Words of wisdom and kindness

As the first post for our week of wise womanhood, I am very blessed to be able to share with you this wonderful guest post from Deb of Mountain Musings. Deb shares about the someone who has blessed her through wise and kind words. I have benefitted from Deb's words of wisdom and kindness as well, through her blog and through the advice she gave me (upon request) as I began married life.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness. ~ Proverbs 31:26

I feel very honored that Sherrin asked me to consider writing a guest post for this week's focus on "Becoming a Woman of Wisdom." After praying about what to write, the Lord laid the above verse on my heart and brought to mind someone who exhibits this verse in her life. The friend I'm thinking of is very gifted in speaking words of encouragement and kindness and is a true example of the woman the Lord teaches us to be like in Proverbs 31.

I first met Sherri via her daughter's blog a couple of years ago. Even though I didn't know her very well at the time, she blessed me through her comments and emails. This past summer our families were allowed to meet in person when they traveled through our state. I was drawn to Sherri's peaceful manner and by the light of the Lord on her face as we conversed.

After being a recipient of her weekly emails of scriptural encouragement she writes and sends to her family and friends, I can tell she is a woman of great faith and wisdom. I've gained insight from her writings on Wisdom for Decision Making, Wisdom from Ecclesiastes, Virtue From Christ, and A More Excellent Way--Charity. Serving the Lord and relying on His wisdom are emphasized, and I look forward each week to what the Lord has laid on her heart.

Sherri's life is surely a sweet savor of Christ, and I am inspired to be more a student of the Word from her example.

For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. ~ Proverbs 2:6

Bloggers With Integrity

Thank you, Karen, for nominating me for the "Bloggers with Integrity" award and writing such kind and encouraging words about me! It is always a blessing when people use their blogs to build others up and to be thankful.

Now I have the pleasure of nominating five more people for this award, to spread this thankfulness and kindness around the Internet.

The defnition of integrity is . . . Wholeness; soundness; uprightness, honesty.

To me it speaks of a person who is willing to speak out what they believe, and bases their beliefs upon a good foundation. A person who lives in a transparent and honest way.

John Dekker's Journal is now closed. However, for many years John wrote about his thoughts and experiences of the Christian life. Thanks for your musings, John! You wrote with honesty and soundness.

Lydia Hayden writes in an uplifting way about her Christian life. I appreciate the joy and kindness that shines through her blog. Thanks for being a light, Lydia!

Crystal at Biblical Womanhood blesses thousands through her life of integrity. Crystal boldly shares what she believes, and humbly shares her failures and successes. Thank you, Crystal, for sharing your life with us!

Mike Jolly is a man of integrity whom I know personally! He is totally committed to Christ and to the gospel. Mike's blog is mainly a journal of his ministry activities, and exhibits his passion to help others to live for Christ.

Well, I'm running out of time . . .

Last but not least is Susan. Thanks, Susan, for posting your thoughts on so many topics over the years! Your honesty and humility have been a blessing!

I hope that some of those I've linked to will pass on the blessing of encouragement to someone else, and we'll all be able to hear about more bloggers of integrity.

Becoming a Woman of Wisdom - a week of celebration!

Next week I am planning a week of celebration of God's wisdom for being a woman. Wise womanhood is already a major theme of my blog, but next week there will be a special focus upon the topic. I am passionate about biblical womanhood, and I hope that you are too! I even saved a blog address on the topic - www.wisewomanhood.blogspot.com, but have decided to stick with this address and overall theme. My friend Margaret Sonnemann created this lovely banner for me, but so far I haven't been able to work out how to get it into the header of wisewomanhood.blogspot.com. Perhaps my study of HTML and CSS will help.

Now, about next week!

I have asked several ladies if they will write guest posts for me. Two have said a definite "yes", and one of them is my mother. She is one of the wisest women I know, and I'm sure you'll be blessed by whatever she has to share.

Other readers, whom I haven't asked in person, are more than welcome to write a guest post as well. Just email me your submission. I'd particularly like to hear from men, as I'm sure they also have insights into biblical womanhood. Here are some ideas . . .

* A woman who has blessed your life. This person doesn't have to be a Christian, but must display some characteristics of godly wisdom (for example, faithfulness to her husband) which are worthy of commendation.

* A blog or book that has helped you to grow in godly wisdom.

* A wise woman in the Bible whose example has helped you.

* Characteristics of biblical wisdom.

* An incident in your life which helped you to become a wiser person.

Please join with me in this week of celebration! I can hardly wait!

The gift of godly children

One reader asked the following question in response to topics raised in my post Is my husband a creationist?.

This reader asked:

“How far do you think it reasonable to 'train' your children to believe in exactly the same things that you do?”

He/she further explained that:

“there are some sections of society who hold that it is much better, and fairer to a child, to allow them to form their own opinions about life, the world and religion. This does not mean that you may not guide them towards a sense of morality, of what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'.”

On our wedding day Dave and I promised, amongst other things, to “raise any children God gives us to love and serve our Saviour”. One of the reasons God created marriage is His desire that godly children will come from the union. Malachi 2:15 says of marriage:

“And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.”

This is certainly not the only reason for marriage, but it is a major one. The mandate for couples to bear children and to teach them to exercise godly dominion has existed since Adam and Eve were given this charge (Genesis 1:28). Raising many godly children is one way that we can influence our nations, as the Great Commission commands.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . ." Matthew 28:19.

Some people believe, like the Greek teacher Protagoras, that “Man is the measure of all things”. The idea is that man is the ultimate, and should have the ultimate decisions. Each person decides which gods to follow, and which values to endorse.

While this is popular, it is not biblical. Proverbs 16:25 says:

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death”.

This is why in the Great Commission Christians are taught to make disciples of all the nations. There are not many right ways, there is one.

“Jesus said to Him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. John 14:6.

God’s standard for acceptance into heaven is perfect obedience. Every one of us falls short of this. Therefore it was necessary for Jesus Christ to come to earth, fully God and fully man. Jesus perfectly obeyed his Father. When he died on the cross, he died the death that we deserve. He took our sins upon himself, and paid the penalty. Trusting in his work on the cross is the only way our sins can be forgiven. When we try to be good on our own, our sinful natures frustrate and trap us. Or, even worse, we create our own version of goodness that is far from God's perfect standard.

I hope that my children will be different from me in many ways. Perhaps they will learn skills that I never had an aptitude for. Perhaps they will travel to countries I will never see. Yet I hope they will be like me in their passion for the Christian faith. In fact, I hope they will surpass me. They may conquer sins I always struggled with, or apply truths I never understood. Dave and I don’t just pray for the gift of children. We pray for godly children.

First, pray

When it comes to evangelism, I feel inadequate. Most Christians I speak to are the same. Well, there is one thing that we can all do fairly easily. We can pray. This week, please join with me in praying each day for a different person you know who does not know Christ. At the end of the week, we'll each have prayed for six people and in the years ahead we may see our prayers answered.

Evangelism Action

Since this week on "A Deeper Love" is focused upon the
Great Commission, I'd like to refer you to a blog which is devoted to the topic of evangelism. Evangelism Action covers such topics as using questioning in evangelism and sharing the good news at Christmas time. The blog has several contributers and is written from a reformed perspective.

Real Love for Real Life

We cannot separate real demonstrations of care from the gospel itself. When we care for people in imaginative, life-giving ways, we embody the love of Jesus. What could be a grander calling?

Andi Ashworth

Andi Ashworth’s book Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring is a treasure for all those who spend many hours of their lives in unpaid caring work. This includes singles who work in 9 – 5 jobs all day and then give their evenings to church leadership, homemakers who spend their days caring for their families and communities, those who give full time care to elderly relatives, and many other types of people.

Ashworth encourages readers to view caregiving as “real work”. It is work that requires creativity, energy, and tenacity, and is an essential expression of the love of Christ to a hurting world. Ashworth notes that it is hard to value unpaid caregiving in a culture which prioritises efficiency, speed, control, and quantity over quality (p. 38).

“In this paradigm, caregiving seems very much out of place. Caring does not “maximise” our time. Its richest rewards are not tangible. The results are not quantitative. Caregiving needs are unpredictable, and sometimes meeting them is a slow process.”

Ashworth opens up for readers the many facets of a caregiving lifestyle. Topics include sacrificial and joyful hospitality, the necessity of rest and communion with God, and the importance of celebration. Real Love for Real Life also includes many stories of creative caregiving. As Andi says . . .

“We learn as we go that the creation of a home and the building of a family won’t happen magically. It will take our best thought and action” (p. 134).

My only concern about Real Love for Real Life is that Andi Ashworth presents the view that the Bible says nothing about whether husbands or wives should take on the greater part of homemaking responsibilities. This perspective will appeal to many. However, anyone who has recently read Paul’s epistles, particularly Titus and 1 Timothy, will know that this is not the case.

Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry . . . manage the house . . .
1 Timothy 5:14

. . . that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers . . .
Titus 2:4 – 5

Women are particularly called to a life of unpaid caregiving. Men do perform many caring roles. However, God has given special directions to women regarding caring for home and children. All people are called to give care, yet some have specific instructions regarding their role. I’ll close with a final encouraging thought from the book. When you give care “you reflect the beauty of a God whose love knows no limit” (p. 18).