Good Intentions

A Wise Woman Builds Her House....

Well, it appears that I am in the habit of posting once a year, around this time!  I always seem to have "good intentions" of blogging more and getting back in the groove, however life enters and here I am one year later.

I came across the above FB page and Proverbs 14:1, just happens to be one of my favorite verses..."The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands."

Now again, we are here at the idea of intentions.  None of us wakes up in the morning and purposely intends to tear down our own house. I love that this verse speaks to the inner, hidden part of me~ my heart.  God knows my heart and He sees my thoughts and knows if I am intentionally aligning them with Him or if I am haphazardly going through my day on my own "good intentions."

"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Matthew 12:34b

I didn't intend to speak quite so harshly.  I didn't intend to anwser e-mails for that long.  I didn't intend to get caught up in the phone conversation for 45 mins.  I didn't intend to forget to take out the meat and now have to pick up something quick for supper on our way there.  

 Please don't hear me saying that occasionally we forget or some things must temporarily take priority over others.  I am trying to communicate the importance of being intentional with my intentions and aligning them with God's purpose for me each day.  He has been incredibly gracious in giving me a husband and three sons to care for, serve and love each day.  In this calling,  I long to do well and glorify God. Therefore, I must be checking my heart and what motivates me.  I should be finding my love for God at the top of the list, along with my desire to serve and love my precious family.

We are a busy people, filling up our lives with nearly anything that comes knocking on the door.  I think about women of the early 1900's and how much they were required to do in order to just simply provide the daily needs for their families.  I also think about how they did not have near as many distractions.  They did not have blogs, FB, Pinterest, twitter, Bunko club, shopping, the fitness club,  etc...

They woke up with the purpose of meeting the needs of their family.  In Genesis 2:18 God says, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Survival in that day kept them from being distracted by self-fulfilling enjoyments.  I am assuming that each woman fully walking in the will of God was fulfilled by living out her God-given purpose of meeting the needs of her family. Of being that suitable helpmate...

I am convinced that I too will be fulfilled in living out the purpose God has called me to in serving my family with the right intentions. The intention of building my house, and not tearing it down. The intention of building up the lives of those in my home, rather than tearing them down. There are noble callings that God gives each of us that may call us out of our home, but I know in my heart that my husband, children and home come first.  Ministry can happen with my home as the hub, making my ministry linear and not a list that leaves no time at the end to serve others.  All of my life is a ministry and my home is the place in which I start and finish each day, so I long to give my best there and not my leftovers.

Isn't it tempting to give others the best and then rest on the "grace" my family offers when I give them the tired, worn-out, spread thin rest of me?  Isn't it easy to want to give the right impression to others and rest in knowing that my family loves me no matter what?  Since, my family and my home are good gifts from God, I am certain that He longs for me to give my best there also.

Too much in the world tells me to empower myself and seek out what makes me happy and fulfilled.  The job of telling me what I need to do with my time and resources belongs to God alone. Married, single, divorced, widowed, a mother, an aunt, a sister~ each of us has a "home" in which we can build and invest.  May each of us be careful to live wisely and find our fulfillment in Christ alone. I pray that building your house will be enough to fill your cup!

Titus 2: "not malicious gossips"

I am a little off schedule this week, but Saturday was our monthly Titus 2 study and I was unable to post on this month's topic, so here it is!

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips..." Titus 2:3

This so beautifully follows “reverent in their behavior,” because we cannot control our tongue apart from a strong relationship with our Master. We must use His word as the source of our truth. It must be the plumbline for our speech. Controlling one’s tongue is a mark of maturity. Paul is telling the older women, they must use self-control when using their tongues, so that they impart life, not death. “That they may encourage…” cannot flow from a heart marred by words of deceit and lack of truthfulness.

Well, we might say, I would not consider myself a gossip. Let’s look at this word more closely and see what God says about “gossip.”

The NASB uses the term “not malicious gossips," which in Greek (diabolos) is defined as slanderous or accusing falsely. (It is translated devil 34 times) **An interesting side note: this term diabolos is absent when speaking of men and their speech**

So ladies, what is God trying to tell us? Watch your words!! Be aware of the tongue, it can slander, deceit, tear down, accuse falsely and intentionally harm others. Now, for the zinger…
Operating on the basis of lies and false information or “maliciously gossip” is to actually imitate Satan himself, because as John 8:44 says, "he does not stand in truth, because the truth is not in him, he is the father of lies..."

A woman who “traffics in information” is taking great liberty with something that does not “belong” to her. We must guard information shared with us. God tells us to “love our neighbor as ourself.” If you are entrusted with someone’s private information, keep it that way! It is not yours to tell, unless you have sought permission, or they have said it is ok to share.
Paul is speaking directly to “malicious gossip”, so let us put it into perspective:

Malicious: imitating or working as an accomplice to Satan with intent to do harm
Gossip: just wanting to traffic in information. Habitually reveals sensationalism

Neither is acceptable! Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

This world is full of many people with evil intent. Let us be one who goes against the grain of society and be an example of God’s character through our speech. Where is the root of the problem? In the HEART... for "the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart." (Matt 12:34)

Here is my challenge to us this month in the area of our speech:

1. What can you begin to do this week to begin building a reputation of one that is careful with her words? How can you be sure that you are imparting life each time you have the opportunity to speak.

2. Based on Proverbs 18:21, how would you characterize your speech? How does your speech change/differ when talking with co-workers? Your husband? Your friends? Your children? When you are at church?

Let us examine our hearts very carefully and seek to honor God with our words. Let us be the kind of encouragement that shows others the character of God. How can you be a godly example of a woman who watches her tongue?

The Titus 2 Woman

Today I am going to start a series on the teaching of Titus 2:3-5. The material is from a dear friend and mentor, Rochelle Fleming, who has spent a lifetime studying and living out the principle of being a Titus 2 woman. Last year she devoted her time to writing curriculum for a group of 16 women to whom she taught the material and then sent out to teach to their small groups of 6-10 women. This ministry at our church is called Connecting Hearts. We started with Titus 2:3-5 because it is our mandate as godly women.

I had the privilege of co-leading a group last year with on older wiser woman and I am leading a group this year on my own. We are meeting one Saturday a month, so I thought on the Saturday we meet I would share one nugget of truth from Titus 2.

The first four qualities speak to the "older women," which by biblical standards is one of the approximate age of sixty. But, age alone does not qualify a woman to leave a godly legacy. She must be one who has done the work of raising her own chidren and honoring her husband, or serving the needs of the less fortunate and being devoted to good works. Her life needs to be an example of God's Truth in action. So, here we start with "reverent in their behavior". This is a complex topic that has many small bits and pieces. As we studied all of the qualities last year, we could always find our way back to starting with reverent behavior. So, are you ready for the defintion of "reverent in their behavior?" It is having God-centered daily living which flows from a personal relationship with God; resembling that which is important to God and stems from a heart that desires to obey God.

The heart of this older woman, sees all of life from God's viewpoint. If you were to watch her walk through her day, you would see what is next to God's heart! What a beautiful picture of bringing honor to God through one's daily life and choices.

I am not an older woman. I hardly qualify at the age of 31 with two small boys at home. So, what is there for me to learn from this quality for the older woman? Well, to be honest quite a bit. I will start by telling you that I desire to become an older woman, so I must be practicing! I will not just arrive at the age of 60, with my children grown and suddenly be wise, reverent and so on. No way, not on your life. How will I get there? It will be by my choosing to study God's word, to be obedient and to do this over a lifetime.

The only way I know how to to this is to never lose my first love for Jesus. He must permeate my life in every aspect. I heard Rick Warren say recently, "If you haven't prayed about something, you are doing it on your own." I have left Him out of the picture. How do I know what is next to God's heart if I am not pursuing Him? It is impossible. I think back to when my husband had decided he wanted to "date me for the rest of my life." We both spent a great deal of time seeking out ways to know one another better. He spent time listening and remembering what was close to my heart and I did the same with him. Now, after nearly ten years of marriage we know much of each others heart and we are still seeking to understand new facets of each other. As we grow, so must our devotion to learning about one another.

Now, God does not change or grow, but there is so much to know about Him, that even in a lifetime, I will not come to know all that is next to His heart. But I must be trying each and everyday. This will not happen by accident or luck. We, dear women, must make the time and take the time to learn about God, so that we can live our lives in such a way that we show the world what is next to His heart.

What have your family or friends seen in your life today that is a precious picture of God's heart? Where can you start to live this out on a daily basis. I pray we will all quiet ourselves before our Heavenly Father and seek to know what it is He desires for us to surrender, so that we do not lose sight of our first love. Oh Father, how I long to know your heart, so that I can live accordingly.