Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

A Man’s Greatest Compliment

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This coming Sunday is Father’s Day. With that being the case there has been a lot of focus on the radio about fathers. My girls are usually in the car with me listening, I rarely go any where without them. As we have listened to these father focused radio bits in the car there have been two moments that have stuck out in particular.

The first occurred last week….

We were driving home from church listening to my least favorite radio personality and she began sharing some statistic study about mothers and daughters taste becoming more and more alike in certain areas as the daughter aged. She shared several areas and one of the areas was that the mother and daughter begin to share the same interest in men. The radio personality honed in on this and began to rant about how awkward and weird that was…

Then my Shelby gave her father what I believe is a man’s greatest compliment.

Shelby, obviously aggravated with this woman as much as I, expounded from the backseat of the car, “Why is she saying all that, shouldn’t every girl want to marry a man like her father?”

My heart warmed as she said these words. I took them, as a “Mary moment” (Luke 2:19) and treasured them and pondered them in my heart… saving them to share with my husband.

In the real world of marriage and family, life gets ugly sometimes. We see our own faults magnified and we often feel like we will never be more than complete failures at life. That’s a lie though. Satan likes to lie to us.

I am thankful to be married to a man who is willing to grow, willing to change, willing to love, willing to sacrifice.

My husband and I started this marriage thing with a whole lot of baggage between us and no Jesus in the middle of us. Our girls have been there to witness us through the growing pains of grace.

They have seen us struggle, they have seen us fight, they have seen us cry, they have seen us pout, they have seen us doubt.

They have also seen us rest, they have seen us forgive, they have seen us laugh, they have seen us smile, they have seen us assured.

Most importantly they have seen us not give up.

They have seen us fight the good fight of faith… faith in God and faith in Christ and faith in covenant love.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 

The truth.

My husband and I are not always patient with each other, we are not always kind to one another, we are sometimes jealous, we do sometimes act unbecomingly, we do sometimes seek our own interest first, we do sometimes provoke one another, and we do sometimes pull out the old record book that records every hurt and wrong ever done and caused… but here’s where it ends… neither one of us rejoices in this.

We do not walk away from these moment rejoicing in these actions. We are not pleased with ourselves when flesh and sin take over for these moments to happen. When the dust settles and clears we see them for what they are… an attack of the enemy against our covenant with one another and the image of God that the covenant displays.

We see the lies that the enemy used to instigate, manipulate, fabricate, and fuel the flames of self, flesh, and sin. We see these and we choose to rejoice in the truth and repent… to God and each other.

It is here that we truly love.

When we choose to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things… because we know the truth… the truth that love never fails.

Love never fails, because God is love (1 John 4:8) and God never fails.

When we we choose to live out the Word of God in our marriage, to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12) in our homes not just out for the world to see… it is then that we see daughters who can look at the way their father’s love their wives and say, “…shouldn’t every girl want to marry a man like her father?”

So to my husband, Patrick Vaughn, the father of my daughters… this Father’s Day know that you have received the greatest compliment that any man could ever receive… to be a man that his daughters see as an example of what a future husband and father of their own children should be.

We both know that our kids know that we are far from perfect, yet I believe with all my heart that they do know they are perfectly loved and they know that we perfectly love one another. Because perfect love is loving one another amidst all the imperfections… yet still pursing perfection all the while.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

Philippians 3:11-13

I love you, my husband!

Happy soon coming Father’s Day!  

 

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

Father’s Day Special

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Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,

but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

 

The National Center for Biblical Parenting’s June Promotion is a Father’s Day Special. They’re offering the The Christian Parenting Handbook and Companion Guide as a package set for 30% off. The Companion Guide is a tool designed to assist in the application of the principles presented in each chapter of the handbook. It’s a wonderful tool. There are also 5-minute audio tips from Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller that go along with each chapter.

THCPH-Fathers-Day-Special

 

This package makes a great present for the father in your life. I know you’re thinking, “Most men don’t read.” You’re actually right about that usually. But The Christian Parenting Handbook was written with busy dads in mind. Each chapter is just 4-5 pages long. That means that even a busy dad can start reading as he’s pouring his Cheerios in the morning and finish the chapter before he finishes the last spoonful.

And, if he really doesn’t read more than his email and the sports page, here’s what you can do. Buy the set and have him load the audio tips on his cell phone or iPod. This gives him 50 days worth of parenting input in 5-minute bite-sized pieces.

I guarantee that one or more of the tips will grab his attention and you can then work through the Companion Guide together for those chapters. Doesn’t that sound like a great strategy?

This Father’s Day Special is too good to a pass up. Place your order now and we’ll get it to you in time for Father’s Day!

Order Here: Handbook and Companion Guide

Proven Path Ministries

Ahhhh Worship!

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A morning of worship.

Can I just say that I love hearing the Word of God sung and spoken in rhythm…

 

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7

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Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’                                            

Ezekiel 37:4

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Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having beenraised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:8-11

When was the last time you had the opportunity to quiet the world around you, to block it all out, and just close your eyes and worship?

Ahhhhh worship!

Worship in spirit and truth… not for show… not programed… just you and the Lord… being poured out and poured in by Him.

Sweet… sweet… sweet worship.

May worship be awakened in you today.

Children's Ministry, Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

I Am Not That Children’s Minister

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There it is. The land mark that says you have almost made it. The sigh of relief slowly eases out of your nostrils as you look down to your phone to check the time (because I know you no longer wear a watch because who has the time to go into a store and buy a battery and wait for it to be put in… at a glass counter… really, do these people not know that glass speaks to little hands… beckoning them to see how it tastes and how many slobbery sucker sticky fingerprints they can slide across it).

You run-walk in the door no longer making eye contact with your husband because the last time he said what’s taking so long, are you not ready yet, was your breaking point… or he is on shift today and you have been on your own and so far you have settled three fights, picked out six different outfits that your child says just don’t feel right, and you are beyond frustrated at them and finally say, fine just wear your pajamas, I really don’t care at this point! Yet, the reality is you are frustrated because you know exactly how they feel because every outfit you own is already in the closet floor or on the bed… because nothing fits right today and you secretly wish today really was pajama day so you could just wear yours.

Now the heap of guilt is washing over you… because you promised yourself last Sunday that you would be better prepared next week… you would not be late… you would not leave crazy and angry… you would all have breakfast and prayer and would walk out the door smiling and singing Jesus Loves Me and loving each other and peace like a river would fill your car and heart all the way to church…

But it didn’t happen.

Now you are thinking all the way there that your kids will never attend church after you quit dragging them there because you have made Sunday morning such a miserable experience. I mean really the only time you ever yell at them is on Sunday morning… right?

You finally make it in the building and you can feel the stares of the greeters boring down into your soul and then their is the children’s minister and heat embarrassment rises up in your neck and you try not to make eye contact because you just know that behind those stares must be the words, yep there they are again… they are ALWAYS late… I bet they make it to school on time, I bet they manage to make it to work on time… I bet they are not even ever late for a sports practice… 

Well, stop and know that I AM NOT THAT CHILDREN’S MINISTER… and I would most likely bet that your children’s minister is not either 🙂

This Children’s Ministry Director understands. I know that if it can go wrong, it will go wrong on Sunday morning. If it can spill, rip, tear, scream, fall, drop, break, get lost, not start, be forgot… it will happen on Sunday morning.

The fact is Satan could care less if you make it to work on time. He could care less if your kids make it to school or ball practice on time. He has no qualms with keeping you from those activities… he usually is there in the background encouraging them… because the more time you are spending there the less time you are spending at church and in the Word…

But now Sunday morning… that’s a different story. He doesn’t want you there and sure as hell (yes, I said it) doesn’t want your kids there.

He will even use your kids as your excuse to not be there.

Here’s the deal with this Children’s Ministry Director. If your late… I understand. I am just glad you made it. Because I know what the shoes in your hand and the ponytail or bun on top of your head means. I know what the cereal in a bag with the sippy cup in hand means. I know what the jeans and t-shirts and extra body spray means. I know what the diaper bag without the diapers means. I know what the tear stained, sleepy in the eyes, unbrushed head… (and I am not talking about the kids)… means.

I know.

It means that Sunday worship is important to you.

It means that your children learning the Gospel and studying the Word of God is important to you.

It means that you knew that if you didn’t get even just a little Jesus time in today you were not sure you would ever be able to survive next week and your kids definitely might not even survive the rest of the day.

So when Sunday comes… go for it. Come as you are. Just as you am.

Know that the church t-shirts are made for these days!

 

 

 

 

 

Proven Path Ministries

The Shaking

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And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Hebrews 12:26-27

There are things we experience in life that shake us to the point that it may seem we will never be able to stand again.

Tornadoes and hurricanes rip through our towns bending and twisting once proudly standing buildings and trees, volcanoes erupt and lava spews forth covering once green lush grass with hot dark lava and ash destroying buildings, earthquakes literally shake the ground from underneath our feet cracking open the earth and destruction and death tolls and injuries rise.

Jobs that we have worked at for years, steadily able to count on to provide an income to support our families, suddenly close the doors. Health that had been ours to claim all our life is ripped away from us in one routine check-up as the words come out of the attending physician’s mouth. Loved ones that had always been there to offer us support and encouragement move away or pass from this earth. Families that had always appeared to be strong and solid crumble and divide and those inside the family as well as those on the outside watching the destruction now fear the same outcome for their own.

Yes, there are things we experience in life that shake us to the point that it may seem we will never be able to stand again. Shakings that don’t just shake the earth but shake us to the very core of our souls.

These shakings come… yet they are not without purpose.

The shaking is to reveal to us the things that we should never try to stand on. It is in the midst of the shaking that we realize that we had put so much trust in something that could be shaken.  It is after the shaking that we see what and Who remains.

 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

1 Corinthians 13:13

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for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” 

Hebrews 13:5

After the last Oklahoma tornadoes my nine year old asked, “Momma, does God cause the tornadoes?“

For a moment, my human thinking of “good” almost took over and I almost desired to say “oh no, honey God is good and loves us and He had nothing to do with the tornadoes” but what does that answer leave my daughter with?

It leaves my daughter with the wrong view of her God. It leaves my daughter with a god that sits on a white, fluffy, clouded throne wringing his hands and rubbing his forehead walking around with an “oh dear me what am I going to do now” look on his face.

That is not her God.

So to my child I replied, God doesn’t have to cause the tornadoes. Tornadoes and hurricanes and other storms are all a result of the fall and sin in the world. Remember that sin did not just enter Adam and Eve, it entered the whole world. Only God knows if He caused the tornadoes, but we can always know that He does have to allow them. We just have to remember who God is and know that if He allows them He has a purpose. One purpose is that He uses them to remind us that this world is dying. He uses them to remind us why we need Jesus. Destruction and death is a result of sin, but God is able to take these and use even them for good. 

Yes, the shakings come.

My husband and I had a Japanese Maple once in the front yard of a house we used to own. One day this Japanese Maple out of no where shook all its leaves off. We thought it was dead.

You see, it had been being attacked by Japanese beetles and my husband had put poison on the tree to protect the tree from the beetles that were trying to kill it. The tree’s response to the poison was to shake all its leaves off. The tree stood there naked with all its leaves off and dead around it and the tree itself appeared dead to us. In our attempt to save the tree from its enemy we thought we had killed it.

However, that was not the case. Within a week the tree burst forth with new buds of life. The tree sprouted new brighter stronger leaves and now its enemies were gone. The tree continued now to stand tall and beautiful in our front yard.

What appeared to be death and defeat to us was actually victory and life.

Sometimes God sees enemies that we don’t.

Sometimes His poisoning of those enemies cause us to shake all our leaves off in response.

Sometimes we appear to be standing there with all the destruction and defeat and death around us… but in reality we are about to burst forth in new life and stand stronger and taller that we ever imagined we could.

 for we walk by faith, not by sight—

2 Corinthians 5:7

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Emptying

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and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Romans 14:23

There are moments of such great failure… moments that reveal the depravity of the heart and mind… moments that lead a soul to slip into the depths of darkness… moments that heap shame and doubt… moments where fear has lead… moments where listened to lies have justified…moments that lead you to believe it’s time to just turn in your Jesus card and crawl into your self-dug pit and wait for sin to claim its wage.

There are moments of such great failure when you see no hope of forgiveness… moments when you feel your heart has failed you and you know your flesh is killing you and you doubt love and truth will preserve you…

You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
Make haste, O Lord, to help me.

Psalm 40:11-13

There is a cloud that can come and cover your soul and cloak you in a weight of confusion that you just don’t see any way out of… there is no pain greater. It is a non-justifiable pain, a purposeful self-inflicted penance that you feel you owe… not willing to accept the forgiveness and not willing to push this one over to Christ since His blood has already covered so much of your miserable mess of flesh and you can’t seem to find yourself worthy of accepting any more…

Yet still you here Him call…

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-29

There are things that break the heart of a believer that the world cannot understand how it can matter so… there is a struggle that comes within the mind and within the soul, an awareness of great sin in this valley of the shadow of death because you know that whoever is guilty of one is guilty of all… because you know the wages of all sin is death… not just the really big ones… and you see clearly that what the world sees as little ones, as barely really ones, as a believer you see the magnitude of every one… because you know that whatever is not from faith is sin…

The storm in the soul of a believer can be worse than any storm blowing on this earth.

The storm in the heart… the heart that truly is a wrestling place…

In Genesis 32, Jacob crossed the ford of Jabbok.  He crossed with his wives and children and sent them and all he had across the stream. In Hebrew Jabbok means “emptying“. Jacob emptied himself of everything and then after the emptying he was left alone.

When he was left alone and empty… then he wrestled.

He wrestled and he grabbed hold of God and would not let go. At least it appeared as though he would not let go… when in fact it was God that never let go of Jacob.

Then Jacob was broken.

He was empty, wrestled, and broken.

The righteous cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 34:17-19

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The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 51:17

The Scriptures tell us that Jacob wrestled until daybreak.

Then we read that the sun rose upon him just as he crossed Penuel. Penuel in the Hebrew means “facing God“. Jacob emptied himself of all that he claimed to be and all that he claimed to be his and now that he was empty he was free and alone to wrestle it all out and when the match was over he walked, no he limped away… facing God. 

No longer running away from God.

No longer with his back to God.

He was no longer empty… but free.

He was forgiven.

He was facing God.

In the moments of great failure… in moments of feeling as though your heart has failed you… and forgiveness is not meant for you… when it seems the pit is welcoming and you are tempted to slide into it and turn your back to the ever redemptive hand found in the love of the face of God…  Remember that He came to Jacob as a man in the night… He came to me in the eyes of the grace of a man, Jesus  my Christ… and even still today, when I stumble along the way, He comes in the eyes of others, this time He came in the eyes of my husband.

Know that He will come to you as well…

From those moments of failure, to the emptying, to the wrestling, to being broken, to finally once again facing God… forgiven and free.

 

Children's Ministry, Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Family Power

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Today was the parenting seminar that was hosted by my church. Yesterday both my girls went with me to help me set up for the event. They both worked with me to move tables and stack chairs and straighten up. As we were arranging tables and chairs my youngest asked me what I was teaching… and I told her I was not teaching I was attending. She got the funniest look on her face and said “But there’s nothing wrong with the way you parent. I love you as my mommy. I don’t want you to change. What kind of things are they going to teach you?” 

I have heard it said many times that if your child does not tell you they hate you at least once then you are not being a good parent…

I don’t think it has to be that way.

I truly believe we can parent well and still maintain the love and respect of our children.

I am not saying that you are a bad parent if it does happen… I am just saying you can be good parent and it not happen. You are an authority in your child’s life… if they have an issue with authority… and you are maintaining your God-given authority over them… then yes, they indeed will clash with you.

Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

Romans 13:2-4

However, as a parent, I also must be careful to maintain my character and integrity before my child, so that if they were to “butt heads” with me… it is them that is put to shame…

 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong 

1 Peter 3:15-17

There was a time that I carried so much hurt in my heart that I would turn and lash that hurt onto my girls. I can remember screaming at them with a vileness that makes me absolutely nauseous now when I think about it. I can remember lashing out at them over ridiculous things as they would become the target of my own hurt… and then blaming them for causing the reaction.

“Why can’t you…”

“How many times do I have to…”

“Will you ever…”

“I am sick and tired of you…”

I don’t remember the event, or the reason, I don’t recall the words yelled, but I remember the day that I lashed out at my precious Shelby and Bekah. I remember I was running their bath water and I had went over the edge. The events of the day had been more than I could handle and instead of going to my knees and calling on grace I chose to relish the anger and feed on my flesh. As I lashed out my disgusting flesh on them I remember the look that came across their eyes and I saw terror… I have never felt so small.

Trust me, there have still been moments.

Moments of hormonal, sleep deprived, irrational crazed insanity when I am carrying my own hurts, thoughts, and frustrations instead of laying them down at the foot of forgiveness and repentance and grace and I could…can… feel the build coming and its poison almost seeping out… but by the mercy of God and the power of His Spirit within me… I am held more often than not. Yet now even in the not I find I am caught, stilled, and able to turn and look my little ones in the eyes and let them know that it really was not them… it was me fleshing out.

A fool always loses his temper,
But a wise man holds it back.

Proverbs 29:11

So when my child looks at me and says what she said that day about my parenting ability and style… I am broken by the mercy of God. I am broken as I think how can she see that when I feel like such a failure in this momma thing, when I have used sarcasm way to much, when I have sent the “I am so disappointed, upset, irritated, just wait til we get home” eye across the room, when I have said “not now” just one to many times, when I have raised my voice unnecessarily loud, huffed and puffed my frustrated disapproval after explaining the same thing one more time… she says that. Immediately I was reminded of a verse… or two.

 Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all transgressions.

Proverbs 10:12

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Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another,

because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

Momma’s out there, I don’t know what kind of day you have had. I don’t know what hurts you are trying to carry on your own. I don’t know what things you have said or done to your children and the guilt that you carry because of it… I don’t know… but what I do know is that I serve a God who is in the redemption and forgiveness business. I serve a God that is in the healing and restoring business.

I can testify to you… that His word is true. Love indeed covers a multitude of sins. Not the worlds idea of love mind you… but God’s. Love that speaks and lives truth, that seeks to honor God and others. Love that is willing to forgive because they have been forgiven. Love that offers hope to another because they know they so desperately need it themselves.

Today in the parenting seminar Dr Turansky and Mrs Miller shared how the family is God’s laboratory to help us grow and become who He created us to be and to help us understand who He is… and it’s so true.

I jotted down a quote as I stood in the back of the room listening at the end, “Family life is all about forgiveness and moving on“

That’s it.

This life is a mess. We mess up. We get irritated. We get “fleshy” We do so with our parents, with our brothers and sisters, with our spouses, with our children… but in this fleshy, irritating, messy life their is family. Family is a powerful thing. It is to be a part of THE FAMILY that God sent Christ.

And because there is Christ there is forgiveness.

And because there is forgiveness there is hope.

And because there is hope there is a future.

And because there is a future we have the strength, courage, and desire to learn.

And if we choose to learn we can be changed.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29

Book Reviews, Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

A Review on Devotions From Genesis

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A review on my book Devotions From Genesis, It’s Not Just Ancient History 

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Review of “Devotions From Genesis” by Nicole Love Halbrooks Vaughn

reviewed by Marilynn Dawson

at Songdove’s Musings

 

Nicole asked if I’d review her devotional, “Devotions From Genesis” back in January 2013.  I was looking for devotional avenues at the time and agreed, choosing to do it Monday to Friday every week.  At 50 chapters in Genesis, I thought at first I’d be done by mid-March, but discovered that Nicole had other plans. 

 

Nicole draws parallels from the characters in Genesis to God’s desire to interact with mankind throughout the Bible and how we might apply that to ourselves today.  She divides Genesis into three parts:  Discovering God’s character through the fall of man, learning obedience to God and the consequences of disobedience, and the final section, learning about the parallels between Joseph and Christ.

 

This is a fresh look at the Book of Beginnings.  I very much enjoyed all the Scripture she used throughout the study.  Not once did she take any Scripture reference out of context, which is a big thing for me.  Her use of Scripture even in her closing prayer of each session is sure to help the reader who might not be familiar with the thoughts she expresses to God.

 

This study is not a workbook.  There are no places to answer questions or to write things down.  To that end, the devotional reader will want to keep their journal nearby to jot down thoughts, Scriptures, and answers to questions that the text might raise for them.  Many find it a healthy practice to keep a prayer journal or a study journal nearby anyway, so going through this particular study will continue that habit.

 

This study is also not a historical expose’ of the times in which the events occurred.  Nicole’s primary focus is on the spiritual applications of the events and people in Genesis moreso than matching up those events to verifiable records.  That would require a much more indepth look at the book of Genesis and has been covered by other authors.  As a devotional, there isn’t room for this kind of discussion.

 

So if the reader is interested in how the lessons found in Genesis apply to their lives today, this is the devotional to pick up.  Read each chapter in Genesis before you carry on in the text.  This gives a great background for the day’s session.  If you are not pressed for time, taking time to open your Bible to each of the remaining Scripture references for that day will help to internalize that day’s thoughts as well.  Then, if you are like me, you will be tempted to write out your own commentary on what God is teaching you as you travel with Nicole through the pages of Genesis.  It was all I could do at times not to begin writing my own commentary of what God was teaching me.  But to keep from potentially overshadowing Nicole’s efforts for the purposes of this review, I refrained except for a couple times.

 

Great read, great devotional, nothing out of context, even the prayers have Scripture in them. . . I give this devotional a five out of five.

 

Marilynn is the author of a series entitled Becoming the Bride of Christ: a Personal Journey. She lives with her two teenagers in Kelowna BC Canada.

You can also follow Marilynne at her Facebook page

 

To experience Devotions From Genesis, It’s Not Just Ancient History for yourself go here to get a paperback or ebook edition! Purchase on Amazon and leave a review.
Devotions From Exodus Part One, Learning to Live in Freedom is also now available for pre-order here: Pre-Order Devotions From Exodus.
The official release date is October 1, 2013
Devotions from Exodus Cover
Proven Path Ministries

Your Mother Tongue

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When heaven is really your motherland, then prayer is really your mother tongue, and you can’t help but yearn to speak in the language of your Father now.
~ Ann Voskamp

Prayer should flow from the tongue of a believer as easily as our breath. I don’t mean hands folded, head bowed, eyes closed, no one looking around prayer. I mean constant communion with the Father. Everyday, constant, good morning, what are you up to, how’s it going, what do you think I should do about, kind of prayer… praying without ceasing.

 

Rejoice always;

pray without ceasing;

in everything give thanks;

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

My husband and I began our relationship Memorial Day weekend, 15 years ago. Since that time we have spoken every day… even if just for a moment through a phone call, but every day nonetheless. Even when he flew out the following week 15 years ago to China for a month… everyday from China to America we spoke.

When we were on our 2nd year of marriage, and our first child together was 3 months old, he was sent to Portugal for a month. Two weeks into his time in Portugal his company head there called him into the office. He was reprimanded for the phone bill he had accrued while there, and was told that he was no longer allowed to call home everyday…

My husband quickly and firmly replied that he spoke to me every single day at home and he would speak to me every single day from Portugal, or they would put him on a plane home.

Needless to say, he remained in Portugal… and he continued to speak to me every day. I was “home” and no one on this earth could keep him from calling home.

As a Christian in America there is much debate over the topic of prayer… however, there should never really ever be a debate for true believers.

There was no debate with my husband as to whether or not he would be allowed to call home… he didn’t leave room for a debate. He was calling home. Period.

As a believer. I am calling Home. Period.

If I am truly in the habit of praying without ceasing and my prayer is not just for moments of show before others… then no one on this earth can keep me from calling Home.

I am calling…

 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You…

Psalm 32:6

 

So… today… is prayer your mother tongue?

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

The Joy of the Lord

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And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:2-4

This morning I awoke and came downstairs and kept hearing this strange noise. I was not quite awake yet and well, I don’t get very concerned about “strange” things, I am more a shoulder shrugger with a “hmmm oh well” and go on about my task at hand.

After I got my first cup of coffee almost down, I was awake enough to be able to have visual ability again… so I took my morning glance outside to enjoy the beauty and quiet of an early Saturday morning… to be jolted wide awake by at least six hot air balloons that I thought were about to land in our front yard or on our roof.

balloons

Of course I screamed and ran up the stairs to awaken my children who were so looking forward to sleeping in this first Saturday (in forever) that they did not have to be somewhere at daybreak…

The child in this 36 year old had burst forth. I was just as giddy as they were at the sight of all these beautiful balloons in the sky and the sound of them was like sitting on the shore of the beach listening to the waves roll in.

I didn’t care that it was only a little after 7am and neither did my girls.

We were just excited to see the site!

The sacrifice that had to be made to be a part of it was well worth the prize of seeing the ballons.

As I watched these balloons, my children, and examined my own heart before the Lord as I lived in this moment He had given us, I realized that this joy we experience as we watched these balloons, as we looked with hopeful expectation as to when and where the next one would break over our horizon, is the same joy that God desires that I have for Him as I look to Him and seek His hand in my life.

As I studied through Psalm 13 with Chuck Swindoll this morning I read:

…when trials are dealt with in the flesh, the eyes bear the marks of that fact. We cannot hide it. Our entire countenance becomes rigid and inflexible, lacking the “sparkle” and the “light” that once manifested itself from our hearts. When inner joy leaves, so does the “shine” from our eyes.

~ Swindoll

I watched my children’s eyes shine this morning. I could see the joy in their eyes as they watched these balloons. I see that same joy in their eyes quite often. My husband and I notice it and we can’t wait to gauge each other and point it out to one another when we see it. We love seeing our children full of joy with eyes bright with glorious shine. The kicker, every time I look into my husband’s eyes, when he is watching their eyes during this time, I see that same shine in his eyes. His joy is made full as he watches the fullness of joy in his daughters’ eyes.

Joy reflects joy.

Love reflects love.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

I know when my eyes are not shining. Others know when my eyes are not shining, especially others that know the Lord, because those that belong to Him when they look in the eyes of another that belongs to Him, we are all with unveiled faces beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord… When the glory of the Lord is not shining in my eyes it is obvious to those that know what it is to have that shine in their own eyes.

Do you know what I realized this morning… that shine leaves my eyes, the same way it left David’s in Psalm 13.

When I begin to face anything in the flesh.

Whether it be trials or sin or service… the moment we begin to exalt the enemy that has come against us, or exalt  sin, or exalt the to-do list before us, instead of exalting the God that is with us and for us… that’s when the shine in our eyes fades.

When we begin looking out at the enemy instead of looking up to Christ, or when we choose to disobey the Word of our God and hide sin in our heart instead of His Word, or when we begin seeing “the stuff” as a burden instead of a gift, slowly we will begin to feel the joy of the Lord being sucked out of us and our eyes begin to lose their shine and our service becomes work and rote not an act of love and obedience.

We begin to no longer serve our God with joy. We no longer are looking at life through clear eyes of gratitude with a glad heart, but through shaded eyes of burden and a fainting heart.

This is not what God wants for us…

Our Heavenly Father wants to see joy shining in our eyes just as much, even more so, as we want to see joy shining in our children’s eyes as they look in awe and wonder of the beauty of this world and all the many little gifts of glory that our Father gives us… gifts we don’t deserve.

His joy, His mercies, His glory, His presence is new every morning. He is a beautiful gift that He gives us when we choose to open our sleepy eyes and seek Him. We must choose to awaken each morning looking with hopeful expectation for the when and where that He will break over our horizon and enter our site in all His majesty.

The joy of the Lord is always available to those who belong to Him and seek Him.

Let His joy reflect in your eyes today.

Come before Him as a child. Trusting in Him. Looking up to Him. Enjoying Him. Obeying Him.

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;

just as I have kept My Father’s commandments

and abide in His love. 

These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you,

and that your joy may be made full. 

John 15:11

The writing and teachings of Nicole Love Halbrooks Vaughn