Submission (continued)

If you missed my earlier post on submission, you can read it here.

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

"Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."

Ephesians 5:22-24

I have not been married long and I don't pretend to know all the answers. I'm just sharing what I learn as the Lord teaches me.

In my Devotions this morning (still studying submission) one of the passages of scripture was Ephesians 5:22-24 (above). It is my choice, as a wife to be submissive. People can tell me that I need to be submissive, or I can read that I need to be submissive, but unless I make a choice to do so, I will not be submissive. And who am I supposed to be submissive to? My husband. Ephesians 5:22 says "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands..." As Elizabeth George put it, the "Who of submission, is our husbands." Now about the how.

The last part of verse 22 tells us how to submit: "as unto the Lord." The root of submission is submitting to God. Colossians 3:23 says:

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

In every thing that I do (including submission), I need to do it as to the Lord. If my focus is on submitting to the Lord, than I will be submissive to my husband. God placed my husband as the head over me, as He is head of the Church. Yes, I know this and have studied this many times. But it is always good to be reminded of things, and I am always in need of improvement.

On a little "side note" if you will, submission starts with your heart attitude. The Lord has taught me a lot about my attitude over the past couple years. At one point, when I was leading a bible study group with several other young girls, I put together a whole study on one's attitude, because of all that the Lord was teaching me. However, it seems that no matter how many times the Lord has worked in my heart on something, time goes by, and before I know it, I need to go back and be re-taught, or at least reminded of the things that I've learned (like with submission). Anyway, I want to end this post by sharing a quote with you by Charles Swindle. My Dad uses this quote at his manager's meetings, and brings it up in our family Bible Studies quite often as we should be reminded of it daily. Someday, when we have our own house, I want to do a stencil of it on a wall, or something like that. I want to put it in a prominent place so that I can see it daily.

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company... a Church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past ...we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude...

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitude."

- Charles Swindol -

Another Giveaway

Seven Sisters is doing their fourth giveaway this month. This time it is a lovely, handmade Sunflower Jumper. Although it won't fit me, I know my youngest sister would love it. Go check it out at:

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/sevensisters

Giveaway

Hey Everybody, there's a really great giveaway going on over at Yodeling Dwarf. He's giving away three hardcover copies of Wayne Thomas Batson's book: Curse of the Spider King. Wayne Thomas Batson is a christian author and although I haven't yet read any of his books, my husband loves them! So don't forget to check out this blog:

http://yodelingdwarf.blogspot.com/

Submission

Here it is, the long awaited post (considering it's been well over a week since my last post (: ).

The above picture is from this past Saturday, on our way from N. Attleboro, MA to Montpelier, VT. The weekends book signings were not the greatest in sales, but it was a great trip. Yes, even though we didn't find a place to spend the night until 9:30pm. :) Most of the Motels/Hotels/Inns were full because it was Parents' weekend at the nearby college. So yes, it took us awhile to find a place that had an opening. When I went to look online last week to find a place, there weren't any openings then, so we expected it to take us awhile. We ended up staying in a nice Motel (Twin City Motel) that was only 4 minutes from our book signing the next morning. That worked out really well. Now for the object of this post:

When we left the book signing, I started out driving. I had packed us sandwiches and fruit that we had for lunch, on the road, and then Scott reclined and took a nap. Normally he has a hard time taking a nap in the car (me, on the other hand, that's a totally different story), but he fell asleep and slept for at least an hour and a half. While he was sleeping I called my Mom because when I had talked to her in the morning, she invited us to come over for dinner when we got back to CT (they were also making Apple Pie, and my Mom promised to make me a BLT with fresh bacon. That sounded really good since I didn't have anything prepared at home, and our estimated time of arrival was just after 6 o'clock.), so I was calling to tell her that we'd be there (remember, we weren't in CT yet, so I wasn't disobeying the law). :) We decided that we'd go straight to my Parents' as there was no need to stop by our place first.

Before I go any further in my story, let me remind you of my recent studies in my quiet time with the Lord.... A Woman After God's Own Heart. That's what my goal is. I'm reading through Elizabeth George's book and studying Scripture on the same topics that I'm studying each day. One of my prayers since I've been married (and long before I was married also), was that the Lord would give me a heart of submission. That includes submission in the little, day-to-day things.

Okay, so back to my story. By the time Scott woke up, we had less then 2 hours left of driving. Then, with approximately an hour left of driving, we hit the 5:00/5:30 traffic. So, Scott got out our big Road Atlas that we just bought at Borders last weekend. (Good thing I was driving so he could look at it, because I don't have much experience with road maps, although I'm getting there.) After looking at the map, he said we should take exit 74 and there were some short cuts we could take that would get us to my parents faster. Well, at the moment, the exit numbers were going up and the GPS (the trusty mechanical device, that only I think is trusty, Scott doesn't trust it as much) said that we should take exit 72 (obviously 72 must come before 74 since we're going up in numbers and the GPS had us getting to my parents at 6:27). Scott was looking at the map and said that, although that exit would work, we should take this exit because it would be a faster route. In my heart, I knew I should do what he said and even if it took us longer, it would be worth it because I let him lead instead of insisting that we should take *my* way. So I said that I would go his way (and I prayed that it wouldn't end up being a longer route). Almost immediately after that, the numbers all of a sudden changed and exit 74 was 1 mile away and the next exit (exits 73 and 72) was 12 miles away (let me insert here that the traffic had greatly increased). I was so glad that I had made that decision to trust my Husband and go with what he said. We took exit 74 and then we followed Scott's directions. Twice he saw a shortcut on the map and said for us to take that way, and although it didn't look much different from the other direction, I didn't question him, I had learned my lesson, and I'm so glad that I did. I know I will still struggle at times with wanting to do something *my* way, and I will no doubt want to question him at times, but I am praying more fervently than ever that I will stop first and ask myself, "how important is it that we do it *my* way?"

To top it off, when I got up this morning and went to start my Bible Study, what do you think today's chapter was on? A heart of submission. It usually takes me at least a a couple days to go through one chapter, and I love how God gave me a physical lesson on Submission, and now to make sure that I really get it, I will be studying submission over the next couple days.

Many blessings to all my readers, and I hope you all have a lovely day. I'm off to reply to some emails from over the weekend, and then start some packing (hopefully) or dishes before I leave to go clean this afternoon. And as for this evening.... we will be having dinner and then playing Phase 10 with Scott's grandparents (last time we played for 3 1/2 hours (: ).

Weather and Family Vacations

The weather is absolutely beautiful today! The weather has also been acting very funny the past couple days. A day starts out with clear, blue, sunny skies, then in a few hours it is getting overcast and instead of being comfortably warm, with a cool breeze, it feels almost like snow could fall. That's New England for you, I guess. :) When I got up to have my Quiet Time this morning at 8:30 (Hubby and I had a lovely evening at his parents last night, and we decided to spend the night) it was very grey out, and it definitely looked like it was going to rain. When we left after 9:00, it still felt very cold out. However, now the sun is shining, it is comfortably warm out, and there is a nice breeze blowing through our little apartment.

My family left last night for their annual - twice a year - vacation to Maine. My family has been going to the same place for 9 years now, and this is their 15th time going. It is also where my Husband and I Honeymooned. It is a beautiful place, right on a nice, quiet lake. My favorite thing about our vacations, was when we went in September because the leaves are just starting to change their colors, and we hardly ever see anyone else on the lake. Of course one of our (us children's) favorite parts about the week, was when we went on our private boat ride with Dad. I remember the first year my Dad started doing that (taking each of us out throughout the week, on a boat ride, just the two of us). He and I took the canoe (with the Kayak paddles), and we brought a cooler with lunch and our Bibles out with us as well. We also did some "exploring" of different parts on the lake, and we were gone for 3 hours. It was lots of fun, and it was a great time to talk.

As a young, teenage girl growing up in these times, not following the pattern of the other young people (even Christian young people) around me, was foremost on my mind. No matter what, I didn't want to follow the paths that I saw others going down, and I knew it was possible. Both my Mother and my Father gave me very good wisdom and guidance along the way, and I didn't follow the path that other young people were following. I didn't want to be like everyone else, and I wasn't. One of the most important things any young person can do is work hard on their relationship with their parents. Going to Maine was always a great time for refreshment and reenergizing. I always came away from those vacations, feeling closer to my siblings and my parents. That is one thing that I greatly miss, being married. But, I have the wonderful memories of 8 years, and going on vacation 13 times (Praise to the Lord, for providing that place for us), and I know that I want to create such great memories for my children, when the time comes.

Here is a list of some of my favorite memories (not in order) from when we were in Maine:

1. Doing dishes with my sisters, and singing our favorite songs together

2. Doing dishes with my Dad, because he always made things more fun

3. Taking walks with my Mom (almost) every day, for good exercise, and a few moments to talk

4. Taking walks/runs with my sisters

5. Going out in the paddle boat with my 2 sisters, closest (in age) to me, and talking about things we were struggling with

6. Journaling early in the morning or in the middle of the day, on the porch swing

7. Having my Quiet Time out on one of the boats in the middle of the lake

8. Reading. Reading, reading, reading. On the boats, on the deck, sitting in the warm sun, inside on the coach, late at night when everone was asleep, reading! :)

9. The time my Mom and I were reading through the Left Behind series together (she was ahead of me most of the time), and read through over half of the series in one week. :)

10. Doing puzzles with Mom and R

11. Playing Trouble while eating Breakfast

12. Playing Rummy, Monopoly, and other favorite games.

13. Watching movies and eating Popcorn at night (my family is up by 6:00 in the morning and so we went to bed around 9-9:30. But when we were on vacation, we stayed up until Midnight, and slept in until 8:30-9:30. It was rare that we were outside before 11:00.)

14. Being able to have long Bible studies every morning after breakfast (before we went outside) because Dad didn't have to leave for work

15. Somtimes we would stop at Wells Beach on our way home, and if it wasn't raining (which it usually was on our way home) than we would all get out of the big van and we'd get to go walk on the beach (and go in the water for those who were prepared :) ).

I could probably go on and on about all my favorite memories. Let's put it this way, every memory is my favorite. :)

What does your family usually do on vacation? Leave a comment and share. :)

One thing that I have learned over the years, is to enjoy every moment with my family when we're together. I never took for granted, our trips to Maine, and I'm so thankful that I didn't, and that I did treasure them, because they were special, and each trip was always a blessing.

I took this picture on our Honeymoon, on our way home, when we also stopped in Wells. (The picture at the top of this post is from when Kelsie and I visited the Ocean at Harkness.)

Don't forget to check out the Tattered Bookmark giveaway going on over at: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/sevensisters it's beautiful! :) The giveaway ends tomorrow, so be sure to go check it out!

Blog Giveaway

Although I haven't entered too many giveaways, I love giveaways. And someday, when I have a good following, I'd like to do some giveaways of my own. :) Anyway, this particular giveaway is very pretty. Check it out:

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/sevensisters

Organization ~ Choices

It is true that I have only been married for just over 3 months, and I have had my own home for just as long. Therefore, I can't say that I am qualified to give out advice to other wives/mothers, but I can at least share what I have learned, and actually, this can apply to anyone, regardless of age or marital status. But one thing that I have learned (and it took me 3 months to learn it, at least as far as having my own home is concerned), is that as long as your bedroom is clean and organized, the rest of your home doesn't look so bad and you'll be surprised how quickly you can get it all into order. Of course, as we all know (from lots of experience) that when you clean and organize a room, it doesn't take long before it get's disorganized again. And when you develop a method, or the Lord gives you insight to see how something might work better for you one way compared to the way it was before, it doesn't always just go the way you want it to. It takes time, and discipline, as well as habit. My Dad once told me that it takes 21 times of doing something, for it to become a habit, but only 3 tmes of not doing it to break the habit. That is so true.

My new goal is to always keep my bedroom in perfect order, and not to let anything hinder me in reaching that goal. I know that it will not always be in perfect order, and I am going to have to work to keep it organized and straightened (as well as dusted and clean :) ), but I know it is worth it. I have never been one to always have my bedroom a total wreck. As a matter of fact, for the most part, I have always kept my room in very good order. Even since I've been married and half of my room is my Husband's "office," I have kept it "in order" in a general sense. However, there is such a thing as "ordered clutter." I have never set out to have "ordered clutter" in any space, but nevertheless, that does happen when I allow moments of laziness to just "straighten" everything instead of de-clutter. This is true in any space, not just the bedroom. I can be a spot on the table, or an end table in the living room.

I know that I took a while to get here, but it all comes down to choices, little choices that we make, sometimes unconsciously, every minute of the day. Without even realizing it, we make the choice to just straighten something rather than taking just a few moments more to actually discover if maybe this item goes on the shelf 5 steps away, or maybe it can even go into the garbage. If we just purpose to take a few extra moments to actually think about what it is we're straightening, than maybe things won't get to the point of being so cluttered, we look around and ask ourselves, "how did I let this get this bad?"

Writing

After spending the last 4 days taking care of my sick Husband and trying desperately not to get what he had, I have succumbed and am sick enough to stay home from accompanying him to his booksigning today. :( But, thankfully I am not as sick as he was and it would seem that I won't become as sick as he was. One can only hope. :)

The worst thing about this sickness, is that it made my quiet time with the Lord very difficult. After trying to read the same paragraph in my study book for 8 minutes, I had to give up for the time being and settle for some quiet time just talking to God. Hopefully I will be able to concentrate better later.

Although I love to journal, I love to write letters, and I would love to someday write a book, because I love to write. I am not very good at writing, as far as the correct way of writing goes. At least, I don't believe I am. However, It doesn't stop me from writing because I always hope that I will become a better writer, the more I write.

I have read hundreds of books. The one year that I actually tried to keep a list of all the books I finished, I think I finished close to 300 books (chapter books, not children's books). I could read a Nancy Drew book in 2 1/2 hours. I have always been good at spelling, and I attribute that to when I had first learned to read and was teaching myself to read bigger and longer books. I would sound out each new word, and I always took notice of how words were spelled. Maybe it's because of my love for reading, that I love to write so much. I have large, nice journals in my Hope Chest that are full of written words, and the dates in one only cover the span of 9 months or so.

I have not held to what my original intentions were in starting this blog. Of course you could blame that on the fact that I was planning my wedding and working on setting up our first apartment in between everything else that was going on. But regardless, my goal in starting this blog was so that I could write things that other people could read. I can share things that the Lord teaches me, or share what the Lord is doing in my life with others. So many Blogging "Friends" of mine have been such an encouragement to me through the years, and I want to give back. I want to hopefully encourage or brighten others lives. And, regardless of how many people actually read my blog, I just enjoy writing. :)

A High Cost

I re-started studying through Elizabeth George's 'A Woman After God's Own Heart' this week, and came across something that I thought I should share.
This is the prayer of commitment of Betty Scott Stam, a China Inland Mission worker. She and her husband were led through the streets of China to their executionby decapitation, while their baby lay behind in its crib. This was her daily prayer.
"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever."

1 Year Ago

September 10, 2008, the day the Love of my life asked me to be his Wife. As I think back over the past year, so much has happened. Within the first hour that we were engaged (after I had stopped crying and come to the FULL realization that I was engaged), we were sitting on a stone bench talking about getting married. When we realized that August was 11 months away we started talking about June, which was only 9 months away. Dad was set on no earlier than August, but apparently he knew that it would come up again and wasn't surprised when we approached him in January about moving up the wedding date.

It's quite funny how you try to look into the future to guess what the following year, or just 6 months are going to look like, but you can never have more of an inclination to what that time may contain for you, because we can't know the future, but God does. I never would have dreamed 12 months ago, that I would be sitting in our living room, having been married for 3 months, and still struggling with having lost our first baby. But if we knew what the future held for us, there would be no fun, no anticipation of what's to come. Because we don't know what the future holds, we need to cling to our Father in every move that we make.

Yesterday the Lord gave me this passage in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

"Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Along with this passage the Lord reminded me of Proverbs 31:30 today: "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised (emphasis added)."

My deepest desire is to be a woman after God's own heart. I want to be living for Him in all that I do. One thing the Lord has shown me is that I need to fear Him, prefer Him. One day I will stand before God and give an account for all of my actions. I don't know when that day will be, but I do know this; it is very easy to become distracted by all that I need to do, even just my daily routine is distracting. Every morning when I awake, although I have an idea of certain things that I will do during the day, I cannot know every thing that will come up, and Satan loves to distract us away from Him who gives us strength for every situation that comes our way. But if I purpose to put Him first, to look to Him first, to always turn to Him in everything that I do, knowing that He is right there, and even if I think I can do something on my own, I still need Him, then although life is never easy, I'll be walking this road with the One who orders my day.

I don't know if any of that makes any sense. It's just all that has been going through my head over the past couple days.