Good Morning Girls Devotional: Week 5 Our Friendships

Read: Ephesians 4: 29-32
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 

S: Ephesians 4:29,31-32
 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

O: We need to be vigilant in what comes out of our mouths. Words can lift up, but they can also break down. And once a negative word comes out of your mouth you can't take it back. In today's society no one seems to give a second thought to what comes out of our mouths. And I'm just as guilty. As I was typing this up, my hacker came back. Oh how I wanted to just let loose a string of expletives! And, unfortunately, the "F bomb" flew out. I looked down at my open bible. Had I not just read the words that said "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth"? In my bible, which is The New Living Translation, verse 29 says "Do not use foul or abusive language..." Whoops! 

We're all guilty of it. How many times have we lost our temper and let words fly that we wouldn't normally say? I got irritated with my husband the last couple of days. He can be trying at best. We all have someone or someones in this life that get to us. Even our children can try our patience.

Verse 31 in my bible says "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander as well as all types of malicious behavior." MMmm hhmm... We're human. Easier said than done. But in order to follow Jesus' will, we HAVE to do these things. If we don't, doesn't that make us hypocrites? You may go to church every Sunday, listen to nothing but worship music, do your bible studies, but you still gossip, swear, say things you don't mean. We can talk the talk, but not walk the walk. 

It's so easy in the heat of the moment to not think. Just go with the moment. But, would you act that way in front of Jesus? Would those words come out of your mouth? I bet not. I know it's not easy, but stop and think. Is what you are saying and what you are doing pleasing to God? 

A: I need to really work on this one. I have a short fuse. My mouth just runs. I'm guilty as charged. I need to reign in both my temper and my mouth. Anyone who knows me knows this will be no easy feat for me. But I need to try. I'm trying to make positive changes in my life. I want to please Jesus. I want to be the woman He designed me to be. It was never promised that it would be easy. My friend Remesh posted this on my wall today "Suffer for God my sister!" No truer words were ever written.

P: Jesus, I know I try Your patience. I know I am a work in progress. Help me to remain strong as You do Your work in me. Help me to not want to give in to the physical world. Help me to guard my tongue whenever I speak. Let my words build up, not tear down. Let any words I hear that are not of You and Your love to not settle into my soul. Help me to forgive and be the better person. I know it is what You desire of me, Your child.  I ask this in Your Holy Name. Amen.

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." 
~~Psalm 19:14 (KJV)

 

How to "Water" your marriage

A marriage is a constant work in progress. Things change, circumstances change, children are born. In today's society it has become all too easy to just "throw away" a marriage that isn't working. You don't see couples who are together 50, 60 years like our parents and grandparents were. 

 These are some ideas that were posted on the Good Morning Girls Blog page and I thought I'd share them here with you. Try one or all of them. Let me know how things are coming along.

Here’s How to Water Your Marriage: 

  1.) Accept the fact that all marriages are flawed. 
As Dr. Gary Chapman says, “Conflicts are not a sign that you have married the wrong person.They simply affirm that you are human."

2.) Make your husband second priority only to God. Flip-flop your priorities so your marriage is not coming in dead last, and you will find grass that looks burned start to grow green again. 

3.) Set aside a regular date night (even if you can’t leave your home, declare a special evening after the kids are in bed). Spend some time just enjoying your husband.  Hold hands, steal kisses, talk, and listen. Slow down and enjoy each other as you did during the dating days! 

4.) Smile at your husband. A genuine smile is simple but irresistible. 

5.)  If your grass is looking brown in some spots, tend specifically to those spots with prayer. Do not let it go dormant and die! If necessary, seek professional counseling to find ways to water the burned areas and help them grow again. 

6.) Do not neglect your marriage and assume that it will grow all on its own. Just as my brown grass is not going to turn green on its own, my marriage isn’t going to flourish on its own.  To stay healthy, your marriage needs your attention.  Discipline yourself to tend to it.

http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/

~excerpt from the book, Women Living Well:Finding Your Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids & Your Home

Good Morning Girls End of Week 1 Philippians 3:12-14

Week 1  Friday 1/24/14

Read: Philippians 3:12-14
SOAP: Philippians 3:14

Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

S:  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

O: Isn't refreshing to hear someone actually admit they're not perfect?! Paul is reminding the Philippians that he is NOT perfect. BUT that he is perfect in the eyes of Jesus. He tells them that he had not done these things on his own, but with the grace of Jesus. He has forgotten what was his past. Remember, Paul was once a very important and influential Jew. (Acts 9: 1-6/ 10-16) He put all that behind him to do Jesus' work. 

And so he reminds us that in all that we do, it should be by the calling of Christ Jesus and that our prize awaits us in heaven. We are all made in God's image. None of us is perfect. And honestly, who would want to be? What would that leave us to accomplish? We would never change or grow. Anyone who claims to be perfect has some serious narcissistic issues. 

I work for a doctor. She is a perfectionist. Living up to her standards has turned my life into one long nightmare. Everything I do is wrong. She'll even correct my sentences and tell me how it SHOULD be said. One time a pharmacy called about a prescription refill for a patient. Her reply was that she gives enough refills until the next visit and that if the patient was out of refills that would imply that she made a mistake and that she doesn't make mistakes. Oh Lord. Nothing worse than a doctor with a God complex.

We are the way God made us. We are imperfect creatures. God knows we will mess up from time to time. All we can do is to try our best to be pleasing to God. After all, He is the only one who really matters.

A: I love to do photography. I think I'm pretty good at it. But then when I sit down and look at the images I made, I am critical of what I did. I can only see the imperfections in it. And I'm the same way when I look in the mirror. I see the gray hairs. I see sadness. I see how overweight I am. I see all the imperfections. Instead, I should be seeing the person that God made me to be. I am caring, kind, empathetic. Yes, I have a short fuse at times. I get easily irritated at things (especially when I am cycling with my Bipolar). I'm not perfect. I shouldn't expect to be. As a friend once told me, I am wonderfully and fearfully made in God's image. I need to find a balance. I need to accept me for me, faults and all. But like Paul, I am the first to admit that I am not perfect. I hope I never will be. I want to please God. That's all. I want my life to reflect my love for Christ. And so, I journey on... 

P: Father, we are reminded that You love us even with all our imperfections. You see us as Your creation. Let all that we do be in favor with You. And if it falls short, Father, let us remember to humble ourselves before You and ask for forgiveness. Amen.