuff, but it sure went by quickly.

This week we've been getting our curriculum all ready to start school and trying to get the house organized. I just finished a good book called Deception by Randy Alcorn. It's a mystery, and Christian fiction! It was very good, and now Nathan is reading it too. I read that book for a ladies book club I've joined...should be fun. We'll read one book per month, and then meet once a month to discuss them.

I also just started reading Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney (of the Girl Talk blog) and it looks excellent! Here's an excerpt from chapter 1, that I read yesterday:

"Our conduct has a direct influence on how people think about the gospel. The world doesn't judge us by our theology; the world judges us by our behavior. People don't necessarily want to know what we believe about the Bible. They want to see if what we believe makes a difference in our lives. Our actions either bring honor to God, or misrepresent His truth."

I really like the way she states that. People in the world are watching us to see if we are consistent. Are we living in such a way that people can say "they practice what they preach?" Or are we saying one thing, and doing something else completely. Are we living in the world or of the world? Only God can give us that grace to obey His word. Carolyn Mahaney goes on to say:

"How sobering it is to realize that our behavior has the potential to discredit the gospel. But how exciting it is to think that we can actually commend the gospel!"


Food for thought!

Have a wonderful day!