Casting your cares on God

 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God 

so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)

 

If you are a believer, then you know the importance of reading and memorizing Scripture.  Verses that the Holy Spirit can bring to mind just when we need a certain truth.  There are certain verses that seem to come up over and over.  I Peter 5:7 is one of those verses; when we are worried or burdened, often someone will say "cast your cares on God".  We know that we should give everything to God, trusting Him, but practically how does that work?  How do we wrap our minds around this concept.

 

Back in February 2021 I wrote a post titled Context: 4 types and how they've helped me in studying Scripture Context is understanding where and how a verse fits into the overall message of the Bible.  Recently, when studying the verses above I was reminded of how important context really is. 

So much time is spent on verse 7, casting our cares, and we can forget to look at verse 6.  Verse 6 reminds us that we are to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand, trusting His perfect timing.  This is the key to understanding how we can truly cast our cares on Him.  Let's do a quick word study on the key words in these verses to understand how we can practically, daily, moment by moment, cast our cares on God.  The definitions are taken from the biblehub.com lexicon.  

Seven keys to understanding how to cast our cares on God:

 

1) "Humble yourselves" - tapinoó, to make or bring low.  It is recognizing ones dependence on God, being fully dependent on the Lord.  To submit oneself in a lowly spirit to the power and will of God.  

 

To cast our cares we must 

first understand our position 

and utter dependence on 

God and his power and will.

Without God, we can do nothing.

2) "under the mighty hand of God" - krataios, strong, powerful, mighty.  It is seeing the power of God, God's supreme mastery.

To cast our cares we must

believe that God's strength &

power are supreme.  That God

has mastery over everything.

 

3) "so that at the proper time" - kairos, fitting time or season, divinely ordained moment, a fixed definite time.  

To cast our cares we must

trust that God has a fixed,

definite, perfect time planned

for everything He does. 

4) "he may exalt you" - hupsoó, lift up, to raise the spirits by the blessings of salvation. Often seen as a sign of blessing or approval from God. 

To cast our cares we must

focus on the blessings we 

have through salvation. To 

understand we are blessed and

approved by God through Jesus.

 

5) "casting all" -  epiriptó, to throw upon.  The deliberate act of transferring a burden or responsibility to another; to give it up to God.

To cast our cares we must

be deliberate, making a conscious

decision to throw our 

burdens onto God.  

6) "your anxieties on him" - merimna, care, worry, anxiety.  To divide/separate*, implying a distraction that divides attention, dividing and fracturing a person's being into parts. 

To cast our cares we must

understand that our anxieties

distract and divide us from 

wholly living in the purpose and

plan God has for us. They 

literally tear our being apart. 

7) "because he cares for you" - meló, to care, be concerned, take thought, have an active interest or attention to.  to care about, have regard for a person or thing. 

To cast our cares we must

trust and know that God takes 

an active interest in every aspect of

our lives.  He is deeply concerned

about us.  He cares for us!

 

 I recently read an article where John Piper made a couple very succinct statements about these verses.

 

"to the degree that you trust the king's promise to protect you, 

to that degree your burden will be lifted.  

If your trust is small, you will still feel burdened, 

but if your trust is great, your burden will be light."

 

"the casting of our anxieties means trusting his might and 

trusting his care to fulfill specific promises that he 

makes to his children in their various situations in life."

 

Do we trust that God is willing and able to carry all of our anxieties?  

Do we trust that God's timing is perfect? 

Do we trust that He is always faithful to fulfill His promises?

 

*compare this definition with the definition of peace (eiréné) which means wholeness, when all essential parts are joined together.   In John 14:27 Jesus promises this is the peace He gives to us!

 

Alive in Christ

 "For I delivered to you as of the first importance what

I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance

with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on 

the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

 

As we celebrated Easter yesterday, we remembered that all Jesus did had been foretold by the Scriptures.  In Luke 24 we read how that He explained all of this to the men on the road to Emmaus and to His disciples.  We can have eternal life because Jesus has conquered the grave!  

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul discusses some of what it means to be "alive in Christ".  All that we have is because of His sacrifice and His victory.

 

 These thoughts are taken from Colossians 2:6-15... see the beauty and power of being in Christ and living with Him!

 

- as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him

- rooted and built up in him

- in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily

- you have been filled in him

-  in him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands

- been buried with him in baptism

- raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead

- made alive together with him

- triumphing over them in him 

 

Receive Jesus -> 

Live/walk according to the teachings of Christ -> 

firmly established in your relationship with Christ -> 

building your life on the foundation of Christ's teachings -> 

Jesus is fully God in the flesh -> 

your relationship with Jesus brings completeness & fulfillment to your life -> 

you have been separated from the unclean world and dedicated to God -> 

your sinfulness buried -> 

raised up through faith to a new life devoted to God -> 

living in the reality that we have eternal life with Christ -> 

He has won the victory over all sinful powers.

 

When God doesn't give all the answers - 3 verses, 2 songs, 1 book

Oh, we have so many questions.  We cry out to God asking why? how? when? We want healing, breakthrough, answers.  We see these questions asked over and over in the Bible; we are not alone in our questioning.  Moses and Gideon had these same questions.  Moses even begged God to choose someone else to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Three times we see the questions asked and in each of these places God gives the same answer:

"But I will be with you..." Exodus 3:12

"My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14

"But I will be with you..." Judges 6:16

 Do we trust God enough to let His presence be enough?

 I struggle with this.  I know that my perspective is so skewed and that my view of God's greatness can be so limited.  I want answers; God is El Roi; the God who sees me.  He is El Shama, the God who hears me.   So why doesn't he fix it? Ah, but then I read that he is also Adonai, Sovereign God Most High.  He is El De'ot the God of knowledge and wisdom, All-Knowing, Omniscient.  

Do we trust His knowing is enough to rest in His presence?

 

Remind Me You're Here

 

Close

  

 

My oldest daughter gifted me a book from my to-read list.  It's a beautiful book by Lisa Whittle titled God Knows: when your worries and whys need more than temporary relief. It is a book full of reminders that God sees, He knows and He can be fully trusted.  One of the final thoughts she shares is this:

"I've learned not to underestimate God's powerful hand 

in His quiet and still presence.  Just because we cannot see or 

understand does not mean things aren't being done....God is not

far, unaware, unfeeling." 

 

 

"God's intimate knowledge of our lives, combined with His deep

abiding love for us, means that sometimes He chooses to keep things

from us."

Waiting & line-cutters: Revisiting Jarius

 

 **For more thoughts about Jarius see my post titled Stay from Dec. 2020**

I have a confession to make....one of my biggest pet peeves is people who cut the line.  There are legitimate cases and those are fine but recently it seems to be getting worse.  I find it so selfish and inconsiderate.  A certain local store seems to attract this type of shopper.  The ones where one person gets in line and then another person with an entire cartload of merchandise cuts the line to meet up.  Does it really affect my life overall, no, but I still find it infuriating.  

One day I was in the shower and my mind went to these recent events.  As I was thinking over this, God brought to mind the account of Jarius and the woman with the issue of blood.  Boom...convicted!

Look at the passage in Mark 5:21-43; it's a little long but take some time and read through it.

Here's Jarius; coming to Jesus because his daughter is dying.  Jesus agrees to go to Jarius' house. Jarius trusted that Jesus could heal is daughter!  Jesus had agreed to go to Jarius' house!  All looked to be okay.  But then Jesus stops.  A woman had touched Him and He stops to have a chat?  I can only imagine the desperation and impatience that Jarius was feeling.  Then it gets worse.  While Jesus is talking to this woman Jarius receives the news that his daughter had died.  

What? But Jesus agreed to come?  Why would He agree to help and then let her die?  How could Jesus give such seemingly false hope to Jarius?  Honestly, my blood would have probably boiled, I probably would have had some not-so-nice thoughts towards this woman.  Sure she was sick but his daughter was dying!  How could Jesus prioritize this woman over a dying child?  

Here's what we forget...Jesus NEVER forgets us.  His timing is NEVER wrong.  It is SO hard to wait.  Jesus wasn't frantic or in a rush, because He has conquered death and holds the keys (Revelation 1:18). It's easy to look at this passage and think that Jesus prioritizes certain people over others but He holds all His children with the same love.  He knows far more than we do, He wasn't concerned about timetables because He rules the times, seasons, death & life.  

In both of these cases Jesus shows His authority and He is glorified.  Only He can heal not only from physical ailments but heal hearts (vs. 34 “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”) and only He can conquer death ( vs. 41-42 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.)

How often do we pray about something, look into Scripture, read God's promises and believe that yes, Jesus has promised to answer.  But then we wait, sometimes things get worse, we feel desperate, we get angry, confused, we cry out "Why do I see other's being healed/delivered while I sit here in this situation watching it get worse."  "Where are you God?", "I've read Your promises...why aren't You fulfilling them in this situation?"  Dear reader, bring all of that to God!  Cry out to Him!  He can handle it, but remember, His timing is ALWAYS perfect, He is ALWAYS with us, He ALWAYS fulfills His promises..in His perfect way! Those "line-cutters" aren't a surprise to Him and will never change His perfect purposes and plans. 

A couple thoughts that actually just came to me as I was reading this passage:

- Both Jesus and Jarius are concerned for their daughters! This is the only place in Scripture where Jesus calls someone daughter.    And Jesus is able to heal both.  So as I think of how desperate Jarius wanted healing for his daughter, how wonderful to see Jesus concern and care for His daughter. 

- He brought both from death to life through faith (the woman spiritually, the girl physically) showing His authority and power in every aspect of life. 

- Jarius wanted Jesus to lay hands on his daughter to make her well.  The woman trusts the same touch of Jesus to make her well.  

 

Word for 2025

 

 

Back in June of 2023 I blogged about the book I was reading Having a Mary Heart in A Martha World and in that post, titled Busy, Busy, Busy I shared an expanded version of the verse above.

 "Come to me, all who [labor until worn out] and are [loaded down, burdened] and I will give you [refreshment for your soul].  Take my [bar that unites us in work] upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and [lowly in spirit relying on God] and you will find [blessed tranquility of soul].  For my yoke is [good, eternally useful] and my burden is [easy to bear, not burdensome]." 

I found this expanded version to be such an encouragement.  The different definitions for the burdens we will face and the different types of rest Jesus provides shows how His care is so complete for every circumstance we will face.  The ideas of refreshment and tranquility especially spoke to me; similar yet different and nourishing our souls in different ways.  We can be refreshed to carry on and we can carry on in tranquility when we are united with Jesus in His purposes and relying on Him for every step.

A few months ago I was chatting with one of our girls and she suggested the word rest for 2025.  The more I thought about it the more I realized how well it dovetails with my word for 2024.  I had chosen faithful as my word for 2024.  As God has been teaching me to be faithful, regardless of if things change or don't change; learning to rest in His faithfulness and to leave those things that burden me in His hands, is an important thing to focus on in 2025.  

The other side to this is the day-to-day practice of learning that it's okay to rest.  In a world where we're constantly told to be more, do more, learn more, find our value in more.  We need to  remember that we have value in Whose we are not what we do, that being united (yoked) with Jesus means we just have to follow His lead and it's okay to let the rest go.  To not be distracted by things/busyness that doesn't really matter.  To find our rest in Him is what we really need to do. 

So, my word for 2025 is rest! 

2025 Bible in a Year

I've posted a few times about plans I've used for reading the Bible in a year.  If you have never read through the whole Bible I encourage you to make that a goal. 

Over the years I have used several different plans and in 2024 I used a plan that went through just the New Testament in a year.  It was great to take it much slower, some days only reading a few verses.  This year I'm once again reading the whole Bible.

Back in 2020 I chose the Historical Sequence plan on Youversion and have decided to once again use that plan.  This plan is split into 12 parts, which feels nice to complete a section each month.  It's much more reading than the New Testament one I just finished but it will be good to make it through the whole Bible again.  

Whatever plan you choose, whether a New Testament, Old Testament, full Bible or another plan. The most important thing is to be in God's Word each day.  We so often ask for God's leading but then leave the "map" unread.

Five for Friday

This summer is flying by!  Every time I think about sitting down to blog it seems that something else takes priority.  Not in a bad way...it has just been busy.  After seeing Mrs. T over at Across My Table, do a few Five for Friday posts, over the years; I thought it would be fun to do one here.  

 

 

1) DEVOTIONAL: 

What do we do with those hard things that seem to always keep coming up?  Two things recently have helped me think about this differently. One is a line from JJ Heller's song God Is Still Here.  

"What if the thorn deep in my 

side is only there to help me see

That though I never ask for it 

the desert is God's gift to me?"

 

This summer I've been having Maisie read to me to keep up with, and improve, her reading skills.  She will sometimes say "mom, can't you just read it to me", "I hate reading" or will continually stumble over a word she's read before.  In talking to a teacher friend, she mentioned that some kids see a word once or twice and get it while others need to see it up to 20 times before they remember it.  

 

I continually encourage her that while it is hard and may take a lot of practice, the reward of being able to read well will be worth it.  The world will open up in amazing and exciting ways.  All her future learning will be so much easier. 

 

I thought, how like us is that.  God could just do it for us,  but often we will face the same challenge over and over because he knows that we need to learn.  That once we can learn the lessons of the struggle, the reward will be so much better.  Those lessons will equip us for the future purposes He has for us. 

2) COOKING: 

 

We have been enjoying a lot of salads this summer.  One of our favorites is this Israeli Pearl Couscous Salad from No Spoon Necessary , Someday I'm hoping to do a salad round-up post with many of the recipes we have enjoyed. 

 

 

(Image from NoSpoonNecessary site)

 

3) FAMILY:

 

This summer has been filled with highs and lows.  The beginning of the summer included some deaths in the family, hospitalization of another family member, and some other really hard challenges revealed for another family member.  Through it all we have also seen God's hand and grace over and over.  These hard things have given us opportunities to reconnect with some family members and rekindle really precious connections.  This summer has also allowed for many great memories to be made.  Having all the kids home has been fun and we've enjoyed hikes, trips to the beach, friends visiting and of course road trips for delicious seafood.  More fun plans are still to come as we squeeze every bit of fun family time in while our college kiddos are home. 

 

4) READING: 

I'm happy to say that I hit my Goodreads reading challenge for this year.  Last year I had a hard time reading 15 books so I left that as my goal for this year.  Currently I'm studying through the book On Bended Knee by Crickett Keeth, a study of prayers in the Bible.    For "fun" reading I'm reading The Book of Charlie by David Von Drehle, the story of his neighbor who lived to be 109 years old.  Both are wonderful reads. 

 

5) CHALLENGE: 

 

I recently saw a challenge on Instagram (can't remember who posted it); where women were challenged to pray for other women.  The challenge was to choose 12 women and match them up with a month, then spend a month praying for that "month's" woman.  The challenge mentioned not to let them know.  I love this idea.  While I obviously pray for men in my life also, I think the unique challenges that we have as women can help us to pray in a very special/understanding way for other women.  So, I sat down the other day and as God brought someone to mind I jotted down their name next to a month.  There are two months still without names.  I have many women in my life but want to seek God's leading for this challenge and at this time He has only impressed 10 women on my heart.  I fully trust that He will bring to mind those two women as those months get closer.  So, will you join me in this?  As a further challenge, maybe choose some women who are "sandpaper people" to you.   

I hope you enjoyed this quick post and the pictures from some of our summer adventures.

  

Digging into prayer

 

This summer the women's group at church is studying through On Bended Knee; a book which studies some of the prayers in the Bible.  The first week works through the Lord's Prayer and the second week works through Paul's prayer to the Ephesians in Ephesians chapter 3:14-21, etc.  

The prayer in Ephesians is one of my go-to prayers for praying Scripture for others. Often, while praying, I will plug in specific names of the people I am praying for wherever the text says "you".   It is such a powerful prayer for spiritual strength, power and knowledge that even when I don't know the details of what others need...the strength, power, presence, love and knowledge of God are always the answer.  

As many of you know, I love, love to dig into the original words and often find a much deeper and richer understanding of Scripture through studying this way.  Today, while looking over the past few days I began to see a beautiful picture of all Paul was praying for these believers.  So, I decided to sit down and plug in those detailed definitions into verses 16-19.  This exercise has been such a blessing to me so I thought I would share what I wrote out.  I pray you would take some time and read through these verses in your Bible.

Ephesians 3:16-19

"that according to the [fullness, abundance] of his [majesty, glory] he may grant you to be strengthened with [moral power and excellence of soul] through his Spirit in your [inner being, conscience], so that Christ may [pervade, prompt, govern] in your [thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes and endeavors] through faith -- that you being [rendered firm, fixed, thoroughly grounded] and [made stable, established] in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the [great extent], and [greatness of the blessings received from Christ], and [eminence] and [immensity] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be [rooted in Christ by virtue of the intimate relationship with Him] with all the [presence, power, agency, and riches] of God."

Faithful in the Waiting

Waiting is hard!  Sometimes we wait with excitement for a vacation or other fun event; at other times we wait with heartache and pain, wondering when God will answer our prayers.  Even when we see God answer some of our prayers, we can still wonder why other prayers are not answered.  

Over the years I have seen God work miraculously in my life and the lives of others.  I have seen immediate answer to my prayers. I have also had prayers that were answered after years of praying, and then there are the prayers that I am still praying; decades after I first began.  Still waiting for God's answer.  So how do we wait well?  Wait faithfully?

I've had four reminders saved in my phone for awhile.  Reminders of how to wait faithfully.  I'm currently reading through Warren Weirsbe's book BE Confident; which is a study in Hebrews. Yesterday, in my reading there were four other great reminders of how to be faithful while waiting. My prayer is that these reminders will encourage you to keep praying, obeying and faithfully following God while waiting. 

Remember... 

1) God's perspective is not ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9) - I want to share a quick illustration that I've used with my kids.  It's not perfect but has helped them (and me) think of this more concretely.  Picture someone holding a toothpick in their hands.  Now imagine that is God and the toothpick represents all of time.  Our lives are a small dot on that toothpick.  We cannot move our dot, we cannot see the rest of the toothpick, we can't even see all of the dot at once; but God can!  He is outside of time (i.e. not on the toothpick) and can see the entire thing.  He can also touch that toothpick at any point.  Our view is so limited; God's is unlimited! 

2) Our One Task: Faithfully Follow Christ. (Psalm 62:5-6) - We can get so caught up in trying to figure things out, change things, control things.  But our one task, is to be faithful in our relationship with Jesus.  Two things that have really helped me narrow my focus this year are to remember "I don't know, but God does and I choose to trust Him." and also to pray "God, what do you want me to do today?" I can't control when things will happen but I can choose to trust God and to obey His plans for me today.

3) Look for God in the Waiting (Psalm 27:13-14) - We are so blessed!  Yet, focusing on what we don't have yet or what God hasn't done yet; that distraction and attitude can steal our joy.  God is faithful!  Look at all He has done and is doing.  Look for the ways He is showing up in your life.  From the beauty of creation, the gift of a new day, prayers that He has answered or even ways that He's challenging you. 

4) Consider Waiting as Preparation (Psalm 25:4-5) - Going back to number 1; God's perspective is not ours.  The way in which He answers our prayers may look very different from what we expect.  See this time of waiting as God preparing you to be ready for His way of answering your prayers. Often I've found that the answer is a change in my heart, not necessarily the change in circumstance that I was asking for.  Just this year God has given me a new perspective about something I have been praying about for many, many years.  I don't know when or even if He will answer this prayer but I'm thankful for the change in perspective He has given me.  

Abraham in the waiting:

(Points taken from the book BE Confident by Warren Weirsbe)

 

1) He Obeyed when... He did not know where he was going

2) He Obeyed when... He did not know  how God's will would be accomplished. 

3) He Obeyed when... He did not know when God would fulfill his promises.

4) He Obeyed when... He did not know why God was so working. 

Keep praying!  God is our merciful and faithful High Priest.  He is our Loving Father.  He is all-mighty, all-powerful, all-knowing.  As Peter says in John 6:68 "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,"  Where else would we go?  There is still so much for us to learn and we are blessed to have full access to the One who has all knowledge and wisdom. He wants us to come to Him; even if it is over and over again.  We need only to look at Jesus praying in the garden.  He went back three times praying the same words.  Bring it all to God!

One final quote I want to share from Warren Weirsbe:

"True faith is able to wait for the fulfillment of God's purposes in God's time."

 

What's so great about eternal?

 

For many years I lived in a place of thinking that eternal life was something that, while I had it, didn't really "kick in" until after this life.  As I've read more Scripture and dug deeper into the original words I've found a much deeper and richer understanding of this word, eternal.  So, grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit with me for a minute.  Soak in the truth of why eternal is so great!

In the original language the word for eternal is aiónios, this word means eternal but the deeper implication of this word is that aiónios "does not focus on the future per se, but rather on the quality of the age it relates to.  Thus believers live in "eternal life" right now, experiencing this quality of God's life right now as a present possession." (biblehub.com)

So, let's look at some Scripture to see what we have right now:

John 3:16 - We possess eternal life - right now!

Hebrews 9:12 - We possess eternal redemption - right now!

Hebrews 9:15 - We possess an eternal inheritance - right now!

2 Thessalonians 2:16 - We possess eternal comfort and good hope - right now!

2 Peter 1:11 - We possess a place in the eternal kingdom - right now!

Revelation 14:6 - We possess the truth of the eternal gospel - right now!

Hebrews 5:9 - We possess eternal salvation - right now!

 

I'd encourage you to take some time and meditate on these verses, see if you can find other verses that speak of the eternal things we, as believers, forgiven and accepted children of God, possess.  And then share them in the comments to encourage others.  

Quick thoughts about 1 Peter 3:4

 A quick thought on 1 Peter 3:4.  This verse has always been one I've struggled a bit with.  While I'm quiet around people I don't know, once I'm comfortable I'm not a quiet person. I love to talk, laugh, have fun, etc.  Growing up I struggled with feeling like my personality was "wrong" or "less than" in some way because of this.  

Last year I read the book Having a Mary Heart in A Martha World one of the beautiful things I noticed was that both when Jesus first met Martha and the last recorded meeting between them, she was serving.  Her personality, her gifts, were not seen as bad or something she needed to give up; it was her attitude in doing those things.  God has made us each unique and didn't make a mistake in making some of us with "louder" personalities.

So, what does all of this have to do with 1 Peter 3:4?  Let's look at the verse and then there are two words I want to expand on a bit. 

I'm not sure if I heard preaching this way or if it was something I inferred from other messages;  but I always saw this verse as telling women to be a bit "mousy" to be small, to not give strong opinions or to never be boisterous.  I don't believe that is what this verse is saying at all.  Let's look at the words gentle (sometimes translated as meek) and quiet. 

Gentle is translated from the word, praus, this word means "strength shown with reserve" or as the Biblehub lexicon puts it "Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control. -- i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness."  

We are to demonstrate our God-given strength in a controlled way, without harshness.  This verse presupposes that we are believers so we do in fact have God-given strength.  This is referring to how we live that out, our attitude. Our strength of spirit! In all this we must submit ourselves to be under God's control.

The next word I wanted to look at is quiet.  Quiet is translated from the word, hésuchios, this word means "calmly, quiet" being "appropriately tranquil by not misusing (or overusing) words that would stir up needless friction (destructive commotion)." There is also the idea in this word of being calm, still, settled because of a "divinely inspired inner calmness".  

Having a quiet spirit means we are settled, calm because we have God.  For me, it was a great reminder that I don't need to overuse words trying to make sure I'm never misunderstood.  I'm not to use words, or keep talking when it would just cause needless friction.  

In both these words there is an understanding that we will talk, we should talk.  Have fun, be boisterous, we can share our thoughts and opinions, even if we are passionate about them, but be very aware of how you use your words.  In all things we are to be seeking God's wisdom for what to say, how to say it and when to stop speaking or stay quiet.

Am I expressing my beliefs and opinions in a harsh manner?

Am I trying to settle arguments or misunderstanding in my own strength? or am I relying on God's strength? Should I even be trying to settle this, or should I hold my tongue and give it to God?

Am I  using harsh words in dealing with  my kids?  When I exercise my God-given authority?

Am I overusing words that might "stir up needless friction"?

This passage is speaking to wives; am I being harsh with my husband?

Am I venting all my thoughts just to be heard? Get my own way? Or are my words helpful, encouraging, under the control of God's strength?

Two other verses came to mind while writing out the questions:

"When words are many transgression is not lacking, 

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent."

Proverbs 10:19

"A fool gives full vent to his spirit,

but a wise man quietly holds it back."

Proverbs 29:11

 

**my normal disclaimer.  I'm not a Bible scholar, I'm still learning. If you've studied this out more and see anything that seems off with Scripture, please comment, I'm always willing to learn.  I only ask that you be kind, and that you substantiate your thoughts with Scripture **

Word of the year - 2024

It's always fun for me to see how God leads each year.  Last year I chose the word comfort, you can read about it in this blog post.   As 2023 came to a close I was pondering which word I might choose for 2024.  I have a letter board in our entryway and usually change up the verse each month with verses containing whatever my word is for that year.  One way that I see if I've chosen the "right" word is if the first verse God brings to mind fits on that letter board; it's a little silly but has worked for me. 

There were two words that I was considering for 2024 as they kept coming up over and over last year.  One was healing/healed and the other was faithful.  The verse that I was considering for healed was Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise."  as I was putting it on the letter board I realized I would not have enough of each letter to do the whole verse.  As I thought about it more I realized that healing comes when we are faithful to God, when our focus is on Him and we trust Him in all our circumstances. 

Faithful is a word that God had already given me in 2023.  So many times I want my circumstances to change, I want others to change, I want my own weaknesses and issues to go away.  But God keeps reminding me that so much in life is not mine to carry.  This blog post sharing the Wagon of Rocks story was a huge encouragement to me regarding what I am and am not to carry.  He has asked me to be faithful to Him, to trust Him, to keep my focus on Him.  It's very easy for me to get distracted, to have my thoughts go awry but God has simply asked me to be faithful. 

So, this year I'm focusing on the word faithful.  Right now the verse I have on the board is 2 Thessalonians 3:3.  According to the lexicon, the original Greek word for faithful, used here, is pistos; meaning faithful, reliable. In this verse more specifically the idea is "trusty, faithful, of God, abiding by His promises"

Have you chosen a word for 2024?  I love to see what God has laid on other's hearts so drop a comment and share.

 

Seasons of Marriage: Best Advice I have been given/learned over the years.

Awhile ago I wrote a post titled Seasons of Parenting: Best advice I have been given since then I've had some notes on marriage jotted down on my phone so I thought I'd share them. I'm certainly no marriage expert and have days when I fail miserably; I'm thankful for the grace extended to me by both God and my husband.  In a world where emotion and self are often elevated to the highest priority let's remember the beauty of dying to self as we choose to rely on God, His wisdom and truth, and rejoice in the beauty of marriage!

10 Tips for Building into your Marriage:

1) Pray for your husband!  - You are uniquely positioned to pray for your husband.  Not only to pray for challenges he might face but also to express your gratitude for him and pray blessing over him.  Praying for your husband refocuses your mind on the unique person who you have been joined to by God.  (side note: I highly recommend the book The Power of A Praying Wife) (Philippians 1:3-6)

2) Remember you are NOT the Holy Spirit! - This truth is one I heard more recently and has really shaped how I pray.  We need to leave everything in God's hands.  We were never meant to act as the Holy Spirit to our spouses...we can pray for them, support them, and love them dearly but we can't and should never try, to control them or change them.  We are responsible to live before God faithfully and commit our husbands & marriage to Him and His will.  (John 1:20, 1 Peter 3:1)

3) Don't gossip about your husband! - It is so common today to see wives posting all sorts of things about their husbands on social media.  This is so harmful!  If you are in a dire situation in your marriage and need counsel then yes, absolutely find a trusted, godly confidant to share and get counsel.  Blasting your husband and airing all on social media tears down your husband and your household.  If you have children it also breeds disrespect.  (Proverbs 14:1, Ephesians 5:33, Proverbs 11:13)

4) Communicate clearly, Ask Questions! - I think this is one that is a lifelong learning process.  Communication can be hard in any situation!  It can be so easy to misunderstand or be misunderstood; give your husband the benefit of the doubt.  Be clear, be direct, don't hint.  Find the right time to speak.  Be respectful of both privacy (don't air everything in front of your kids) and timing (is your spouse tired, overwhelmed); especially with hard conversations. (Ephesians 4:29, also see how Esther handled communication in Esther chapters 5 & 7)

5) Get out alone together/ plan dates! - This will definitely look different at different stages of marriage but it's SO important to have time out without the kids.  Time to talk, to do activities you enjoyed before kids.  Even if you have to stay at home there are numerous ways to just set aside time to prioritize each other.  Your kids will grow up and move away; remember to prioritize your marriage! (Romans 12:9-10)

6) Remember your vows were before God...commit to stay faithful to Him! - Marriage is a holy covenant made before God.  Just as in any relationship there will be mountaintop moments and there will be times of conflict.  Your number one priority in your marriage; as in every area of life, should be to stay faithful to God.  He will lead you through any circumstance just keep your eyes on Him! (Hebrews 10:23)

7) Love is a choice & commitment; not just a feeling! - So often we hear "I just didn't love him anymore", "I just wasn't feeling it anymore", "I need to go find my happiness."  as justification for women leaving their marriages.  As I often tell my kids "feelings are real but it does not mean they are true!" Feelings come and go; our hearts can be deceitful...we must rely on God for He is greater than our hearts. (Jeremiah 17:9, 1 John 3:20)

8) Your husband is NOT your enemy! - This one goes with the previous point.  Our feelings can be deceitful and the devil loves to breed conflict within our marriages.  After all, marriage is the closest earthly picture we have of Christ and His great love for the church.  The devil wants to destroy that!  We need to remember that our enemy is always prowling and that our enemy is not flesh & blood/ a person. (1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:12)

9) Have fun! Be Silly! - Do you remember when you first started dating your husband?  How you had fun, talked for hours, laughed, were spontaneous and did silly things?  Keep doing that!  Yes, it will change a bit over time and seasons of life but keep having fun!  Don't let the cares of this world steal your joy.  We can rejoice every day because God has made that day!  If marriage is the closest earthly picture of our relationship with Christ; then we certainly shouldn't be miserable or joyless!  In John 15:1-12 Jesus tells what it means to abide in Him, to bear fruit for Him.  As we live for Him and abide in Him He brings joy to every aspect of our lives....including our marriages!  

10) Marriage has seasons! - Just like every area of life, marriage has seasons.  Learn from the challenges, enjoy the beauty, and rest in the Sovereignty of God in each season.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Do you have any tips or advice that you have found helpful in marriage?

The blessing of the ordinary

 

A couple day ago this graphic showed up in my Instagram feed.  I shared in on my stories as I thought it was cute and a good reminder to be careful of comparison. As God so often does, He started to bring several thoughts on the same topic together.  It has been an encouragement to me to think on these things a bit more so I thought I'd share a quick note and hope it's an encouragement to you as well.

Awhile ago I heard a podcast (can't remember which one it was now) on the miracle of Jesus turning the water into wine; however, this particular episode took a different approach to this passage.  We find the story of water to wine, in John chapter 2.  Here's the part that was a fresh thought for me.  In verse 5 Mary tells the servants to "Do whatever he tells you."  In verse 7 Jesus tells the servants to "Fill the jars with water." that's it..just the ordinary act of pouring water into jars.  Notice now how they fill the jars "And they filled them up to the brim." These servants didn't do the job halfway they filled the jars as much as they could.  Yet still, it was just filling jars.  After the water (now turned into wine) was served John says no one knew "where it came from (though the servants who had drown the water knew)".  These servants who did the simple act of filling jars with water where the first people to know the first miracle Jesus did in His public ministry!  And all from just filling jars, doing their ordinary, daily work.  

As I was reading John 4 I noticed that we see this same theme again. An ordinary woman doing her ordinary, daily task; yet again, Jesus reveals Himself to her first.  In John 4:4 John says about Jesus "And he had to pass through Samaria"; here's the thing. Jews did not get along with Samaritans; in fact they would routinely lengthen their journey in order to go around the region of Samaria but here we see that Jesus had a purpose and "had to" pass through Samaria.  Here he meets a woman at a well; she is going about here normal everyday task of drawing water from a well when Jesus begins speaking to her...she a Samaritan!  She even questions this in verse 9 when she asks "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans).   Yet, not only does He ask for a drink He reveals to her that He is the Christ!  The Messiah! and she is then the first person to tell those in the region of Samaria about Him! Because of her testimony many come to listen to Jesus and believe in Him.  

In both of these cases Jesus meets people in the everyday, doing ordinary things, faithfully doing what needs to be done. In one case he asks them to do a task and because of their obedience they get to be a part of a miracle, in the other He goes out of His way to step into a woman's ordinary day to give her a new kind of water...living water and because of her belief she gets to lead many to Jesus' feet!  

So, on days when it feels like everyday tasks are wearing on you.  When the ordinary may not seem like enough; know that God sees you, He sees your faithfulness to the little things and you never know what He might do with those ordinary things.  So keep being faithful and obedient...and "fill to the brim" whatever God asks you to do today.

Busy, Busy, Busy

 The title sums up our last few weeks. Between senior events for our oldest daughter; such as honors night, prom, graduation, graduation party (where we hosted almost 100 people in our home).  Along, with our youngest daughter's end of year Kingergarten show, some tough issues that have popped up for another one of our kids, continuing renovations, a last minute family trip to D.C. and life in general...we have been busy! While I've been keeping up with reading through the Bible many days I've felt rushed rather than relaxing and truly focusing on my time with God.

This morning, while praying about some things, I was prompted to get back into the new devotional I started titled "Having a Mary Heart In A Martha World".  I read the first chapter a week or so ago and did a couple of the study questions but had not finished all the questions.  God knew I needed this lesson today!

A few quotes from the first chapter that I wrote down are:

"Busyness, by itself, breeds distraction."

"In her eagerness to serve Jesus, she almost missed the opportunity to know Jesus."

"While the world applauds achievement, God desires companionship."

So, today, like Mary, I chose the "better part" and here are a few of the blessings I was given at the feet of Jesus.

One of the final questions was to read Matthew 11:28-30 and circle any key words.  Not only did I circle them I also chose to look up the original Greek used.  I love looking into the original words as it tends to give me a richer understanding of what the passage is saying.  For example, in these verses there are two Greek words used for rest. 

 

After looking up the meanings in Greek I will often rewrite the verse in my notes with the expanded definitions in brackets. This was such an encouragement to me and reminder to keep my focus on Christ, on the things that are eternally useful and to rest in Him!

"Come to me, all who [labor until worn out] and are [loaded down, burdened] and I will give you [refreshment for your soul].  Take my [bar that unites us in work] upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and [lowly in spirit relying on God] and you will find [blessed tranquility of soul].  For my yoke is [good, eternally useful] and my burden is [easy to bear, not burdensome]." 

Life gets busy and it's easy to get distracted from what really matters, thinking we don't have time.  I'd encourage you today to take time with the Savior, you will be refreshed and leave that time with a new focus, peace and thankfulness.

lt really IS a Good Friday

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."

Romans 5:8-10

 

“For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn  the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

John 3:16-17

 

My Jesus

By: Anne Wilson

What Kind of Man?

By: Legacy Five 

 May you know the JOY & PEACE of Salvation through Jesus.  HE has conquered death!

Kid's Bible Study Recommendation: LithosKids

 Over the years I have used several different Bible Study books with our kids.  Some were specific for girls or boys others were not.  I've mentioned before that I love the Jesus Storybook Bible; the way that it ties the Bible together and shows how it ALL points to Jesus is wonderful and the illustrations are lovely. It is still one of my favorites.

This past Christmas our youngest two were gifted a book titled Little Pilgrim's Big Journey Part II it is the sequel to Little Pilgrim's Big Journey which is based on  John Bunyan's original book Pilgrim's Progress.  The book is well made, beautifully illustrated and as we read through the book I loved the setup.  At the end of each chapter there is a page that explains the analogy, gives corresponding Scriptures and asks some questions.  The stories and questions were engaging for both our 5yr old and 9yr old.  As we finished the book we were all a bit sad as we had really enjoyed it.

 

I did some research and found out that LithosKids was just releasing a Bible Study called The Kingdom of God; the format is very similar to the other book.  This study is split into two books; one for the Old Testament and one for the New Testament.  I ordered the set and we have started reading through them. The accounts are taken directly from Scripture and each chapter has a review page showing God's presence and promises in each account. There are still questions at the end of each chapter as well to review the Biblical account.

 

 This picture is a little confusing.  There are only two books

the greenish item on the left is the box they come in.

These are not inexpensive books but the quality of both how they are made and the lessons in them are definitely something I could see being used over and over again and even being passed down to future generations. If you have kiddos these books are a great resource; you can find these on the Lithos Kids website

 

**this is not a paid endorsement and I have no affiliation with Lithos Kids I simply love their books and sharing with others great resources I find. 

Podcast & Book Shoutout

 About ten years ago my sister-in-law messaged me and said "I just read this book and I think you'd really like it. It's free for the Kindle right now."  The title, and the fact that it was free, both caught my attention so I decided to try it.  The book she was recommending was The Fitting Room: Putting on the Character of Christ by Kelly Minter; the book studies through the virtues listed in Colossians 3:12-14.  At the time, I had never heard of Kelly Minter; since then I have also done Kelly's study No Other Gods with our moms group at church and Finding God Faithful: A study on the life of Joseph with another group of ladies.  I have thoroughly enjoyed each of these studies and love Kelly's style.  It really is like a conversation with a friend.  

As I was first reading through The Fitting Room I knew it was a book that I would want to have as a hard copy; there was so much I wanted to underline.  I bought the book and read through it again.  The great thing is that there is a study guide with questions in the back of the book.  I did the study on my own and then a couple summers ago read through the book yet again and did the study again with a small group of ladies from church.  It didn't feel repetitive as there are always new things to learn from Scripture and I noticed that because I was in a different place in my life I had different answers to some things. 

In the past year or two I have really enjoyed listening to podcasts.  They are great to put on while I'm cleaning or doing other tasks.  Last month I started listening to the Culitvate podcast; which is Kelly Minter's podcast.  I immediately was drawn in because she speaks the same way she writes.  She is real and practical in her teaching. I noticed that she had done a podcast series on the same Colossians passage she wrote about in The Fitting Room.  Even though I have read her book and done the study a couple times; not only was the podcast series a great reminder but there were also new nuggets of wisdom that I found so helpful.  

One of those nuggets of wisdom was the following statement; 

"We can live out the virtues from a place of security because we are chosen;

We can live out the virtues from a place of calling & purpose because we are holy;

We can live out the virtues from a place of belonging because we are dearly loved." 

~Kelly Minter

 

If you'd like to listen to the series on these virtues you can find the Cultivate Podcast here.  The specific episodes for this series are episodes 22 through 26.  You can also find the book The Fitting Room through Kelly's website store.  I just noticed when looking for the link that the book is actually on sale right now through her website.  

 

                                                 

What are some of your favorite studies? Maybe ones you've done more than once.

I'm always looking for great podcasts. Share your favorite podcast in the comments.

Scripture in Songs

When I was in elementary school, the curriculum used music to help with Scripture memory.  To this day, I still find myself singing those songs in my head when I read certain verses.  Music is a wonderful way to learn Scripture.  There are many songs written that may not be exactly Scripture but that radiate Scripture throughout the verses.  This is true of the song I want to share today.

A few weeks back I was driving and a new-to-me song came on Spotify.  As I listened I was wishing that I wasn't driving because every line of this song had me thinking of different Scripture verses.  Later that week I printed out the lyrics to the song and today I took a bit of time and matched each line to a Bible verse (sometimes two).  The beauty of this song is that it is ALL about Jesus and Who He is.  I'll post a lyric video for the song at the end but here are the lyrics written along with the corresponding Bible verse(s).  

Can you think of any other Scriptures that this song references?  I'd love for you to share. 

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer

By: Sovereign Grace Music

 

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer

"Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture."~ Psalm 100:3

Greatest treasure of my longing soul 

"For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things." ~ Psalm 107:9

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God."

~Psalm 42:1

My God, like You there is no other 

"remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, 

and there is none like me." ~ Isaiah 46:9

True delight is found in You alone 

"Praise the LORD!  Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, 

who greatly delights in his commandments." ~ Psalm 112:1

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God," ~Isaiah 61:10

Your grace, a well too deep to fathom 

"and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." 

~ 1 Timothy 1:14

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8

Your love exceeds the heaven's reach 

"Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, 

your faithfulness to the clouds." ~ Psalm 36:5

Your truth, a fount of perfect wisdom

 "For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth 

come knowledge and understanding;" ~ Proverbs 2:6

My highest good and my unending need 

"As for me I am poor and needy, but the LORD takes thought for me. 

You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!" ~ Psalm 40:17

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, 

he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:5

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer 

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, 

in whom I take refuge, my shield, and 

the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." ~ Psalm 18:2

Strong Defender of my weary heart 

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? 

The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" ~ Psalm 27:1

My sword to fight the cruel deceiver 

"Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the 

wicked by your sword," ~ Psalm 17:13

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, 

piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and 

discerning the thoughts and intentions  of the heart." ~ Hebrews 4:12

And my shield against his hateful darts 

"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." 

~ Proverbs 30:5

"In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish 

all the flaming darts of the evil one;" ~ Ephesians 6:16

My song, when enemies surround me 

 "The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; 

this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, 

and I will exult him." ~ Exodus 15:2

My hope, when tides of sorrow rise 

"Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off." ~ Proverbs 23:18

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD 

never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 

they are new every morning; 

great is your faithfulness." ~ Lamentations 3:21-23

My joy, when trials are abounding 

"Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and

 send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our LORD. 

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." ~ Nehemiah 8:10

Your faithfulness my refuge in the night 

"He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; 

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, 

nor the arrow that flies by day," ~ Psalm 91:4-5

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer 

"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will 

stand upon the earth." ~ Job 19:25

Gracious Savior of my ruined life 

"who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because 

of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 

and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, 

who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through 

the gospel," ~ 2 Timothy 1:9-10

My guilt and cross laid on Your shoulders 

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 

By his wounds you have been healed." ~ 1 Peter 2:24

In my place You suffered bled and died 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him 

should not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:16

You rose, the grave and death are conquered 

"We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer

 has dominion over him." ~ Romans 6:9

You broke my bonds of sin and shame 

"He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, 

and burst their bonds apart." ~ Psalm 107:14

You rose, the grave and death are conquered 

"God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible 

for him to be held by it." ~ Acts 2:24

You broke my bonds of sin and shame 

"For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus

 from the law of sin and death." ~ Romans 8:2

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer 

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, 

according to the riches of his grace," ~ Ephesians 1:7

May all my days bring glory to Your Name 

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the 

sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness."~ Psalm 115:1

"I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him 

with thanksgiving." ~ Psalm 69:30

May all my days bring glory to Your Name

"Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!" ~ Psalm 34:3

"I give thanks to you, O LORD my God, with my whole heart, and I will 

glorify your name forever." ~ Psalm 86:12 

Four thoughts on Comfort

 After deciding on the word Comfort for 2023 I had jotted down a few thoughts and some verses; when I posted about choosing the word I actually had forgotten that I had written down those thoughts.  So, today I'm going to share four thoughts on the idea of comfort.  I certainly don't have this all figured out but these came to mind.

The verse God gave me to meditate on for this idea of comfort is Psalm 119:76

The word for comfort in this verse transliterated to English is nacham; which means console oneself.  When life is hard, when we are grieved or disappointed,  we can take comfort in the promises God has spoken in Scripture. God never changes. Hebrews 13:8 Says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." The promises He spoke are still true today. 

Four Thoughts on Comfort:

1) Jesus calls us to take rest in Him.  He is the source of True rest. (Matthew 11:28-29)

  

Image from bible.com

2) We receive comfort so that we can comfort others. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

 

3) We are to use our words to comfort others. (Proverbs 25:11 & Romans 12:15)

 

4) Our comfort in Christ gives us victory over the fears and troubles of this world. (John 16:33)

     **I found this explanation on BibleHub.com's lexicon to be interesting.  The transliterated word for "take heart" or "be of good courage", "be of good cheer" is the word tharseo; this "refers to "God bolstering the believer, empowering them with a bold inner attitude. For the believer, tharseo ("showing boldness") is the result of the Lord infusing His strength by His inworking of faith." 

When life is hard we can be comforted that God is the One working in us.  We don't have to try and work up our own strength and courage to face this world.  God empowers us through His strength; and we can take comfort because He has already overcome anything we face in this world.  God already has won the victory!