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Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Thirty-three Day Challenge

Men Give Love To Get Sex, Women Give Sex To Get Love

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In our challenge so far we have been focused on taking out the obvious trash. The challenges have been to fast from magazines, books, movies, and music that glorifies or glamorizes sin and feeds your mind and spirit on things that tear us down instead of building us up.

During this trash fast we are to be focusing our hearts and minds on remembering how God says He created us by meditating on Psalm 139. If we feel the need to get wrapped up in a good love story we are to be reading the Song of Solomon and digging deeper into the truths in this beautiful book. When it’s movie and tv time, we need to be very selective during this challenge, if we watch at all, and if we do watch, don’t veg out. Try to count the number of times sex is thrown in our face and that not being a healthy biblical account of sex between a man and his wife. When it’s music time, until March 17th, we need to fill our mind and heart and soul with only songs that connect us to Our Creator. Until March 17th, let’s read and study and focus on growing in the grace and knowledge of God and His everlasting lovingkindness toward us.

Day Five: Beginning our taking of personal inventory.

Here is where we start digging deep. We begin to focus today on weeding out deception…

“Many believe that just because they are not involved in a physical, sexual affair they don’t have a problem with sexual and emotional integrity. As a result, they engage in thoughts and behaviors that compromise their integrity and rob them of true sexual and emotional fulfillment.”

“Men and women struggle in different ways when it comes to sexual integrity. While a man’s battle begins with what he takes in through his eyes, a woman’s begins with her heart and her thoughts. A man must guard his eyes to maintain sexual integrity, but because God made women to be emotionally and mentally stimulated, we must closely guard our hearts and minds as well as our bodies…”

 ~ Shannon Ethridge

You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; 
but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27-28

Now take this Scripture and apply it to you as a woman and our struggle: “I tell you that any woman who envisions a man longingly has already committed adultery with him in her heart.”

Ladies our adultery does not begin with lustful eyes… it begins with a lustful thought and a longing heart. We don’t undress a man with our eyes. We envision him undressing us… looking deep in our eyes and seeing the real us.  We envision that he pulls us close and whispers his undying love and devotion in our ears and then whisks us up in his arms and carries us away to a place of deep emotional fulfillment…

Am I close here?

Here are some contrast that Shannon brings out her book:

Men: crave physical intimacy                           

Women: crave emotional intimacy

Men: give love to get sex                                

Women: give sex to get love

Men: body can disconnect from mind and soul 

Women: body, mind, heart, soul, intricately connected

Men: stimulated by what they see                   

Women: stimulated by what you hear

Men: recurrent physical needs cycle                

Women: recurrent emotional needs cycle

Men: vulnerable to unfaithfulness in the absence of physical touch

Women: vulnerable to unfaithfulness in the absence of emotional connection

Are you beginning to see why we have began this challenge with a trash fast? Are you beginning to see how the enemy has been able to use the media outlets to seduce us and confuse us and tempt us and yet wonder why we feel the way we do when we have not “technically” committed a sinful act?

Ladies… I didn’t mention this in the trash take-out but let me approach it now… Internet chats… be careful. “Oh he’s just a good friend” is one of the biggest lies the enemy feeds us and we gobble it up just as quickly as Eve gobbled up the fruit of that tree that got us all in the mess to begin with. If you are connecting emotionally with a man that is not your husband… or if you are unmarried and it is somebody else’s husband… RUN!

Today we are going to look over a checklist of questions to consider. This is more personal inventory time. These question require a simple yes or no answer. Consider each question honestly. This is just between you and God, precious one, don’t hide from your own flesh.

 “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 
“Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.  
Isaiah 58:6-8

ARE YOU ENGAGED IN A BATTLE? 

1) Is having a man in your life or finding a husband something that dominates your thoughts?

2) If you have a man in your life, do you compare him to other men (physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually)

3) Do you often think of what your life will be like after your husband is dead, wondering who the “next man” could be?

4) Do you have sexual secrets that you don’t want anyone else to know about?

5) Do you feel like a nobody if you don’t have a love interest in your life? Does a romantic relationship give you a sense of identity?

6) Do you seem to attract bad or dysfunctional relationships with men?

7) Do men accuse you of being manipulative or controlling?

8  Do you feel secretly excited or powerful when you sense that a man finds you attractive?

9) Do you have a difficult time responding to your husband’s sexual advances because you feel he should meet your needs first?

10) Is remaining emotionally or physically faithful to one person a challenge for you?

11) Do you often choose your attire in the morning based on the men you will encounter that day?

12) Do you find yourself flirting or using sexual innuendos (even if you do not intend to) when conversing with someone you find attractive?

13) Do you resent the fact that your husband wants sex more often than you do, and you would rather he just masturbate so you don’t have to perform?

14) Do you have to masturbate when you get sexually aroused?

15) Do you read romance novels because of the fantasies they evoke within you or because they arouse you sexually?

16) Have you used premarital or extramarital relationships to “medicate” your emotional pain?

17) Is there any area of your sexuality that is not known by your husband, is not approved by your husband, or does not involve your husband?

18) Do you spend more time or energy ministering to the needs of others through church or social activities than to your husband’s sexual needs?

19) Do you use pornography either alone or with a partner?

20) Do you fantasize about being intimate with someone other than your husband? (this includes if you are not married, that is some one’s husband or at least it probably will be one day)  

21) Do you have a problem making and maintaining close female friends?

22) Do you converse with strangers in Internet chat rooms?

23) Have you ever been unable to concentrate on work, school, or the affairs of your household because of thoughts or feelings you are having about someone else?

24) Do you the word victim describes you?

25) Do you avoid sex in your marriage because of the spiritual guilt or dirty feeling you experience afterward?

Whew… yes that’s a lot to think about.

By the way this list was just to make you think. It was not a list to see how horrible you are because of the number of yes’s you had or to make you pat yourself on the back because of the number of no’s you had.

We are focusing these next days on personal inventory and weeding out the subtle deceptions that the enemy has been able to sneak in our hearts and minds…

Our goal is freedom.

Our goal is to stand before our Savior unashamed…

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Free to Serve

 
Moses said to the people,
‘Remember this day
in which you went out from Egypt,
from the house of slavery;
for by a powerful hand
the LORD brought you out from this place.
And nothing leavened shall be eaten.’ 
Exodus 13:3
 
When the Lord brought the people out of Egypt, out of their slavery, one of the first things he did was to command Moses to sanctify to the LORD the firstborn of every womb, both man and beast. He then told Moses to remind the people of the Passover and to command them to keep it.
 
Why was God so quick to grab the attention of the people?
Oh precious one, the answer to that is- because He knows us.
 
These people had been in bondage for 400 years. These people had never known freedom. What God knew was that too much freedom too fast can destroy. What we also have to understand is that God did not just set these people free, He “redeemed” them.
 
This word redeem in the Hebrew is ga’al. It means to purchase, to ransom, to buy back. God did not just set them free to run wild and live life in their own way. He redeemed them from their slavery to Pharaoh so that they could freely serve Him. The people no longer belonged to Pharaoh, but they did, however, still belong to someone. They now belonged to God.
 
This is true in our salvation as well. In 1 Corinthians 6:20 the Word declares, “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” If you are a born again believer, a Christ follower, then you’re freedom came with a price.
 
In 1 Peter 1:18 we read that we were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ. In the Greek the word redeemed is lutroo and it means to ransom. It comes from the word lutron which means to loosen with a redemption price. Just as the children of Israel were redeemed by God so are we. Just as the children of Israel were not set free to run wild and live to themselves, neither are we.
 
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience,
you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
either of sin resulting in death,
or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin,
you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness,
resulting in further lawlessness,
so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,
resulting in sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Therefore what benefit were you deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the outcome of those things is death.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God,
you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification,
and the outcome, eternal life. 
Romans 6:16-22
 
Oh precious one, yes, in Christ you were set free, and “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) You are freed from sin’s penalty and freed from sin’s power and you now have the hope of one day being freed from sin’s presence. The serpent of old no longer can hold fear of death over your head. You are no longer a slave to sin.
 
However, this does not mean that you are now without a master.
 
Romans 10:9 declares “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” A prerequisite to salvation is confessing Jesus as Lord. The word Lord in the Greek is kurios and it means supreme in authority, controller, master.
 
As it says in the above passage of Romans 6:16-22, you were freed from sin but you became slaves of righteousness. You were freed from sin but enslaved to God. You are not without a master. You were not set free to live life your own way, you were set free to freely serve your Creator God.
 
God instituted the Passover and commanded the children of Israel to observe it for at least two reasons:
one– so that they would never forget how He had redeemed them from Pharaoh and how He had brought them out of Egypt,
and
two– so that He might point them to the final Passover lamb, Jesus the One and Only Christ.
 
Even in our salvation through Christ, God has instituted a memorial and commanded us to keep it. Before Jesus went to the cross He instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. He commanded us to do this in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). We are to observe it in a worthy manner, for through it we proclaim the death of our Lord Jesus Christ until He returns again (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).    
 
 
Oh Father,
 
You are my Master. I rejoice that I am enslaved to You. I confess Jesus as my Lord, as the supreme authority in my life. What greater joy is there than to have a King who loves me so? I once was a slave to sin, my master was cruel, and he hated me. He sought only to destroy me through temptation and lies, but You my Jesus love me. How easy it is to surrender to You. I am able to serve You with gratitude. I willingly have become Your slave because I love You and I desire to please You with this life that You saved.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen   
 
Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Thirty-three Day Challenge

Musical Memories

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Day Four:
This is the last day of the “obvious” trash take out.

This one might be the hardest for some.
Are you ready?
Today turn off the tunes.
For the next thirty days listen only to Christian worship music. Listen only to music that glorifies God and sings of your love to Him and His to you.

Here’s the simple fact… music makes memories.

“Now therefore, write this song for yourselves,
and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it on their lips,
so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. 
For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey,
which I swore to their fathers,
and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous,
then they will turn to other gods and serve them,
and spurn Me and break My covenant. 
Then it shall come about,
when many evils and troubles have come upon them,
that this song will testify before them as a witness
(for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants);
for I know their intent which they are developing today,
before I have brought them into the land which I swore.” 
So Moses wrote this song the same day,
and taught it to the sons of Israel. 
Deuteronomy 31:19-22

 

Music is easily memorized.
God tells us that the song will not be forgotten from the lips and it is a witness that will testify… What songs are on your lips and what testimony do they bring?

Not only is music easily memorized, but it also is also mood invoking. There is a reason that more people change churches because of the music rather than because of the Biblical teaching or even the relationships built. Music moves us.

Music moves us from the locker room to the game. We put on fast beat and pumped up music to get the team fired up as they head out to the court or field to play the game.

Music moves us in the church as we begin the service with music to get everyone “in the spirit”

And yes, music moves us to the bedroom.

Music is used to make memories that move us immediately to that place where we heard that song. That’s why so much time and effort goes into the songs that we will choose to have at our weddings. We will begin picking out the songs and filing them in our memory bank when just little girls…

Music is used to intoxicate and it works, It can reach a place in our souls that mere words alone sometimes cannot.

Shannon Ethridge writes, “I don’t listen to secular. I have a lot of sexual memories that are attached to particular songs from my past. When I am out in public, I occasionally hear a song that sends me back to a particular place, time, or relationship evoking memories I’d rather forget. Funny how music has the power to do that.”

I don’t listen to secular music either… 
When I was wholly surrendered to my Jesus and I sat in my car or turned on the radio in the house I heard the lyrics I had been singing for really the first time.
I couldn’t sing them anymore.
I also realized that the music stirred things in me that I was trying to learn how to put to death as I walked in the Spirit and not my flesh. If I was to have victory, this music had to go.
I also, like Shannon, hated the memories that I had attached to many of these songs.

I chose to turn these off and make new memories with my Christ.
When I say I don’t listen to secular music, it’s not that I am trying to be “holier than thou” it’s just I had rather remember a moment with my God and be stirred by His Spirit rather than my flesh.

When I hear “Alabaster Box” by CeCe Winans I remember the grace that God poured out on me.
When I hear “What Are You Waiting For” by Natalie Grant, I immediately go to 2006 in Poland and I remember to pray for those I had an opportunity to share that experience with.
When I hear “Revelation Song” by Kari Jobe, I immediately go to our church’s Judgment Seat production and I remember to pray for those who have came through it and been in it.
When I hear “Majesty” by Delirious I go to Big Stuf camps and I remember the moment that my God had me on my face before Him in an awesome time of worship and thanksgiving and I also remember to pray for those that were there that year and I remember to pray for Ryan Wade, because he has played that song many times at church.
When I hear “Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns I remember my dear friend Brenda Folette and how God used this song to carry her through a hard time.
When I hear “Held” by Natalie Grant I remember my dear sweet Grace Henry and her strength and beauty as she battled cancer in faith and now stands victorious with her Savior.
When I hear “Hosanna” by Hillsong United I remember to pray for Melanie Dickerson because I have heard her sing it so beautifully and in a true spirit of worship.
When I hear the hymn “Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus” and “Made to Love You” by Toby Mac I remember the night my husband and I renewed our vows and I pray for our marriage and for him.

I can go on and on with the musical memories… and these are the memories I want to make and these are the memories I want to remember.

Yes, I have a couple of select secular songs that I hang on to… because they hold memories for me and my husband… I walked down the wedding isle with him the first time to “Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith and then there are tons of songs that bring to memory our dates and kisses…

…but for the next thirty days, let’s focus on our God and our relationship with Him.

Ladies for the next thirty days… flood your minds with memories of grace and mercy. If you don’t have those memories, let’s make some this next thirty days. This next thirty days let the song that will not be forgotten from your lips be one of delight to your God and let it be a witness that testifies of His love.

When you have the choice, choose to listen to Christian praise and worship music. Spend this next thirty days being wooed by the Lover of your soul.

Day Five: Men Give Love To Get Sex Women Give Sex To Get Love
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Mixed Multitude

 

A mixed multitude also went up with them,

along with flocks and herds,

a very large number of livestock. 

Exodus 12:38

 

When we read “a mixed multitude” in Scripture, our Creator is not speaking about our human label of race. Our God divides people into only two categories: 1) the righteous and 2) the sinner/wicked (Romans 5:19, Proverbs 10:32). You are either of God or of the Devil (John 8:39-47, Acts 26:18). You are either in the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). In Ephesians 5:8 the Word of God declares, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.”

So my friend, as we look at this “mixed multitude” that walked out of Egypt and as we read and study more of Scripture, let us be sure to understand that race does not factor in with the interpretation of God’s Word. We all came forth from the same one father and the same one mother, Adam and Eve.

All flesh is not the same flesh,

but there is one flesh of men,

and another flesh of beasts,

and another flesh of birds,

and another of fish.

 1 Corinthians 15:39

We may have different nationalities according to our places of birth, but we are all the same flesh, one race. Racism is a philosophy of man. It is a means of division and deception and destruction by the one who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. Therefore it has no place among those who are of God.    

Now what we learn from Exodus 12:38 is that many of the people who lived in Egypt chose to leave with the Hebrew slaves. Some left in a new found faith, fully devoted to this God of the Hebrews. Some left because they were afraid to stay in Egypt. Some left because the Hebrews took with them most of all the valuables in Egypt.

In Exodus 12:35-36 we read, “Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” So the “mixed multitude” that journeys from Rameses to Succoth was a mixture of heart devotions to the One True God.  

In 1 Corinthians 15:33 we read, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.” The bad company that travels out of Egypt with the Hebrews is going to bring them much grief.

The bad company that we allow in our lives will also bring us much grief. This does not mean that we must put ourselves in a Christian bubble, to do so would be impossible. However we must be wise in our choosing of intimate friends. We must be wise in our choosing of those who we allow to influence us. The bad company that corrupts our good morals are usually not the lost, but those who claim to be saved. The apostle Paul speaks a great deal on this subject.

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world,

or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters,

for then you would have to go out of the world.

But actually, I wrote to you

not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person,

or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-

not even to eat with such a one.

For what have I to do with judging outsiders?

Do you not judge those who are within the church?

But those who are outside, God judges.

REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13  

Our Savior also addresses this in His letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. Jesus rebukes the church of Pergamum and the church of Thyatira for tolerating false teachers and immoral persons in the church. In His word to the churches, Jesus did not call those who tolerated sin in the church overcomers. Yes, we are to tolerate weakness in faith among those who are our brethren in Christ (Romans 14:1-4). However, we are not to tolerate sin.

My friend, toleration of sin is not an act of love. It is not a display of compassion. It is giving “hearty approval” (Romans 1:32) to the things which lead to death. It is like seeing a child who appears to be having a fun time playing in the middle of the interstate and walking away and allowing him to stay because you do not want to hurt his feelings in making him move, or you do not want to offend his parents by stepping up and taking action in their stead, even though the diesal truck is coming around the bend.

Oh precious one, will you be one who overcomes?

Will you be one who refuses to compromise the Word of Truth?

Will you be one who is not afraid of standing for righteousness?

Will you be one who displays true love and compassion by being willing to run out in the middle of the road and snatch the playing child from death?

It is possible to speak the truth and call sin a sin and do it in love and with grace and mercy. We are to be salt and light in this world. Salt sometimes burns and light sometimes is so bright we have to look away, but still it is needed. That burning salt still heals wounds and that blinding light is still the way out of the darkness. 

Will you be one who refuses to be influenced by those who are not whole hearted in their devotion to God?

Some follow Christ because they have a new found faith in Him and are fully devoted to God. Some follow Him because they are afraid of the world. Some follow Him because they think with Him comes health, wealth, and prosperity. Our churches are full of a mixture of heart devotions to the One True God. The question is why have you followed Him and where is your heart’s devotion?

Oh Father,

May I not succomb to the world’s view of compassion and love. May I display love and compassion in accordance with Your Word. May I walk in the footsteps of Christ and follow His example. May I not be afraid to call sin what it is. May I not be controlled by a fear of offending others or by guilt from feelings hurt. I do not want to be one who gives hearty approval to someone’s actions when I know these actions lead to death. I am to be a guide to life. Keep my eyes open that I might not be influenced by those who do not serve You out of a devoted heart. May I be salt that has not lost it’s flavor or it’s sting and light that shines bright because it is not shadowed by doubt. 

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Thirty-three Day Challenge

Don’t Panic

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Okay ladies here’s the thing, we have a couple more days of trash take out and then we are going to begin to dig even deeper… the easy part is taking out the obvious trash. The hard part is when we begin to do inventory on all the rest. The hard part is when we have to discern on what’s good, what’s useful, what’s relevant for our life today, what needs to be passed on to someone else, what needs to be put away in the attic, and what might be discovered as trash after closer inspection.

Don’t panic, this is not just a “Thou Shall Not” challenge… we are just clearing out the clutter so we can see more clearly.

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Today’s trash take out might be a little more difficult… tv shows and the chick-flick. Aren’t you glad I waited till after Valentine’s Day to initiate this challenge..

This challenge has to begin with waking up your senses. Shannon Ethridge shared about an experiment she does with youth as she teaches on sexuality. She records twelve minutes of prime time tv (she chose Friends and Seinfeld) and asks them to watch and count every sexual innuendo they see or hear. She said the group always did the same thing, they caught the first three or four but then would get caught up in the humor and jokes and would forget to give the sign, most would end up with eleven or twelve sexual innuendos. When in reality in that twelve minutes there were forty-one.

Shannon writes, “As a society, we have become so desensitized by sexual messages that we often unscrew our heads, put them under the Lazy-boy recliner, and tolerantly allow the television to fill our minds with worldly scripts. Once our minds are corrupted, our hearts memorize these scripts, and then they seep into our lives.”

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth what is good;
and the evil man out of the evil treasure
brings forth what is evil;
for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
Luke 6:45

Everything you choose to take in through your mind can be stored up in your heart, and it is your heart that determines the direction you will take and the choices you will make in the future when confronted with temptation. If you fill your mind with images of sexually compromising comments and situations, you will become desensitized to similar scenarios in your own life. ~ Shannon Ethridge

I used to love Friends. There were several shows that I used to love to watch and would laugh my butt off… but on December 9, 2001, I wholly surrendered my life to Christ… and when I sat down to watch these shows after this date, this moment, I was appalled and embarrassed by what I saw.

I could not watch it. I had never heard or seen it through the eyes of Christ and now as I watched it… I couldn’t laugh. I was laughing at the things that my Jesus went to the cross for. It just wasn’t funny to me anymore. 

My sweet sister… you have a choice. For the next  thirty-one days view your tv through the eyes of Christ. If you ask Him, trust me He will let you see. He came to bring sight to the blind… but first we must admit that we cannot see.

 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world,
so that those who do not see may see,
and that those who see may become blind.” 
Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things
and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
John 9:39-41

Now we must discuss the chick-flick.

If nothing else, for this next thirty-one days as you fast from the flick, look at how much money you can save from not spending the funds on a movie and popcorn 🙂

My husband and I rarely go to the movies. When we do go we are diligent to check out the movie thoroughly on Plugged In before we go see it. I don’t care what Hollywood rates it… if it is full of sexual content that exists outside the marriage bed, even without nudity, we do not attend.

You see I don’t find this sacred act between man and wife as a joke to be ridiculed and demeaned by people who are trashing it up and making it of no more importance than going to the bathroom. I also am not going to waste my time watching two strangers exchange bodily fluids. I most definitely am not going to pay to see that.

Anyway.

The chic-flick, ladies here’s the thing. Let’s get serious. For the married woman reading this… I used to hear married people say this, “It doesn’t matter where you get your appetite as long as you eat at home”. When I was living apart from Christ and unmarried and I heard that I thought, well that makes sense… but now as a married woman and surrendered to Christ… THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST STUPID THINGS I HAVE EVER HEARD!

Marriage is about true intimacy, you can’t have intimacy if your mind is having sex with one person and your body with another. My husband wants all of me and I want all of him. I want him to be aroused and fulfilled by me alone and he deserves the same from me. I don’t want him comparing my body to the latest top model and therefore I am not going to compare him to the leading man’s scripted words in the latest love story.

Men are designed to be aroused visually… ladies we are designed to be aroused emotionally. When a man says the right things and is able to smile the right way… How do you think Eve was deceived? She was emotionally manipulated and the words of the serpent captivated her and then she partook of what she knew was wrong. Unable to walk away.

Let me ask you… what fruit was dangled before you in the last chic-flick movie you watched? Did it make you appreciate your husband, or did it make you wish he was more like so and so? Did it make you long again for the excitement of that first kiss, that first date, that unknown angst?

We must guard our hearts.

We must guard our emotions.

Single ladies… that goes for you too.

Hollywood glamorizes the start of a relationship and then leaves you with this false expectation that this is true love… it’s not. True love is a love that stays after the excitement of the new wears off and stays long enough to have that excitement pop up and surprise you over and over again because true love is patient and it endures all things. We need to protect our marriages and if we are single, our future marriages “by resisting any thoughts that may evoke feelings of disillusionment and disappointment with reality” (Shannon Ethridge). 

Shannon has a little check list to ask yourself before you watch, read, or listen so that you may be proactive in protecting and guarding your heart so that you might become a woman of sexual and emotional integrity.

Ask yourself:

* Does this glamorize ideas or situations that oppose my Christian values?

*Is it uplifting to my spirit, and does it make me grateful for what God has given me, or does it make me depressed and dissatisfied?

*Does this cause me to think about things that build my character, or does it tear it down?

I know this post has been a little more forceful than the last two… but it comes after a night of  Awana T&T when I had 4th-6th grade girls who were too distracted talking about little boyfriends and singing “I got passion in my pants” and “I’m sexy and I know it” to be putting the Word of God in their hearts… it was already too full of trash…

Just think where their little hearts will be at your age if they continue down the path they are on… guess what you are leading the way… so what path are you going to walk? When the little hearts around you follow you where will you lead them…  

Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Jehovah-raah

 

Jehovah-raah… this name of God means the Lord our Shepherd.

He blessed Joseph, and said,
   “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
Genesis 48:15
These words were spoken by Jacob right before he went home to be with his Lord. Jacob was a man who had struggled with submission to God his whole life and because of it his life had been tumultuous. In his old age as he looked back on his life he now recognized that God had been there all along. The whole time, his whole life, God had been there guiding him, shepherding him, even when he did not know it.
Precious one, whether you have recognized it or not… the Lord has been your shepherd all your life to this day.
Jacob knew the job of a shepherd. He was one. David also knew the job of a shepherd. David also wrote that the Lord was his shepherd…
The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows. 
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever
Psalm 23
Here’s the thing. If the Lord is our Shepherd, then we must be His sheep.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Psalm 100:3
I don’t know about you, but I am not around alot of sheep. So I may not be able to grasp the full impact of what it means for the Lord to be my Shepherd and what it exactly means that I am His sheep… so here are a little bit of sheep facts.

 

Sheep are the dumbest of animals. They are helpless and get scared very easily. They have very little self-defense and will walk right into danger. They won’t even run to safety. Instead, they will freeze and not even cry out. Sheep also do what all the other sheep are doing. If one gets scared and runs, the others will, too!

Sheep are very stubborn animals. They need a shepherd to guide them. If they are left on their own, they will go the wrong way, eat the wrong food, and drink the wrong water. If a shepherd doesn’t lead them to new pastures, they will live in a rut. Sheep will even eat themselves right off a cliff. They will plunge over the edge to injury or death just to get that last mouthful of grass.

Sheep can become cast down. They can get turned over and stuck on their backs and die in a state of panic  if the shepherd doesn’t turn them right side up right away.

Sheep are bothered by pest. They get flies and gnats up their nose, and these pest lay eggs in there. When the eggs hatch, the growing larvae irritate sheep’s nose. Sheep will beat their heads against trees or rocks to try to get these pests to stop bothering them. The shepherd puts oil on the sheep’s head and around its nose to kill these pests.

~ info gathered from A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller 

 

Well how much of yourself did you see in these sheep facts?
Do you see why we need a Shepherd?
How thankful I am that God is Jehovah-raah.

The shepherd puts oil on the sheep’s head to kill the pests that threaten it… what pests threaten us?
Yes, sin.

Sin and the enemy of our soul  threaten to creep in and destroy us. Just like these pests in the sheep nose, little sins can creep in our minds and our heart and if it is not destroyed it will lay eggs and grow and multiply within us. And we just like these sheep will beat our head up against stones trying to destroy and fight these pests on our own and we will accomplish nothing but a bigger headache… we will kill ourselves trying to fight these sins and our adversary in our own strength… how thankful I am that God has anointed my head with oil;…

Just like these sheep we can become cast down… depressed… we can feel like our whole world has been flipped upside down and the only one who can set us on our feet again is our Shepherd…

Just like these sheep… I am stubborn. Just like sheep if I don’t choose to listen to God and obey His Word I will eat the wrong things, drink the wrong drinks, I will go the wrong way …

 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
Isaiah 53:6
Just like these sheep I will walk myself right into danger thinking it’s no big deal… what’s one look, what’s one taste, what’s one time… it’s not technically wrong anyway… right?
Then just like these sheep I will eat myself right off a cliff trying to indulge in just one more bite… we are all our own worst enemies.
Oh how thankful I am that the Lord is my Shepherd.
I am the good shepherd;
the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 
He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd,
who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming,
and leaves the sheep and flees,
and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 
He flees because he is a hired hand
and is not concerned about the sheep. 
I am the good shepherd,
and I know My own and My own know Me, 
even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father;
and I lay down My life for the sheep.
John 10:11-15
You see the shepherd doesn’t abandon his sheep because he knows they are helpless without him… and our Shepherd does not abandon us. The sheep also know their shepherd, just as the shepherd knows them. They will not go to another’s voice… only to the one to whom they belong.
Watch as this shepherd leads his sheep:
Did you notice who crossed the street first?
Our Shepherd does not remove us out of this world, but He will guide us through it. We may be surrounded by the rush of horns and distractions and danger… but if we will listen to only our Shepherd, walk when He says walk, go where He says go, follow Him… we will safely make it through the  the valley of the shadow of death…
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Given Every Opportunity

Now it came about at midnight
that the LORD struck all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt,
from the firstborn of Pharaoh
who sat on his throne
to the firstborn of the captive
who was in the dungeon,
and all the firstborn cattle. 
Exodus 12:29
 
The LORD has once again done just as He said He would do exactly when He said He would do it. Our God is always true to His Word. You may read this and think for a moment that God is cruel. The thought of a mother holding her dead son in her arms while she screams out in the night probably strikes a cord in your emotional heart. You may even feel sorry for Pharaoh, even though the death of his firstborn son was his own choosing.
 
My friend, don’t forget that all the people of Egypt now knew the power of God and the authority of His Word. In Exodus 11:3 we read, “The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.”
 
When God delivered His seventh plague of hail upon the land of Egypt we read in Exodus 9:20-21 how some of the servants of Pharaoh feared the word of the Lord and they brought their livestock inside, yet others had no regard for God’s word and they left their livestock in the fields. Oh precious one, the issue is not with God, the issue is with the hearts of these people who chose to have no regard for His word.
 
Anyone choosing to endure ill-treatment with the people of God rather than the passing pleasures of sin and the momentary pleasures of Egypt would have been spared by the blood of the lamb. They needed only to humble themselves in obedience to the Word of God. It was faith in God’s Word that moved Moses and the Hebrew slaves to keep the Passover (Hebrews 11:24-28). Anyone with the faith to keep it and observe it that night would have been saved.
 
There is a passage in the book of Job that describes this night perfectly. It is believed that the book of Job was written before the time of Abraham or during it. We know it is post-flood by the references to weather and post Tower of Babel by the references to kings and nations. However, it is very possible that is pre-Abraham because there is no reference to Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob or the nation of Israel.
 
Possibly even this passage of Scripture could be a foreshadowing of this night, but I also believe it is the standard of judgment that God will bring upon any nation whose leaders continually refuse to obey His Word.
   
But if you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.
“Shall one who hates justice rule?
And will you condemn the righteous mighty One,
Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;
Who shows no partiality to princes
Nor regards the rich above the poor,
For they all are the work of His hands?
In a moment they die, and at midnight
People are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without a hand.
 
For His eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And He sees all his steps.
There is no darkness or deep shadow
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
For He does not need to consider a man further,
That he should go before God in judgment.
He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry,
And sets others in their place.
Therefore He knows there works,
And He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.
He strikes them like the wicked
In a public place,
Because they turned aside from following Him,
And had no regard for any of His ways;
So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him,
And that He might hear the cry of the afflicted-
When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him,
That is, in regard to both nation and man?-
So that godless men would not rule
Nor be snares of the people.”
Job 34:16-30
 
Elihu speaks these words to Job as he struggles with the pain of current circumstances that he just does not understand. He speaks these words to Job, but he also speaks them to us. 
 
My friend, if you struggle with this tenth plague as you consider the magnitude of the moment in its reality, do not forget that our God has given all ample time to turn and trust in Him. If you are honest with yourself you will have to admit that He has been much more patient than either you or I would have been.    
 
 
Oh Father,
 
You are God and there is no other. You are so patient with us. You give us every opportunity to submit to Your authority, to regard Your Word, but there comes a time that judgment must fall. You are a just God. You watch all our ways. Your eyes are upon us. My Jesus You are my Lord, my King. It is to You that I bow. Help me Father to always have the strength to choose the ill-treatment with the people of God rather than the momentary comforts of the world. I am so thankful that You judge godless men who sit in positions of leadership. Thank You that You will only allow a wicked ruler the throne for so long before You remove his power. How thankful I am that You are my God, and You are soveriegn over every throne!
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen
Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Thirty-three Day Challenge

O Romeo, Romeo…

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Today in our Thirty-three Day Challenge we continue to work on taking out the trash…

Day two:
Today I want you to put away the love stories, the romance novels… they. got. to. go. Yes, even Christian romance novels. I am a woman who loves books, so I won’t encourage you to dump these novels in the trash as I did the cheap magazines, but for the next thirty-two days I challenge you to put them out of sight. Don’t read them.

Then if after this challenge you can read the ones you have without grieving the Holy Spirit within you then by all means keep them, but if after this fast from them, you pick them up to read and your new starved and fresh eyes sees them in a different way… by all means trash them.

Now my beloved, we are women. Our hearts are drawn to the romance novel because we were created for love. We were created to be appreciated and honored and admired. We were “presented” to Adam in the garden by our Heavenly Father.

When we are married to our husbands we are presented to them. The doors are swung open and we step out into his view and we search his eyes for “that look”, you know the one… the one that says, WOW!!!

We were created to be swept off our feet by our knight in shining armor… to be fought for and desired more than any other… to be worth dying for… we yearn for another to love us like this… by choice… not because they are related to us.

So we read these romance novels and we picture we are the heroine and we get to create our man in our image…

There lies the problem.

“While most women don’t lust after men’s bodies (although there are certainly exceptions to this rule), we cross the line in sexual integrity in other ways. When we engage in emotional affairs, mental fantasies, and unhealthy comparisons,we are crossing the line of sexual integrity and undermining God’s plan to grant us ultimate sexual and emotional fulfillment with (our current our future) husband. We need to make a covenant with the eyes of our hearts not to look at other people (real or imagined) to fulfill our emotional needs and desires in ways that compromise our sexual integrity, whether we are married or single.”

~ Shannon Ethridge (quote from Every Woman’s Battle, pg 26)

Our God knows our desire. He created it. He is the ultimate lovesick fool… He is the One that has woven His whole love story into our lives. He is the One who willingly has come to rescue His bride… and yes He is the One who will come as our Knight in shining armor. He is the One who sweeps us off our feet and takes us in His arms and wisks us away to Paradise and showers us with undying love and devotion. He is the one who looks at us and goes, WOW!

  “Now listen, daughter, don’t miss a word:
forget your country, put your home behind you.
Be here—the king is wild for you.
Since he’s your lord, adore him.
Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre;
rich guests shower you with presents.”
Psalm 45:10-12 (The Message)

 

If you want to read a romance story read the Song of Solomon.

There are three main characters in this book of Scripture, the woman, the man, and the chorus group 🙂 Read through the chapters of this book and discern who is speaking when.
I write in my Bible so I took a pink colored pencil and colored a circle over the number of the verses that was the woman speaking and used a blue for the man and green for the chorus group.

Spend today meditating on this verse

 I want you to swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Do not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases.
Song of Solomon 8:4

 

Oh precious one, your love is to be awoken by your husband or your future husband and all love before that belongs to Christ. It does not belong to a fictional male but female created characters. These romance novels introduce you to the body of a man with the mind of a female. You are putting expectations on your current or future husband that they will never be able to measure up to. This will cause you to be weighted down in false disappointment in them and in your relationship.

It’s a false expectation…
It’s deception… and whose the father of that?

I know first hand the destruction that can come from these type of books. I began with Sweet Valley High and then by late Jr High I was reading Harlequin Romance novels. I had in my mind and head how this experience was to be. I had awakened my mind to an emotion my body and heart was not ready for.

It led me down a road of heartache and destruction that almost killed me emotionally, spiritually, and physically… It began little… but a little sin never satisfies… it only makes you crave for more. You seek sin like an addict seeks their next hit. You hate it, you hate yourself, but you keep thinking, keep convincing yourself, that this time will be different… this time will satisfy… but it never does and it never will.

Truth is what is real.
Truth is what will satisfy.
Jesus is truth.
God’s Word is truth.

If you want to get caught up in a love story, get caught up in the one that will be told until all eternity.

Day Three: Don’t Panic
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Leave Nothing Until Morning

 

The blood shall be a sign for you

on the houses where you live;

and when I see the blood I will pass over you,

and no plague will befall you to destroy you

when I strike the land of Egypt.  

Exodus 12:13

 

In Genesis 3:21 we read that “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”  These garments were made after the fall of man. To make garments of skin an animal must die. This animal’s blood was shed to cover the sin of Adam and Eve.

When Cain slew Abel in Genesis 4 God said, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.“ Blood has a voice to our God.

In Genesis 9:4 when Noah and his family finally stepped out of the ark, God gave them permission to eat meat. However He said,”Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” Blood had a voice to our God because the blood is the life. Our Creator has always placed a very high value on blood.

When the children of Israel receive the commandments and precepts of God He tells them in Leviticus 3:17, “It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.” Blood was not to be consumed as some common piece of fruit. It was not to enter inside the filth of our digestive system to be broken down and then exit with our excrement. Blood was life and life is precious.  

Now here in Exodus God institutes the Passover. In this Passover the children of Israel were to take for themselves an unblemished lamb and they were to slay it. They were to take the blood of the slain lamb and place it over the lintel and the doorpost of their house. God declared that when He saw the blood the death angel would pass over their home. It was only by the blood that they could be saved. They were not saved by consuming the blood, but by being covered with the blood.

The Passover was to be a memorial to the children of Israel for them to observe every year, from generation to generation. They were never to forget how the LORD had redeemed them from their slavery in Egypt. They were to tell their children and their children’s children and in their telling they would also be reminding themselves of this great deliverance.

They were to observe this rite, because this memory of redemption by the blood of the lamb, would point them to the One of whom John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

There was one day to be a Lamb slain, that would be the final lamb. The blood of this Lamb would not cover the lintel and doorpost of man-made dwellings, but this Lamb’s blood would cover the lintel and doorpost of the God-made human heart, and it would be placed there by God Himself.

This Passover Lamb was to be slain, the blood placed on the door of the home, and it was to be eaten that same night. It was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. None of it was to be left until morning. Whatever they were unable to eat was to be burned with fire.

In Romans 12:1 Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, writes, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Jesus became a sacrifice for us. He was the lamb who was slain for our sins. His blood, is the precious blood, that covers the door of our heart. He was sinless, innocent, had done no wrong, yet He took our punishment, our sin upon Himself. He went through much suffering, endured much bitterness and hatred, yet never became bitter Himself. He gave all of Himself, He left nothing until morning.

Oh precious one, does He not deserve the same from us.

Have you presented your body as a living sacrifice to him? 

Are you willing to suffer for His sake as He suffered for yours?

For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake,

not only to believe in Him,

but also to suffer for His sake,

Philippians 1:29

Is death working in you so that life might be brought to others (2 Corinthians 4:12)?

Is your life filled with old leaven, with sin, that you are still consuming?        

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,

just as you are in fact unleavened.

For Christ our Passover also has been sanctified.

Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven,

nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness,

but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Are you ready my friend, to take this Lamb of God that has been sacrificed for your redemption, for your deliverance and eat all of Him. You must eat Him with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth and the bitter herbs of suffering for His sake. You must take all of Him and leave none of Him until morning. You can’t pick and choose which parts of Christ to consume, you must consume all of Him at one time.

Now you shall eat it in this manner:

with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet,

and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste-

it is the LORD’s Passover.

Exodus 12:11

My friend, does the precious blood of Christ cover the door of your heart?

When the day of the great judgment, the final plague, came upon Egypt it was only those who had the blood of the lamb on their door that were spared. When the great day of the wrath of God comes upon the whole earth it will only be those who are covered in the blood of the Lamb of God that are spared (1 Thessalonians 1:10). I believe this is one of the main reasons why blood has always been so very precious to our Creator.        

Oh Father,

I count it all joy to be able to call You Father. My Jesus, thank You for the blood You shed to give me life. Thank You for the hope that I have in You. I offer my body to You as a living sacrifice. Make me acceptable to You. Take whatever is in me that cannot be used and burn it with Your consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). I desire for nothing to be left over until morning. I desire to give You my all. My loins are girded, sandles are on my feet, and my staff is my hand. I am ready to go (Matthew 28:19-20) as You have commanded. Use me, my God, all of me. Make me ready, for the glory of my Christ and His kingdom. 

My Jesus, it’s in Your name I pray,

Amen

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Thirty-three Day Challenge

Throw Out Your Best Porno Mag

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We will begin our Thirty-three Day Challenge by throwing out the trash…

Day one trash take-out:

Go through the house. If you have Glamour’s, Cosmo’s, Redbook’s, and yes I even mean the Teen Beats and Pop Stars pre-teen magazines that are designed to get your young girls addicted to gossip and the idolization of mere man instead of the God-Man, if you have these in your house throw them out.

When you go shopping for the next thirty-three days and you are standing there in line to check out… don’t pick up that magazine to flip through it as you wait. Don’t even look at the cover or read the cover page article headings…  If you are at the doctor or any other place where you have to wait and there are magazines scattered about… don’t do it.

Go prepared. Bring your Bible… what are you studying in church, in Sunday school, what did the pastor preach on last Sunday, what was that question you had that you were afraid to ask about… research it in the Scriptures… or just make conversation with the person beside you… give them your smile and invest some of your time in their lives… you just might make a difference in their eternity.

Get rid of every single magazine that tries to tells you “how to be a woman” and “how to look as a woman” outside of God’s Word… any magazine that is centered on pulling you toward the mindset of the world instead of the Word. Throw it out today.

Don’t wait.

Do it now.

Don’t save one for later.  Don’t stick them in a closet. Put them in the trash and dump the coffee grounds and the kids leftover oatmeal on top of them.

I don’t care if it’s a new issue that you haven’t read yet and it has a great article in it that you think you must read. Trust me… what ever advice they think they have is pointless and insignificant compared to what God wants to tell you today in and through His Word.

If you are married or plan to be married one day these magazines can be just as damaging to your marriage as men’s pornographic magazine’s. These magazine’s usually attempt to teach you how to manipulate a man and yourself in order to get a man or please a man… manipulation is the work of Satan. It’s his tactic, not a woman of God’s. Whose actions do you want to learn to imitate?

And here’s some more information to help you throw out today’s trash…

Thin, sexualised and digitally enhanced images of women are linked with women’s experiences of poor body image, depression and anxiety and eating disorders. The images contribute to self-harming behaviours and not performing well academically.

Women’s attitudes toward their own bodies are worse after looking at thin media images.

In young teenage girls, looking at pictures of thin, idealised models is likely to cause lowered satisfaction with their body and a high state of depression. Reading fashion and beauty magazines is associated with wanting to lose weight and initiating diets.

A five-year study found that reading dieting advice in magazines was associated with skipping meals, smoking, vomiting and using laxatives in teenage girls.

The American Psychological Association recently found that sexually objectifying material contributes to significant harm to young women.

“..there is evidence that sexualisation contributed to impaired cognitive performance in college-aged women, and related research suggests that viewing material that is sexually objectifying can contribute to body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, low self-esteem, depressive affect, and even physical health problems in high-school-aged girls and in young women.

“In addition to leading to feelings of shame and anxiety, sexualising treatment and self-objectification can generate feelings of disgust toward one’s physical self. Girls may feel they are “ugly” and “gross” or untouchable. …strong empirical evidence indicates that exposure to ideals of sexual attractiveness in the media is associated with greater body dissatisfaction among girls and young women.”
Girls are told early their bodies aren’t good enough – they need continual upgrade and enhancement.

~ Melinda Tankard Reist, from her article “Chasing an illusion: young women and magazines

 

Spend today meditating on Psalm 139.
When a lie comes to your mind about your worth, your beauty, your value… repeat

I will give thanks to You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
wonderful are Your works
and my soul knows it very well…
Psalm 139:14

 

When the Scripture says your soul knows it very well let me share with you what the Hebrew translation and definition is of this word soul…

The word is nephesh and it means soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion, that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, the man himself, self, person or individual, the activity of mind, will, and character…

Read through Psalm 139 again and take a deep breathe when you read Psalm 139:14.

Take this deep breath and feel this breathe of  air inhale deep within you. Close your eyes and picture this breath as these words of God pass through your nose, and you can feel this air rise up into your mind, and you can feel it being pulled down through your neck, into the very depths of your inner being. You can feel it circling your heart and tightening within your chest as you breathe in this truth of God, breath it in as a true breath of fresh air. Take this breath in deep and purposeful. Take it into your heart and then slowly feel it exhale out of your very core…

Can you feel it?

Can you feel Him?

That is what it means when God says your soul knows it very well that His works are wonderful and if you are His work… then you, precious and beautiful one, are wonderful too. Breathe in wonderful one… breathe in His Word of truth.

All day today… when you look in the mirror and are tempted to go, ugh! Stop and remember Psalm 139 and take a deep breath and breath in Psalm 139:14…

Day Two: O Romeo Romeo