A Well Seasoned Life

One of my favorite t.v. shows to watch is the Waltons. I love the earlier seasons more so than the later, but the more I watch it the more I notice the love between Grandpa and Grandma Walton. Now I don’t base my life on t.v. shows but I think that God can use anything to get your attention and teach you a lesson.
On one of the episodes the other day Grandpa made a comment to John Boy that Esther was a “well-seasoned wife.” Grandma was standing nearby and when John Boy left she walked over to Grandpa and demanded what he meant by that phrase. Grandpa’s words were priceless. “Like a fine tree, Esther, that’s endured all wind and weather and still stands in beauty.”
That line made me really think. I want to be a well seasoned wife for Matthew. I want to radiate godly beauty now and 50 years from now after we’ve weathered all sorts of trials and tests. I want to be the best wife I can be, filled with the Spirit and made strong by the power of God.
There are so many things I want to be as a wife.

• I want to be a wife like the Virtuous Woman that my husband can trust, that will bring him good all his life, that makes him known to all for the blessing he is, that cares for him. Proverbs 31


• I want to be a fruitful vine for him bringing beauty and fruitfulness into his life. Psalm 128:3


• I want Matthew to be able to rejoice in me, thanking God for bringing me into his life. Proverbs 5:18


• I want to be his “good thing” Proverbs 18:22


• I want to be a prudent wife for him, being wise with my time and resources. Proverbs 19:14


• I want him to want to cleave to his wife Matthew 10:7


• I want to please my God and my Husband in all that I do I Corinthians 7:34


• I want it to be easy and a pleasure for him to fulfill his command as a husband- to love me. Ephesians 5:25


• I want to reverence and honor him Ephesians 5:33

These are the guideline I want to follow to be the wife God wants me to be. In order to become that “well-seasoned” wife I’m going to need to gear up with the Word of God to survive the trials and tests that come.
You never know what God will use to speak to your heart.

This Year

“In His wisdom God does not show us all that lies ahead. So we enter a new year to live it day by day. What is past is past…we start anew, and what we do today will make our life for tomorrow. …each day let us follow more faithfully, more courageously, more daringly the lead of our great Captain who bids us follow Him. “

William Thomson Hanzsche
　

“Home should be…a place of happiness and joy, laughter and rejoicing. A place to bring friends without the feeling of embarrassment. A place where someone will listen, share, love and understand. A place of quietness, yet a place of life and activity. A haven from a cruel world. A place where they want to be and stay.”

Taken From The Generation to Come by Glenn Taylor

“A woman’s heart should be so close to God
that a man should have to chase Him to find her.”
C S Lewis

Ways to Serve God as a Young Person

I'm Not Sure where I got this, to tell you the truth I think I was just thinking and studying about it one day back when I was at college. And of course, it doesn't just apply to young people.

1. Obey and Honour your parents Eph. 6:1-2
2. Obey Authority Heb. 13:17
3. Grow in Grace (Your Christian walk) 1 Peter 3:18
4. Grow in the Knowledge of the Lord 2 Tim. 2:15
5. Do well in School and Everything Else you do Ecc. 9:10
6. Use your Talents for Him Rom. 10:6-8
7. Share the Gospel (the Good news of Christ) Mark 16:15
8.Serve Others Gal 5:13
9. Encourage Others (Consolation) Rom. 14:19

My Girlhood

My Girlhood is a pleasant place
Where life and love abound,
For here it is that all I am
Is waiting to be found.
In play I spend an endless time
Where only I can go,
A child still inside the girl
A pure-white, budding rose.

My girlhood is a time for God,
His had, his voice, His face,
His steady stream of steadfast love
Within my days I trace.
I rest assured of this one thing
He’ll never leave my side,
For in my girlhood heart of hearts,
He always will abide.

My girlhood is all I need
To learn of servant-hood,
For here my Father and my Mother
Seek only what is good.
They take the time to teach me well
And help me understand,
That girlhood is a time of life
To lend a helping hand.

My girlhood is a priceless gift
A training ground, you see,
Where love for other, sisters and brothers
Will always be the key.
For God will cover my girlhood years
In all I do and say,
‘Til someday a woman I will be
When girlhood passes away.

A Continual Feast

All the days of the afflicted are evil:
But he that is of a merry heart hath
a Continual feast.
Proverbs 15:15

Do we realize how much Proverbs applies to our everyday lives. It’s easy to read a proverb every day, one for each day of the month. But sometimes it can become monotonous and we just skim the page out of duty and familiarity. (or maybe that just me) So I take a break from them every now and then, so that it becomes a little “fresher” the next time I read it.
I’ve been reading there this month and this verse stuck out today. Because of my latest bout of sickness and recovery I guess it took on a new light.
When you are afflicted with sickness, you tend to look at each day as another struggle, another day to “take it easy” and rest. Let me tell you, I got /am so sick of resting. Yeah, it’s nice to have a day or two to be lazy because you are sick, but after almost 4 weeks of it, your days seem to become evil. O.k., we should look at every day and say I’m going to have a great day today but when you wake up, still sick, you think “will these awful days ever go away?” Or maybe that’s just my carnality again…
So I looked up a merry heart in the concordance. Merry means good, a good thing. So the verse speaks of a good heart. The word heart is the feelings, will and intellect. I looked up intellect in the dictionary (yes, we know it but do we really know it?) Intellect is your ability to reason, think and understand.
The heart doesn’t exist on it’s own, it’s located in a body, and obviously we are talking of a human. So, here is my conclusion: (Suddenly I feel like a scientist)
The human that sets his mind up to have a merry heart, one that purposes to be good, despite feelings, self-will, and often out-of-whack intellect, is going to be a human with a feast. No, not turkey, stuffing and the like. Every day is a feast, one full of God’s mercy, love and grace on us. That person purposes in their heart: “I’m going to feast on this day, because God will help me control my heart and mind.” So despite the sickness and affliction in our life, we must purpose to have a merry heart and make every day a feast day.