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Waiting on God
From Chaos to Calm: Day Forty-Seven
Waiting on God
Scripture Memory: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Photo Credit: Andi Braun
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Patience. It is one of the Fruits of the Spirit. It is needed by women everywhere – everyday. Sometimes we lose patience with our children, sometimes we lose patience with our husbands. Sometimes we lose patience with family members, friends, or acquaintances. Far too often we are not patient with our own learning process. We look down on ourselves as failures just waiting for the next big goof.
Christ will provide us with a spirit of patience if we diligently ask Him. He is always quick to give us that which is His will for our lives. Bad habits are not always easily broken, as we have found this to be true throughout this study. But when you press on toward the mark, you will eventually reach your goal!
The kind of patience I want to talk about today is not the kind where you can no longer contain your frustration as your three year old throws yet another temper tantrum. The kind of patience I want to discuss with you today is “Waiting on God.”
One of the hardest lessons I have ever had to learn was how to wait on God. If I am completely honest, I am still learning this lesson. Have you ever prayed for something for days, weeks, months… years? Only to give up and decide God isn’t really listening? One of the greatest joys of my life has been watching prayers that were offered up to our Heavenly Father year after year and year and then, finally, seeing the results of my prayers as God worked to answer them in perfect detail. God’s timing is not always our timing. Sometimes when we feel something is best, God has other plans.
This is one of the reasons I love my prayer journal so much. It gives me the opportunity to go years back and re-read my prayers and see how God has answered them! I hope you are still writing daily in your prayer journal. Years from now, it will offer you hope and peace as you see first hand how God works in your life – often without you ever realizing it!
Ask God to give you patience. Ask Him to show you how to love your family and yourself the way He loves you. God has an endless amount of patience for us!
The Heart of Her Husband
With Valentine’s Day approaching in just 14 days… I thought it would be fun to focus on different aspects of the marriage relationship or rather, how you and I can be better wives! Proverbs 31 tells us that the heart of the virtuous woman’s husband could safely trust in her. Does your husband trust you or does his heart lie in fear of what is coming?
- Do you respect your husband?
- Do you pray for your husband?
- Are you a home maker?
- Can your husband trust you?
- Are you thankful?
- Do you go out of your way to be thoughtful to your husband?
- Do you have a habit of nagging your husband?
- Express your love with love notes.
- Do you manipulate your husband?
- Do you expect your husband to be perfect?
- Men are basically easy to please. Feed them good food, keep the house clean, and give them plenty of…
- What do you cook for your husband?
- You love your husband when you love your kids.
- Are you a helpmeet?
Protect your marriage. Protect the heart of your husband!
This Year Will Be Different
Glorious Day
I just love this song! The words are truth.
Christmas Really Happened
One Year to Live
What if you had only one year to live? What if you knew Jesus would come back one week from now, six months from now, one year from now? Would you live differently? You see, we don’t know how long we have. There is no guarantee for tomorrow. You could die in a tragic car accident or be diagnosed with a rare and rapid growth cancer tomorrow.
How strong is your faith? Jesus’ return will be a sudden event, unexpected. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10 KJV
Jesus is waiting for us, his chosen people to stand up for what we believe and live as though we believe it!
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation… Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” 1 Peter 2:9-20
What in your life is holding you back from fully serving your King? What high places (idols) are you worshiping in place of God?
“And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.” Leviticus 26:30
Are you willing to tear down the high places and give glory to God in preparation for His soon coming?
Eight Laws of Health
From Chaos to Calm: Day Forty-Five
The Eight Laws of Health
Scripture Memory: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:29
In the garden of Eden, before sin, God created Adam and Eve in His image. They were perfectly formed. They were strong and beautiful. And they were vegetarian. Obviously, in a world without sin, nothing would die and no one would eat meat. We will all be vegetarian in heaven!
The Creation Diet leads to good health, a longer life, and more energy. For instance:
- Live 8-10 years longer than meat eaters.
- Lower cholesterol.
- Decreased risk for Diabetes.
- Decreased risk for heart disease – America’s #1 killer.
- Less risk for Colon cancer.
- And the list goes on and on…
The Eight Laws of Health
1. Nutrition – Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, or even cutting out meat completely, will promote good health, more energy, and a longer life.
2. Exercise – It is so important to get up and get moving! Exercise for 15 – 20 minutes at least 4 times a week to loose weight, strengthen your heart, and have more energy!
3. Water – Your body is made up mostly of water. When you do not take in enough water, your body dries up and cells begin to die. A healthy body is a hydrated body. Water cleanses the body by helping to eliminate waste and toxins. Drink 1 ounce per two pounds of body weight every day.
4. Sunshine – Spend time outside in the sunshine every day. The morning hours or the late afternoon hours are ideal. The sunshine provides needed vitamins and elevates your mood.
5. Temperance – Self control is so important in every area of life. Temperance means having a healthy balance between working, resting, faith, eating and drinking. It also means using self control to choose not to do things that are harmful such as drinking alcohol, doing drugs, or having promiscuous sex.
6. Air – Breathing fresh air is essential to good health. Breathing deeply fills the body with oxygen and can help to relax you when you are tense.
7. Rest –First, sleep is very important to maintain a healthy body. When you are exhausted and run down, you are more likely to get sick. Ideally, adults should get 6 – 8 hours of sleep every night. The hours before midnight are the most beneficial. Second, when God created the world, he sanctified the seventh day as His holy Sabbath. He knew how much we would need that time to rest away from the world and come to spend time with Him. By resting on the Sabbath, you will receive a Sabbath day’s blessing.
8. Trust in God – By trusting in God, we will receive the blessings of God. People of Faith are calmer, happier, and live longer that those who do not trust in God.
Ask God today to help you care for your health in a way that is pleasing to him. You will live a longer, happier life!
Exercise
From Chaos to Calm: Day Forty-Three
Exercise
Scripture Memory: “She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.” Proverbs 31:17
Photo Credit: John Nyberg
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Yesterday, we talked about water and how essential it is to our health. Today we are going to talk about the importance of exercise.
Exercising is one of the most important activities we can do to improver our health and the quality of our lives. Knowing that we need to exercise is not the problem. We all know we need to exercise. The problem is our own lack of self-discipline.
We have talked about self-discipline over the last few weeks. Exercising, for most of us, is just not on our top ten list of Fun Things to Do With Our Time. I have gone from being a skinny Eat-Anything-I-Want sort of girl to being a Watch-Everything-I-Eat sort of Woman. It has not been a joyful experience. But I have learned a lot about what it means to take care of my health. When I had no issue with my weight, I had no real desire to be fit. (Yes, it is possible to be skinny and in bad shape.) So, whether you are as skinny as a rail or could stand to lose a few pounds, exercising is something you can do for yourself that will really make a difference in your life and maybe even the lives of those around you.
So, how do we find the will power or self-discipline we need to get moving 6 days a week? First, we go to God and ask for the strength and the motivation we need. Your Heavenly Father wants you to be healthy. You can trust that He will help you. Each day, as you wake up early and go to your prayer corner for your time with God, ask for help in this area. Add it to your prayer list. Be faithful to pray for yourself!
There are a few things you can do to help get motivated:
#1 Find a friend to exercise with. Having a partner to experience the joy and the pain of getting fit can really help! If you don’t have a friend who wants to get in shape, advertise! Place an ad in your local paper or post flyers at the park, library, and/or grocery store.
#2 Use a program you can enjoy. Join a group or start one! Pilates, Aerobics, or Strollercising are some fun ways to enjoy getting in shape. See what your area has available.
#3 Purchase workout clothes that make you happy. I love working out in my good looking yoga pants and matching tops. Instead of looking frumpy in a sweatsuit or sloppy shorts and t-shirts I can look stylish while I workout – even though I workout by myself. Workout clothes that are designed for exercising are comfortable to move in and will keep you cool. Yoga pants stretch and move with you. If you are comfortable and look good you will be more likely to keep it up.
#4 Get a puppy. Walking is one of the most effective and easiest forms of exercising. I love walking my Labrador Retriever every morning. He makes it fun! Walking is also a good time to reflect on what God has planned for your day. Enjoy the nature around you!
#5 Exercise with your children. My daughters love to exercise with me. They gain a healthy
body image and get in shape while developing a good habit that will serve them well as they become adults.
Exercising daily should be a priority. It doesn’t have to take long. A 15 minute walk each day is enough to help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, prevent heart disease and more! We all have 15 minutes. Just schedule it in.
Living Water
From Chaos to Calm: Day Forty-Two
Living Water
Scripture Memory: “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? …Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:10-14
Photo Credit: Zsuzsanna Kilian
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Part of being a homemaker is caring for the health of our family. Health is something precious. Often though, we take for granted that we will always be healthy until one day we realize we aren’t. Health, how we take care of ourselves, is an important part of our faith.
In the Scripture Memory above, we are told that Jesus is the Living Water. By drinking of Him on a daily basis, our spiritual health will be renewed each day. A major part of this challenge has been making our prayer time a priority each day.
Notice again what Christ said, “…the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” When we focus our eyes on Christ; when we drink from His cup everyday, He tells us that it will be like a “well of water springing up” into everlasting life! This spring never dries up! It is always there for us to drink. However, it is up to us to go to the well!
Water is essential to life. Just as the Living Water is vital for everlasting life, pure water is essential to our bodies for life on this earth. Without water our bodies dry up and begin to slowly die. Water helps to cleanse our bodies of waste and toxins. It feeds our cells to rejuvenate and moisturize. Drinking water can even help you lose weight!
You have heard, I am sure, “drink 8 glasses of water a day.” This is good, but there is an even better formula for discovering how much water you should drink each day. Take your weight and divide the number in half. This is how many ounces your should drink each and every day. For instance, if you weigh 130 pounds, you should drink 65 ounces a day. With this formula you can also figure out how much water your children should drink! A 50 pound child should drink 25 ounces of water each day.
When you do not drink water, your body retains water and you actually end up feeling bloated and weighing more than if you drink the proper amount each day. I have known young people who drank only sodas or coffee. It is terrible for your health! Without water, your body is not able to cleanse itself of all the bad stuff it doesn’t need. By drinking water you will reduce and even prevent illnesses.
If you are not used to drinking water, or don’t really like the taste of water, you will find that the more you drink, the more you crave. Very much like our morning devotions – the more we pray, the more we look forward to praying! What I like to do is add fresh lemon or lime juice to
my water. It makes it so refreshing and I just love the taste! Also, tap water is really not something you want to drink. I suggest purchasing spring water or a water filter. We get our spring water right out of a pipe in the side of the mountain. If you live near a spring in the mountains, check to see if a free source is available.
In the morning, a nice ritual to have is Lemon Tea. Simply cut a lemon in half and each half into halves or fourths. Pour almost boiling water over a piece of lemon in a mug. Allow it to steep for about five minutes and drink! This is very beneficial to your kidneys and is cleansing to your body.
To help you in your goal, you can get a nice large jug or bottle and put your name on it. Fill it up each day and work toward drinking it all. You can even buy fun sports bottles for your kids. Fill them up in the morning and challenge them to see who can drink it all!
Ask Jesus to fill you with the Living Water today… and everyday!
What is Heaven Like?
Have you ever dreamed of heaven? I love to talk about what heaven might be like. Especially with my children. We imagine what kinds of things we’ll get to do in heaven, pets we want to have, etc. I mean, have you ever really thought about heaven? A lot of people think it will be boring, that we’ll float around and play harps or lead meaningless lives. But that is far from the truth.
One of my favorite things “to do” when I get to heaven is to swim under water with the dolphins. Can you imagine? No drowning in heaven!
I love my horses here. They bring me a lot of joy. But, wow, in heaven, I won’t have to muck out stall, clean horse feet, or worry about hay, feed, blankets, and water in the winter. Joy!
The Bible tells us quite a bit about heaven, but I think the descriptions will pale in comparison to the real thing.
- God has prepared a place for us that is far greater than anything we could think of on our own! “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2: 9
- We won’t have to worry about violence or destruction there. “Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.” Isaiah 60:18
- All the animals will be friendly! “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6
- There will be no more disabilities. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” Isaiah 35:5,6
- We will build houses! I will eventually have my ultimate dream home! Plus, we will enjoy working with our hands and the work will not be in vain. Things will work out right and never go wrong. And those of us with black thumbs will finally get green ones. I plan to have a big garden in heaven! “They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isaiah 65:21,22
- We will gather for worship each Sabbath. “From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me,declares the LORD.” Isaiah 66:23
- We will eat from the tree of life! “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:1,2
- We will get to see God face to face. Glory! “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:4
- There will be no more pain, sorrow, sickness, or death!! “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4
- We’ll get to sit down and have a chat with Adam and Eve or Abraham or even Noah and Moses! King David! Esther! Ruth! Oh, and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! Who do you want to talk to? “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 8:11
The Bible also tells us that the New Jerusalem will be adorned as a bride. Beautiful!
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:1-3
- The city of God is about the size of the state of Colorado. It is the shape of a cube: about 350 miles wide, 350 miles long, and 350 miles high! Plenty of room for everyone who wants to go! ” The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.” Revelation 21:16
- The foundation are named after the twelve apostles. “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:14
- Its gates are made of giant pearls and the streets are made of pure gold like transparent glass!“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.” Revelation 21:21
I hope you are as excited about seeing heaven and living there with Jesus forever as I am! I hope you’ll be there!
