A real woman...

(from the Rebelution)

I pray that I may be a woman who

• is glad she’s a woman and rejoices in her femininity, expressing it through her attitude, appearance and bearing. (1 Timothy 2:9-10)
• does not compete for equality with men or chafe at God’s design for male and female, but delights in and understands the importance of her calling to complement man’s role. (1 Timothy 2:11-12, Ephesians 5:22-24)
• values the cultivation of her mind and diligently seeks after wisdom and knowledge. (Proverbs 22:17-21, 2:2-6)

With God’s help, may I become a woman who

• realizes her imperative need to allow the Holy Spirit to control her emotions and expressions of them. (James 1:19-20)
• does not wallow in self-pity or make a habit of voicing complaints, but radiates cheerfulness and joy. (Proverbs 15:15, Proverbs 17:22)
• appreciates her mother’s (&family’s) protection, and respects and submits to her authority. In so doing, she is preparing herself to exercise the Biblical role in her relationship with a possible future husband. (Ephesians 5:33-6:3, 1 Peter 3:1-2)

 

May I be a woman who

• is trustworthy and gains the respect of those around her. (Proverbs 31:11)
• restrains herself from listening to, or participating in gossip, but instead speaks with wisdom and discretion. (Proverbs 11:12-13, 22, 20:19, 3:11)

 

May I be one who

• constantly encourages and builds up those around her instead of criticizing and tearing them down. (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Ephesians 4:29)
• does not have a nagging, contentious or manipulative manner in which she deals with others. (Judges 16:16, Proverbs 21:9, 19, 26:21)
• is not boisterous or loud in her speech or actions but is characterized by a gentle and quiet spirit. (Proverbs 9:13, 1 Peter 3:4)

 

By God’s grace, may I be one who

• portrays chastity, modesty and reverence in her manner, and wears the ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is her true beauty. (1 Peter 3:3-4, Titus 2:4-5)
• is not offended by respect shown her through gentlemanly courtesies (opening doors, etc.) but cultivates the differences between the sexes that make her worthy of this deference. (1 Peter 3:7, Mark 10:6)

Father in heaven, may I be a woman who

• does not relate to members of the opposite sex in a flirtatious or forward manner, but instead saves all her passion for her future husband. (Thessalonians 4:3-8, Proverbs 6:25, 1 Corinthians 7:1)
• holds her virginity before marriage sacred and will not compromise it for anything. (1 Timothy 5:22)

 

Lord Jesus, I pray that I will seek to make You my number one desire and the Lover of my soul.  I know that only You can fully satisfy. (Psalm 73:25, Psalm 63:1) May I use my years of singleness to seek and serve You without distraction. May I be content to leave the details of my future to You. (Psalm 73:25, Philippians 4:11)

 

God give me the grace and power to be a woman after His own heart, that I may serve Him first of all in all I do, and that I may in turn be a servant to those around me, modeling the behaviour of my Lord Jesus Christ.  Father, let me not be discouraged by my many failures, but trust in Your forgiveness and grace to cover my sins, to pick me up when I fall, to bring me back when I stray. 

Find a PDF of this list here.  

A real man...

A dear brother in the Lord recently shared with me the following insights from a blog called "the Rebelution." On the blog there's a list of qualities of "A real man".  It is my prayer that God will lead and direct me to one such man who strives for these qualities, whose first desire is to praise and honour the Lord in all he does and says.  This list is pretty intense - and yet the life of a Christian is not meant to be soft and cushy; the way is hard and narrow, and it takes much hard work, perseverance, and dependence on Jesus to stay on it.     

 

So here it is, "A real man" by The Rebelution.  I've made it a prayer, and will continue to pray this prayer both for my future husband, should the Lord ever bless me in this way, and also for all the young men of our churches and youth groups.  May God work in their lives to bring up a generation of men eager to serve Him and lead His people in spreading the good news of salvation to all who are yet lost.  It all begins with a simple heart change, and with a hunger and thirst for the knowledge and fear of the Lord!  

 

 

I pray that my future husband will...

• understand and live according to the basic purposes for which he was created: to worship, honor, and serve God. (Romans 12:1-2)
• value and carefully handle the scriptures. (2 Timothy 2:15)
• not pride himself on being knowledgeable in the sinful ways of the world. (1 John 2:15-16, James 4:4, Philippians 4:8)
• not be embarrassed to worship God and pray in a group setting. (Mark 8:38)

 

I pray that my future husband will

• be wise, yet humble. (Proverbs 2:1-10, 1 Peter 5:5, Romans 12:16)
• that he will take leadership in a self-sacrificing way. (Ephesians 5:25-28)
• be kind because, “What is desirable in man is his kindness” (Proverbs 19:22)
• not try to prove himself but simply be confident as he walks in the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 14:26-27)

I pray that my future husband will...

• not put others down with his actions, attitude, words, or his strength. But on the contrary, affirm and build others up (Proverbs 15:4, Ephesians 4:29)
• treat his sisters and mother with as much respect as he would treat a prospective wife. (Matthew 25:21)
• not only respect but appreciate a young lady’s purity and innocence. In our culture innocence isn’t retained by accident. (2 Corinthians 11:2-3)
• value his purity as much as he values a young lady’s purity. I pray that he may not be ashamed to live and act differently from the world in order to guard himself. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, Ecclesiastes 7:26)

 

I pray that my future husband will...

• be able to look a girl straight in the eye without communicating any impurity. (Proverbs 20:11)
• not be ashamed to identify himself with his family (Ephesians 6:2-3)
• that he be a gentleman, polite and showing women honor in everyday things such as opening doors, etc. (1 Peter 3:7)
• that he have no desire to be gross in order to impress other men. He better not burp!  Or swear, or tell disgusting stories. (Proverbs 13:5, Ephesians 5:4)

 

I pray that my future husband will...

• show by his actions that he loves children. (Matthew 19:13-14)
• that he will be pleasant and express joy rather than feeling that it’s masculine to be sullen. (Proverbs 21:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:16)
• that he won’t blame others for his own problems but will embrace responsibility. (Proverbs 12:27)
• that he will be able to accept correction (Proverbs 12:1, Proverbs 29:1)

 

 

I pray that my future husband will...

• be mature in his emotions and his expressions of them. That he will be able to deal with the trials of life logically, with wisdom, not on a basis of emotional instability. (Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 17:27, Proverbs 12:18)
• that he will understand the value of work and is financially responsible. (Colossians 3:23-24, 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, Luke 16:10-11)
• that he be able to express himself with intelligent words rather than using “street talk”. (Proverbs 17:20, Titus 2:6-8, 1 Peter 4:11, Ephesians 4:29)

 Find a PDF of this list here.

_______________________

 

Lord God of heaven, I pray that your name will be lifted high as men pattern their lives after your Son’s example, in dependence on the Holy Spirit.   I pray that this list will inspire men to reach ever higher, to "aim for the stars" in Godliness and zeal for the Jesus of the Bible who has given His life for His people.  

Ashleigh's Soccer Game

Ashleigh's team won the game 4-1! GO ASHLEIGH GO! :)   Apparently she didn't hear me cheering at all... but if she had she would have been embarrassed anyways :) 

hi-fiving the other team... and then we celebrated with a snack at Timmy's :) 

It was a fun night, despite that it was FREEZING cold and windy!  felt like October! Ashleigh played really well, what a great improvement from before, when she would run away from the ball ;)  she's a very sweet niece - I don't value her relationship as much as I should.  Nights like this one show me just how special it is to spend time with family and get into each others' lives.  How many Aunties get to live with their nieces and nephews and know them as well as I do?  yet how often I don't take advantage of this special situation... anyways, to sum it up, I had a great night with your daughter Kev & Carole! :)    

for Kevin & Carole :)

Kevin & Carole, I know you're enjoying yourselves in Europe, but I also also how much you miss your little sweeties here at home.... so this is for you :) 

I was in the nursery at church this afternoon... Jaden and Anjali were playing so cute together :) 

Some memories from the past couple of weeks:

- Louise: "Mom, can I watch the kids for you for a while? go read a book or relax or something"

  Mom: "no, I'm not taking my eyes off these little ones till their mommy and daddy come home!"  honestly she won't let me give her a break... 

- playing freeze tag, snake, frog, etc on the trampoline

- laying on the trampoline, finding pictures in the clouds (my way of conning them into taking a break :))

- stepping on crumbs and cheerios on the kitchen floor 

- toys, toys, toys all over the place

- viewing the living room not as a living room, but as a jungle gym 

- listening to Josh's baby talk, which is starting to sound more and more like actual words 

- taking Ashleigh to soccer

- loving the love that I see between Mom and the kids

Tomorrow night I'll be taking the kids to soccer, and there's also some sort of summer celebration happening at my karate class which I'd like to take them to beforehand (there's ice cream and fun stuff for kids).   Mom's plan has been to keep them so busy that they won't be missing their mommy and daddy... and so far it's worked, although Ashleigh does still miss you guys.  Mom asked her what she preferred: to go to the airport to pick you up, or to go to the church picnic with all her friends, and without a doubt she wanted to see you guys!  

So come home soon and safe!  :)  God bless, and can't wait to see you again!