5 Creative Ways to Connect With Your Spouse As You Serve

Are you familiar with the television show Extreme Makeover Home Edition?  One year, our church garnered inspiration from the premise of this reality program to create a unique Christmas Outreach called “Extreme Makeover: Christmas Edition.”  I signed up to help serve a family by decorating their home, purchasing presents for the children, and providing all the fixings for a holiday meal. Our group of volunteers spent the day at a home in our community, played with the kids, gave the parents a Bible, and shared the message of hope through Christ.

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I am sharing over at Missional Women this week as part of the series “31 Days of Missional Living.”  To read the rest of this post, head on over here. 

Fighting On Your Knees

He pulled it out and tossed it in the garbage.  The colorful Bird of Paradise plant in front of the house had become infested with ants.  We had not noticed, but our landlord did.  He got on his hands and knees and pulled out the corrupted plant, its beauty destroyed by a silent invader.  In its place stood a big, gaping hole.  I was sad to see it go….

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I am sharing over at Missional Women this week.  Head on over here to read the rest of this post. 

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Photo Credit:  Angel Lopez

Lynda’s Chicken Pasta: A Mission-Minded Meal

In 2009, I married the man of my dreams.  The week after our honeymoon, we came home and started attending Missions team meetings at Billy and Lynda’s house every Sunday afternoon after church.  We prayed for our trip to Haiti and rehearsed the skits we would perform for evangelistic meetings.

We gathered in their comfy family room right beside the kitchen.  Food was always a part of the equation – meatballs, fried chicken, chips and salsa, crackers and cheese.  Each week there was a pot luck surprise….

I am sharing over at Missional Women today.  Head on over here to read the rest of this post.

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A big “hello” and welcome to you if you are stopping by from Missional Women today!  Click here to learn a little about me.  I would love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

I am passionate about the subject of marriage and write about it frequently. To check out all my marriage posts, head on over here.

The Free Pass

Every August, my husband gets a “free pass.”  It’s his busy season at work, so I try to give him some space.  If he wants to work himself into a frenzy until midnight for three days straight, then I let him.  I will not cry if he barely grunts at me in passing, and I attempt to find other things to keep me busy so that he doesn’t feel guilty.  (Target and Panera Bread, here I come!).

Before I got married, I had romantic expectations that my husband would snuggle with me on the couch after dinner on week nights, and that we would spend our weekends together in leisurely exploration of the city.  I pictured picnics at the park and long walks on the beach and dinner out with friends at quaint diners.

On the first Saturday we spent in our home together, my husband got out of bed at 5 AM and took a shower.  I rolled over and covered my eyes.  Hello!  It is Saturday – the day for sleeping in and lingering in your jammies all morning.  At 6 AM, he stopped by the bedroom on his way out to Walmart – he wanted to know if I needed anything.  I groaned a “no, thank you” at him.

I quickly learned that my love and I have a different pair of glasses on when it comes to time management….

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I am honored to be Guest Posting over at Inspiration-Driven Life today for “Wedded Wednesdays.”  Head on over here to read the rest of this post.

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A big “hello” and welcome to you if you are stopping by from Sarah’s today!  Click here to learn a little about me.  I would love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

I am passionate about the subject of marriage and write about it frequently. To check out all my marriage posts, head on over here.

 

Top 10 Quotes on A Woman’s Call to Prayer

I am in a battle.  The enemy is out to destroy.  I wage war on my knees.

I must be vigilant and not let myself grow unguarded in the fight for my marriage.  That’s why I recently revisited a book I’d read many years ago called A Woman’s Call to Prayer:  Making Your Desire to Pray a Reality by Elizabeth George.  In 2012, the book was re-printed using the updated title The Heart of a Woman Who Prays: Drawing Near to the God Who Loves You.  Elizabeth has written tons of books, and her writing encourages me and equips me to live a more effective life for God.  I don’t know about you, but I love books that are practical and teach me how to “be a better me.”

Here are my Top 10 Quotes from the Book:

1.  “…prayer and praying give us a measure of immunity against the world.  For instance, I’ve noticed that when I get up early and make prayer a priority and take time to seek God through His Word and prayer, a fire of passion for Him is ignited, fueled, and fanned until its flame is brilliant and fiery.  My time spent answering God’s call to prayer causes everything to point upward.  My thoughts, my heart, my concerns, my focus, my desires all become more noble when time is taken to lift my heart heavenward through prayer.”  pp. 24-25

2.  “When the going gets rough, we’re not to faint, lose heart, give in, and cave in.  Instead we are to pray, to ask God in supplication, to trust Him and move forward.  It’s true that ‘he stands best who kneels most.’  And, dear heart, we can always pray in helplessness when we can’t do anything else!  That’s what supplication is.  So put this prayer-weapon to good use in your times of trouble.”  p. 58

3.  “You are to pray for others…period.  You are to pray for those you love…and for those who don’t love you.  You are to pray for those you appreciate…and for those who have disappointed you and failed in their love.  You are to pray for those who faithfully serve God…and for those who have stumbled in their walk with Him.  You are to ‘bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ’ (Galatians 6:2).”  p. 73

4.  “…realize that the means to answering God’s call to not worry is entwined with His call to pray.  Therefore, do not fail to pray… Prayer sets you free from fear and worry.”  p. 103

5.  “Give God a daily time tithe.  A spiritual mentor encouraged me to set aside  ten percent of my ‘awake’ hours to the Lord.  Doing the math reveals that such a time tithe adds up to about one-and-a-half hours per day spent in these three activities that help a woman fortify herself for each new day and its challenges:

• Preparing — your heart for what’s ahead by reading and studying God’s Word,
• Praying — about the specific needs in your life and day, and
• Planning — how to best live out your God-given day.

These three daily exercises ensure that something is going in (your heart), something is going up (your prayers), and something is going on (your plan).” p.124

6.  “Wisdom applies God’s Word to everyday life — Sometimes we don’t think that a day is all that important.  Yet in reality, all we have is a day — today!  Today is all we have for doing God’s will…In other words, managing and handling today with all of its demands, quirks, and surprises in a godly and righteous and wise manner will require all of our wisdom.”  p. 144

7.  “I’ve personally discovered that praying about people problems usually results in tapping into God’s great mercy…and then my  heart is changed and I approach the matter in an entirely new way.  Surprisingly, I begin to feel empathy and compassion for those I’m praying about.”  p. 153

8.  “You will need to pray now for God’s help to say no… to yourself, to your flesh, to spontaneous invitations, to your excuses.  Pray to God to help you make it through just this one day of walking in His plan — not yours!”  p. 169

9.  “…you are to be praying all the time, to make your every breath a prayer.  As my former pastor loved to say prayer is ‘spiritual breathing.'”  p. 266

10.  “Diamonds are the hardest substance on earth.  And you, dear one, will resemble a diamond when you gather up the conditions and concerns of your life and ‘take it to the Lord in prayer.’  You will become, in a good sense, hard, tough, solid, powerful, confident, full-of-faith.” p. 272

Q4U:  What’s the best book you have read on the subject of prayer?  Do you have any advice for a sister who is trying to create a more consistent prayer life?

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I am passionate about the subject of marriage and write about it frequently. Check out all my marriage posts here.

My one-word focus for the year is “fruitilicious.” Find out what that means here.

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Photo Credit:  Curtis Copeland, Copeland Photography