For Wives

http://westgreen.crosspt.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=140481

This is a great video sermon about being a Godly wife.....

There is also a series for any men interested in listening....

(scroll down to January 2011)

http://westgreen.crosspt.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=102966

Complaining

"This sucks!" Those are the words I heard come out of teenagers mouth a few minutes ago. He was talking about the fact that this is winter and he misses summer. Now don't get me wrong. I am longing for summer as well, since it is my favorite time of year, but today's beautiful 6o degree weather in January is a gift and not to be complained about. I reminded my son that there are alot of things that "suck" worse than this and that scripture says not to concentrate on the sucky things in life....

‎"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

If you are doing this, you will never have anything to complain about. Afterall, where would negative thoughts creep in if you are constantly thinking on the good things in life.

Marriage

“What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility.”
― Leo Tolstoy

I have never heard a more true statement about marriage. Here is another true statement....

Marriage is not intended to make you happy. Marriage is to make you holy. Marriage should draw you closer to God. Only God can give you joy.

From THE RESPECT DARE

Dare you to change your questions today. The question isn't, "Does my marriage make me happy?" But rather, "Do I have God's peace, joy, and comfort in the midst of this, and am I learning to obey Him better?" Who knows what God can do? Double dog dare you today to get out of His way, stop trying to be your spouse's Holy Spirit, and as it is up to you, live in peace, through Christ's strength.

He Came With the Ring...

That's what I always tell people. He came with the ring. I am talking about my stepson, Cameron. He was almost 2 years old when I met his dad. He didn't know what to make of me at first but we soon had a very special bond. When I married his dad a year and a half later, Cameron was already like my own son. It broke my heart when he wasn't with us. His shared parenting schedule was very hard on him but we did our best to make him feel at home whenever he was home with us. We don't get to see him much now that he has grown into a fine young man, but he still holds a very dear place in my heart. He may not be my firstborn, but he is my first child. Happy 22nd Birthday, Cameron.

This is the first birthday that I ever celebrated with Cameron (his 3rd Birthday) just before I married his dad. He was so cute!

Expectations

Why is it so much easier to forgive a stranger than it is to forgive someone you love? The answer is simple-expectations. We don't expect anything from strangers. But we do have expectations from those we know. We expect obedience from our children, trust and loyalty from our friends, love and respect from our spouse... Often, though, the other person doesn't even know what that expectation is or what you want it to look like. We expect our spouse to show us love, but our spouse doesn't know that to you, show love looks like him helping you with the housework. Also, we sometimes place expectations on people that are not theirs to carry. It is not my husbands job to make me happy. There are some expectations that are God's job to fill, and it is unfair and unreasonable to place those expectations on anyone else. It will only lead to disappointment and unforgiveness.

Speak Blessings

God has been showing me the great power there is in speaking blessings over others and into your own life. There is also great power in speaking curses over people, even carelessly. I remember a teaching a church many years ago about poison arrows, and how negative words can poison your body. Choose your words wisely and speak blessings into your life and over your children and spouse. Be careful about making careless remarks about your children, your husband, or yourself. Those words have great power.

"Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing." Proverbs 12:18

"Wise words are more valuable than much gold and many rubies." Proverbs 20:15

" Your tongue has the power of life and death. Those who love to talk will eat the fruit of their words." Proverbs 18:21

"Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24

"When you enter a city or town, find some worthy person there and stay in that home until you leave. When you enter that home, say, 'Peace be with you.' If the people there welcome you, let your peace stay there. But if they don't welcome you, take back the peace you wished for them." Matthew 10:11-13

"We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way." James 3:2

Women Making a Difference In Marriage

This is an excellent study that I did with my small group several years ago. It really does change hearts and change lives. I encourage all married women to read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Women-Making-Difference-Marriage-Commitment/dp/0767393775

Guilty

Top 10 Ways Wives Destroy Our Marriages

http://ninaroesner.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/top-10-ways-wives-destroy-our-marriages%E2%80%A6/

"Yelling at a bud won't make it bloom."

“What is spoken wisely should be spoken calmly, and then it will be calmly considered. But passion will lessen the force even of reason, instead of adding any force to it.” Matthew Henry

"To break the cycle of sin in our lives we must add in the virtue of gentleness, by default the old vice will be replaced."

I heard about The Gentleness Challenge from a friend. The idea intrigued me. I have been thinking alot lately about how to balance authority with love when dealing with my children's misbehavior and attitudes. And I have been trying already to be more gentle in my approach to them (the whole truth in love thing). So this challenge is very timely. And I certainly cannot do it without the Lord's help. I will be praying daily for Him to help me be gentle in how I handle my children (as well as my husband and everyone else I am in contact with).

Galatians 5:22,23 says: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I am thinking about starting a small group/book study for moms and study the book "The Ministry of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson. Praying about it. We will see what happens.

http://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Motherhood-Following-Reaching-Children/dp/1578565820

The Gentleness Challenge

http://www.womenlivingwell.org

Complaining

Don't complain about a problem ........ be the solution.

What that looks like in real life: Don't complain about dirty dishes. Wash them.

Cameron's Christmas Gift

In December 1993 we went to my father in law's house for a Christmas party. My stepson, Cameron, who was only 3 at the time, climbed onto Santa's lap and promptly asked for a baby sister for Christmas. Needless to say my husband and I were quite surprised to hear this. We had just gotten married a few months ago and we hadn't really thought about expanding our family. Fast forward a few months... I was sitting in the lifeguard chair at the YMCA where I worked. It was May and in the upper 70's but for some reason I was really, really hot. That was unusual for me since I was underweight and always cold. I took a pg test and it was positive. MERRY CHRISTMAS CAMERON!

I experienced severe morning sickness the ENTIRE pregnancy. I was miserable. I lost 15 pounds, which was not a good thing since I was already underweight. I eventually gained 20 pounds (meaning I only gained 5 pounds total for the entire pregnancy). I was so tiny my whole pregnancy that I never wore maternity clothes and no one at work knew I was pregnant even though I wore a swimsuit all day. Carmen was due on Superbowl Sunday January 29th. Being new to the whole pregnancy/childbirth thing, I was quite surprise and totally unprepared when my water broke very early in the morning on the 10th. We rushed to pack our bags and head to the hospital (which was literally 2 blocks away) and then we waited. I ended up getting an epidural because I just couldn't handle the pain and wasn't dilating. They told me to rest for a few hours but in no time I started feeling nauseous and the nurse knew that it was time. Carmen was delivered a few minutes later. She was so beautiful. I couldn't believe how little and perfect she was. Eleven years later, while delivering her brother Gabe, we ran into the nurse who had helped deliver her. How cool is that!

That is the Carmen's birth story and the story of how Cameron got the best Christmas Gift ever!