My Prayer Life

I love the challenge in today's Girlfriend Devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa TerKeurst, particularly the quotes from Nancy Guthrie from an article she wrote in Today's Christian Woman.

Because I'm a writer by nature--always have been (couldn't tell, could you?)--I express my prayers through a prayer journal. It started out as a diary when I was in high school. I have notebooks and duotangs and journals filled with my hearts desires, requests and thank yous, and conversations with God. But it's only really in the last year or so that my prayer journal has become more than a diary. It still is. I still talk to God about the ordinary things that happen. But, it's more than just getting these issues off my chest and into the hands of God. I now know and consciously use the time to listen to Him, to spend the last few moments of my day in His presence. I use that time to not only minister to my worried, tired brain, but to my heart and spirit.

This has been compounded by my starting to read the Bible every night. I want to know what the Word says. I want to get to know God's heart better. To help with this, I keep another journal to help me keep track of what I've read, for one, and to help me remember what I've read for another. Surprisingly, I've never been very good for memorizing Scripture. I can remember the gist. I can recite many verses once someone else starts them. But I haven't been able to say Psalm 91:1 says....

I knew I needed something more direct to help me study Scripture and not just read it, and also to apply what I read to my life. So, in my little note book, I summarize the passage in my own words and then jot down how that passage can be applied to my life. I've learned that some passages leave me stumped in that regard. It's not always readily apparent how some verses apply. I'm currently reading through the Psalms. Most of the Psalms have praises or a combination of laments and praises. But I've found there are some Psalms with no praise, which in my mind shows me that despite of the suffering of the Psalmist, the praise is the lesson that he has learned through the suffering. That's not always there. Perhaps the next time I read through the Psalms the meaning will become more clear.

I also jot down a verse or two (if there are any) that really strike me.

I have noticed in doing this that I am closer to God. I'm learning to be the "quiet, gentle" wife the Bible instructs me to be. I'm learning other things that can be applied to my life. I have learned what it is to finally understand that everything we have is from God. I'm still learning about truly loving Him. (I wrote about that a while ago.)

You may not be a writer, but I still believe a journal of some sort--whether it's for tracking your progress through the Bible and what you've learned from your readings, or whether it's to jot down answers to prayer--is important. I know I wouldn't want to rely on my memory for some things.

Anyway...I hope you take today's Girlfriend Devotional as a challenge to get beyond the asking God for stuff, and use the time to spend it in His presence. I've also learned that the more I spend time in God's presence, the more I want to spend time in His presence. I don't want to miss it.

Remember prayer and getting to know God and getting "something" out of church isn't about you. It's about God. When we give God the praise He's due and give him the glory for what has happened in our lives, whatever that may be, as long as you do those things with your whole heart with the desire to praise him in the midst of your circumstances, you will always get something out the service...a closer relationship with God.

Girlfriend Devotionals (Oct 7)

Just to let you ladies know that I have chosen to put both the Proverbs 31 and Girlfriends in God devotional in the Girlfriend Devotional section today.

I love the challenge in the Girlfriends in God devotional for today. Check it out!

Mixed Emotions

Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Very rarely am I caught off guard by a book. Before I received a message from Thomas Nelson, as one of their book review bloggers, that this book would be made available to those who were already reading something (usually it's one at a time) I had already decided that this wasn't a book I wanted to read. I had looked through the selections available and something about the title--perhaps it's the editor in me that doesn't like the combination of "strongest" and "life"...something about that irks me...don't really know why--just didn't appeal to me. The thought that this was also written by a man and I questioned how effectively he could really relate to what women are going through also made me look for something else. Then, when this offer came up to review it when I already had a book for review, I decided why not. Perhaps it would be helpful.

I had never heard of Marcus Buckingham.

I was looking forward to a spiritually uplifting book, that would affirm what God's will was for women (after all this was publisher that specializes in this sort of thing), that would point out even through the examples he gave of women who contacted Oprah after that one show, God can still use those situations; how he pointed out to those women and shared the gospel with them. How he used examples of women in the Bible and Scriptures to validate God's view of women and how He created us and how He views us.

The points in the opening chapter were really very interesting. I was intrigued by them and agreed with them -- that women are more stressed out now with all the choices. That "women's lib" for all it's whoopla really hasn't improved life that much for women. We're often too stressed out running from one thing to the other that we can't enjoy life anymore. It's been so ingrained in us that we have to work to be happy...when that's not necessarily true for everyone.

But as I read through the introduction and the first couple of chapters it occurred to me there was no mention about the Christian experience. What advantages Christian women have over non-Christian women. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through all that I am without having a relationship in Christ. That's what I expected to see.

Perhaps it was because this book was written by a man and from a man's perspective. It's impossible to completely get into a woman's psyche from a male vantage point. Women are very much emotional creatures and I found this book too analytical and not emotional enough. The only time I found my emotions engaged was reading the quotes from those women who contacted Oprah.

This is not a book I would highly recommend, though I can't say I wouldn't recommend it at all. As demonstrated by the number of higher reviews, there were some people who liked it. But it is not a book will be recommending for our church library. As a spiritual resource for busy moms and women, it was highly disappointing.

View all my reviews >>

Me Time?

I had to laugh at Monday's Baby Blues comic from Monday. The fact that I started this post then saved it, intending to go back and write it later...and later ended up being two days later...shows that there isn't a whole lot of "me" time.

For me, "me" time comes in the form of devotions in the morning, devotions, Scripture reading, and prayer journaling in the evening, and our women's Bible study on Tuesday morning.

I added these comics--Baby Blues and Family Circus--to my morning routine as something fun. But, I don't really have "me" time where I'm doing something just for me.

I don't take myself out for coffee, either alone or with a friend. I very rarely read for pleasure--most of what I read is for book reviews. Well, I suppose I could consider my reading the Bible for "me," for pleasure...but the purpose of reading that is to become more familiar with His Word. Technically, I consider that study, not leisure.

There are the very rare occasions when my husband takes our sons to see their grandmother and great-grandmother and I opt to stay home because I have things to work on, and I will watch a "chic flick" with my supper.

I can so identify with the mom in this comic. "Me" time is so rare that often just not having to worry about kids for a few minutes is "me" time.

I love watching movies. I have a new Anne of Green Gables DVD that my husband won for me off a radio program...which I haven't been able to watch, yet, because our normal movie watching routine in the evening with our supper usually only allows for 30-45 minutes of movie time, then it's back to work. (I don't like doing that with a new movie. Anne has always been a release for me to I want to be able to enjoy it.)

If I could classify what "me" time is, it would be a time where I can sit undisturbed and read a book of my choosing out of the 300 or so that sit on my bookshelf. That's what I long to do.

I suppose I would have to add that I would be able to work on my writing projects. I have several that are in various stages of completion that I haven't been able to finish because I've been trying to make a living.

Oh well. With the current upswing in business and a renewed focus on what projects I need to keep the roof over our heads...that "me" time is coming! I know it!

The Perfect Husband By K.R. Pinkston

I am pretty sure I have a perfect husband. He plays with our son, helps him with homework, and drives him to after-school activities. He vacuums the carpets, cleans out the cat pans, dusts the furniture and folds the laundry. He grows vegetables, waters the plants, mows the lawn and washes the car. In a pinch he will even cook dinner.

Ok, I admit I am exaggerating. In reality my husband leaves the house at the crack of dawn to go jogging, and he comes home after we have already eaten dinner. I get a quick hug between him answering emails and eating leftover dinner. At times I am not even sure if he came home at all. Then I search for traces around the house that suggest that I am indeed still married to a soldier and that this soldier visits our home during the dark hours.

In the mornings I hunt for dirty coffee mugs. They show up on top of the washing machine, at the computer, next to the phone or – my favorite – on the bathroom floor, where I fall over them in the middle of the night.

Of course, there are other signs that I had a visitor during the night. The bathroom mirror is splattered with shaving cream, wet towels are piled up on the floor, and the toilet seats are up. As I go downstairs, stinky socks greet me at the entrance. The kitchen sink displays a stack of dirty dishes, the milk has been left out on the counter, and a note is plastered on the refrigerator door: need more coffee.

Perhaps my husband is not perfect after all. Neither am I. It is astonishing to me that my husband has put up with my own quirks for nearly 20 years.

I know that God loves every one of us, with all our faults and imperfections. I doubt that any of us are easy to live with most of the time, let alone every day. Finding a partner in life who is willing to look past our own transgressions on a daily basis requires love and a healthy serving of humor.

A few years ago, deployment and subsequent re-assignment forced our family to live apart for over 18 months. I did not bump into coffee cups in the morning or have to hunt for soiled socks around the house. My toilet seats stayed down.

Likewise, my husband had a break from my imperfections. No listening to moans about the load of household chores, or the long wait at the commissary and bank. He did not find dry clothes hugging the side of the washing machine, come home to the fourth macaroni-and-cheese dinner in a week, or find a pile of make-up and hairbrushes around the bathroom sink.

After we lived together again, our marriage went through a second honeymoon phase. We took care to overlook each other’s idiosyncrasies and mistakes. Life was good because we focused on sharing our love and being together. What did it matter if we ate the same dish twice a week? At least we have enough food every day. Mud-caked footprints on the carpet, overdue books on the stairs, ink stains on his shirts? Who cares? He was back, living with us and that was enough.

This phase did not last. All too soon the routine of everyday life claimed our gracious attitude. I notice his quirks, and I know he notices mine.

Last week I woke up to a racket at 4:30 in the morning. I staggered out of bed and crept quietly downstairs, preparing myself for a confrontation. Instead of a burglar, I found my husband unloading the dishwasher. Good grief! I just stood there with wide eyes, shaking my head and biting my lip before I stomped back to bed.

Later that morning he sent me an email. He apologized for waking me and wrote that he was just trying to help out around the house. As I sat there, reading his email I recalled the times when we first met and after he came back from deployment. In a way those honeymoon times have never gone away. They are still here if I shift my focus and allow them to be part of my daily life. It will mean being more grateful for our love and for the time we can spend together, rather than fuming over dirty socks or mugs.

Shifting my focus will make life easier and happier. I just need to remember that none of us is perfect. Now, I’d better go and scrub those boot marks of the floor.

Do One Thing

What a great post!

I love Marybeth. She's so down-to-earth. She's also a burgeoning novel writer. I have been following her progress on the book since she mentioned that she was writing one.

Through this post I can feel her fear and trepidation, and know that myself - although I'm a little bit bolder. I have met and talked with Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper on a couple of occasions beyond what many people probably get. I have met Rick Mofina, a local suspense writer, at a book signing, and Mairuth Sarsfield (author of No Crystal Stair) at a garage sale.

I have "met" so many people over the Internet through networking that I would love to meet. Perhaps one day I will. But, I love her account of this and will be passing it on to my other writing groups today.

http://marybethwhalen.blogspot.com/2009/09/do-one-thing.html

I Want What She Has

What a great devotional (see girlfriend devotionals) and post (visit her blog by clicking on the link at the bottom of the devotional) by Lysa TerKeurst.

A few months ago I finished reading "Behind the Mask...No More" by former Phantom star Byron Nease. His book was a reminder that no matter what mask even famous people wear in public, there are likely issues we wouldn't imagine or expect happening in the background.

As I writer, I think my envy comes in the form of seeing other authors having been published or even having finished a manuscript and declaring it ready for publication. My books are often pushed aside as I try to make a living freelancing. Providing for my family comes first.

Some may be envious of me because I work from home, but while I love it, there are the challenges of maintaining a household, keeping a husband happy and still spending 8-9 hours a day in front of a computer trying to find and complete jobs.

I read in a recent Family Circus cartoon: "The grass is always greener...but what about the weeds." Often the grass is greener and usually there are no weeds that we can see. But weeds are insidious. They can pop up at any time. They're always lying just below the surface. We may never know how much work it has taken them to get to the point where there are no visible weeds.

Will be examining myself to see where the weed of envy may be hiding.