How to avoid apologizing.

I've noticed lately that I'm averaging about one apology a week.  Minimum.

You see, I tend to be a little blunt. 

I also tend to think that I'm right - a lot. 

Turns out, I'm not as right as I think I am on a regular basis.

Imagine that.

Proverbs 12:18 says "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

You see, when I just pop off with whatever runs through my head, I'm jabbing my friends and family with a sword.  I'm hurting them with my thoughtless words.  I'm being inconsiderate.  And I'm definitely not showing God's love to them. 

When I overhear my boys fighting, I always ask them to check their words.

Is what you're saying nice?  Is it necessary?  Does it glorify God?

You see, not everything that we have to say is going to be nice.  Sometimes, there are hard situations to face and those words will be necessary.

Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, I do feel that what I have to say is necessary.  I need to tell someone exactly what I think of them and the situation or I will explode!  Which means there's probably nothing nice in what I'm about to say.

But the standard that I have to measure my speech comes from number three.  Does it glorify God in my saying it?  You see, this is where I really need a pause button.  To stop and think before I speak. I need to ask myself if by what I'm saying, am I bringing others closer to Christ or driving them away?  When they see me do they say "I wish I had what she has (Jesus)" or do they say "If that's what Jesus does in her life, she can keep Him, I don't need that".

Psalm 19:14 is my prayer for my words:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Scripture Memory Team: November 2013.

Can you believe we're almost at the end of the year with our memory verse challenge? 

I don't know about you, but I have loved doing this. 

I think I'm going to continue this next year and just keep adding to my little box of note cards. 

This month's verse for me is Deuteronomy 10:21 -

"He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things, which your eyes have seen."

And while I love the words of this verse, I really love the context.  You see, this is after the children of Israel have left Egypt.  If you look up to verse 20, they're being instructed that they are going to serve and cling to the Lord because He is their God.  

How often do we come up against obstacles in our lives and start to fret? 

I do it.  I do it a lot.

Yet when I look back, I can see all these great and awesome things that the Lord has done for me.

Did you hear that? 

Me. 

Just some little ol' gal in West Virginia. 

Not because of me or anything I can do. 

But just because I'm His. 

So the next time I'm facing a difficult situation - and there will be a next time - instead of worrying, I'm going to remember the great and awesome things that the Lord has brought me through. 

And know that He will do it again. 

Chocolate & Chuckles 2013.

Do you know that Chocolate & Chuckles is one of my absolute favorite outreaches that we do?

I mean, who doesn't like chocolate?  And who doesn't like laughing and having fun with friends?

You know this girl does!

But what really matters about C&C, what it really boils down to is the one thing that we all need:  Jesus.

It's a great opportunity to show Jesus's love to our friends, family and co-workers - many who wouldn't say yes to going to church with us, but have no problem going to a girls night out (which just happens to be at church, right?)

This year's event was a huge success all because of three beautiful new sisters in Christ who asked Jesus into their hearts and the overwhelming generosity of you lovely ladies who gave $1500 to Project Rescue in their fight against human trafficking.  For this girl, it's worth every bloody finger that Carrie & I had while cutting out those chandeliers.

So, who want's to see some pictures?

 

Thanks for your prayers, your support, your hard work - and of course, your desserts! 

Can't wait to do it again next year.

How Rich is Your Family?

If you have seen the movie Courageous, then you likely remember a scene that evoked a lot of inspiration. Javier, a humble construction worker, was struggling to make ends meet for his family. As he began to grow in the Lord, he and his friends developed a new spiritual resolve to better lead their wives and children. To commemorate a coming resolution ceremony, Javier bought a new suit, but then began second-guessing the expense. Still delighted with his purchase, his wife Carmen convinces him to put the suit on so she can see him wearing it. As Javier looks in the mirror, he mumbles, “I feel like a rich man.” Carmen wisely redeems the opportunity by speaking into her husband’s life and reminding him of what true riches are all about.

“You are a rich man! You have a strong faith, children that love you, and a wife that adores you.”

Her words demonstrate the importance of seeing life from God’s perspective and also of the great influence a wife can have in her husband’s life. We’ve spent the last few years challenging men to step up to spiritual leadership in their homes. We wanted to take a moment and challenge wives in their priceless place of influence as well. If women knew how much their words can build up or tear down the men in their lives, they may be shocked at the power God has entrusted to them.

The Bible says, “No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” – Eph. 4:29

Have you applied this verse to your marriage? Men are always “someone in need.” As you know, we need a lot of help. So we ask you, “Do you wisely affirm and strategically praise your husband or do you cut into him with your words and tones? Do your children sense rottenness or a fragrance of grace coming from your lips when you speak to the man who is the ‘Christ representative’ in your relationship” (Ephesians 5:22-24)? When men are treated with disrespect, they tend to either get angry and go on the attack, or they withdraw and start avoiding the source of their ridicule. Both are poisonous to a marriage.

However, men naturally try to please and spend more time with those who respect and praise them the most. When you speak to your husband “as unto the Lord” and support his leadership as best as you can, you draw his heart to your heart and help strengthen his resolve to take better care of you and your children. When you edify the man who is primarily responsible for your home, your entire family benefits.

Your husband may not deserve any of your praise. All men are sinful messes. We do not have it together. No man is worthy of the respect that God commands wives to give their men. But Christ is. And that’s why Christ should always be a wife’s focus and the never-changing inspiration behind her words, not the flawed male that forages around her house.

When a wife prays for her husband, encourages him, and walks alongside him, the Lord is pleased. And in many ways, she is a living portrait of the Holy Spirit in her husband’s life—who is also described as a Helper from God to him.

We pray not only for the men involved but also for the women who need their husbands to step up and lovingly lead in the home. Each of you is priceless and irreplaceable. We want your entire family to experience the rewards of bold men who fearlessly embrace the responsibilities God has given them, both now and for future generations.

We are so grateful that God is still using Courageous and The Resolution for Men to change families. We praise God that couples on the brink of divorce are finding reconciliation and restoration. Lukewarm men are turning into warriors for God. Young boys are stepping up into courageous responsibility. Many times, these stories result in direct answer to the prayers of a supportive wife or mom behind the scenes. May God bless you as you point your husbands and sons to Jesus with the beauty of your life and put fresh wind in their sails to go forward to be the men God is calling them to be.

The Kendricks, in partnership with LifeWay, have just released The Resolution for Men Bible study, an eight-week group curriculum that challenges men to love their wives with a Christ-like love and unpacks the twelve promises in The Resolution for Men book.

This post is from lifeway.com.  You can find the original post here.